Galah/RB2 Horror stories?

[Talven]

Well as it seems we are getting ourselves a Galah I thought I would see if anyone has tales to tell of the worst behaviour they have had to face with a Galah? (Saying RB2 makes me feel like I'm discussing a droid out of Star Wars)

I have heard that at puberty males can get very aggressive and territorial. So far that's about the worst thing I have heard. Anyone out there able to shed some more light on possible bad behaviours?

 

[noodles123]

if it's horror stories you are after, I am sure you could find some on MyToos.com (only because you asked)...I think it is mostly white cockatoos, but I bet with some searching, you can find some.

 

[Talven]

I'm not sure if I should thank you for that site. Some of the stories there are very depressing. Still it does fit with the "horror stories" I asked for.

 

[noodles123]

I'm not sure if I should thank you for that site. Some of the stories there are very depressing. Still it does fit with the "horror stories" I asked for.

As I said-- it is mostly about Umbrellas and Moluccans--
Like you said, you asked for horror stories....
It's honestly a decent website in many respects (although it does have a negative tone)- it's accurate for a lot of people BUT there are also success stories out there (and even on the website under "rescues"---their mission is to put an end to the excessive re-homing that goes on, and so they shine a light on that. It is certainly common and sadly, many people never find ParrotForums.com when they run into issues. The site discusses a lot of the scenarios that CAN happen (and do) but when you are aware of them, you are less likely to make those same mistakes (in my opinion).

Do not despair, but, like you said, you asked for horror stories...and they are more common than not for the average person, but that will not be you (given your devotion thus far).

It's more about preparing and knowing what you are getting into so that you don't end up like those people- I found it validating, depressing, upsetting, but also, motivating lol! You just have to think of them as kids...maybe crazy kids at times..but your kids....and then you will find a way to figure it out if things get bad..

 

[Betrisher]

But... really, how does it profit you to hear horror stories about what other peoples' birds did in other circumstances and in other conditions? It won't give you any kind of baseline to work from because your scenario is unique and can't be informed by any others. Hearing horror stories (IMHO) is just as likely to give you a self-fulfilling prophecy of disaster as it is to give you pitfalls to look out for.

My galah was a severely damaged personality, having been neglected and abused by my mother for eight years (she had dementia). As a result, he was not your typical galah and exhibited many, many unnatural behaviours. We worked with those and gave him the best life we could, however his life was shortened by the abuse and he died aged thirty-five (to my endless sorrow). All you can learn from that is not to abuse your galah.

Just go slowly, be patient, read as much as you can and feed a good diet. It's all any of us can do.

 

[noodles123]

But... really, how does it profit you to hear horror stories about what other peoples' birds did in other circumstances and in other conditions? It won't give you any kind of baseline to work from because your scenario is unique and can't be informed by any others. Hearing horror stories (IMHO) is just as likely to give you a self-fulfilling prophecy of disaster as it is to give you pitfalls to look out for.

My galah was a severely damaged personality, having been neglected and abused by my mother for eight years (she had dementia). As a result, he was not your typical galah and exhibited many, many unnatural behaviours. We worked with those and gave him the best life we could, however his life was shortened by the abuse and he died aged thirty-five (to my endless sorrow). All you can learn from that is not to abuse your galah.

Just go slowly, be patient, read as much as you can and feed a good diet. It's all any of us can do.

Knowing what could happen is the opposite of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I couldn't disagree more on that account.
Knowing what COULD happen is often what makes people better, when it comes to children, pets, addiction, etc...

There are A MILLION AND ONE reasons to know what could happen and learn from it. That means it is LESS, (not more) likely to happen. He obviously asked because he isn't wanting to dive blindly into a life-long commitment without considering everything (kudos to him) and because he wants to know all possible angles---the great, the good, the bad, the ugly...as any parent of a bird or child should.

