My extended family is neglecting their galah -- please help!!!

[Road•kill]

***This is my first thread here so please be kind ***
I only recently got into bird keeping, and I only just realised how terribly neglected my family's galah is. His name is billy and he is a stunning pink and grey. Unfortunately, they are not very good owners . I am a minor, so I doubt they'd listen to me (considering how they reacted when I told them tropical fish need heaters...).

To start, they've gone through 3 pink and greys, which is very worrying because they're supposed to live up to 80 years. He is in a very depressing flight cage (the same size I keep my budgie in) and has minimal toys and perches. He is on an all-seed diet and his water barely ever gets changed, it's usually green . He barely ever comes out of the cage and has multiple behavioral issues. They constantly cross his boundaries and pet along his back and belly so you can imagine he'd be very agitated. His owners don't even know what a moult is... They REGULARLY use unsafe cleaning products and even renovated the same room he's in, no wonder the others have died. These aren't the only animals they've neglected though. They feed their dog chocolate and all sorts of rubbish, they have tropical fish in a tiny tank without heaters. Their budgie was eaten by their dog. They kept a single rat without any friends. The list goes on.

I'm at the point where I'm considering buying him off of them to foster until I can find a better home, what do you think?

P.S. I'll add photos of him next time I see him.

 

[Sparkles99]

If this is your immediate family, could you volunteer to change the water, etc. or save & get heaters?

If not, please be careful how you approach this. No one likes a know it all & that is how you may be perceived, especially given your age.

 

[Road•kill]

If this is your immediate family, could you volunteer to change the water, etc. or save & get heaters?

If not, please be careful how you approach this. No one likes a know it all & that is how you may be perceived, especially given your age.

Billy belongs to my extended family, so my cousins and uncle. They live in the same area as me. My parents are divorced though, so I move from house to house.

edit: My mother's house is in the same area as them. My father lives at least 40 minutes away from them.

 

[FeatheredM]

So you think there is a way to contact someone (like police or aspca) who has authority to help the gallah?

 

[Road•kill]

So you think there is a way to contact someone (like police or aspca) who has authority to help the gallah?

Perhaps. Here in Australia, we have the RSPCA but they're not very informed about birds. They only step in when the animal is being directly harmed. I will look into their policies.

 

[Mizzely]

That's such a hard situation to be in! Are the cousins similar age to you? Would they be more approachable about the situation you're seeing and figuring out ways to help?

 

[Shezbug]

I have read your post and as much as it does not sound ideal for Billy the only thing that any animal welfare group here (RSPCA) would be maybe a touch concerned about is the green water but even that is not enough to react on for animal welfare as it is still water- if this were a pet shop with green water you would still struggle to have them care- requirements for bird keeping here are well behind the times and just terrible tbh.

FYI- not a whole heap of pet cockies or galahs do actually live to 80- it can certainly be achieved but so can humans living to 100- not many of us will make it to 100 even though it is sometimes possible.

I really think you would be best to speak to your family- not tell them how to do things better or what they need to change but just have an open conversation with them by asking questions about how they do things for Billy and see if you can find out why they do them that way. Share your learnings and experiences with them about your bird keeping habits and practices.

It may not be the same situation but I ignore so many suggestions from other well meaning people who inform me I need chew toys and raw bones for my dog as I know she is uninterested in them so any I buy will not be enjoyed by her, I also regularly ignore people telling me to give my birds grit, egg shell, apples, sandpaper perches, vitamin drops, nest boxes etc and this does not make me a negligent pet owner.

Does Billy like you? Is he receptive to you? Can you possibly ask if they will allow you to volunteer to spend more time with Billy to learn more about him and while you are there you can make things a little better for him by washing out the water bowl and refilling it regularly with clean water etc

Does the family wish to sell, rehome or foster him out? Making any comment about buying or fostering could cause some issue if they have no desire to move Billy on.

Do you know what their other birds passed away from or how old they were? If they were rescued babies from the wild (very common practice here) or acquired through shady or crappy backyard breeders they may very well have been unwell- I sadly know of too many people here who think they are doing the right thing by trying to rescue abandoned wild baby birds which are often sadly diseased or unwell. These kinds of finds should always be left up to wildlife rescuers to sort out not the well meaning individual.

Green water looks gross for sure and is not what I would want my birds drinking but if you approach this topic wrong or find out you may have misinterpreted anything it may be a rather difficult thing to come back from.

