When will I be ready for a galah?

[SkyLark]

Aaaaaand that’s why big birds are not for me

 

[jmfleish]

I have five Galahs, two male pets who were clutch mates and are now 10 and are evil, evil, evil! A female pet who can have a huge attitude and is not nice to my husband, and a breeding pair in their 20s. Honestly, the breeding pair are the nicest ones. Galahs are not the easiest Cockatoos as far as I'm concerned. My first one, Kishka, was amazing until he hit maturity at about age five. His sibling, Fozzie, came to live with us around the same time because his owner's family made her rehome him for the same behaviors we were starting to see in Kishka...dive bombing us, attacking, etc. We thought we could deal with it but the two of them eventually bonded and are even worse together and I can't separate them now because they love each other. As they get older, they are calming down a little bit and seem to be less crazy when it isn't breeding season but Fozzie really just hates me. I'm starting to see signs of my sweet Kishka again but he will still just randomly attack me from time to time and reading either one of them is like trying to heard cats. They turn on a dime without warning. Addison, my female pet is very bonded to me but can be nippy and takes great glee in terrorizing my husband because she knows he doesn't trust her...that's fun for her! She would be surgically attached to me if she could be and is incredibly needy. They have very small beaks but let me tell you, those beaks can do a great deal of damage. I personally think that these birds don't make very good pets but of course that's my personal opinion. Might I suggest a grey?

 

[sweet960]

I have five Galahs, two male pets who were clutch mates and are now 10 and are evil, evil, evil! A female pet who can have a huge attitude and is not nice to my husband, and a breeding pair in their 20s. Honestly, the breeding pair are the nicest ones. Galahs are not the easiest Cockatoos as far as I'm concerned. My first one, Kishka, was amazing until he hit maturity at about age five. His sibling, Fozzie, came to live with us around the same time because his owner's family made her rehome him for the same behaviors we were starting to see in Kishka...dive bombing us, attacking, etc. We thought we could deal with it but the two of them eventually bonded and are even worse together and I can't separate them now because they love each other. As they get older, they are calming down a little bit and seem to be less crazy when it isn't breeding season but Fozzie really just hates me. I'm starting to see signs of my sweet Kishka again but he will still just randomly attack me from time to time and reading either one of them is like trying to heard cats. They turn on a dime without warning. Addison, my female pet is very bonded to me but can be nippy and takes great glee in terrorizing my husband because she knows he doesn't trust her...that's fun for her! She would be surgically attached to me if she could be and is incredibly needy. They have very small beaks but let me tell you, those beaks can do a great deal of damage. I personally think that these birds don't make very good pets but of course that's my personal opinion. Might I suggest a grey?

Oh...
I only met two greys in my whole life but they were both...umm...too mild? Maybe mild is a good thing but I want a parrot that throws multiple tamtrums and is all chaos. LOL maybe I’ll get sick of chaos after 10 years or something? I guess I’ll visit an aviary(?) sometime and try to interact with both galahs and greys.

 

[sweet960]

Good question! I mean for their weight as medium cockatoos. Our D2 and RB2 are within 20 grams of one another around 315g. (That's roughly 20 standard size paperclips for folks in the USA... She's usually the lighter of the two and they are both within normal weights for their species.) But their beaks are very different in size and bite power. Her "nips" from a smaller beak sting and can draw blood if she gets a chunk out, which doesn't often happen. His bites ache and almost always cause significant bleeding, large brusises and sometimes nerve crush injury.

Yup actually the one galah I did get to meet nipped me and I don’t think he really wanted to hurt me, he just wanted me to leave him alone so he could chase my shoelace around, but it did break the skin(only a little bit, tho)

 

[tka]

I want a parrot that throws multiple tamtrums and is all chaos

I think this is a case of being careful what you wish for! A lot of us like a little spice with our birds...but there's a difference between a parrot being a bit opinionated and the kind of chaos that a fully mature hormonal male cockatoo is capable of. They will ramp it up all the way to 11 and then break the scale.

I really, really recommend that you talk to experienced cockatoo people and get as much experience as you can before committing to this.

 

[sweet960]

I think this is a case of being careful what you wish for! A lot of us like a little spice with our birds...but there's a difference between a parrot being a bit opinionated and the kind of chaos that a fully mature hormonal male cockatoo is capable of. They will ramp it up all the way to 11 and then break the scale.

