im getting one from my grandparents (with everything including big cage, food, etc.) how do i keep it entertain, can i train it? (its kinda big so i think its not a baby), will putting a blanket over the cage help it sleep, and what to do if it screams, do i have to wear heavy duty gloves when holding it?
anything will help
This question is almost more than we can answer with the limited info you have given.
Answer some questions first.
How old is the bird? Is it a baby that is hand fed and socialized or a re homed or rescued bird?
Is it coming from a breeder, private individual, or rescue?
How much experience do you have with birds? If you have none, do you have experienced people around you to help when you get into a problem.? A too is not a bird you obtain on the spur of a moment and then find out if you can handle it.
I suggest you visit the bird first several times before you bring it home.The reason I suggest this is you are are asking the basic questions you should not have to ask when obtaining a complicated bird like a too. Handle it under supervision many times.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com It sounds as though you have been researching. Keep it up. Actually the care of parrots is more or or less similar. It just gets a bit more complicated and intense the larger the bird. Yahoo Answers is not a good place to get the specific advice you need because it is not a chat type forum. I suggest here.
http://www.birdsnway.com/boards/2t/2t.cg ... Good Luck.
Look for groups or avian societies, they will give you the best advice. 'UpAtSix' may be a good starting point. Talk to as many people as you can. Look on Youtube for clips of Umbrellas and ask questions from the posters. Ask anyone anywhere. You will need as much info as you can to look after this bird.
Puting a blanket over the cage will help the bird sleep. Birds usually only scream for a reason. They 'flock call' at dawn or dusk (this is where the blanket comes in handy), as a warning, or if they are bored or feel neglected or jealous. I don't know if your bird was tame with your grandparents so I'm not sure about the gloves. Give the bird a few days to get used to its new home and your company, talk to it and feed it from your hand before you try to get it to 'step up' onto your hand. If the bird is happy to step up you should be pretty right, just remember never to approach the bird with an open palm and outstretched fingers. That looks like a predatory claw to a bird.
Both Suga and vertical have given you pretty good guidance. I just want to add to forget about the gloves. If any bird is afraid of hands, gloves only makes it worse. Any one who must try to use gloves on their bird has a big problem but it's with the human, not the bird. You must learn to handle the bird with your bare hands, no matter how long it takes. Make sure you are aware of all the toxic products you have in your home that you will have to stop using if you want the bird to stay healthy. By all means, join some boards that are dedicated to Cockatoos as there is much to learn and a Too is not usually a good " starter "bird for anyone. Since you didn't go out searching for a bird and this one apparently needs a home, you will just have to play catch up and learn fast. Here are some links that will get you started. Even is some may refer to a certain type of parrot or bird, no matter. The information applies to all of them.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com http://www.cockatielcottage.net/housepla ... http://www.plannedparrothood.com/plants. ... http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/html/safe ... http://www.avianweb.com/safefoods.html http://www.parrotparrot.com/birdhealth/a ... http://www.pricelessparrots.com/parrot-p ... http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/artdisea ...
http://www.mytoos.com pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
If it screams it screams, sorry. Cockatoos and other parrots are loud, its in their nature. They scream when happy, when said, in the morning, in the evening and so on. If you can't put up with this don ' t get a cockatoo, you can't stop it behaving naturally. "problem" screaming is different but you can expect any cockatoo to make a GREAT deal of noise.
As for the heavy duty gloves, it depends on the cockatoo. Ideally you'd want to have a friendly bird that is handleable but they can be very dangerous ... this is an example of what can happen to you if you keep a cockatoo :
