STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!

!

It's not that easy.

The first massive mistake made by the inexperienced.

They try to 'pair up' their one time much loved pet.

Because they have been told that when their pet gets to a certain age 'it will be best for the bird' to breed from it

WRONG!!!!!!

Umbrella Cockatoo pictured right.

They may well show what you think are signs that they want to breed such as squatting on your hand, but if you put them in an aviary, they would be lost, particularly the females.

Females in particular have a bad time when being 'paired up'. Quite often the male will dominate the female, (particularly if he is also hand reared) and become aggressive, resulting in either the female being actually killed or hurt very badly, or so scared that she will not defend herself (often the case) and this also ends up with dire consequences.

This unfortunately happens all too often. The result being that you have lost a precious life.

Do not be taken in by so called 'experienced breeders' who will tell you 'Yes, the cock bird chases the hen, but nothing more than normal for cockatoos!!!

With a good compatible pair, you will not have any serious chasing. If you do, you need to re-think your pairing.

Do not leave a female with an aggressive male, thinking 'it will sort itself out', the only sorting out you will find is the female dead or seriously injured and traumatised.

When you are buying a male cockatoo, (which are always considerably cheaper to purchase than females for breeding purposes) be as absolutely sure as you can of his history.

Ask the questions:- Has he been previously paired? 

If so, what happened to the female?

Cockatoos are different when it comes to pairing and breeding to that of most other parrots.

Being that, if other birds put together do not get on (usually) they do not kill each other; but will either squabble (not causing serious damage), or ignore each other.

Not so with the cockatoos.

If you really think you would maybe like to have these birds in an aviary with possible breeding prospects, you really need to delve deep for information and advice.

First, you need to have the correct pairing. It is best to start off with unrelated parent reared youngsters. Unfortunately these are hard to come by.

Second, you need to have a relatively large aviary. Cockatoos need space.

Third, you need to have considerable knowledge of cockatoos, potential behaviour problems, required diet etc.

Fourth, you need to have a heart.

Do not let anyone convince you otherwise.

See

Hand Reared Cockatoos & Should Cockatoos Be Pets? & Cockatoo Aggression