rescue umbrella cockatoo

Hello, I am the owner of a conure and now i have the opportunity to rescue a umbrella cockatoo.
The owner is pretty sure Beethoven is a female( but has never been sexed).
I do not know yet how old she is. She is very attached to the husband and really dislikes the wife. Both are working full time and they cannot give her the attention she needs. Their children do not really care for the bird. They know all about me and my rescue conure and how well he is doing with me. They really want her to have a happy home with the attention she needs.
I am going to read the book: 'second hand parrot' again.
I was wondering if you guys could give me ffedback on owning a cockatoo, all the pros and cons, tips for adjusting to a new home, what not to do, what I really need to do etc etc.
I will be doing some browsing here in the forum, but if you already know of some threads that might be really helpful for me, please let me know.
I want to give this bird a good start in our home without any stress or discomfort.
thanks Murphy

we have rescued 3 Umbrellas. They can be LOUD and very demanding- can self mutilate and on the other hand be great pets. We just rehomed our last one- I wont be doing anymore. They are great if a baby and havent gone through homes, people really tend to mess them up. Over attention with these guys makes for horrible times to turn around. I had one pluck a 50 cent piece in his chest and bleed to death. Get a air filter and humdifiers, very dusty. They are beautiful, but I dont miss ours we put alot of time and work into rehabing them, all were placed in great homes that keep in touch. Now our goffin and galah I wouldnt trade for anything!

Thank you for the honesty. I indeed read about the dust and that it can be really bad.
I talked to the owner and Beethoven is a 10 year old female white crested umbrella cockatoo.
I am going to give it a try. The owners love her very much and want for her to have a good home.

As with all birds around smaller birds they must be watched.I used to rescue and rehome birds.Now I just rescue and give permanent home to them.At one time I housed over 50 unwanted,abused and neglected birds.I retrained and eventually rehomed them.Cockatoos are tough birds especially if they have been rehomed several times.They come with extra baggage and you must be willing to take them in and deal with the many issues they come to you with.I had a Mollucan Cockatoo that was 5 years old and I was her 3rd
home.She had many behaviorial problems plucking,screaming caused by her separation anxiety.You just couldn't leave her alone without her destroying something.Oh and she hated men she would literally attack any man that was around.She was very needy and would bang on thing repeatedly.There were times that I could leave the house due to her needs.I also had two Umbrella Cockatoos that were rescued from two different situations that I rehabilitated
and rehomed.And then there were the two Goffin Cockatoo rescued,rehabbed and rehomed from two separate situations.I feel that it takes someone special
to deal with a rehomed Cockatoo.I just wasn't the one to deal with the issues
involved.Now I take in only certain birds.I now owned Macaws,Amazons,
Greys,Eclectus's,a Conure,Senegal,Cockatiel and a Quaker.Most of the birds were rehomed,rescued or just purchased.That book "Second Hand Parrot" is a good book.Another one to look into is by Barbara Heichlich "Problem Solver Parrots"(spelling might no be right.)I wish you luck on adopting a Cockatoo.

You will be fine- just take it slowand do some research on Cockatoos. They are not for everyone and can easily become problem birds. Ive been around birds for over 30 years and deal with people who get into situations more with the U2's and other cockatoos, they can easily be ruined and become horrors. Im not trying to discourage you but please think long and hard and know that these suffer most with going home to home and owner to owner. I personally wont rehome anymore, we have a goffin and a galah thats as far in the cockatoo world as I will go again. Cockatoos are very emotional and you have to consider everything- family- pets ect. There is no vacationing- cause they will pluck and scream cause their world has crumbled, or a disruption in routine. They will scream thus causing people to caudle them causing a whole other situation. I wish you the best and especially the best for the cockatoo, this is always heartbreaking no matter what.

I am doing all the research about them and I am going to get together with the owners and talk about all her needs, her behavior, her bad and good habits etc,etc.
I am sure willing to give it a try.

Cool- wish you the best! They are the most rehommed bird out of all parrots.

You said; "They are the most rehomed bird"
Why is that? Because they are harder to handle then other parrots?

Cockatoos are purchased because they are loving, cuddly and attract the bird owner- or want to be bird owner. Then after they shower it with affection and handle it like a human baby, things change. People's lives start moving and Cockatoo screams for hours, demanding the attention that once it got- then there is the hormonal changes that occur- and people have more cockatoos for sale and in sanctuaries than any other species. Here is a link for some interesting reading. All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com


Edit: I really dont want to sound like a witch but I feel very strong about Birds- have grown up with them and wish I could help more people and birds. It's a shame that it isnt made a crime to purchase a pet and end up not wanting it anymore- so it gets sold- passed on to another and there it begins and does not stop- If people stopped for a moment and really looked into parrot ownership and what the bird really needs- not what we think it needs or want to give it one would see the Cost, Emotional, Physical, ect- I will stop and bite my tongue- I have seen and experienced what others do to them, and no its not what the bird needed it was what they needed at the time. I really do wish you the best and enjoy the U2.

I hear what you are saying. I was thinking about that last night. Most parrots will outlive the owner also. So I assume every decent parrot owner has already thought about what to do with the bird when the time has come. If something happens to me, I have a friend who can take care of the birds and I will do the same for her. All my dogs, cat, duck, conure, etc, have been dropped off at my house due to the fact the owners could not or did not want to take care of them anymore. Really, I need to start charging people to come visit me because it is a regular petting zoo out here. LOL.
I do work and so does my husband, so we are not here all the time, but when we are here it is animal time only.