An Aussie Newbie :D

Hi Guys,

I have owned a parrot of some description my entire life... budgies, Galahs, lorikeets, conures and even had a stint at handrearing birds.

I have had a pretty tragic run with birds I have loved... my first, a budgie (Goldie) flew away when I was changing his cage and my sister belted it with a palm frond... he panicked and flew off (I was only 13 years old). I had had him for about 8 years!! He was an amazing budgie with a huge vocabulary who I had out of the cage the second I came home every single day! I have always had fully flighted birds. He was not a young budgie as it was and his loss was devastating.

I didn't get my next bird until I moved out of home (my mother tried to replace the loss with a cockatiel who my sister ended up bonding with who became the family bird for the next 10 years).
I got a lorikeet named Skittles He was funny and quirky and loved him to bits... I had to find a home for him when I moved back in with my parents after a relationship break up. My parents could not stand his noise. He went to a brilliant home, but the loss was pretty tough especially coupled with a relationship break up.

When I moved out again I got Larry, my beloved Galah He was my baby, he would do everything with me. He definitely changed my life for the better.
Parents strike again, when I was in hospital in labour with my daughter my parents agreed to Birdysit him... I ended up getting rather sick and spent months in hospital. My parents claimed he escaped (but I think they sold him, there were locks on the cage they said they 'forgot' to lock). I loved that bird like you would not have believed... or perhaps you all know exactly how I felt about him I STILL miss him. I didn't get another bird for some time, I couldn't bare to. I spent over a year and a half checking the RSPCA for him, putting up fliers and stopping anytime I saw a lone galah on the side of the road. I even found someone elses pet galah this way and returned him safely to them!! I never found him (no doubt because my parents actually sold him).

I lived next door to a man that handreared baby birds for a pet shop and he ended up teaching me how to handrear. I handreared a number of bubs, from cockatiels and lorikeets to eclectus and alexandrine. But never could get passed my previous experiences with loss and never found a bub I really wanted to keep for myself.
Eventually I handreared a gorgeous blue front rainbow lorikeet, the man that took him was also handrearing green cheek conures and I feel in love with one of them, a little guy I ended up calling "Kermit". I had Kermit for 5 years... until this year. Kermit passed away early this year... he had an obstruction. It is horrifying how delicate their beautiful little lives are, he was gone in a matter of hours of having discovered something wasn't right (he hadn't pooped properly the previous day, but was drinking and eating apparently normally, I never would have thought I would lose him). He died in my hands on the way to the vet and I cried for the rest of the day, absolutely beside myself. Its taken me months to stop beating myself up over it. A beloved human friend of mine had passed away days before and I had been distracted by my grief and hadn't taken him out the day before he died. If I had, I would have noticed earlier that he hadn't pooped properly. The guilt is crippling.

It has been about 10 months since his passing and I miss him constantly. About 4months ago I decided I would do some research into various species, I couldnt have the same species, it would feel like "replacing" previous beloved birds. I ended up deciding on a Moustache Parrot. I put a deposit on a little bub a few weeks ago, she will be ready to come home late december I am excited enough I have her cage, toys and bowls etc already LOL I bought her a gorgeous enormous corner cage I have my fingers crossed wont be too big. It arrives on monday. It will fit right next to my work desk and has a playgym on top which I hope she will love spending a lot of her day on.

I have to admit, I am a bit nervous. I have loved the birds I have had VERY deeply, but none have lived their entire life with me... I am feeling wary! I don't want another tragic end to my new babies life... I know a few things will be happening with my new baby... 1. I will check the state of her poops everyday no matter what is going on in my life. 2. I will be getting the number of an ace local bird sitter in the area in case I get sick or need to go away, my parents will NOT be trusted again. 3. I will love her everyday as though its our last together <3 I don't want to ever have the same regrets I have now.

Sorry for such a long into! I am the only bird lover I know and no one else understands my grief or the level of love birds inspire! They just hear the noise they make and want nothing to do with them. My Galah could scream his adorable little afternoon display in my ear and I would have loved him every bit as much as if he was sitting on his perch being a quiet boy. Im nervous about getting such a different species, but am also excited about something different. Looking forward to my new baby and also reading all your experiences with your feathered babies

Cheers guys!

Ari

welcome Ari - I hope that your new baby to be will be with you for long time It is tragic when it happens isnt it. I have cats and dogs and always have had them, plus birds, cavies, reptiles, and anything else i can call a pet lol! so i understand your pain. its hard to get through, but i have found that the love i have and give for all my other babies helps me through the pain. good luck and looking forward to photos when you get her

hello and welcome! you have had quite an adventurous life with birds!
i am also from australia and like you, know no one who likes birds as well
i bet you cant wait until your new baby comes home in december

Such a sad story =( But it's about time for a happy ending!!!
I'm another bird loving Aussie (with no one liking birds as much as me too!)
Welcome to the forum of bird lovers!

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am sorry about the trouble you have had with your birds. Life can be a bit of a bummer sometimes! But wishing you all the best and good luck when your new birdy comes home!

