New Galah Owner here! :)

mypinklove

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Apr 20, 2016
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Arizona
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Charlie - 13 yr old RB2
Good morning everybody! :)




My name is Mae and I've been here for a while without an account, just reading and learning everything I could. I'm 20 years old, joined the Air Force at 17, and have been married for about a year and a half. I've had cockatiels and budgies growing up, and my favorite was a cockatiel named Sam who I trained and spent lots of time with.

My husband and I have a dog, two rats, and now a parrot! I've been doing my research for over a year and finally decided that a rose breasted cockatoo is exactly what I want. And after visiting my local bird club and meeting a Galah in person, I fell in love. Sooo, I adopted a 13 year old male Galah last Thursday evening from a couple ignorant owners who bought him for Christmas and weren't prepared for what a handful he would be. They clipped his wings after he had been fully flighted his whole life, kept him in a cage because he wouldn't stay on his perch when he was out, and fed him only fruity Zupreem pellets all day long... :(




I named him Pablo. I thought it'd be cute since he's a colorful cockatoo, and Pablo Picasso was a painter... His old name was Charlie so he says "hi Charlie" a lot, but I'm hoping he adjusts and starts saying "hi Pablo" after a while. I'm letting his wings grow in and plan on training him with a flight harness so I can take him outside a lot.



I've been reading Michael Sazhin's "The Parrot Wizard's Guide to Well-Behaved Parrots" and started clicker touch training a few days ago. He's so smart and already has caught on and it's lots of fun! :) He's a biter so I've been saying "owe" when he bites too hard and ignoring him or putting him on the other side of the table or couch or something and making him run back over. If he keeps up I just walk him to his cage and put him on it.



He's also really destructive lol, so I've been replacing what he's chewing on that's bad (furniture mostly) with his toys and Q-tips to destroy. Then I praise him a lot for destroying the Q-tips.



He's tame for sure but I think it's pretty obvious he hasn't ever really been trained what's appropriate for a companion parrot to do and not do. But he's so smart and willing to learn that I think we'll be just fine. <3



Right now I'm feeding him a veggie and spinach mash for breakfast and dinner, with crushed zupreem pellets mixed in. He wants only zupreem all the time but I figured this way he's at least getting some extra vitamins and nutrients when he eats the bits of pellets. Also this makes him hungrier mid afternoon and we can effectively work on training because he's food motivated. I've been using pieces of the fruity zupreem as training treats since he takes them so eagerly and they're better for him than seeds. At night I give him a few pieces of nut or fruit (if he wants it) as a bonding dessert before he goes to sleep.



I'm also trying to teach him to potty on his cage by asking him to go potty, and then when he poops I praise him and take him out. He still goes everywhere and anywhere lol but he's catching on that he's gotta poop first if he wants to come out and I praise him when he goes on his playstand or in his cage.



Before I touch him I ask "can I touch you?" and he puffs up a little if he wants it and usually walks away or tries to bite if he does not. I'm trying to be respectful of his wishes while still making my wishes clear. We have a pretty good relationship so far I think, and he seems very interested in me. I've got so many questions that just pop up through the day and now I'll be able to start my own threads to ask them! :)



Thanks for being a great community - much respect to you all and I'm very excited to be a part of this group and learn all I can.



~ Mae and Pablo
 

GreatBlue320

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May 5, 2015
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Baxter - Illiger's Macaw (hatch date 5.1.15);

Taylor - Black capped Conure (RIP 3.14.15 - miss you every day little "Girlie")
Sounds like you and Pablo are on your way to building a wonderful relationship!

Please post pictures so we can take a look at your beautiful boy!
 
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mypinklove

mypinklove

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Apr 20, 2016
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Charlie - 13 yr old RB2
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Thanks so much! :)
Here he is. <3
 

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mypinklove

mypinklove

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Apr 20, 2016
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Arizona
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Charlie - 13 yr old RB2
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A few more
 

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JerseyWendy

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Jul 20, 2012
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A very warm welcome to the forums, Mae & Pablo, and THANK YOU for the most precious photos of your gorgeous baby!!! :D
 

OOwl

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Oct 12, 2010
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Texas
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Rosebreasted Cockatoo, Congo Grey, MRH Amazon, Lovebird
Congrats on your new guy. You'll love him. My guy is also 13, but he's been with me his entire life. He came to me weaned on those fruity zupreem pellets, and he still eats them, along with Roudybush pellets. But his diet is so varied with sprouts and in-season produce that I'm sure it's fine. He's fully feathered and has great lab work, so I'm not changing it. At least your guy wasn't on a seed diet and you aren't facing converting him to pellets. Just start mixing the "better" pellets you want to feed him.

Oh, and you might want to ask your vet about all that spinach. Mine says to feed small amounts of it due to it interfering with calcium absorption.

