Hi, My name is Robin and I am waiting for my baby cockatoo from Flying J Aviary in New Mexico. I live in the Phoenix area and we don't seem to have too many Umbrellas here, so I was happy to find one so close!
Six years ago I fell in love with a 6-month-old handfed female Umbrella cockatoo who became my Christmas present. My little boy (then 4 years old) named her Mary Poppins (get it? Umbrella? Mary Poppins?). I did everything right -- Huge cage, excellent diet, plenty of toys and LOTS of attention as I ran a home-based business. Mary instantly became part of the family and ruler of the roost. She bossed our 250-pound potbelly pig around, our golden retriever, my brother's Rottie/lab mix. She was queen of all she surveyed and the light of my life. I would uncover her in the morning to hear "Hello Mary Poppins, hello Mary Pop Mary." She loved to dance, to swing off my fingers, spin her head in circles in response to "You go, girl!"
Then about 2 years ago the unthinkable happened -- Due to a philandering husband to was the treasurer of our business I found myself divorced, bankrupt and no longer living in 3300 sq. ft. home and having to go out into the workforce. Mary Poppins was not a happy camper. If you have Umbrellas, you know how it goes -- The more love you give, the more they want, plus she was becoming sexually mature and thus more demanding.
Six months ago, the house I was renting went into foreclosure and my son and I moved into an apartment (fearing running into the same foreclosure situation again) and had to downsize Mary's HUGE cage to a 24 x 24 x 60 one. I was working 8 hours a day and it was just too much for her. She began screaming almost constantly -- If I left the room, if she wanted up on the bed, then again when she wanted down from the bed -- Nothing made her happy except sitting on my lap and getting love 24/7. I was forced to do what I had sworn to myself NEVER to do -- I had to re-home her.
Fortunately for Mary Poppins, a retired lady who breeds small birds (finches, conures, ringnecks, etc.) who lives three blocks from me was looking for a companion bird. Now Mary Poppins has a huge cage again, has a loving Mom who is home all day with her (Mary watches her handfeed the babies) and this lovely lady has a delightfully affectionate companion. Her sons and daughters have birds as well, so Mary should be in good hands for years to come.
Okay - So when I said I did everything RIGHT, that wasn't exactly true. I didn't give Mary Poppins the opportunity to entertain herself. This time I will do it right and make sure my baby loves me and gets lots of love from our family, but doesn't become totally dependent on CONSTANT attention. Also, I will again in August have the opportunity to work from home and be moving from the apartment to a single family home in the next six months which will help.
That's my story. I miss Mary Poppins more than I can tell you, but I know she is happy in her new home and I could never break the heart of the lady who so graciously took her in.
Any advice you may have for doing a better job with my new baby would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks for having such a great opportunity as this forum!
