Cockatoos are genuinely the true "lover-boys" of parrots. They absolutely crave and adore being hugged, petted and stroked, and will often contort their bodies into the strangest positions to get you to scratch every inch of their bodies. If a very cuddly and affectionate bird is your main priority, than a Cockatoo is definitely the bird for you.
However, don't be tempted to spoil them too much or they can become demanding, wanting to be the center of attention at all times (possessive or "clingy", as I refer to it). Even if you are home all the time, and think you have the time to spend every waking moment loving on your bird, there are times when this is not possible. Everyone has household chores (unless they're lucky enough to have a maid!) and generally needs some time to themselves. If you spoil a cockatoo by cuddling it constantly, and then fail to continue this "special" treatment on a regular basis, they can resort to some very destructive and unbecoming behavior, such as severe feather-plucking, constant screaming and destroying everything they can get their beaks on. On the other hand, if you teach a baby cockatoo to learn to play by himself at certain times of day, but still give him loving attention daily, and stick to a basic schedule, you will have a very loving wonderful pet bird. The problems I've seen most often with cockatoos lies more with the new owner - a loving baby cockatoo is hard to resist spoiling and you must have a great deal of willpower to resist the urge to devote every spare moment to these cuddly birds. While a sweet, well-adjusted cockatoo can be an absolute delight, a spoiled, screaming, destructive bird (to himself or objects around him) can be an absolute horror.
While cockatoos are not particularly known for their talking ability, many cockatoos have a very good vocabulary, although maybe not as clear as some other species. Cockatoos are very intelligent birds, capable of learning many tricks - including how to escape from most cages. Be forewarned that such escape-artist birds should always have a very strong padlock to keep them in their cage. Otherwise, you may come home to find your cockatoo has helped himself to your woodwork, furniture, or anything else he can get his beak on. An unsupervised cockatoo beak can do a great deal of damage to your home and furnishings in a very short period of time.
Cockatoos are also very extroverted, animated and love to show off for people. Because of their adaptability to learn tricks easily, you'll always find cockatoos in any show with performing parrots. They simply love to entertain!
Be warned though, the natural call of the cockatoos, particularly the larger species such as Mollucan and Greater Sulphur, can be very loud, and sound a lot like a woman screaming bloody-murder. Although these screams shouldn't be frequent in a well-adjusted cockatoo, you should certainly warn any close neighbors about their natural call, so they won't call the police when they think someone's being murdered in your living room. Also keep in mind that some neighbors are not particularly understanding of these noises, and you may need to rig up some kind of noise insulation. As stated previously, and the same goes for all types of parrots, you can learn to control these natural calls to a certain extent, but you cannot eliminate them entirely. Some of the smaller cockatoos, such as the Goffin's, are not as loud, and again the individual personalities of the bird, as well as his training, can have a great impact on the noise level.
One other thing to keep in mind is that Cockatoos have more feather dust than any other parrot I know of. One large cockatoo in the living room or even an adjoining room can result in a good coating of dust daily on your television or computer screen - frequent spray baths for the bird as well as a good air cleaner can greatly help to minimize the dust. If you have allergies or asthma, these birds may be a problem for you, and you may want to consult with your physician before making such a purchase.
You should also be aware that while tame pet cockatoos rarely bite, the very structure, strength and shape of their beaks (two sharp points on the bottom beak and one sharp point in the middle of the upper beak) make it possible for cockatoos to deliver a very serious and painful bite. However, Cockatoos also are predictable, like the Amazons, as to when they may be inclined to bite. If they are very frightened, the will puff all their feathers out, appearing twice their size, often screaming loudly or hissing. Let the bird calm down before reaching for it and talk to it in reassuring tones. There is one other behavior you should watch for. Often it starts when the cockatoos gets wound up playing and gets very excited. It will puff up, wings extended, screaming at the top of its lungs, all the while rolling its head from side to side (like Stevie Wonder). I'm not sure what causes this behavior, but be careful. It's like a very short bout of insanity (I call it the "Cockatoo crazies") and will pass quickly, but you should avoid reaching for a cockatoo exhibiting this behavior.
But if it's cuddly and affectionate you want, and you're willing to lay down the guidelines in training the bird (they're much like young children), you will be rewarded with a wonderful, sweet, loving and entertaining pet parrot.
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