And, yes, mine is extraordinarily destructive, too. He completely turns a large wood toy into toothpicks in a day. We make our own out of untreated lumber.

Looking forward to hearing more about Pablo.
 

Birb

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Feb 15, 2016
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Idaho
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Sunshine 5 MO Sun conure, Budgie s: Kensington, Caleb, Alfie, and Piper. Ruben 7 MO GCC
So sweet! Pellets are better than no pellets! The only thing I'd say is I'm not a fan of changing names later in life. Like what if people just started calling you Susan instead of Mae because they thought it sounded better? Personal opinion though. Best of luck, I bet you'll be a great family for the little buddy!
 

Scott

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Aug 21, 2010
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San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
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Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Welcome Mae, and thank you for a thorough introduction to Pablo!

He is stunning, and nicely interactive. Should be a great relationship!!
 
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mypinklove

mypinklove

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Apr 20, 2016
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Charlie - 13 yr old RB2
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Wow, thank you all for even more kind words! :)



OOwl: Good to hear Zupreem fruity blend isn't bad for him. I'll admit I was a bit freaked out when I heard he had been getting pellets, was expecting generic brown high quality stuff, and then saw a big clear bin of artificial dyes and fruit shapes haha, but if it isn't a big deal I'll chill out and slow down with converting him to other stuff so we can get him through this bin first. He really likes it, too. If there's no issues, why change what he really likes I guess?

And note taken about the spinach thing. I have his first vet visit planned to be the first week of May. He was a pretty big purchase, and we just had to replace a car, and we wanna wait til we get paid again just incase there are extra fees we have to pay for tests and treatments we don't know about yet. But that's something I'll ask about for sure.



Also I weighed him today and will probably edit to add that he is 325 grams, and from what I understand from a quick google search that is within healthy for an adult male galah? I was pretty relieved. He seems like a big fellow but maybe that's just because I'm so used to how cockatiels feel on my finger. :)



It's also nice to know someone else here with a 13 yr old galah! Amazing that you've been able to raise him all the way to adulthood. I hope Pablo and I will be able to bond just the way you've been able to with yours, even though he's already reached full maturity.



Birb: Thanks so much! I totally hear you on the name thing.. I thought for a while about that as well, but I've actually also got some personal reasons behind not keeping the name "Charlie"... And maybe it's just me but from what I hear in the Bible name changes sometimes happened whenever a person got a brand new life or beginning, and I know when my life really took off I started being called by my last name "Eister" and now that's pretty much my first name. So that's another reason I feel like it's something that can easily be adapted to. :) I don't have any issues with him never forgetting to say "hi Charlie" though. It's still pretty cute. But thanks for your perspective!



Scott: Thanks for the warm welcome! :) I'm excited to share more as our story unfolds.



psychocircus91: Aw thanks! Yes, I'm smitten for sure. <3
 

Brittany741

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Feb 9, 2015
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Atlanta, GA
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SI Eclectus (Ruby) - 11 / Eclectus (Wrangler) - 7 / Eclectus (Pinto) - 6 /
Red Sided Eclectus (Oliver) - 4 mos. /
White Bellied Caique (Dan) - 2 /
Foster Congo African Grey (Molly) - 6
What a precious baby! Welcome to parronthood!

As for changing names, I've only done it once and that's with my sweet Persie who was locked in a cage for five years with a bad diet, no human contact, and no baths. I decided to change her name because her old name and her old life are very intertwined.

She has taken to her new name quite well. I also changed her cage and her diet 100% on the day she came home. She hasn't plucked a single feather since being here, either.

The other reason I changed her name is because she doesn't say it and because she was ignored for so long, there's a good chance she didn't know it anyway. Had she been saying her name I probably wouldn't have changed it. Definitely your decision either way. Both names are very cute!
 
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mypinklove

mypinklove

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Apr 20, 2016
76
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Arizona
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Charlie - 13 yr old RB2
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What a precious baby! Welcome to parronthood!

As for changing names, I've only done it once and that's with my sweet Persie who was locked in a cage for five years with a bad diet, no human contact, and no baths. I decided to change her name because her old name and her old life are very intertwined.

She has taken to her new name quite well. I also changed her cage and her diet 100% on the day she came home. She hasn't plucked a single feather since being here, either.

The other reason I changed her name is because she doesn't say it and because she was ignored for so long, there's a good chance she didn't know it anyway. Had she been saying her name I probably wouldn't have changed it. Definitely your decision either way. Both names are very cute!


Thank you so much! Do you think he actually has a deep want to be called Charlie just because he's copied it from his past home? As a human child who was 13 years old I wouldn't change his name, but I didn't think as a bird he'd mind being called a different name? I really want to keep the name Pablo but now I'm having a bit of guilt about it. Is it really that bad on their psychological health to change their name at a new life start? I don't want him to be upset obviously..

Thanks for the insight and help :)
 

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