I work at a bird shelter where every single
cockatoo is a
hormonal adult male M2 or U2(ok, there are 3 Citrons as well).
Anyways, try to NOT cuddle him very much, just head rubs and a few
minutes of cuddling. We find that cuddling can bring on a hormonal
attack, because it arises them sexually. Just try to burn off his
energy before the evening so that he can't be hormonal and scream!
Also, train him to step up onto a stick, and to enjoy being
toweled. We have one M2 that can only be handled in a towel, but he
loves it and won't bite when wrapped up and being snuggled.
Otherwise, watch your back! And a stick can help to get him in/out
of his cage as well. Cut the top of a 2 liter pop bottle and slide
that onto the stick so he can't climb over to get to your hand.
Here are a few tips/ideas on burning energy that I came up with for
someone on another board
-Teach him to "fly" with you holding his feet and running around the
room. He will hopefully love this and flap away!
-Give him lots of showers, most birds will flap and scream and have
a darn good time!
-Teach him to wear a harness and leash, and bring him outside. Let
him climb some trees, or run around on untreated grass.
-Give him some foraging toys, like the acrylic ones where you put a
treat in for them. Other foraging toys include pine with nuts
hammered into it (easy to do at home, buy some untreated pine wood,
drill some holes in it and pound some nuts into the holes. (The
store bought ones are made by Lafeber, I believe). You can use two coconut
shells
to put treats into, and wire baskets that make him pull the
treats/toys out through the bars.
-Buy him a playgym and train him to stay on it while you are home.
Everytime he crawls off, pick him up and place him back on the
stand. He will hopefully learn soon!
-Cut down some natural, unsprayed, nontoxic branches from outside for
him to shred.
-Give him lots of toys to destroy, and rotate toys each week. You
can make toys yourself by buying untreated pine wood and cutting it
into chunks.
-Buy a stainless steel pail or a untreated wicker basket (will need
to be replaced often, but they are LOTS of fun to destroy!), and
fill it with foot toys for in the cage.
-Buy him a cheap TV and put it by his cage. Let him watch cartoons
while you are gone. Or you can leave a radio on for him.
-Spread a sheet out on the floor and a bunch of foot toys. Play with
him! He will have a blast, and you will too!
-Give him old cardboard boxes to destroy and crawl into. This may
only work for some birds, yours may become hormonal when given
a "nest box", but it may be worth a try! Boxes from pop and grocery
bags are all great, cheap toys!
www.discountbirdtoys.com has
great cockatoo toys that he will be
sure to love!