New baby galah!

[aether-drifter]

Finally, my baby is home! This past month of waiting felt like an eternity.
I picked him/her up at the airport on Thursday night with no issues at all. So far (s)he is too shy to step up, but is definitely curious about the new humans. Boyfriend and I have been nibbled and taste-tested quite a bit through the cage bars. (S)he seems at ease in the new cage, loves my choice of swing, and is enjoying the toys. Without further ado, here (s)he is! (Oh, and DNA rest results should be in soon).

 

[Featheredsamurai]

(S)he's so pretty! I love galahs so much. How old? Your galah has adult plumage already.

Have you thought of any names

 

[Thingamagigs]

She is gorgeous

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Aww, what a beautiful boy or girl! The photos are so adorable! Looking foreword to see if its a male or female. Keep him/her updated!

 

[aether-drifter]

(S)he's so pretty! I love galahs so much. How old? Your galah has adult plumage already.

Have you thought of any names

I was told he is around five months old...is that old enough to have gone through his first molt?
Someone else I talked to said that theirs had adult plumage at 8 months.

I have a few names in mind, but not many if it ends up being a boy...which I suspect for some reason...the only one I've thought of that I really like is Shiva.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Most images/video I've seen of galahs around 5 months still have a lot of gray. I didn't have my galah since she was a baby though so I don't have personal experience.

Shiva is a great name, I could see that being for a boy or a girl. You can't really tell if the god is a boy or a girl anyway XD

Also, on a side note make sure to look into galah health, diet, and exercise requirments. They are highly prone to being obesity, fatty liver, and fatty tumors so many die around 30-40. Keeping them fully flighted is a must for this species. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, there's a few other great Galah people on the forum including Thingamagigs.

If you go to this store, they sell totally organic pellets which are great. Harrison's is also a fantastic brand of pellet I feed Rosie a combination of both, as well as lots of healthy & prepared foods.
Bird Hut
11249 SE Division
Portland, OR 97266
503-254-3390

 

[aether-drifter]

Well even if they gave me the wrong info about his age, I'm still quite happy with him. Discovered tonight that he is a total sweetheart and very tame once away from his cage.

He gives kisses and is really gentle.

I've done quite a bit of research on galah diet, and do not plan to keep him clipped. Right now he can fly, but it looks like he was clipped before his first molt as he does not have all of his flights. Obviously he was allowed to fledge though, as he's a decent flier. His breeder fed him no seed at all, just pellets and fresh foods. Right now I have him on a mix of Zupreem natural, Zupreem Avian Entrées "Harvest Feast" and Roudybush. He hasn't shown much interest in his chop, which so far has consisted of red peppers, broccoli, peas, with Hot & Hearty cooking diet mixed in (it's made of rice, beans, corn, etc). However he did get excited when I gave him a huge hunk of broccoli to gnaw on earlier tonight.
Do you recommend adding any amount of seed or nuts to his diet, in limited quantities? I've been giving him Nutriberries as a treat in an attempt to bond (I figure it's better than millet). I've ordered some other cooking diets from My Safe Bird Store, and have some sprouting seed mix that I plan on starting tomorrow. I also need to make some bird bread.

I LOVE going to the Bird Hut...it's a pretty short drive from me and they have a great selection of toys. That's actually the first place I saw and fell in love with a galah 8 months ago. I also got one of my cockatiels there and she is absolutely the world's most delightful bird. There may be some things about that store I could criticize, but overall I'm glad it's around.

Hmm...that reminds me, I think I still have some TOPS that my cockatiels avoided like the plague. I might see if the Pink One is into them.

 

[MikeyTN]

She's a beauty!!!! I wouldn't suggest in giving seeds at all! Just keep her on pellet and fresh food. Giving nuts as a treat is fine.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Well even if they gave me the wrong info about his age, I'm still quite happy with him. Discovered tonight that he is a total sweetheart and very tame once away from his cage.

He gives kisses and is really gentle.

I've done quite a bit of research on galah diet, and do not plan to keep him clipped. Right now he can fly, but it looks like he was clipped before his first molt as he does not have all of his flights. Obviously he was allowed to fledge though, as he's a decent flier. His breeder fed him no seed at all, just pellets and fresh foods. Right now I have him on a mix of Zupreem natural, Zupreem Avian Entrées "Harvest Feast" and Roudybush. He hasn't shown much interest in his chop, which so far has consisted of red peppers, broccoli, peas, with Hot & Hearty cooking diet mixed in (it's made of rice, beans, corn, etc). However he did get excited when I gave him a huge hunk of broccoli to gnaw on earlier tonight.
Do you recommend adding any amount of seed or nuts to his diet, in limited quantities? I've been giving him Nutriberries as a treat in an attempt to bond (I figure it's better than millet). I've ordered some other cooking diets from My Safe Bird Store, and have some sprouting seed mix that I plan on starting tomorrow. I also need to make some bird bread.

