Australian owners' Galah Diet?

[LivLaughLov]

Blossom is 20 weeks old and has been with us for a week now. She was handfed and weaned to "gourmet seeds" and veggies and fruits. I bought a very good brand of seed for her without sunflower, Harrison's high potency and Zupreem pellets. I cannot get her to eat anything except seed. I chopped fresh veggies and fruits in my food processor because when I gave her big pieces she just stared at it. I have also given her our dinner in the evening; broiled fish, baked potato, squash, rice, etc. Nothing, not more than one tiny bite if I'm lucky.

Yesterday I warmed up her veggie mash and sprinkled her seeds on it and she ate the seeds and had a green beak from the mash so she must be getting some of it. Should I keep doing this? I also mix the Harrison's little pellets in her bowl of seed but she usually manages to separate it.

I know that Galah in the wild are ground foragers and grain eaters so I really don't want to take her seed away. What do you feed your Galah? I know that her diet has to have less fat due to fatty liver disease.

Thank you for your advice!

 

[Kiwibird]

I have to say, I disagree with the negative attitude good quality seed mix gets. Seeds ARE nutritious for parrots, and a whole lot better than heavily processed (and possibly dyed) pellets with god knows what nasty additives. The problem with seed is that is ALL some people feed their parrots, and feeding a parrot just one type of food is bad for them. I take what my parents 3 parrots eat (one of whom is a goffin cockatoo) as an excellent example of a proper diet for parrots. All are over 40 years old (yes, my parents have had them the whole time), and all are healthy, active, strong and have never had problems with nutritional deficiencies. They eat on a "ratio, diet-

25% seed mix (yes, with sunflower seeds)
25% healthy table food (cooked grains, pasta, bread, eggs, cheese ect...)
50% fresh fruits and veggies

And when I adopted my little blue front amazon (amazons are also prone to fatty liver disease) he was severely malnutritioned because all he was ever fed was pellets. When I first got him, he was a 10 year old parrot petrified of fruits, veggies, table food, seeds, nuts... anything that didn't look like dollar store dog food (aka pellets). I immediately took him off that diet, and trust me, he didn't miss too many meals overcoming his fears of the food he needed to be eating. His diet is the same as my parents bird, and 5 years on, he's in excellent health. Even his vet and groomer compliment how healthy he is compared to most birds they see. Just keep in mind, the golden rule of a healthy parrot diet (any species) is that they should be eating more fresh produce than any other type of food. As for getting a baby bird to eat a varied diet, it's going to be kind of like getting a toddler to eat a varied diet. Presenting new foods in fun ways is the best way to encourage your bird to try new foods. Hang a whole banana in her cage, get up next to he cage and eat a carrot stick, then offer her some, feed a family member a apple slice in front of her then praise them when they eat it, then offer her an apple slice and praise her when she tries it. And she isn't going to love every fruit or veggie out there, just as long as she likes some of them, your good. My bird won't eat carrots, my parents birds won't eat banana, but they'll eat just about anything else. Remember they can taste, and just like you, they're entitled not to like certain foods. Best of luck!

 

[Thingamagigs]

What Kiwi said!

I fell into the trap of assuming pellet foods were better because of paranoid online parrot people (typically from overseas, I am in Aus, we tend to be a little more "less fuss" attitude ).

When Galahs are young, they are very picky. When she bonds to you, she will start accepting all kinds of foods more readily ESPECIALLY if you are eating them . My galah wanted to eat everything we did and it was a lovely bonding experience to share meal time with him God I loved that bird.

Anyhoooo... this is how I have always fed my birds, including the Galah...

* A plain non-coloured australian made parrot pellet in their cage food bowl. They dont eat a lot of it and it lasts a long time But its there as a food source should they feel peckish (no pun intended? ) and believe me they do eat it if they are hungry.

All main meals are fed on the play gym or at the dinner table (my birds spend very little time caged).

* Morning I cut up fruit and vegies and pop it in a bowl along with some seeds and nuts and a few pellets. The pellets absorb the fruit juice and I find they love this

On the breakfast menu:

An almond each, corn, a small amount of apple, banana, berries, 1 heaped table spoon seed (sunflower seeds, millet, sorgum, corn, wheat, oats etc) and a table spoon of pellets. I sprinkle over it a small amount of apple cider vinegar.

*I feed them a vegie heavy meal of an evening.

Dinner menu:

Peas, carrot, scrambled egg with the egg shells finely crushed, pasta or rice, lentils and occasionally some meats (chicken etc).

They also get treats and table scraps My galah used to LOVE picking at bones... chicken bones, lamb bones etc. I would watch him to make sure he wasn't crunching on the cooked bones which may become a potential hazard. He would sit patiently and wait for me to finish my meat so he could pick the bones clean... little vulture! LOL

In the wild galahs eat everything and anything, they only eat mostly grains in farming areas where its easy to get to. The galahs in coastal non farming regions eat a big variety... nuts and seeds from trees, flowers and fruit, left overs from humans and bugs LOL I am not sure if they do it for fun or they actually want to catch and eat the bugs... but other than my own galah being a bug chaser (he always ate them once he caught them) I have seen wild galahs do the same. I assume they are opportunistic and I wouldnt be surprised if they eat any bugs they come across while foraging.

 

[GadgetGirl]

I'm in QLD and have to agree with the other posts.

Rascal is 25 and unfortunately when she was young, because she was 'picky' with her food, she was given far too many of the things that she liked but weren't good for her. These were her Chocolate Diet years for me

Now she gets a small amount of seed with vitamins twice a week and the rest of the week she has to eat her veggies - of course at the table at dinner time. Broad beans are another good one, she can smell them from the other end of the house!

Her absolute favourite is sweet potato but still enjoys her greens and don't get me started on apples! Pasta is another treat, strands at a time get inhaled so again, it's an occasional treat and limited to quantity.

The biggest thing for Rascal is her time outside. She has always loved going outside and digging wonderfully big holes in the grass. If the lawn hasn't been cut she eats the seeds from the top of the grass then digs a big hole underneath. The whole time she does this she's chirping happily.

Like Thingamagigs, Rascal LOVES chewing at chicken and lamb bones but just don't let your Galah do it too often because of the fat content.

We've never tried pellets so I can't say anything there but these days, she gets a good seed mix with limited sunflowers and lots and lots of fruit and veg.

I hope this helps!

 

[LivLaughLov]

Thank you Kiwibird, Thingamagigs and GadgetGirl for these very thoughtful posts! I have copied your helpful suggestions! I want to do what is best for her so she'll have a long and healthy life and will start incorporating these diets right away.