NEED HELP!!

[Yaraaa]

Hi a few days ago i got a ghala cockatoo and im very excited i need help from you cockatoo experts to help me care for it it used to be a plucker and it stopped for a while befor i got it and he is a male 5 years old and im concerned for the blank space in his chest its visible in the photo and i would like to know how to deal with the bitting and to get him to get along with my family members and his nutrition and how often to get him out of the cage

 

[ParrotNuts]

Hello Yara, welcome to the avenue. Sorry that your galah is plucking
Have you gone through these threads?
<A Must Read for Pluckers> Giardia A Health And Plucking Nightmare!
Learn how to prevent and alleviate Feather-Picking.....
The Basics of Feather Picking
Feather Abuse in Parrots: Causes and Approaches to Resolution
Living with a feather-picker ....
Also the Pluckers Parlor sub forum may have some good advice for you
@Monica @JLcribber
One last thing, is the cage she is in a travel cage? It does look quite small.

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

Hi welcome and it is time for your bird to have a well visit two the vet ASAP there R a A lot of physical problems that cause plucking

 

[Yaraaa]

Hello Yara, welcome to the avenue. Sorry that your galah is plucking
Have you gone through these threads?
<A Must Read for Pluckers> Giardia A Health And Plucking Nightmare!
Learn how to prevent and alleviate Feather-Picking.....
The Basics of Feather Picking
Feather Abuse in Parrots: Causes and Approaches to Resolution
Living with a feather-picker ....
Also the Pluckers Parlor sub forum may have some good advice for you
@Monica @JLcribber
One last thing, is the cage she is in a travel cage? It does look quite small.

He used to be a plucker but stopped for quite some time thankgod and i will get him a new cage soon good eye!

 

[Monica]

Re: Plucking - there's a lot of causes and reasons for this behavior. If he has not been to an avian vet for a full work up recently, to include fecal, bloodwork, X-Rays, skin swabs, etc, then I would recommend starting there to rule out medical issues.

The Basics of Feather Picking

Article containing veterinarian's approach to diagnosing and treating feather-destructive disorders

featherpicking.com

After medical things have been ruled out, then you can look into behavioral reasons. Boredom? Stress? Anxiety? Diet?


The feathers may never grow back on the stomach if the feather follicles have been damaged too much.



Re: Biting - This is also kind of complicated... and since he's new to you, he may not trust you and needs space. That's okay! First things first! The only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that doesn't occur. That is, the more times your bird feels the need to bite, the more ingrained it becomes to bite. Learn to read his body language and back off before a bite occurs. If you do get bit, don't punish, don't ignore. Simply remove his beak from your flesh and turn your back away from him for several seconds.

It will take time to get him comfortable in your home and potentially okay with everyone. Don't force interactions. Target training can go a long ways into teaching desired behaviors and making it easier to get in and out of the cage.

Free Training Resources

Someone recently told me that there was only one trainer on the internet that had free training advice. This is, quite simply, false. This “trainer” they spoke of is an amateur that has taken advice from salesmen who market themselves as bird trainers. Not to say that they don't enjoy helping...

forums.avianavenue.com

Re: Nutrition - Another hot topic! Many people will agree that variety is best. Most will say that a pellet based diet with fresh foods (primarily veggies), sprouts and some nuts is the way to go.

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

Couldn’t have said it better

 

[budgieluv3]

How big is his cage? What’s his diet like?
Good luck!

 

[Yaraaa]

Re: Plucking - there's a lot of causes and reasons for this behavior. If he has not been to an avian vet for a full work up recently, to include fecal, bloodwork, X-Rays, skin swabs, etc, then I would recommend starting there to rule out medical issues.

The Basics of Feather Picking

Article containing veterinarian's approach to diagnosing and treating feather-destructive disorders

featherpicking.com

After medical things have been ruled out, then you can look into behavioral reasons. Boredom? Stress? Anxiety? Diet?


The feathers may never grow back on the stomach if the feather follicles have been damaged too much.



Re: Biting - This is also kind of complicated... and since he's new to you, he may not trust you and needs space. That's okay! First things first! The only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that doesn't occur. That is, the more times your bird feels the need to bite, the more ingrained it becomes to bite. Learn to read his body language and back off before a bite occurs. If you do get bit, don't punish, don't ignore. Simply remove his beak from your flesh and turn your back away from him for several seconds.

It will take time to get him comfortable in your home and potentially okay with everyone. Don't force interactions. Target training can go a long ways into teaching desired behaviors and making it easier to get in and out of the cage.

Free Training Resources

Someone recently told me that there was only one trainer on the internet that had free training advice. This is, quite simply, false. This “trainer” they spoke of is an amateur that has taken advice from salesmen who market themselves as bird trainers. Not to say that they don't enjoy helping...

forums.avianavenue.com

Re: Nutrition - Another hot topic! Many people will agree that variety is best. Most will say that a pellet based diet with fresh foods (primarily veggies), sprouts and some nuts is the way to go.

Thank you sooo much that was really helpfull

 

[Yaraaa]

How big is his cage? What’s his diet like?
Good luck!

I will get him a new cage and his diet is variety of nuts sunflower seed and so on

 

[DinoStormy]

I will get him a new cage and his diet is variety of nuts sunflower seed and so on

Just a sidenote:
Nuts and sunflower seeds are quite fatty so watch out for that

 

[budgieluv3]

I will get him a new cage and his diet is variety of nuts sunflower seed and so on

I would suggest a chop (veggies, fruits) and pelleted diet as a seed diet can cause major health problems later on.

 

[tka]

Wingspan Info | Natural Inspirations Parrot cages - this is useful to give a sense of minimum cage sizes. 48x36" is the minimum recommended cage size for a Galah but bigger is better!

Nuts and sunflower seeds aren't recommended as a long term diet. They're high in fat; our captive birds simply aren't going to burn it off through flight or keeping warm. A diet of seeds and nuts will eventially lead to vitamin deficiencies. A better option is to save the seeds and nuts for training treats, with most of the diet being pellets and a mixture of vegetables, some fruit and perhaps herbs and flowers.

Pellets for Parrots - this is a good guide to different pellets. Ideally you want to choose one that doesn't have added colourings and sweeteners.