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I brought him home on Friday. His previous cage was not set up bird friendly at all.. he only had two cement type perches and 2 toys totally not suited to him, he has a set-up more suited for a handicapped bird now, thanks to an email response from a bird refuse that deals with handicapped birds. This bird has really had it rough in his life.. all of his owners were heavy smokers and apparently abusive one way or the other. He had his first bath in months today.. he loved it, perked him up for about 2 hours. I worry about him because he doesn't play with his toys.. nor does he seem interested in them, I hope that will change, this must be a lot for him to take in. I am happy to say that he loves veggies, fruits and pellets. He is a feather plucker, I would guess from all the stress he's lived with, which I hope the non-smoker home, baths, interesting toys and pending training will change all that. I haven't tried much to take him out of the cage, I'll give him some time, he will let me scratch his head through the bars and when the door is open, mainly I've been going into the room and just sitting, reading or watching his tv (yep, he has a tv and an air cleaner) with him for maybe 3 - 20/30 min sessions, as I don't want him to think I will always be with him every waking moment for the rest of his life. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time. If anyone has any suggestions or comments that might help me with him... I'd really appreciate hearing them. Thanks so much in advance.

As far as interest in toys some birds simply do not know how to play with a toy. If they have spent their whole life stuck in a cage with nothing to do then they do not always learn to play.

Try a variety of toys. Hard and soft wood, puzzle type toys, foraging toys and some that make noise. When you are sitting in the room with him hold a toy, act like you are playing with it or even pretend to bite on it. When he sees you are having great fun with a new object it could entice him to try playing with it. If he shows fear of new toys then try first sitting it in the same room as him, then after a couple days sit it next to the cage, then after he doesn't seem to mind it beside the cage place it into the cage. You can also try making his food into a foraging game. Since he already likes vegetables and other healthy foods try serving them in different ways. Try them on a skewer, in a dish etc to get him to look for his food. Also try hiding treats in paper. let him see you wrap the nuts or other treat up in paper and place it in his bowl. You can even try placing a piece of paper over his food dish so he has to move or tear up the paper to get to the food.

If you haven't already, then invest in a playgym and/or a tstand. T-stands work great for training but playgyms can be a wonderful fun time for your cockatoo with lots of climbing, swinging, jumping etc for him to do. (just make sure with a handicapped bird that it is not too high off the floor and that there is plenty for him to hang onto if he loses his balance.)

By exercising his feet and learning to play it could help him regain at least some of his balance that he has lost.

It sounds like you are already off to a great start with this bird and that he is going to have a much better home with you.

Keep the questions coming we would love to hear more about him and offer any help we can.