Male or female?

[galah!]

Hi!
i was wondering how the females compare to the males (particularly galahs)?
are males more prone to biting?
are the females prone to egg binding?
thanks,
Pia

 

[birdashes]

Hi there!

Male cockatoos in general are more aggressive, even in the smaller 'toos.

My boy is still a juvenile.. I'm not overly comfortable sharing my experiences with him because of how young he his. With that said, he probably already is more aggressive than a female his age.

@jmfleish has both male and female RB2s, she might be able to tell you more about gender specific traits ?

 

[jmfleish]

I say female all the way but I do love my vampire boys!

In all seriousness, my pet female is only three and she can be downright rude to my s/o, Jon. She picked me as her person even though Jon shelled out the money for her. I raised Kishka, who is now seven and he loves Jon. Fozzie...well the Fozzwald doesn't really have much of a preference and is super hormonal, also seven. Addison is only three, so I don't know what she will be like at seven. I'm praying that she will still be my little pink peanut. Then I have my breeding pair, Leo and Letti, who are in their teens but also paired up and as sweet as can be.

I'm sure I wasn't much help at all!

 

[galah!]

thanks guys! with talking ability, can they both be reasonable Talkers??? it's not really important, but it would be nice

 

[Laylatoo]

My girl is pretty young still at only 3 years old but she does pretty well with her talking, for a cockatoo anyways. She's much more of a jabber box in general than my male goffin/bare eyed too was but he spoke his words more clearly than her. Most of her chattering is in cockatoo language which I find so adorable. I hope to find out if my new baby is a girl or boy in the next couple weeks when the breeder does the DNA test. Crossing my fingers for another girl. Layla is super mellow for the most part but not very cuddly which is just fine. She's great at entertaining herself which is ideal for me and my crazy life with lots of kids and other animals that also need attention. No agression from her but she did pick her favorite people and the others she make certain they know she's not interested. Overall, life with Layla is a breeze thus far. My male goffin hybrid was a doll. Zero agression from him either. He was so hilarious and always busy busy busy. He refused to stay on a stand which was often hard because I felt I had to cage him to get anything done. That boy treated every minute as play time. Layla is more serious in nature.

 

[galah!]

Is it common for galahs to not be cuddly? he/she doesn't have to be super cuddly, just enjoy getting a scratch and sitting on your hand for a while

 

[jmfleish]

Galahs aren't nearly as cuddly as the white 'toos but they love to have their heads a necks rubbed and will force their heads into your hand to get them.

As for talking, my males definitely talk a lot more than my female but my female does talk. I think I miss what Addison says half the time because she has a weird sounding voice and never speaks in front of me so I'm always wondering if it was really her or not!. She is also my most cuddly. I can do almost anything with her.

 

[birdashes]

@Laylatoo
That's really interesting how mellow your girl seems! Very different from Val. I guess I'll say my experiences anyway but @galah! just please remember my boy is still a baby, this is most likely behavior that will change ( as in get harder) as he goes into adulthood around 2-4. So take my experiences with a grain of salt... I have yet to own a mature RB2, which is what you'll end up with after the first few years.

Valentine is crazy. I love him but he is wild and never stops moving, playing or making noise. This seems to be progressing the older he gets. He is very grabby with his beak, sometimes he just hold my finger other times that beak come crunching down on me... Galahs being nippy is something I've heard a lot about. And that has rung very true with Val. Lots of biting. With training it's going down, but he still gets a few nips a day in. And my gosh. Cockatoo bites are painful. His don't break the skin often, but it's like he GRINDS your finger with his beak. It's awful.

Valentine is VERY cuddly, or actually be wants to cuddle rather almost all the time, at the point where right now I'm dealing with him lashing out at me when I don't give him cuddles ( which you shouldn't do too much off with 'toos... Or any parrot for that matter. ) while he will sit on your knee, he fully expects to be cuddled and when he's not, he gets bratty... And antsy. If I don't keep him busy with a toy or training, he will bounce off and go get into trouble. On the cockatoo spectrum.. Galahs are probably the most independent from what I've read, the least 'cuddly' but that's on a cockatoo scale. Remember cuddles aren't always a good thing.

With that said. Only I can pet him. He very meanly goes after any one else who wants to pet him. Like @Laylatoo 's girl, he makes it VERY clear when he doesn't prefer you. Thankfully I seem to be favorite lol....