Anyone should always know every side of the story-- even if it isn't yours ...and those stories aren't mine either- but they weren't fabricated out of thin air and he has every right to hear negative stories if he wants to. They won't be his story either, since knows enough to prevent it--knowledge (of all sides) means better planning/awareness etc. I can tell you right now that horror stories make me even more determined.. Having read about the worst, how on earth would he be dooming himself? If anything, it is incentive not to take that path...
I don't see how it's okay to share only positive stories, despite re-homing rates, and then say that anything negative = doom to his bird's future if he reads it. To me,researching every scenario is just good "parronting", and hardly a prophecy.
Understanding the collective reality is imperative to making things work...There a a ton of child specialists who share the good and the bad sides of various phases in their books, and no one gets mad at parents for reading that stuff.

The great, the good, the bad, and the ugly...It does matter...

He asked for his own reasons--isn't that his right when we are talking about a lifetime potentially?

"Just go slowly, be patient, read as much as you can and feed a good diet. It's all any of us can do." <----This is what he is doing....This is why I am confused....he is reading everything from every angle and that is honestly the most informed way to do anything...looking at only one side (positive or negative) is totally foolish.

"But... really, how does it profit you to hear horror stories about what other peoples' birds did in other circumstances and in other conditions? " <-- in the same way it profited him to hear everyone's happy/positive stories..

 

[chris-md]

I agree with you Trish. It’s one thing to learn and research and prepare.

But Speaking from personal experience, Most people asking these sorts of questions tend to ask out of fear. The only purposes asking such questions serve, even if only subconsciously, is to validate your biggest fears and make it harder to make an informed decision. People take the worst case scenario and blow it up into 100% truth 100% of the time

It’s how the question “are sun conures too loud For me” go from a simply yes or no question to all consuming, can’t sleep for days point of contemplation after you hear about how someone who neglected their conure got an earful 24/7. Because you don’t know if your bird will be like that or not.

 

[noodles123]

I agree with you Trish. It’s one thing to learn and research and prepare.

But Speaking from personal experience, Most people asking these sorts of questions tend to ask out of fear. The only purposes asking such questions serve, even if only subconsciously, is to validate your biggest fears and make it harder to make an informed decision. People take the worst case scenario and blow it up into 100% truth 100% of the time.

But if there is that nagging fear and those questions are not answered, then that fear will bubble up anyway...

If there are doubts, better settle them now before another life is involved---and just because he is researching his "doubts" doesn't mean he's changing his mind...it's part of taking any plunge

He is just thinking it through---it's a process. I am the same way. If the questions weren't answered, he would still doubt himself, so the only way to move this forward is for him to see the big picture. Taiven, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe we are similar in that respect.

I cannot handle not knowing everything about something if I am committing to it-- and yes, there is some fear, but not knowing one side would make me even less likely to move forward...I couldn't process without all of the information....

It's like reading about all of the stuff that can go wrong during pregnancy-- lots of moms do it, but they don't back out because they read it...it's just a matter of wrapping your mind around it. For me, I am actually less fearful if I feel like I have read about the worst-case-scenarios, than if I were to just discover them without warning via my own experiences..

 

[Betrisher]

Sigh. This isn't a competition, noodles123. I'm not trying to 'beat' you to the winners' circle!

Talven is gathering information in order to make an informed purchase and I applaud that. It's the best way to proceed in such an important decision. However, when he and his wife were planning their family, I'm sure they didn't haunt the birth anomaly sites in order to gather information for parenthood. There's gathering information and there's an unholy interest in the worst-case scenario.

I could write a book about the horrors of owning my Dominic! He was dreadfully neglected and abused by my own mother! But I think it's safe to assume that Talven is not demented and isn't about to perpetrate any of the awful things my Mum did on his own bird. What earthly help will my horror stories be to him? And how does dwelling on the outlandish and inhuman treatment of abused birds form a positive régime going forward?

There's plenty of accumulated wisdom on these pages with good, solid suggestions about diet, cages, exercise and training. In fact, it's all any new owner needs.

There is no sin in wanting to own a cockatoo and certainly no sin in trying to make it work. You and I and Scott and any number of other members are testament to that. I don't think it's particularly kind to be warning, warning, warning when a simple sticky (seen at the top of the Cockatoos forum) suffices.

