Galah Cockatoo (UK, Yorkshire)

[Shellley]

Hi everyone I thought the best place to post this would be a site in which people understand the cockatoo breed, my family has recently had its world turned upside down.
What started out as my 15 year old sister developing anaemia has turned into her having a heart transplant due to a virus. Due to her immune system being virtually non-existant now we have been told by her doctors we must rehome our beloved Galah Cockatoo Charlie.
Charlie is about two years old and was hand reared. He is very tame loves cuddles, loves to whistle and join in barking with the dogs and all around a great companion. He loves his showers and being dried by a cool hairdryer after and although he prefers attention is also quite happy to sit on his stand and watch you tidy and potter around him.He enjoys car rides and is used to going to the caravans on the weekend with my mum which is a two-hour drive away. The only unusual thing with Charlie is no matter what we do he will not eat fruit fresh, the closest we get to him eating healthy is with pea and bean sprouts and a good mixed seed diet. My mum adores Charlie and is heartbroken that she won't even get to see him before he has to leave since she is in hospital quarantine with my sister.
We are not pet pushers and this will be the first animal to ever be rehomed from our house he was meant to be a lifelong companion and we are only interested in serious owners who understand the lifespan, care and attention this breed needs.
For his cage, stand and carry box we are asking £650. I'm sorry if you cannot afford that then you cannot afford to care for this type of pet if they are ever ill blood work alone can set you back over £150 and with how much we originally paid for his large play stand and cage this is incredibly cheap but we are in dire need of finding a new home soon before my sister returns from hospital.
We are based in the Barnsley area of South Yorkshire. Please feel free to message me on here and request a phone number. Thank you for reading and if you know of anyone who would be willing to give Charlie a loving and caring home please share this with them

 

[StChelle]

Aww it breaks my heart to read this for your sister and your family and for Charlie. My prayers and wishes to you all!

 

[Anansi]

I'm so sorry your family is going through this. Best wishes to all of you and I'm hoping for a speedy recovery for your sister.

Charlie is a beautiful bird and sounds like an absolute dream. I can tell from your post that he comes from a good home where he is deeply loved, so I know this must be exceedingly difficult for all of you. Necessary, but difficult all the same. I hope a member local to your area sees your post and proves able to provide the kind of forever home that Charlie deserves.

 

[plumsmum2005]

I am so sorry for you, your family and for Charlie.

Parrots magazine may prove a useful link for you? Just a thought, are you still in touch with the breeder, it might be worth just letting them know what is happening.

Best wishes to you and your family.

PS Plum only eats banana no other fruit, unless I hide apple in his chop.

 

[Shellley]

Thank you all for your kind words I will send on your well wishes to my sister.
I will check out Parrots magazine.
p.s. We got him to eat some melon once but as soon as he realised it might do him some good it was soon thrown on the floor haha closest we get now is dried apple and fresh chillies if they've been cut up!

 

[plumsmum2005]

It sounds like Charlie is well loved and going to be missed hugely. If you can try and convert him to pellets as better than seed, they are prone to fatty liver disease. They pick all the seeds they like ie the higher fat ones. I and my friend use TOPS Organics pellets available all over. I use these with Nutriberries, sprouts and chop but you could give few seeds a day if he eats everything else well. Mine is so picky!

 

[Freebird1969]

So sorry to read this, it sounds like an awful situation.

I know it's hard but you might want to reconsider selling Charlie, but get him adopted instead, then you can have a lot more say over his new home. I.e do a home check, get regular updates, even visit when he settles down etc. You can also have a contract put in place to say he comes back to you if the new home doesn't work out. If money is exchanged you will not have any real say over his new home or his future with the new family.

I really do hope you find the best home for him, I've helped rehome several cockatoo's and I know it's not easy finding the right home.

 

[PL84]

If we can find a way to get Charlie to Finland i would love to have him in my flock. Of course just charlie, cage etc is impossible to get here (atleast with the bird). My friend have some good experiences about flying his birds in EU so that would be a good option if you're interested about selling him abroad.

We can guarantee home for him for rest of his life (or rather, rest of our lives). I can promise regular updates of him in this forum

 

[plumsmum2005]

It is worth assessing if Charlie would mix well with a feathered and fur flock? Plum would be upset by all these, it depends on their character but worth thinking about.

There are special pet flying services operating from the UK.

 

[PL84]

I could fly to UK to get him too. No need to travel alone =)

We have a huge house (about 300m2 / 3200ft2), any new comers can get used to other flock members in their own speed.