I was so excited when I saw that someone wnated to get thuis forum a little more active and happily contributed and shared when I could but it seems it has gone by the wayside. Too Bad. Cockatoo owners area special breed in my humble opinion. And I for one loved reading all the new threads and sharing some of my stories.Oh well. I know everyone is very busy and stretched very thin.Of course there are days when Nelly doesn't do anything spectacular to write about but just the fact that she IS...is spectacular to me.

Oh, No, No, No Diane - we are continually working on it, but depend on all of you to contribute!
I was away all weekend that is why I didn't post anything, and have been scratching my head the last few days trying to think of something. I did start the Bite thread....
Help me out here!!!

You Too owners are doing all right! We just need to get out there and find more of you, that's all. Been by the Poi forum lately? Last time I was in there everything was all covered with dust! I think Jim and I are the only Poi owners here, except when Hayley stops by.

Us non-Too owners love to hear all about your wonderful birds, believe me. Sometimes we don't say very much, because we don't have one, and (in my case) don't have any experience to answer questions with, but we sure like to read about your experiences and see your pictures!

I second that!! I LOVE to see pictures and hear the stories about Toos. They are so beautiful and so adorably cute with their personalities.

Thank you both so much. We are working hard at rallying the forces. Would really like to see the Cockatoo forum become the go to place where you won't be attacked, or belittled, or berated, or given sugary answers

I think cockatoos are a truly magnificient bird. For some reason, pictures of them always make me smile. But, alas, I am a small bird person for many reasons. But I sure do love seeing pictures and hearing about them.

Its funny, when Amber and I first realized we were interested in birds I was dead set on getting a Cockatoo. (Keep in mind at the time I didn't know the difference between a Pigeon and a Penguin. And one I'm not sure is even classified as a bird???) Yep, I knew everything about them, cause when I was growing up the neighbor lady had 2 of them. I was so confident in my knowledge I was going to buy a large cage, some seeds, and I was going to get me a Cockatoo. I even remember telling Amber, "Yeah these Cockatoos are quite." I started looking on line for cockatoo's and to my discovery there was more than one type of too? I was amazed there were Mullican, Sulphur Crested, Goffins, and so many other types I was overwhelmed.

To make a really long but funny story short, we ventured to a local bird shop. (Thank god the staff there truly love there birds.) I was amazed there sat my Cockatoo, a great big Pink Cockatoo. She was beautiful, and looked so sweet and innocent. Well me being a guy I figured that warning sign saying "I May Bite" was just a general statement and aimed toward children. Boy was I wrong, my big beautiful innocent girl went crazy psycho x-girlfriend on my finger. Not wanting to admit my stupidity I found Amber and suggested we ask for help.

The two Ladies, (Whom we are still friends with to this day) quickly picked up on our complete and utter lack of any bird knowledge what-so-ever. (I'm sure the blood soaked Kleenex around my finger didn't tip them off any????) They gave us some education on how fragile, delicate, needy, and wonderful, birds are. But somehow did it in a way it convinced Amber and I we needed to learn everything we can about all the birds before we buy that big Pink Man Eater.

We researched, read books, visited zillions of pet stores, but I never forgot that very first Mullican Cockatoo I met. (By this time I was somewhat educated and knew it wasn't a Pink Cockatoo) For some reason I didn't think of her as the nasty man eater anymore. She showed me in one quick second how birds can read a person, how intelligent, sensitive and protective they really are.

Speaking of Moluccan cockatoos, I was quite dismayed yesterday. A woman came to our store and had been "shopping around." She was at another store looking at a Moluccan. She mentioned that she lived in an apartment. The salesperson told her that it would not be the right bird for the apartment (excellent advice, right?). She said that, within minutes, the store owner went over to the salesperson and openly yelled at her for "blowing the sale." They then tried to sell her a 5 year old macaw.

It is situations such as this that cause these birds to be rehomed so often. While I am not a cockatoo owner myself, I can tell you that education, especially with this breed, is an absolute must. These birds are very unique and need proper rearing. I truly believe that we, as humans, destroy these birds by not properly rearing them. When they sound off, they are definitely LOUD - ear piercing loud. But they don't have to be loud all the time when raised correctly and when taught to play independently.

Is it my imagination or is 2/3 of this thread missing?

Lara with the board going down yesterday we lost a whole days worth of posts, thats probably why this thread is abit on the short side.