On talking.. Val has an excellent vocabulary. He sounds like a little kid, which was a bit weird getting used to considering there aren't any kids in this house . He also mimics noises very well. In all honesty he sounds more like a cockatiel then a cockatoo because he's near my tiels. While not to the extent I have seen other birds do it, Valentine can use some words in the correct contexts for example... He will calm himself down with 'it's ok' when he's freaked, and when he wants me he says 'come here' ( or sometimes 'step up' when he wants to get on the couch but can't because he still hasn't realized he can fly LOL)

All in all a female probably is easier, but for me I prefer male birds ( God knows what I got myself into with Valentine ) , and I wouldn't trade Val for anything.

 

[jmfleish]

@Laylatoo
That's really interesting how mellow your girl seems! Very different from Val. I guess I'll say my experiences anyway but @galah! just please remember my boy is still a baby, this is most likely behavior that will change ( as in get harder) as he goes into adulthood around 2-4. So take my experiences with a grain of salt... I have yet to own a mature RB2, which is what you'll end up with after the first few years.

Valentine is crazy. I love him but he is wild and never stops moving, playing or making noise. This seems to be progressing the older he gets. He is very grabby with his beak, sometimes he just hold my finger other times that beak come crunching down on me... Galahs being nippy is something I've heard a lot about. And that has rung very true with Val. Lots of biting. With training it's going down, but he still gets a few nips a day in. And my gosh. Cockatoo bites are painful. His don't break the skin often, but it's like he GRINDS your finger with his beak. It's awful.

Valentine is VERY cuddly, or actually be wants to cuddle rather almost all the time, at the point where right now I'm dealing with him lashing out at me when I don't give him cuddles ( which you shouldn't do too much off with 'toos... Or any parrot for that matter. ) while he will sit on your knee, he fully expects to be cuddled and when he's not, he gets bratty... And antsy. If I don't keep him busy with a toy or training, he will bounce off and go get into trouble. On the cockatoo spectrum.. Galahs are probably the most independent from what I've read, the least 'cuddly' but that's on a cockatoo scale. Remember cuddles aren't always a good thing.

With that said. Only I can pet him. He very meanly goes after any one else who wants to pet him. Like @Laylatoo 's girl, he makes it VERY clear when he doesn't prefer you. Thankfully I seem to be favorite lol....

On talking.. Val has an excellent vocabulary. He sounds like a little kid, which was a bit weird getting used to considering there aren't any kids in this house . He also mimics noises very well. In all honesty he sounds more like a cockatiel then a cockatoo because he's near my tiels. While not to the extent I have seen other birds do it, Valentine can use some words in the correct contexts for example... He will calm himself down with 'it's ok' when he's freaked, and when he wants me he says 'come here' ( or sometimes 'step up' when he wants to get on the couch but can't because he still hasn't realized he can fly LOL)

All in all a female probably is easier, but for me I prefer male birds ( God knows what I got myself into with Valentine ) , and I wouldn't trade Val for anything.

@birdashes, your Val sounds a lot like my Kishie before he hit hormones. He was so crazy and would literally turn anything into a toy. He was also really active and was all over the place. He couldn't sit still and was better than TV to watch get into everything!

He was never much of a biter but he's making up for that now. He also wasn't a cuddler but loved to be scritched on his head and neck and have his head pin feathers done. He also never had a preference with people. He'd pretty much go to anyone. We took him to a few places and if you tried to hand him off to someone when we were out of the house he would act really shy but in the house, he'd gladly go to anyone. He was the best bird ever and now he wants to eat me.

Their voices are really high pitched and squeaky and mine seem to like to whisper. They are absolutely adorable even if they are pink vampires!

 

[Laylatoo]

Layla doesn't even enjoy head scratches. She lets me for about 3 seconds and then she's over it. i can touch her anywhere but allowing a really good scratch is uncommom with her. She likes kisses sometimes and I can pet her head but very rare to have her get puffy and enjoy a good scratch. So funny how they are all truly individuals.

 

[Laylatoo]

If you're interested in hearing Laylas voice, she has her own instagram page. I posted a couple videos of her chattering. Her instagram name is Laylatootoo

 

[jmfleish]

Ok, I'm really going to show my age here but I don't really get Instagram. I tried to sign up once and couldn't figure it out!

Both Kish and Fozz love being scritched through the cage bars. I have a platform perch attached to the door and they will run to it when I open the door because I will preen them on it with the door is open if they behave. Fozzie has started to preen Kishie tough so I only need to do Fozzie. Kishie is too good to preen Fozzie...the snot!

 

[birdashes]

@jmfleish Did your Kishie ever stop being so crazy LOL? I don't mind but Val constantly wants to get into EVERYTHING. He is obsessed right now with the portable heater. Particularly licking it.... Weird bird.

