Need help on Galah diet!

Jayyj

New member
Apr 28, 2013
735
2
UK
Parrots
Alice - Galah cockatoo
Hi folks,

Alice had her first visit to the vet last week, and his only negative comment was to point out that she was a little on the porky side. We discussed what she was currently eating and what I'd done so far to improve things, and he thought we were already on the right track but that once she was settled in a bit better it would be worth looking at getting her in shape. He suggested introducing pellets, but I'm a bit at sea as to how much I should be giving, so was hoping for some pointers from the rb2 community?

When I brought her home her diet was basically a nut and seed mix. The shop mixed in bits of fruit and veg chop but having observed her sorting through her food bowl I suspect she was discarding most of these. Fruit is a definite no-no, and raw veg is nibbled at with little enthusiasm. Boiled peas and sweet corn are hoovered up with gusto and I'm giving those every morning - about 10 to 15 of each - and she likes wholewheat pasta and rice, so she gets those two or three times a week.

Out of the big bag of seed, nut and dried fruit supplied with her, I now give her one tea spoon of it in the morning, then about the same again hidden if various foraging locations for her to sniff out while I'm at work - she seemed to have as much seed as she wanted in the shop, so this seems a big improvement! She also gets a few monkey nuts and a broken up walnut a day in the way of treats.

This week we've introduced Harrison's High Potency Fine pellets. Took a few days to get her interested but today I left out the same as the seed mix, one teaspoon in the bowl and one scattered in my usual hiding places, and it's all gone this evening so she obviously likes it.

With anything new I've gone for smaller amounts to start with so I can easily see if she's eating it. Left overs are discarded, bowls disinfected and fresh food served each morning. When I bring the bowl back from the kitchen she's usually sat patiently on the perch by the bowl holder with a hopeful expression on her face!

So, how should I be working out quantities for these elements? Do pellets need to be rationed to a set amount a day or can she eat as much as she wants? Is two teaspoons of seed/nut mix still too much? Presumably the fresh veg can be unlimited? Help!​
 

U2gal

New member
May 20, 2013
218
0
Did your vet do any blood work? If she was on a mainly seed/nut diet, I'd worry about about having liver issies and vit A problems.

Please do try to get her on pellets. Take seed and nut completely out of her diet except 1 hour at night, every day. Leave pellets in her cage during the day and offer veggies and fruits and sprouts. She will boundly switch over to pelleted diet quickly. If your consistent.

I'd offer seed and nuts only up to 10% of the diet.


I hope this helps:)
 

terry52449

New member
Feb 11, 2012
178
Media
11
4
The Villages, Fl
Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo: Cameo
I love cockatoos. They are the most loving birds I have ever had. I took in now my second rescued Too and it took some time and patience to get him to feel at home and comfortable with the new surroundings. I don`t believe in having a pet and not being part of the family. I was told Kramer was not a very social bird and hates other birds. Since having him ( 1 month) he and Cameo are very comfortable around each other but I don`t let them share the same cage or perches. But they communicate to each other constantly and seem to want to be near each other all the time. If one leaves for a shower or to go outside the other has to come along. They both sit on me while I watch TV and love to cuddle. Thank God I have two arms and a big chest and stomach.LOL I would take another Too anytime.
 
OP
Jayyj

Jayyj

New member
Apr 28, 2013
735
2
UK
Parrots
Alice - Galah cockatoo
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
He didn't do any blood work, no.

I'll start avoiding the seeds in the morning, save them for foraging treats in small quantities. She's a bit erratic with the pellets, doesn't always go for them in the bowl but if they're left out elsewhere so she thinks they're a treat she'll always eat them. I'll try less choice in the morning, see if I can focus her on the healthy stuff when she's hungry. The vet wanted her on 60% pellets, as much of the rest as possible to be fresh veg.

So is there a maximum of pellets she should have offered in a day?

What do other galah guardians around here favour for meal times? I've read a few old threads reading around the topic, and I remember Copperarabian mentioning that Rosie has the high potency Harrisons fine pellet, but would be good to hear other experiences.
 
OP
Jayyj

Jayyj

New member
Apr 28, 2013
735
2
UK
Parrots
Alice - Galah cockatoo
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Thanks U2gal, I appreciate your responses. I'd guess she's on 30-40% at the moment, will try 50% tomorrow. I wouldn't really want to go over 60%, seems more sensible to keep a decent amount of variation in her diet. She's finishing up the last of the pellets in her bowl as I type this, so looks like it shouldn't be hard to achieve...
 

Featheredsamurai

New member
Aug 24, 2011
4,172
19
California
Parrots
African Greg
2 cockatiels
I've done a lot of research into galah diets and health as mine was very unhealthy when I got her. My galah was extremely underweight, had organ failure, and a calcium deficiency.

Galahs are highly prone to fat related illness such as fatty liver disease, fatty tumors, and heart disease. They should receive very little to no seeds in their diet. Also feed a lot of fresh foods, especially foods that promote liver function.

I really love chop mixes. I use a food processor to finely chop a a ton of veggies, then cook quinoa, barley, 21 bean soup mix(no flavor packet!), and a little veggie infused spiral noodles.

This is my last chop mix
tumblr_mkelfvjbRq1s9o2fio6_1280.jpg


one serving. My last batch was better, this one doesn't have as much veggies as I wanted.