I really, really recommend that you talk to experienced cockatoo people and get as much experience as you can before committing to this.

Of course I’m not saying I want a badly behaved and hormonal sort of chaos lol

 

[RainbowFlo]

I think what you mean is you want a bit of a challenge? I might be wrong though...

 

[sweet960]

I think what you mean is you want a bit of a challenge? I might be wrong though...

Unmm It’s hard to put in words...I do like challenge but it’s not the only reason I like this specific speices.
Maybe I could say I want a lot of liveliness?

 

[Zara]

i just thought the name is really cute, didn’t know it means peach in Japanese

The main character in the series ¨Peach girl¨ is Momo Adachi - she is the ¨peach¨ girl

 

[Gokha]

The main character in the series ¨Peach girl¨ is Momo Adachi - she is the ¨peach¨ girl

Oooh right!!! I read that manga so many years ago and loved it completely forgot about it

 

[jmfleish]

I think this is a case of being careful what you wish for! A lot of us like a little spice with our birds...but there's a difference between a parrot being a bit opinionated and the kind of chaos that a fully mature hormonal male cockatoo is capable of. They will ramp it up all the way to 11 and then break the scale.

I really, really recommend that you talk to experienced cockatoo people and get as much experience as you can before committing to this.

If you mean the kind of chaos that comes along with full flighted biting attacks on your head, shoulders, neck, and ears at any time...then a male Galah is right up your alley! I've worked with all sorts of birds in all sorts of sizes. We have a wild caught male Slender Billed Cockatoo who will fly at us from time to time but nothing compares to the craziness of my two boys. I think the thing that I find most irritating about them is they are SOOOOO CUTE and then they talk to me in this cute little squeaky voice. Fozzy is the only bird of our 25 who calls me mommy and he will whisper to me..."Let me out! Let me out!" Every time I do I get the crap bit out of me. I can't handle him without a towel. Kishka is mellowing out a little and he can be out without Fozzie but you have to watch him because he will decide to attack at any time. Addison is the least prone to attack but if she's mad or scared, she will bite and if she smells any fear on you, she will take advantage of it. I think as only birds who get all your attention, they might be better suited but can't say for sure. I love my breeding pair but they are totally hands off and stick with each other.

 

[BirdEE]

They're like your first kid. You're never truly ready, and there is no instruction manual. They basically show up one day and life changes forever.

 

[Nancy B]

Since Galahs have a small beak for their body size, they tend to be light chewers. That's not true of all, but Rhubarb has to be significantly motivated to chew anything harder than cork. The only times she chews her pine toys is when there's a nut embedded in it.

This is true of my Fred too. He likes cardboard and popsicle sticks! He doesn't chew his wood perches, furniture or woodwork. He doesn't chew anything that isn't his. I gave him an old magazine and he wouldn't touch it. Joe says probably a good thing, don't have to worry about Fred chewing books or mail!! I didn't think of that!!

 

[Nancy B]

If you mean the kind of chaos that comes along with full flighted biting attacks on your head, shoulders, neck, and ears at any time...then a male Galah is right up your alley! I've worked with all sorts of birds in all sorts of sizes. We have a wild caught male Slender Billed Cockatoo who will fly at us from time to time but nothing compares to the craziness of my two boys. I think the thing that I find most irritating about them is they are SOOOOO CUTE and then they talk to me in this cute little squeaky voice. Fozzy is the only bird of our 25 who calls me mommy and he will whisper to me..."Let me out! Let me out!" Every time I do I get the crap bit out of me. I can't handle him without a towel. Kishka is mellowing out a little and he can be out without Fozzie but you have to watch him because he will decide to attack at any time. Addison is the least prone to attack but if she's mad or scared, she will bite and if she smells any fear on you, she will take advantage of it. I think as only birds who get all your attention, they might be better suited but can't say for sure. I love my breeding pair but they are totally hands off and stick with each other.

They bite probably because they are a breeding pair. My lovebird Rascal was my velcro bird until Olivia came into the picture. If he paid any attention to me she would beat the crap out of him. I stopped interacting with him because one day I really thought she was going to kill him. They had 3 babies who were all healthy and had their dads disposition, thank God! Their mom was a nasty thing and she ruled the roost! Now I have 1 Galah and 1 lovebird. My Galah is the sweetest thing ever. He gives kisses and cuddles daily. We've had him almost 3 years, he's not a biter.