I really do suggest rather than trying to buy, foster or take Billy, you simply start a conversation and learn all you can about the situation before saying anything about how you might do things different.
I see many people caring for their birds quite differently to me and not in a way I would ever want my birds cared for but it is not necessarily what would legally be classed as neglect.

 

[Road•kill]

I have read your post and as much as it does not sound ideal for Billy the only thing that any animal welfare group here (RSPCA) would be maybe a touch concerned about is the green water but even that is not enough to react on for animal welfare as it is still water- if this were a pet shop with green water you would still struggle to have them care- requirements for bird keeping here are well behind the times and just terrible tbh.

FYI- not a whole heap of pet cockies or galahs do actually live to 80- it can certainly be achieved but so can humans living to 100- not many of us will make it to 100 even though it is sometimes possible.

I really think you would be best to speak to your family- not tell them how to do things better or what they need to change but just have an open conversation with them by asking questions about how they do things for Billy and see if you can find out why they do them that way. Share your learnings and experiences with them about your bird keeping habits and practices.

It may not be the same situation but I ignore so many suggestions from other well meaning people who inform me I need chew toys and raw bones for my dog as I know she is uninterested in them so any I buy will not be enjoyed by her, I also regularly ignore people telling me to give my birds grit, egg shell, apples, sandpaper perches, vitamin drops, nest boxes etc and this does not make me a negligent pet owner.

Does Billy like you? Is he receptive to you? Can you possibly ask if they will allow you to volunteer to spend more time with Billy to learn more about him and while you are there you can make things a little better for him by washing out the water bowl and refilling it regularly with clean water etc

Does the family wish to sell, rehome or foster him out? Making any comment about buying or fostering could cause some issue if they have no desire to move Billy on.

Do you know what their other birds passed away from or how old they were? If they were rescued babies from the wild (very common practice here) or acquired through shady or crappy backyard breeders they may very well have been unwell- I sadly know of too many people here who think they are doing the right thing by trying to rescue abandoned wild baby birds which are often sadly diseased or unwell. These kinds of finds should always be left up to wildlife rescuers to sort out not the well meaning individual.

Green water looks gross for sure and is not what I would want my birds drinking but if you approach this topic wrong or find out you may have misinterpreted anything it may be a rather difficult thing to come back from.

I really do suggest rather than trying to buy, foster or take Billy, you simply start a conversation and learn all you can about the situation before saying anything about how you might do things different.
I see many people caring for their birds quite differently to me and not in a way I would ever want my birds cared for but it is not necessarily what would legally be classed as neglect.

Thank you for your concern

Billy quite likes me and enjoys playing 'peekaboo' with me. I will try asking them if I could spend more time with him. But from my experience with them, they just don't seem to care about their animal's welfare. They are alcoholics and just overall... not very good people.

The past two birds they've had were all birds they found outside, which they assumed were pets. I do not know their exact age but they never lived past 10 years. After these ones died they got billy from a pet shop. Billy is very destructive and loves anything he can destroy, something which his cage lacks.

 

[Road•kill]

That's such a hard situation to be in! Are the cousins similar age to you? Would they be more approachable about the situation you're seeing and figuring out ways to help?

The cousins are considerably older than me, but they are technically still teenagers. They tend to talk down to me but they're a bit more approachable compared to their parents. Thank you for the suggestion

 

[Zara]

Shawna and Shez gave great advice. Trying to talk to the cousins could be a better approach as they also live in that house and would have access to the birds water etc.

Like Shez said, be sure you know all the facts before putting your neck out. Perhaps you turned up after Billy had spent time making soup. I change my birds water during the day and later before I cover them, and sometimes that second change at night I look and I´m disgusted at the soupy goopy mess they´ve made in such a short time.

I have a lot of lovebirds in my life that are not my birds, and to those I think are not getting enough enrichment or toys, I will make up a bag and send it over, or take the items myself and put them in the cage myself. I make homemade perches, and toys so it costs me very little to be able to give these things away.
The lovebird who lives upstairs is a relative of my birds, so I keep an extra specially close eye on her to be sure she has plenty of toys and perches. I babysit her sometimes too so I always give her cage a good look at when she´s here to be sure there´s plenty in there for her.

