Is this normal?

Hi guys;

Since I have gotten my galah cockatoo my one sided and non-mutual love begun. I thought I would wait for sometime before posting here, and it has been 4 days and nothing is improving.

She always runs away from me when I present to her my finger so she can ride. I saw no problem in that seeing that I am a fresh face and it is expected from her to be scared. However, she now seems to just not like me instead of being scared. In these past 4 days I have fed her and played with her (at least tried; took her outdoors and kept walking her around when she rarely did climb my finger or shoulder; I kinda forced her to climb many times without being harsh or hurting.)

She is quiet which I did not expect from a galah after reading around. Nothing is getting better I wake up everyday to give her my heart and she only gives me her back.

Any advice guys please?

Remember: to your bird, you are many times bigger than she is and potentially could eat her! You have to prove to her that you will not. Don't force her to do anything. If you force her to come out of the cage or step up before she's ready, she will not trust you. Instead, you have to gain her trust by feeding her nice things, being very quiet and gentle with her and just spending time with her. It can take weeks for a bird to overcome its fear of a new environment and a new owner, so be prepared to wait for quite a while. If she is afraid of your hands, then do a search on YouTube for 'Hand taming a parrot'. There are many helpful videos around that will help you.

If you've read much on this forum at all, you'll know that most of us have spent months if not years working with our birds to build the sort of relationship you want to have with yours. It doesn't happen overnight: it's like raising a child. So do try to be patient and take very small steps. Galahs are very friendly birds in general and if yours is showing fear, then perhaps she's either very young and afraid without her parents or perhaps she's been mistreated or handled roughly. Either way, it still calls for patience on your part.

I keep a jar of crushed mixed nuts near my birds' cages and will often sit for five minutes or so, just speaking softly to them and feeding them tiny bits of nut. You could also keep small bits of fruit or cut-up vegetable for the same purpose. I find, though, the best treats are those your bird never gets except at those times when you are just sitting and being quiet with her. She will learn to value those times with you and that is the foundation on which you build trust.

So, slow down and start again with your bird (does she have a name yet?). Give her time and she'll come to trust you and be the close companion you want.

How old is she? What is her history? And most important, her name!?

Give her time to just settle in. Put her cage next to a place you sit, then just be there.... read her a book, play music, only open her cage to offer food. Have you found a favorite treat yet? If yes, only give that by hand and hold it for her if she will let you. Forcing interaction won't gain her trust, but her natural curiosity is in your favor.

If you can, eat your meals with her and if possible have something on your plate for her. You need to show her you are her flock and a flock eats together!

These are just my thoughts for starting over....you can also leave her cage door open when you sit with her, let her come out to you!! She will want to explore, let her climb on you as you read, maybe have treats in a napkin for her to find!

Good luck!!

Congrats on your new bird! Have you named her yet? It can take parrots months and sometimes even years to settle in and really form a strong, trusting bond with you. The good news is, because they live just as long as you do, you've got all the time it takes to form a good relationship with your bird at HER pace. After a couple days, she is probably still very overwhelmed and possibly frightened still of her new home. Unfortunately, you cannot explain to a parrot that you only want to love them and don't intend them any harm. That comes from your actions over a period of time. You also must keep in mind, unlike dogs and cats, parrots are PREY animals, so their immediate assumption of you is that you are a predator who wants to eat them.

The best way to start off on the right foot with your bird is by not handling her until she is ready, and start acclimating her to you as a non-threatening presence in her life. A good way to start is by sitting next to her cage every day and talking to her in a calming, reassuring voice (a lot of people read books to their new birds, and the bird understands the gentle tone of voice). If she is comfortable (not frightened) of being out on her cage while you're doing this, by all means let her be out. Have some treats with you, so if she comes closer (whether in her cage or out on top of it), you can hand her a treat and tell her she's a good girl to reinforce being close to you is fun, safe and rewarding. Familiarize yourself with which foods available in your country are safe for her to eat. Parrot LOVE eating what they see you eating, and so long as it's not toxic to them or especially high in fat/sugar/salt, they can and should eat table foods (it's good variety for them). In nature, mealtime is a HUGE bonding activity for wild flocks of parrots, so in captivity, eating with their human "flock" is a VERY important part of bonding with them. If you are giving them food off your plate, you are showing them you not only don't want to harm them, but that you welcome them into your family and would give up your precious food for them. Many people, including in our house, bring their birds to the table at mealtimes. However, if that doesn't work for you, you can just take your plate over to her cage and offer a bit of what your having in her dish.

I would give it at least a few weeks of just talking to her, being around her, giving her and giving her some of your food before you start really getting into training her to step up on your hand. If she seems to be willing sooner, great, but the fastest way to make a bad relationship with a bird (and an unhappy bird who wants to bite you) is to force them up on your hand before they know they can trust you. Gain her trust first, then start working on stepping up and any other things you would like to train her to do. Best of luck with her.

Patience is the key. I know it's tough but really, if you do this part right with patience you will be rewarded with a lifetime relationship that both of you cherish. It's an important time right now. The make it or break it period for trust. Jasper is still a baby and I've only had him a couple months and he is still very much settling in. I go with his lead. If he doesn't want to come out of his cage in the morning, then he gets to stay in until he decides it's time to come out. My Sun conure loved and trusted me from the minute I brought her home so it was hard to swallow when Jasper took a bit longer. But my patience paid off and now most days then not he wants out immediately to visit with me. Everyday he becomes a bit more confident in his new world and nothing makes me happier to see. Cockatoos are super sensitive so it's especially important to excercise patience on your end. Good luck with your new baby! In no time you will see her come out of her shell if you take it all slow.

Thank you guys. Sincerely, thank you.