 

[Talven]

The reason I am looking for stories of the worst behaviour here is that I'm likely to get a real answer. Google is fine for getting a broad picture but not so much for the finer details. With access to with this information I have one last chance to test the resolve of the other members of my family in getting a Galah. If they aren't scared off by stories of the worst possible behaviour a Galah can display then I will feel more secure in the decision. I feel its better to go in eyes wide open to all possibilites.

 

[noodles123]

Sigh. This isn't a competition, noodles123. I'm not trying to 'beat' you to the winners' circle!

Talven is gathering information in order to make an informed purchase and I applaud that. It's the best way to proceed in such an important decision. However, when he and his wife were planning their family, I'm sure they didn't haunt the birth anomaly sites in order to gather information for parenthood. There's gathering information and there's an unholy interest in the worst-case scenario.

I could write a book about the horrors of owning my Dominic! He was dreadfully neglected and abused by my own mother! But I think it's safe to assume that Talven is not demented and isn't about to perpetrate any of the awful things my Mum did on his own bird. What earthly help will my horror stories be to him? And how does dwelling on the outlandish and inhuman treatment of abused birds form a positive régime going forward?

There's plenty of accumulated wisdom on these pages with good, solid suggestions about diet, cages, exercise and training. In fact, it's all any new owner needs.

There is no sin in wanting to own a cockatoo and certainly no sin in trying to make it work. You and I and Scott and any number of other members are testament to that. I don't think it's particularly kind to be warning, warning, warning when a simple sticky (seen at the top of the Cockatoos forum) suffices.

I didn't just volunteer the MyToos information randomly-- *see thread title*-- I feel like I am being blamed for answering the OP's question. It's a pretty well-known site and it is exactly what he asked for, whether or not everyone agrees with it based on their personal experiences...it still narrates the experiences of others, and if he specifically asked for just that.
I also didn't post anything specific other than a link (I don't even know if that website mentions Galahs and I said that to OP). Based on my responses above, I was actually quite encouraging about the situation, given the clear commitment to research...I also specifically stated that MyToos tends to have a negative tone and that it is mostly talking about white cockatoos (which aren't even on the table for OP)...But it's out there and people who want to read about worst-case-scenarios have the right to read them when they ask..and I even mentioned the location on the site where he could find uplifting stories.

The original "warning warning warning" was based on the fact that noise was originally cited as a deal-breaking concern (and the originally reported cause for a previous re-homing--again, originally)...Go back even further, and I actually encouraged OP to try his hand as a cockatoo dad with the Sulfer Crested (before I knew that there were other issues at hand that complicated that venture).

Based on the pregnancy comparison above, if a pregnancy is considered high-risk, doctors absolutely recommend all sorts of testing, reading and extensive discussions about positive and negative outcomes etc. ESPECIALLY, if the mother keeps asking...and they also encourage people to shop around and seek second opinions.

Running with the medical analogy:
If someone is considering any surgery, the doctor would tell that person about the specific risks involved (whether the margin for risk was low or high)---whether or not they asked..But especially if they DID ask for details (over and over) and especially if it was semi-risky (+ 100% voluntary with life-long implications).

They wouldn't just say:

"This elective procedure will work for you if you just stay positive and stop asking negative questions. Some doctors like to try to scare away patients with talk of preexisting conditions, risk factors, and disclaimers about the historically low success rates of similar procedures, but those doctors are focused on negativity. I've had it myself and it worked for me.
Despite highly variable success rates at other institutions, this procedure has worked out for lots of people in this very hospital, and getting opinions from hospitals with lower success rates or looking at statistics will only make your surgery more likely to fail.
There is no need to muddy the waters by reading about failed outcomes or talking to other surgeons because then you might not go through with it and I think you should follow your heart and get the procedure, as long as you don't confuse your heart with further inquiry"

If someone is fully committed to a procedure even after they know all of the risks and benefits (from as many doctors as possible), then they are the best candidate for that surgery because they still want to go through with it having considered all possible outcomes and the success rates of other people's surgeries. Everyone's experience is colored by their own perception, so the more opinions gathered (from as many sourced possible) the more complete the understanding of the "big picture".