2ac7695cdb8311e28abf22000a1f9bf5_7.jpg


Sometimes I add to it too

Adding various fruit to the mix

1954566ce41111e29e3622000a9e16a3_7.jpg


added leafy greens and green pepper

tumblr_mkpa5gZSzp1s9o2fio1_1280.jpg




Patty from bird tricks(she helped write the cookbook) recently made a batch of chop mix and posted a photo of her fresh ingredients. This is going to make a AMAZING chop mix, in my next batch I'm going to replicate her fresh ingredients.

tumblr_motgk7tz2c1r6ey2do1_500.jpg
 
OP
Jayyj

Jayyj

New member
Apr 28, 2013
735
2
UK
Parrots
Alice - Galah cockatoo
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
Copperarabian, that's wonderful, thank you - I'd happily eat that myself! I diligently make a chop mix of fresh veg every morning, most of which she ignores, but it's a far cruder affair, basically just chopping veg small enough that she might accidently inhale a few bits of carrot in the race to hoover up the bits she likes. I'll have a go at something more ambitious this week.

Of course, if she didn't have panic attacks every time I leave the lounge for more than two minutes it would be easier to be creative in the kitchen... Never mind her, I haven't been able to cook a meal for myself in the last month!
 

U2gal

New member
May 20, 2013
218
0
Have you tried blending all the veggies and putting it into a birdie bread?

Or juicing the veggies and offering it?

My guys love my bird bred when I make it and get veggies that way (as well as the original way; fresh and place into food dishes or handed to them).

My guys also love drinking anything I'm drinking. So if I'm drinking something healthy I offer them first sips. Perhaps your galah would appreciate sips of juiced veggies? Then just drink the rest yourself and add the pulp to a soup/stew or blend it into birdie bread:)
 

Betrisher

Well-known member
Jun 3, 2013
4,253
177
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Parrots
Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
The thing I'd most like to know is HOW MUCH do you give your Galah each day?

Dominic is finally eating some of his pellets (but won't touch the green ones, even if he's starving). He seems not to know what to do with fruit and/or veggies. He chomps them, but spits out the chomp onto the floor. I'm feeding Vetafarm pellets because that's all I can get ATM, but it doesn't say how much to feed. Hnnnnh! I'm guessing it's gonna be more than half-a-cup-a-day, but how much more? If he refuses to eat fruit and veg, should I leave him to get really, really hungry and force him to eat them? And how much F&V should I be offering?

Would love advice on this please. :D
 

Featheredsamurai

New member
Aug 24, 2011
4,172
19
California
Parrots
African Greg
2 cockatiels
Does your galah fly? Galahs really should be left flighted and motivated to fly to stay healthy.
 
Last edited:
OP
Jayyj

Jayyj

New member
Apr 28, 2013
735
2
UK
Parrots
Alice - Galah cockatoo
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #12
She doesn't fly, now but I think she'll be fine when her clipped feathers grow back in. If something really panics her she'll get a couple of feet into the air then usually loses her balance and comes back to earth with a thud, but she's managed a lap around the font room before so she obviously knows what to do, just is thrown by her right wing not having the expected lift. I try to intervene to stop her taking off if I can as I'm terrified of an accident. She has four new primaries growing in now so I'm hoping when they're fully in it will make a difference.

Before she came home I had big ideas of harness training and taking her outside for regular exercise, but we've a long way to go before that's a possibility. She's just started looking for cuddles and scratches this last few days and that's the first time she trusted me to stroke around her head, so getting a harness around there could be a fair few months away. When she's more confident about leaving the cage area I've a long hallway we can start practicing flight recalls though.
 

keikoasmom

New member
Jul 6, 2013
28
11
Very interesting!
Alice sounds a lot like Bubo (one of our Goffins) and I do the same, chop fruit small, hoping she'll accidently eat some. In her case, she throws bigger fruit at the wall. :p

Chop mix? I have to look for that.

To me, it sounds like you are doing everything right, and maybe just get a table perch for the kitchen so that Alice can keep you company and you can make yourself a meal!

All of the components: pellets, veggies and fruit, nuts and occasional seeds....
I like the suggestion of juicing or baking veggies into bread.
I'll have to try that, myself.
 
OP
Jayyj

Jayyj

New member
Apr 28, 2013
735
2
UK
Parrots
Alice - Galah cockatoo
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #14
I'd love to take her into the kitchen with me, but at the moment we've carved out a three meter square around her cage where she'll play happily, and anywhere beyond that is still the big, bad outside world for her. She'll generally try to fly back to the cage if I try to take her further than that, which at the moment has the potential to end in a crash landing.

The Harrisons is going well, not her favorite thing but she's getting through three teaspoons of it. Tried it myself, it was kind of gritty! But I also got one of those bean mixes for making soup and she loved that, so left out the seeds today and she didn't seem to miss them too much.

I'm still curious to know how much is too much with the Harrisons? I don't want to be over feeding her.
 

strudel

New member
Sep 30, 2013
1,939
Media
5
1
I'd happily eat that myself!
I did. I previously looked up about the chop mix and made a vege chop. The veges were really nice, I wasn't going to "waste" them all on the birds so I used it in a pasta sauce I called "cocky food pasta sauce". It was excellent. I'd never tried kale before I got it for the birds, it's good stuff. It's a good opportunity to get to eat a greater variety of veg yourself when you have to buy them for your birds.
 
OP
Jayyj

Jayyj

New member
Apr 28, 2013
735
2
UK
Parrots
Alice - Galah cockatoo
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #16
It's amazing to read those posts from only a few months ago: she's come on such a long way! Now the only problem in the kitchen is getting her to stay in one place for more than 30 seconds...
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top