Yes, Umbrella `toos are notorious for the male killing the hen. Most of the Umbrella `toos I have had were hand-fed by me, and most incubator hatched. Even if the pair will feed the first baby hatched, they would often not feed the 2nd, sometimes even outright killing it. In the wild, the 2nd baby is kind of like a back-up if the first one dies. I learned to incubate eggs and handfeed babies from day one many years ago.
your 'toos are so people friendly and pretty.. when you take them outside they don't fly off? That happened to a friend of mine, she opened her door last winter and he went outside, never to be seen again : (
I trim their flight feathers when I take them out without holding on to them. Out of hundreds of birds I have had, I only lost one cockatoo; it was a wild caught bird and the cage lock had been left open at night, doubt the bird could see to fly back. Domestic bred birds prefer the security of food, cage and person(s) they are bonded to. They fly right back.
@Bokkapooh true, but they can`t go far if trimmed correctly, so you can get them back easily enough. I don`t leave them unattended outside the cage/aviary.
Such beautiful birds. Are most of these birds hand fed? I have read that they really don't care for their young that well!!
nestlemarie 2 years ago
Yes, Umbrella `toos are notorious for the male killing the hen. Most of the Umbrella `toos I have had were hand-fed by me, and most incubator hatched. Even if the pair will feed the first baby hatched, they would often not feed the 2nd, sometimes even outright killing it. In the wild, the 2nd baby is kind of like a back-up if the first one dies. I learned to incubate eggs and handfeed babies from day one many years ago.
parrotnutz 2 years ago
your 'toos are so people friendly and pretty.. when you take them outside they don't fly off? That happened to a friend of mine, she opened her door last winter and he went outside, never to be seen again : (
shalindriaharam 2 years ago
I trim their flight feathers when I take them out without holding on to them. Out of hundreds of birds I have had, I only lost one cockatoo; it was a wild caught bird and the cage lock had been left open at night, doubt the bird could see to fly back. Domestic bred birds prefer the security of food, cage and person(s) they are bonded to. They fly right back.
parrotnutz 2 years ago
@parrotnutz
Clipping a bird does NOT prevent it from flying away folks!
Bokkapooh 1 year ago
@Bokkapooh true, but they can`t go far if trimmed correctly, so you can get them back easily enough. I don`t leave them unattended outside the cage/aviary.
parrotnutz 1 year ago