Those were only words you typed onto the screen to answer me, but I cannot express how reassured I am. You guys fueled me up.

But just as a follow up, my "Wardi" (his name ) hates staying in the cage. As soon as I open the door he climbs out as fast as he can. So I am giving him some distance with food and water on a stand I just bought today.

Wish us luck guys.

Wardi is such a cute name! What does it mean?

I cannot improve upon the excellent advice you've already been given here but I can tell you this from personal experience : time, patience and lots of unconditional love WILL get you the result you want. I was, like you, also very keen for my bird to instantly form a bond with me but that didn't happen. It took me months of patience (and lots of tears and coming here for support ) but the result has been fantastic!

Keep trying - Wardi will learn to love and even more importantly trust you.

Everyone has great advice! I was chosen by my cockatoo so he pretty much trusted me right away but I still left him in his cage the first few days just to settle and acclimate himself a bit. There are plenty of times where he just doesn't want to come out still and as long as he doesn't bite to communicate this desire I just leave him alone. It is a good thing for them to associate the cage as a safe fun place because they are going to spend quite a bit of time hanging out in it. Many birds can be fairly quiet when they first come home kind of like they are trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.

You can play music while sitting near by or sitting silently next to her cage reading or just sit there and talk to her a bit. You just want her to see you doing completely nonthreatening things. My birds are caged in my room so when I got Loki my sun conure I would sit on my bed playing music and reading. Eventually he decided he wanted to know what the weird creature was doing and came out. I wouldn't force her to do anything else just have patience!

Even though Folger chose me it doesn't mean he completely trusted me right away or does right now. It takes time to build the level of trust where you get to meet the destructive, funny, loud monster you just brought home with you Everyday Folger gets a little more confident that I won't whack him across the room and so is getting more and more destructive. He will now steal random things from me and look completely innocent of the behavior while he still has the item in his mouth.... What? I have no idea how that got there:54:

Time and her natural curiosity are in your favor on this one!

Congratulations on joining galah club!

Not much to add to the excellent advice already given, only to repeat that it takes time and you won't always get the results you want immediately. My galah is an older bird who came with issues - we're now nine months in and we still have hiccups every now and then. But then when you do make progress, the feeling is wonderful!

Galahs are wonderful birds, but they're sensitive and emotional creatures that can easily get stressed. Watch his body language and you'll start to get a feel for how fast you can go with him and when to back off and give him space. You'll soon see the affectionate, playful bird you're looking for.

If you respect his space, he will learn to trust you. Forcing him in to any situation will never make you trust worthy. You will either get a nasty bite one day or he will give up. There is nothing like watching a bird wanting to be with you. Running to you because they want attention, or calling out to you when they hear your car pull up. Right now he is settling in and probably scared. So speak softly, and move slowly. I would ignore him, and go about your routine. Eat right in from of him. Keep an eye to see how he reacts, but don't make eye contact. If he get curious and starts to investigate what it is you have, you'll know then reward him. Be consistent for example, every time when you let him out of his cage, ask him if he wants to come out. Rio begs and will try and repeat what I am saying. She will run to the door. I totally know what she wants. I talk to her like all day long. So like the other said watch his body language and act accordingly. Eventually he will come around, you and he will be happier when he desires to be with you.

HamadAhli said:

Thank you guys. Sincerely, thank you.

Those were only words you typed onto the screen to answer me, but I cannot express how reassured I am. You guys fueled me up.

But just as a follow up, my "Wardi" (his name ) hates staying in the cage. As soon as I open the door he climbs out as fast as he can. So I am giving him some distance with food and water on a stand I just bought today.

Wish us luck guys.

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I think a stand is a great idea to aid in bonding if he's comfortable coming out of his cage. Many parrots are absolutely terrified of leaving their cage until they have been in a home for a while, so that's a positive sign he's an inquisitive and brave boy. It's not fun to have a bird who's terrified of anything unfamiliar and must be coaxed into everything. Of course, you don't want to force him onto the stand, but if he'll bolt right out of the cage I have a feeling he will like being on a stand too. We had a lot of luck using a stand when we first got our bird Kiwi. He was pretty vicious, didn't step up and definitely wasn't happy being in his cage all the time. He enjoyed getting to come to the table with us, sit and watch tv with us, watch me cook and clean, watch my hubby work out ext.... all on his stand. We didn't worry about him biting and he didn't worry about us hurting him. It worked very well for us when we were still gaining his trust and creating a bond with him. It also allowed him to feel very included, as we just took him from room to room on the stand instead of our hands. Of course, we did eventually work on step up training, but having a portable stand bought us a few months to start getting him to trust us while allowing him to explore his new home a little not just sit in the living room with the same view all day). Just curious, is Wardi flighted or clipped? That will make a huge difference in how you train and work with him as time progresses.

As others have said, time and space!!
Give him lots of space and be near while he's exploring but not close enough to be considered a threat. Don't force anything, speak softly and move slowly.

Some birds take months to settle into a new home and surroundings. Give it time.

The best advice I can give you in this situation is to STOP TRYING SO HARD.

Take the opposite tactic. Sit next to the cage. Talk to the bird. Give food and water. Don't make any moves toward the bird. In fact, ignore the bird a bit.

LET THE BIRD CRAVE THE ATTENTION FROM YOU, AND INITIATE THE CONTACT. Let the bird come to you. Then, give him the attention he is craving...

I've done rehabs that quite literally TOOK MONTHS to allow handling.

I've got a 41 year old lilac crowned amazon that, to this day, does not allow touching. Steps up nice. Controls her bite pressure. Isn't aggressive. Loves attention. Will ride along on your shoulder just as happy as you please. JUST DON'T TOUCH...

They are individual creatures.