It does seem that they really chill out once they hit their 10s... The two RB2s at the rescue I go to are very friendly and oddly mellow... They still have that goofy pink charm but are wildly calm... @jmfleish's breeding pair reminds me a lot of these two, from what she's said.

@Laylatoo is dead on. Each bird is so different. They grow up differently, act differently. That's a super important thing to remember! @galah! I would also reccomend researching cockatoos in general if you haven't yet.. The a too is a too statement is true.. Even if each species has their own set of traits.

They have such great voices. Very squeaky IMO- which is why Val's nickname is 'squeaky'... Although he calls ME squeaky.. He's a bit mixed up there lol.

 

[galah!]

If you're interested in hearing Laylas voice, she has her own instagram page. I posted a couple videos of her chattering. Her instagram name is Laylatootoo

just had a look... she is toooo cute!!!
you are truly blessed

 

[Laylatoo]

Thanks Galah! She's a fun girl. I feel very lucky to have found such a well adjusted bird since she was a Craigslist rehome. I've only had her a few months and it's like she has always been a part of the family. I miss my Jasper boy everyday still but Layla was the perfect addition to fill the sad hole in my heart when he tragically passed.

@jmfleish I have a personal instagram and Laylas but only use Laylas page. A great place for me to share daily pics of her because I think my non bird loving Facebook friends were so over it...lol.

 

[jmfleish]

@jmfleish Did your Kishie ever stop being so crazy LOL? I don't mind but Val constantly wants to get into EVERYTHING. He is obsessed right now with the portable heater. Particularly licking it.... Weird bird.

It does seem that they really chill out once they hit their 10s... The two RB2s at the rescue I go to are very friendly and oddly mellow... They still have that goofy pink charm but are wildly calm... @jmfleish's breeding pair reminds me a lot of these two, from what she's said.

@Laylatoo is dead on. Each bird is so different. They grow up differently, act differently. That's a super important thing to remember! @galah! I would also reccomend researching cockatoos in general if you haven't yet.. The a too is a too statement is true.. Even if each species has their own set of traits.

They have such great voices. Very squeaky IMO- which is why Val's nickname is 'squeaky'... Although he calls ME squeaky.. He's a bit mixed up there lol.

Yes, Kishka isn't as fun these days. I would almost call him morose but he spends a lot more time in his cage because he can't be trusted. He and Fozzie both will go after my head and neck and go for blood so I only take them out one at a time and all my focus is on that bird. It's so hard now that I've lost my trust in Kishka because I think he really is my favorite bird. With Fozzie, I'm not as bonded with him so the attacks aren't as personal and he doesn't do it as frequently either. I cannot be anywhere around if Kish is out and Jon is in the same room. Blood will be shed and it will be mine!. I'm really hoping that he grow out of this silliness.

 

[Domothebudgie]

Is it just the rb2s that will become calmer? Or other toos also?

 

[galah!]

Yes, Kishka isn't as fun these days. I would almost call him morose but he spends a lot more time in his cage because he can't be trusted. He and Fozzie both will go after my head and neck and go for blood so I only take them out one at a time and all my focus is on that bird. It's so hard now that I've lost my trust in Kishka because I think he really is my favorite bird. With Fozzie, I'm not as bonded with him so the attacks aren't as personal and he doesn't do it as frequently either. I cannot be anywhere around if Kish is out and Jon is in the same room. Blood will be shed and it will be mine!. I'm really hoping that he grow out of this silliness.

i'm so sorry!
that sounds horrible hope he gets over his hormones soon

 

[jmfleish]

It's not all bad. I can take them out one at a time if I'm careful and they have each other. They are totally cute when they eat their mash if I make the kind they like! I found that out this weekend when I made beans and rice for them. OMG! They dig into it like they've never seen food and they get it all over their beaks and Fozzie literally covers his entire face with it. It's adorable! They're also fun to watch when you give them new pine wood to destroy...they love chewing stuff to smithereens.

I do miss the close connection and the goofiness from Kishka that I used to have and maybe one day he'll stop being so hormonal, but for now, he's a different bird and I love him for different reasons.

 

[jmfleish]

Is it just the rb2s that will become calmer? Or other toos also?

Reggie D2 was the same way but I could read him like I can read the palm of my hand. I knew when he would try to come after me and I would rarely get bit from him. He was a terror from the time I took him home at about two and a half until around the age of eleven and then he started to just calm down. He turned sixteen in March and is still a screamer but is incredibly mellow and won't bite anyone unless you really get him rilled up and crazy and he forgets what he's doing because he's enjoying being a crazy 'too, then you might get bit but then I totally blame that on the idiot who is playing with him and it takes a lot. He's my sweet little white Cockatoo but we've also always had a very special bond.