Rosebreasted owners and those who know them.

[Pinkbirdy]

Just a thought ,wanted to her everyones opinions. I saw Moon childs picture signature [I think its called that]. BTW sodacat yours is great glad you put it up. Anyways I noticed shes going from tiels to a RB2.[I dont know if shes owned other birds] but it made me think .I get asked alot what kind of bigger bird would be good for me.They are useally conure ,quaker etc. owners . I always think of a RB2 first [but never say it] because everyone thinks 2s are so hard. Mine was quieter than my smaller birds and pretty easy .Are yours like that ?

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I don't think Rosie is the best example of a general galah. She is pretty quite, she peeps a lot but can go days, or even weeks, without screaming. She does it more often now though. I've made Rosie into a fantastic well rounded bird, she is a wonderful bird and her love of me is incredible. She is extremely smart and very good at trick training.

Galahs are sensitive birds, and can become phobic or neurotic if they aren't raised right. I would only ever recommend a galah if I felt they were truly a good match for one. I also strongly believe that galahs should not be clipped, if so only once at the beginning and never again unless for air plane travel. They need a low fat diet and lots of exercise, many die around 40's from fatty liver.

 

[MonicaMc]

It's typically the larger cockatoos that make the worst companions... umbrellas and moluccans tend to be very needy and destructive. The sulphur crested and similar species are said to be a bit high strung and stubborn. Major mitchells? Very high strung!

The smaller 'toos and black toos are said to be better pets because even if they do have those tendencies, it's to a far lesser degree. They are usually not as loud, not as demanding, not as destructive, not as stubborn or high strung. As Copperarabian said, if not raised right they can still be a hassle! One RB2 lost his life because he became too neurotic and would not settle down. He had fits where he'd thrash himself around the cage breaking feathers and just completely destroying himself. No one could really figure out why he had these bouts, and in the end, it cost him his life. I think he may have broken some of his bones during his thrashings, too.




If I were to choose to get a cockatoo of any species, I'd go with a galah, hands down! Although cuddling with an umby or moluccan makes them highly tempting!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

@monicamc
Are you talking about Mr Dusty? His story is so sad

 

[MonicaMc]

"Sir Dusty" or "Sir Dusty Rose" - ya, that would be him!

I was rootin for his recovery because Anna is such an amazing person, but in the end, it wasn't enough. He was so adorable, and so young. Anna has such a strong heart, and utterly so soft at the same time. I don't think I could ever do what she does without breaking down in tears every night.

 

[aether-drifter]

My RB2 is...I dunno exactly how to describe him! haha.
I don't really have much of a reference point, going from tiels to a galah as you say. Overall he is more demanding than my tiels, but he's not hard to live with. When he gets really hyped up he screams a bit to blow off steam, but it doesn't make my ears ring or anything like that. And it's always a short outburst. He'll whine to come out of the cage if he sees me around, but most of the time he's good at entertaining himself if I can't have him out for whatever reason. In the bird room, he's super-clingy and won't leave me alone, but once I bring him out to the living room he's more likely to hang out on the couch or play gym with his toys and not need to be glued to me. He calls when I leave the room, but it's not horrible ear-splitting screeches.

His beak is much stronger than my cockatiels', so I have to keep an eye on him at all times whereas I can slack a little more with the littles. The other day I forgot that I had left my laptop out on the table when Boris was around, and by the time I remembered he had my new mouse in his jaws and had busted the scroll wheel. This was after about ten seconds of being left alone with it! I had to buy him a toy cell phone, give him an old remote control (gutted of course) and an old belt of mine to satisfy his urges to play with MY stuff. He's not a bad bird, just very smart and energetic. He picks up on what the humans play with and he wants it too because we're his flock. Can't blame him at all. He just needs a lot more babysitting than my tiels.

But, being that he's a cockatoo and he only probably gets (on average, sometimes more) 2-4 hours of out of cage time/attention per day and he's doing alright, I wouldn't say a galah is a hard bird to handle overall. Most dedicated parrot owners are probably capable of taking care of a rosie.

 

[Jtbirds]

i would say no to a cockatoo as a first bird. even though galahs are greatly different then your normal cockatoos they are still a cockatoo. I have met some pretty iffy galahs. they of course could be fixed it was just that they still had the facial biting tendancies and could overall be a little bit of a handful. I think what your list of a good first bird was is probably right.

 

[psychocircus91]

It really isn't possible for anyone to say if someone can handle one, except for that person himself. I don't really believe in the bird progression thing. Why get an animal if it isn't what you truly want?

The key is a lot of research, sitting on the idea of getting one for a long time, and making sure you can truly handle it.

Regardless, if someone is asking me what is a good choice for a first larger bird, I wouldn't recommend a cockatoo, but if a new bird owner is wanting one, I wouldn't necessarily discourage it.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

I was hoping to make more people "Aware" what a nice species these can be. Ive read comments on [I would love to have one ] but I know I cant because theres no way I could handle a Too. But maybe they can I feel those who have loved a Rosebreasted know what Im talking about. Any Rehomed bird isnt going to be a piece of cake but that does not mean their not worth it .I hate how the internet has made such negative opinions of this bird . Im pro 2

 

[MonicaMc]

Reminds me of the person looking to get a bird but can't decide between species... From my point of view, I'd put the Amazon as third, unless going with one of the calmer/sweeter species (lilac crown, white fronted, tucuman, orange wing, or???), and first... well, I don't know too much about red bellies, but I'd guess them as first with galahs as second, but... well, galahs can be pretty sweet!


Only reason I can't have one yet is because I don't have the money to get one! And besides, I have at least one other bird I'd like to get before a galah! So they are on my future wish list!

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Reminds me of the person looking to get a bird but can't decide between species... From my point of view, I'd put the Amazon as third, unless going with one of the calmer/sweeter species (lilac crown, white fronted, tucuman, orange wing, or???), and first... well, I don't know too much about red bellies, but I'd guess them as first with galahs as second, but... well, galahs can be pretty sweet!


Only reason I can't have one yet is because I don't have the money to get one! And besides, I have at least one other bird I'd like to get before a galah! So they are on my future wish list!

I see Galahs have really gone down in price[1200 ?] Maybe because of the economy. I paid 2000 for mine that was origionally 2500. Is red bellies a amazon?. I got my first zon in December . Hes an amazing experience ,their so smart like all my birds rolled into one. Whats your next bird your wishing for?

 

[MonicaMc]

Red Bellied Parrot - not to be confused with the other "red bellies" out there. They are a type of Poicephalus, in the same family as Meyers, Senegals and Jardines.

When I first saw the prices on Galahs (back around 2001 or so), they were within the $3,000 to $3,500 mark! So ya, they have come down in price!


I would love to get a cherry headed conure again - except maybe a younger bird. Both my conures (cherry head & mitred - people who had them previously didn't know what species they were) I adopted when they were older birds, so I'd love to experience the "young bird" some day! But I'm not against getting another adult, either!

I've also thought about amazons, too! I love the amazon trill! And their expressions are just so amazing! There was an amazon I tried to help out once, hoping to make his life better even though he was not a pet. I regret not being able to take him as his owners didn't want to give him up. He was a "decoration" in the corner of the room, and died due to a gas leak when no one was home (supposedly). The family says that they "saved" him from his past owners, but they really never did any justice for him. Just one bad situation into another. The son even admitted it, saying that his parents don't really pay attention to him, and that he'd try and help me get the bird... but he then turned around and said that they gave him a better life than the previous owners. They also named him "Mouth" - which was another annoyance of mine. I can only hope his last year of life was better spent than the previous years, but I don't know.