Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just a couple more pics of him,he doesnt look quite as small he thinks hes the biggest bird in the world, thinks hes bigger then me anyways

awwww beautiful pictures Reiko Your umbrella is gogerous, you can def see he looks a lot bigger there... he def looks like he's a ham for the camera now... LOL thanks for the pics.

Umbrellas are so cool.. I love when they head bob, throw out their wings and run around, then puff their neck feathers on top of their head and scream. lol... don't know if the neighbors would agree, but it's cute to see sometimes...

How old is he?

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

he is 7 this year, had him for 4 outta the 7 years. He was locked up in a dark room by himself before that, so he does have issues, but we love him with all of his baggage. Having my birds i have become a real beleiver that they were never meant to be pets, but hes here now and he needs to be taken care of. They can be great companions but they just arent like a cat or dog where people can just go out and buy them and expect a loyal friend, they are so complicated and take so much patience and someone who is willing to adjust their lives for them. Colonel will be a 4 year old child for the rest of his life, he will never grow up. Hopefully we will be able to provide him the best home possible for the rest of our time here. Its hard seeing so many birds like Colonel that end up self-mutilating, locked up in closets, feathers all plucked off, big gaping holes chewed into their chests, locked in too small of cages without one toy to play with and no one to give him any affection. Anyhow i ramble, Colonel brings us a lot of laughs but at the same time he does saden me, to think about all the birds like him out there, like he was sitting alone in a dark room, hearing the kids playing in the hall and outside, wishing he could be part of the flock, trying to be, by displaying, screaming, and carrying on and being punished for it...

he is a great bird, and i do love all of his antics, hopefully when we buy a place which we hope to in the near future we are giong to build an aviary, where he can be free flighted, we think he would really like that....'toos definatly are amazing birds

Yea, you are exactly right about the 4 year old child for 75 years or so... that is the exact reason why I do not have either an Umbrella or an African Grey atm... i love them but I don't have time to spend hours a day with one.. and there is no way you can keep a bird like that in a cage all day regardless of how big it is... it's a shame people lock them away in dark places to keep them quiet... it's cruel but there are a lot of devoted keepers out there that treat them just like a child... and those are the lucky ones. I agree with you, most people should not keep and raise birds..

Anyway, absolutely stunning umbrella thank you for sharing your pics with me. Give him a scratch behind the head and a cracker for me and tell him uncle b' says hello lol

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

np

Awe, cute Umbrella 'Too. I work at a pet shop and right now we've got two "baby" U2s. What's her name?

his name is "The Colonel" it definatly suits him...sometimes he acts like a "Full Bird Colonel" and sometimes hes like KFC's colonel, even will jump up and down and sing "Go Colonel, Go Colonel" like from one of the old commmercials.. hes a real card...even calls me bad names.. hehe..well i think its funny... yells at the cat ,yells at the other bird, hes real funny... always pretends hes talking on the phone when i am also, and when it rings he says "hello?" as if to answer it..hes a smart cookie =)

as a favor to the birds and to those who buy them, send them here first www.mytoos.com, its an excellent site for people to check out when they are thinking about a cockatoo, it gives you a good understanding of the bird and also gives people a reality check about how much responsiblity they really are...the site really is about all the bad stuff, there are a lot of good things about these birds, but its realistic. With a good knowlegable upbringing they can be great birds, but they are not for those with no large parrot experience, chances are both the bird and the person will end up very unhappy, not to say there arent exceptions....just an opinion, ... there are so many unwanted toos out there...along with a lot of others...

I think my manager already sends people there. She typically handles the selling of the large parrots. She's resqued 3 'toos herself and they are all now placed in new better homes. We always make it a point to explain both the pluses and minuses of 'toos (and macaws and amazons and grays, etc.)

My manager is friends with all the area bird breeders and she has 3 macaws of her own (other than the 3 'toos she had for a few years while they were being rehabbed)

She had a M2 that had been kept for 4 years in a cockatiel cage who had deformed wings and was severely malnurished. She also had a greater sulfur that was smuggled in from the wild as a 3 year old and was abused with sticks, chains and towels in an attempt to force it to be tamer. She had a U2 whose owner died and no one in the family wanted it so they just dumped it at a shelter.
She found them all wonderful homes now with people who can handle their behavioral problems and special needs.

I am now thinking "this is a beardie forum, eeek!"

thats very sad, im glad she has given them good homes =) well its really great to hear that there is an educated caring person out there who is concerned with where she sells the birds too, its a rarity as the almighty buck is usually where most concern lies.... unfortunatly...

ok.. back to beardies

I LOVE the black and white photo! What a great bird!

np