What can I expect from this 12 yr old Gallah?

[sarai7]

Hey all - I've been reading through the posts about your cockatoos and they are interesting. I had not seen the BP2's before and I'm fascinated - beautiful.

I brought home a 12 year old Gallah from a pet expo yesterday. And we are still in the getting acquainted stage but wondered if I could share would I learned about him so far, and then ask your opinion about what I can expect.

1) He is scared to death of my cell phone.... no to cell phone pictures
2) he loves head scratches, and leans in for them
3) He doesn't mind my two boys (ages 9 and 10) - they are calm and patient with him and can do with him as much as I can.
4) He enjoys eating sunflower seads, green leaf lettuce, pea pods and will eat those out of our hand.
5) His owner before me was a breeder although I don't think she was the original owner.
6) He has been living on Higgins Vita Seed and seems to favor the sunflowers - And I will like to switch him to pellets + fresh food.
7) He seems fearful or at least very unfamiliar with toys and won't go near them. He has mouthed a little bit one that has a dog bone on it.
8) He is drinking water, has gone out of his way to drop a couple sunflower seeds into his water
9) was not fearful of the vacuum
10) not a feather picker
11) not very loud, although did wake me in the middle of the night with 5 or 6 loud screams, then went back to sleep
12) Does not want to step up at all - I had a hard time getting him from the travel cage into his cage and he bit me in the process - out of fear.
13) Enjoys shredding paper and the perch/branch that I put in his cage from outside

Any thoughts to ease my anxiety as a new parrot owner? I hope he will grow used to us and allow me to handle him with some time and effort.

 

[mypinklove]

Hi there! I'm sure others who are far more experienced than I will be able to give you more advice and such, but I decided to drop in and say hello since I'm also a new Galah owner. I've had mine for a couple weeks now though and have done a good bit of research so I will at least share what I have learned about diet: These birds are very sensitive to fats and very prone to getting fatty tumors. They should NOT be on a seed and sunflower diets, and I've seen many recommend to abstain from feeding sunflower seeds at all. My bird's diet is currently: zupreem pellets in the morning/first half of the day, no more than 4 or 5 almonds (crushed up slices of them) during the day as training treats or a bonding tool, and for dinner he eats a cooked mixture of quinoa and chopped veggies (which I made a thread about.)
As far as his want for getting scritches that is super good news! He will eventually come around to not being afraid of your hands and phone if you are patient and consistently handle him on his terms, letting him set the pace, and really rewarding and praising him for any contact with these things or letting them get any closer. You'll learn to read his body language and such and the trust will build if you are patient and can focus on building a good relationship with him.
Check out a thread on clicker training/touch training if you can. I'm serious! It Really is helping me and Charlie with some of his fears, and encourages him to touch and explore and I can now point the stick anywhere and he will run to the place and step up onto pretty much anywhere that he can touch the stick for a click and a treat. Good luck and I'm here learning too, it's a great community and you've done the right thing coming here for advice!! RB2s are awesome little clowns!


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[sarai7]

Thank you. I will check that article out. I was reading your other posts too. I did know about the sunflower seeds so it was a huge relief that he ate the veggies. He's been here just over 30 hrs so I want to make sure he is actually eating before I try to wean him from the seeds. It's so odd that the sell food labeled for these birds that has been so proven as bad....

 

[mypinklove]

Oh okay great! There are also threads in the diet section about switching to fresh food and pellets. Some birds need more time than others. It's good that you're watching and making sure he is eating that first. Sounds like you're doing your research. And yeah I agree. Kind of annoying, it's done because people see their birds happily gobbling it up and keep buying it - like sugary foods and cereals for kids of parents who don't know any better.


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[GracelynNBirds]

First off, I'm SUPER glad you are switching him from sunflowers to pellets and veggies. They are SO much more healthier and sunflowers are VERY fatty and can give a poor galah tumors. Seccond, my cockatiel is very afraid of new toys, swing perches, ect but after about a week they get used to it. It just takes time. Oh, and congrats on your baby!!

 

[sarai7]

Thank you. That is reassuring. Even since I first wrote the post I saw him exploring one of the toys wee bit more. And I already removed the sunflower seeds from the mix for tomorrows meal because he was eating very well tonight including other items in the mix. I ordered the pellets from amazon so I'll have them in a couple days.

I forgot to mention - his wings are clipped and I'm not sure if he ever had his flight feathers. I'm thinking if I can get him trained to come to me then I'll let them grow out if he will tolerate it. The breeder I bought him from didn't even have a name for him... so glad I got him. We've decided to call him "Ace".