 

[Gen120]

All of these are good suggestions and ideas. Could you buy some toys from a pet store for him and bring them over next time you go and say I got these as a gift for Billy. i think he'll like them, maybe they'll see him playing with the toys and realize that he needs them? Although with that said, those kinds of people usually don't recognize things like that unfortunately. Keep us updated on what happens, we'll be here to help you and Billy.
'

 

[hrafn]

I had a (somewhat) similar experience when I was around eighteen, with a friend's family cockatiel. He was in a very small round cage, with no toys, a sunflower-heavy seed diet, and no out-of-cage playtime due to the family dog having a high prey drive.

I was able to, slowly and gradually, introduce new ideas to my friend's mother by demonstrating through my actions how she could better care for her 'tiel. I brought over toys for him (saying things like "oh, I got this for Kraz, but he isn't really interested in it, maybe Milo will like it"), offering him pellets with the same excuse, sharing little pieces of vegetables with him when we were having snacks, and eventually by mentioning to her that since he couldn't play out of his cage, he might like a bigger one -- and wouldn't you know it, I jut happened to have a spare cage lying around that he could have *cough* that I definitely didn't buy specifically for Milo *cough*.
It took a very long time, but Milo eventually was in a much better place.

Though I was older, and the situation wasn't exactly the same, maybe you could try some similar methods with your uncle. Bringing in new toys like @Gen120 mentioned, offering Billy some fresh foods under the guise of sharing your meal, cleaning out his water dish when you visit...never being blunt or rude about your family's care of him, but demonstrating how they could change by showing them how Billy flourishes with enrichment and a better diet. You could even say you're interested in perhaps having a galah yourself one day, and want to "practice" with Billy. Don't offer to buy him, that may just build a wall between you and them that would be very difficult to break through.

All the best to you and to Billy!

 

[AGS]

I don’t have any specific advice because a lot of it depends on the situation that only you fully know. I will say that even if they let you adopt Billy, it wouldn’t stop them from getting another bird.

In my experience even if someone really is being neglectful or even abusive, even if you’re right to be angry, I agree with everyone else that it never actually accomplishes anything. Not that you would do this, but on other animal forums/communities I see people bash other people for poor animal care, but instead of improving the animal’s care, the person usually leaves the community and the animal continues to suffer. No one here knows the exact situation but even if they are purposely neglecting Billy, I agree with everyone here that you have to find a nice way to go about helping him vs calling them out even if it’s justified.

 

[Road•kill]

Thank you all for the advice, I'm seeing Billy after school today. I'll also be conveniently getting my hair cut at a shopping centre. Hopefully I can find some decent toys and/or pellets. Unfortunately my bird's pellets are far too small for a galah.

I'll be sure to update you on the situation. <3

 

[Shezbug]

Thank you all for the advice, I'm seeing Billy after school today. I'll also be conveniently getting my hair cut at a shopping centre. Hopefully I can find some decent toys and/or pellets. Unfortunately my bird's pellets are far too small for a galah.

I'll be sure to update you on the situation. <3

My macaw and cocky love the tiny pellets! I only ever buy them in small if there is an option of sizes with the brand. Take some with you regardless of their size.

 

[AussieBird]

My galah loves the tiny pellets too, they're a size I could feed to the budgies if I wanted to. They're his preference over the bigger ones he also has, but that could be due to taste.

 

[Road•kill]

Sorry I haven't been updating this thread, I've been busy.

I visited Billy recently, his cage has a few more toys. I got him to eat some apple, but he would eat pellets. Unfortunately, my uncle wouldn't let me bring him out of his cage and from what I've gathered, he almost never comes out of the cage now. This is because they have two dogs with very high prey drives which they seem to prioritise over Billy. I couldn't buy him any toys due to unexpected changes in my schedule. They've also upgraded his cage since I was last there

Some pictures of his cage:

 

[owlsthetic]

Sorry I haven't been updating this thread, I've been busy.

I visited Billy recently, his cage has a few more toys. I got him to eat some apple, but he would eat pellets. Unfortunately, my uncle wouldn't let me bring him out of his cage and from what I've gathered, he almost never comes out of the cage now. This is because they have two dogs with very high prey drives which they seem to prioritise over Billy. I couldn't buy him any toys due to unexpected changes in my schedule. They've also upgraded his cage since I was last there

Some pictures of his cage:

He's such a pretty bird!

Sad to hear that they're not able to let him out due to the dogs

But I'm glad at least he has you doing your best to look out for him!