I LOVE going to the Bird Hut...it's a pretty short drive from me and they have a great selection of toys. That's actually the first place I saw and fell in love with a galah 8 months ago. I also got one of my cockatiels there and she is absolutely the world's most delightful bird. There may be some things about that store I could criticize, but overall I'm glad it's around.

Hmm...that reminds me, I think I still have some TOPS that my cockatiels avoided like the plague. I might see if the Pink One is into them.

I bet he's the right age if your breeder told you so Also that's fantastic you are going to keep him flighted!

I give nutriberries to Rosie as a treat, she absolutely loves them. She doesn't get a lot though, I usually give her one every other day. Other than that she gets no seed at all. And millet isn't that bad and makes a great treat if your bird likes it, it has almost no fat in it. Most medium+ sized birds don't like it though. Nuts are ok in small amounts and not everyday. I use almonds and walnuts as training treats when sliced thinly. Just keep in mind it has a lot of fat and fatty foods are dangerous. I like to give Rosie banana as a training treat too.
A lot of people like zupreem, I don't like it since they add sugar to their recipe which I don't like. Plus the pellets are so hard. Zupreem natural is the best food you can buy from most pet stores if you have no other options. I'm kinda a bird nutritional freak though XD Rosie's favorite pellet is the fine sized Harrison's, since her beak is the size of a sun conures I tried it and it has since been her favorite. Before my avian vet constantly nagged me to only use the big pellets(less processed) but Rosie loathed them.

I feel that way about a lot of stores too. There is only one store I love, it's called For Other Living Things in Sunnyvale CA. They sell the best pet supplies for any animal, the best selection of safe bird toys, food(they only sell Harrison's, totally organic, and Zupreem natural). The owner is a awesome bird lover who is just as picky as me when it comes to toy safety. Both her birds are adopted from the local rescue and they each have their own huge aviary in the store when she brings them with her

Love the photo of your with your Galah, enjoy his baby time before (s)he gets to the teenager phase, then the yearly breeding season.

 

[aether-drifter]

Yeah I don't know why Zupreem feels the need to add sugar...I doubt most birds would mind if they took it out of the recipe. I just know that he was already eating the naturals before, so I wanted to offer him something familiar. And my cockatiels seem drawn to the colored Zupreem pellets so I figured I would add a few of those in for variety. Maybe I'll try Harrison's...pretty sure my tiels don't even touch it in their pellet mix. I have some of the high-potency extra-fine which I'll probably just use in birdie bread and other culinary creations. What are Rosie's favorite fruits and veggies? Does she like sweet potato?

That pet store sounds really awesome. I wish more were like that, promoting rescue and proper care! Honestly I really am all about rescue and adoption when it comes to a lot of animals (including birds). I just had my heart set on a galah and they are tough to find second-hand around these parts (or if you find them, they're not rescues but people wanting to make a tidy profit).

 

[Akraya]

So gorgeous, I love Galahs, they're noisy in their flocks though!! They're on my wishlist though

 

[Thingamagigs]

Galahs don't usually lose their grey until they are about 8 months old.
From my experience 5 months is too early... I wonder if it just slipped their mind
Mana is 6 going on 7 months and still has a lot of grey, well most of her grey. None of mine have ever lost all their grey until well after 10 months.

 

[aether-drifter]

Well I was told today that his hatch date was September 15th. So, I guess do with that info what you will...I'll choose to believe it, I suppose.
Is it possible that some subspecies have their first molt at different ages? Or could it maybe be something that varies by individual?

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Well I was told today that his hatch date was September 15th. So, I guess do with that info what you will...I'll choose to believe it, I suppose.
Is it possible that some subspecies have their first molt at different ages? Or could it maybe be something that varies by individual?

I remember reading that if you let the parents raise their young for the first 2 weeks they are a little more developed than a bird hand fed from day 1.

 

[Thingamagigs]

I was considering the difference in the climate and what consequences that might have. There are all kinds of things that I guess could influence how fast a bird matures. Maybe lighting (the use of UV lamps?), maybe a cooler or warmer summer makes a difference? Or like copperarabian said, maybe your bub was parent raised for a while longer than most. Or maybe multiple factors. It is unusual for them to mature so quickly but I guess not impossible