 

[sarai7]

Just a little update...
Yesterday I removed all the sunflower seeds from his food dish. Today I mixed in proper pellets and he ate them all. He still seems to really enjoy pea pods and green leaf lettuce so I think we are on the right track with his diet.

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

You have only had him for a couple days now,and look at the progress the two of you already made! congrats! I'm sure Ace will be adjusting splendidly!


Jim

 

[Brittany741]

Congratulations on your new baby! He has been through a lot these last few days, so take it slowly. Some birds take months and years to overcome their fears, and some never do. The fact he likes head scratches is huge. Diet changes can be very tricky. I recommend choosing a pellet with high quality ingredients, such as Goldenfeast Golden'Obles. They also taste great. It's never too soon to try treating with fresh vegetables and fruit, but I would give it time before removing the food he is accustomed to. The only reason I was able to switch Ruby to 100% fresh veggies, beans, and fruit is because she loved it. There is a good opportunity for you to make that switch by creating an irresistible bird mash. It will take some investment of time but is a good way for the kids to get involved in helping. My 8 year old daughter was a huge help in making our mash, she also helped package it into jars for the freezer. We make enough for months at a time.

Not every bird will take to it. Our African grey detests fresh food and is a little Pellet Piggy! This would be an opportunity for you to make a small amount and see if he likes it. I also suggest drizzling a small amount of coconut oil over the mash. My birds go crazy for it. Without the oil, they pick through it, but with the oil they just down the stuff!

 

[plumsmum2005]

Hey all - I've been reading through the posts about your cockatoos and they are interesting. I had not seen the BP2's before and I'm fascinated - beautiful.

I brought home a 12 year old Gallah from a pet expo yesterday. And we are still in the getting acquainted stage but wondered if I could share would I learned about him so far, and then ask your opinion about what I can expect.

1) He is scared to death of my cell phone.... no to cell phone pictures
2) he loves head scratches, and leans in for them
3) He doesn't mind my two boys (ages 9 and 10) - they are calm and patient with him and can do with him as much as I can.
4) He enjoys eating sunflower seads, green leaf lettuce, pea pods and will eat those out of our hand.
5) His owner before me was a breeder although I don't think she was the original owner.
6) He has been living on Higgins Vita Seed and seems to favor the sunflowers - And I will like to switch him to pellets + fresh food.
7) He seems fearful or at least very unfamiliar with toys and won't go near them. He has mouthed a little bit one that has a dog bone on it.
8) He is drinking water, has gone out of his way to drop a couple sunflower seeds into his water
9) was not fearful of the vacuum
10) not a feather picker
11) not very loud, although did wake me in the middle of the night with 5 or 6 loud screams, then went back to sleep
12) Does not want to step up at all - I had a hard time getting him from the travel cage into his cage and he bit me in the process - out of fear.
13) Enjoys shredding paper and the perch/branch that I put in his cage from outside

Any thoughts to ease my anxiety as a new parrot owner? I hope he will grow used to us and allow me to handle him with some time and effort.

Hello and welcome.

11) Beware as this sounds like night frights. If it continues use a baby plug in night light to give a soft light in the cage. He will be unfamiliar with your home and it's associated normal noises. They like their cage to be covered at night IMO.

I would weigh him to see how heavy he is, as will give you info for going forward. Almonds are very fatty also so go light, have you tried walnuts? Best to avoid any pellets with colours in. Include as many veggies in a chop as possible to introduce the maximum number of vitamins and nutrients.

Are you planning an AV health check for him?

 

[sarai7]

Plumsmum2005 thank you!!!! Very interesting the night frights.... he only did it that first night and has seemed comfortable sleeping and in the company of our family and pets in general so we might be ok. Might have been first night jitters.

I am planning an AV visit but I will wait a couple months or until I can handle him better. I don't want to ruin the bonding progress we have made so far. Training a little every day. I've had him on my hand a few times but he was very nervous so I'm stepping back and training on a t perch. Went well..... last night he hissed on it. Today he stepped up 4 x.

As for food.... he has taken well to zupreem. Loves green leaf lettuce and peapods.

I learned a bit more about his history. He is actually 16 yrs old, hatched in 2000 at ABCR. The gal i bought him from, received him 2 months ago from an older couple in declining health. They had him a long time but I'm not sure if they were first owners.

We are so enjoying getting to know him. We are calling him Ace.

 

[sarai7]

Oh and yes I tried walnuts, he nibbled for a bit seemingly curious and then dropped it. I figured he should try more Soni put a few in his dish. He then went out of his way, to the dish, and meticulously removed them all.... I took the hhint. Maybe another time. Love his little personality.