Thanks guys!
I can not even express how excited I am about getting my new baby I have bought up loads of bird safe materials to make my own toys out of because nothing available on the market was as safe as I wanted... yes, I am a bit paranoid now.
I have all stainless steel bits (chain, quick links etc) as well as acrylic beads and shapes, hemp and sisal rope and soon to grab some bird safe wood to make some wood toys. Even gone so far as to make my own natural dyes o.0 Am I nuts? LOL

I do hope this one has a happy ending I hope to be about 60 before I have to say goodbye to my new gal, after many happy years together.

I do have a picture of her!

OMG how cute. Welcome to the forum. I think for a lot of people they just do not understand the bond that develops with a pet. The pain of losing them is the same as loosing a member of your family which is exactly what they are.The moustach parrot is so petty. Sounds like your going to be having a good time making toys

Hi Ari - I'm really new to parrot ownership as I found a tame Galah in Adelaide. I've posted on every known website that I found him - vets too - and nobody has claimed him. So he's been with me about 6 weeks and boy I feel the weight of responsibility! I took him to the vet who told me he's about 4 or 5 and it breaks my heart that his rightful owner hasn't claimed him (he's fully flighted). The vet said he was in great shape so obviously loved and well looked after. I'm doing my best but keep fearing that its not enough as I work long hours and constantly feel guilty that I'm not with him more. I'm hoping that your new baby lives a long and happy life - it certainly sounds that he or she will be loved up big time! Whereabouts in Oz are you? I ask as I'm keeping an eye out for potential bird sitters (reciprocated) - not in Adelaide by any chance?? The forum is great and I've enjoyed the advice I've been given so far. As you were a previous Galah owner any tips you can pass onto me are greatly appreciated as I'm fairly ignorant about parrots! I post this via my IPad and cannot work out how to post photos - damn it - but Sheldon is gorgeous - very light pink (which made me think he was younger than he is) and loves loves a cuddle....

Hey Marayks!

My Larry used to be fine with being home alone during the day. The key to galahs is that they are a toddler in a birds body. They require the same mental and social stimulation. And the same kind of flawless patience LOL
But they are happy to nap during the day and watch a bit of TV and play with their toys. I used to take Larry out the second I got home and he spent all his time out of the cage when he wanted (and I was home). He would put himself to bed every evening. The great thing about galahs is they are big enough to allow floor free range (which they love as a bird that spends a lot of time on the ground). Bird proof a room and don't expect any furniture in that room to remain unharmed no matter how well you supervise You just need to be able to appreciate their quirks, even their noisey tail fanning wing waving afternoon crazies Man I miss my larry so much :/

I'm in Brisbane unfortunately, otherwise birdy sitting would definitely be an option Sheldon must the the eastern version... the westerns are very brightly coloured and "finer" looking. The easterns are soft pink and grey and look like big soft blobs
But if he is even lighter pink than birds you see in the local area he may be a corella x galah, they are very very pale.

Her cage arrived today!! Honest opinion, does this look too big for a moustache? I think there is about an inch space between bars :/ It looks like it was designed with large birds in mind.

0.7inches between the bars

No such thing as 'too big' when it comes to cages, & I think that bar-spacing would be about right. Looks like a nice cage.

Photo update! DNA results come back this week I will know soon if its a boy or girl (though am hoping for a girl).

awww! so cute hehe fingers crossed shes a girl!
and that looks like a great cage

Hi Ari

Welcome to the forums... So sorry to hear your heart breaking story...

The babies are gorgeous..

Hey Ari - yes Sheldon is a big pink and grey blob lol. Hey just a quick question about bathing... I've been reading that they need a bath/shower everyday?! Well I've had him almost 2 months and he's had 2 (reluctant) showers with a spray bottle - he doesn't like it (yet?) - should I spray him a lot more often? What was your experience? And hey I really feel for you regarding Larry, not sure I would have been able to forgive my parents - what were they thinking... Larry sounds like the love of your life (and I'm certainly slowing falling in love myself...my son is now starting to say things like "you'd do that for Shelly" (my son is 14 and seriously jealous...). Have you found out if your newbie is a girl yet? And yes darn shame you're not in Adelaide, never mind the search continues...

They can take a while to warm up to it but in the end Larry loved having his spray bottle baths and would start his little fluffed up wing up bathing display the second the bottle came out. At first he FLIPPED OUT and hated it. I backed off a bit and would spray just a small bit of him at a time. Its like one day something snapped inside him and he was suddenly bathing like a pro
Apart from them enjoy the bath, it also helps keep the dust down a little. I would spray him more often for short periods. Do what I did, get the spray bottle out once a day and give him a very light mist over one wing. Then up it to three sprays on the one wing. Galahs are also smarter than they appear, he may get the picture a bit better if you spray yourself and show him its all good

Hopefully I find out tomorrow if I have a boy or a girl. Im getting a bit nervous at the moment about having a different species... a wild galah hung upside down in a tree over my head today to say hello and it was like a stab to the heart D:
My current partner will NOT allow me to have a galah... he assumes they will be too noisey. I have to admit I am a little heart broken.