New baby galah - help please!

I just picked up my new baby galah. I had to drive 3 to pick him up so he was in the car for a long time. He was grooming, napping and beak grinding in the travel cage on the way home and when we got home, I put him into a quiet room for an hour. It's late/almost dark so I wanted to try and move him into his real cage and then leave him for the night but he seems terrified of me. I tried to ask him to step up out of his travel cage but he backed away, lunged at me and hissed - so I backed off right away. How should I do this properly? I don't want our relationship to start off shaky. I was assured he was hand raised. He seems calm, I'm sitting in the room with him. He's grooming and making the odd "peep" sound.

Thanks for any tips, I have a sun conure, this is my first cockatoo.

aww poor baby. try to put yourself in your galahs feet, he's scared and everything he knows is suddenly different. Birds don't trust everyone, your a stranger to him and stranger danger is something he's going through right now.

Try leaving the travel cage door open and supervise to see if he wants to come out. If his new cage is big enough you can leave the crate door open on the floor of his cage. Hopefully after a good nights sleep he'll go explore before you wake up with the first rays of sunlight.

I can't fit the travel cage in as it doesn't fit past the door because it's quite long.

Is this normal for new birds? I'm not trying to rush him, just worried I didn't get a hand raised bird... I feel bad about him sleeping in the travel cage but tomorrow is a new day. He has fresh food and water but hasn't touched that. Is there anything else I should do to make him more comfortable? When should I attempt to force him out? Should he stay in there as long as he wants?

Be calm! Its VERY normal Especially for older handreared baby galahs.

Now that I got that out of the way... leave him in his travel cage, there is no need to rush him but also be aware that right now as long as you are gentle there isnt much you can do to ruin your future relationship

When I got my first galah years ago he was fine in the shop but when I got home and tried to get him out of his carrier he lunged and hissed and he DID bite me and drew blood
I was devastated. But I didnt need to be, forums werent around back then so I had no idea it was all normal. We left him in the carrier for a couple of days and just kept leaving the door open. He came out and I think I had to towel him to put him in his new cage. I thought he would always hate me. But a month down the track he was my best friend in the whole world.

So... leave him in his crate for tonight... open the door tomorrow and see if he wants to come out. If the crate opens up, you can always undo the crate and then towel him if the need arises. I won my guy over with sunflower seeds and talking gently. Once they figure out you are the food person they come around pretty quickly LOL

Where did you buy the baby from?

I got my baby from a man in Victoria who bred him and said he was cuddly and hand raised. I guess I am just so worried because a galah is a bird I've wanted for so long and I want it to work. I lined the travel cage up with the door of his proper cage and he climbed into it after about 15 mins. He is SUPER clumsy and having troubling getting around so I put food and water on the bottom of the cage. He is 14-15 weeks apparently. Is that a normal age? He had his cheeks feathers covering his beak most of the time. Is that bad? He is very very quiet. I offered him a seed this morning and he lunged at it but didn't bite me, just took the seed. He was scared of fruit. The breeder clipped one Wing which I didn't want...

Also, his left nostril I visible and the feathers seem ever so slightly damp - where as the other side isn't. Could it just be from drinking or could he be sick? Didn't see it last night

Whenever you bring a new bird home it's highly recommended to scheduled a vet appointment to have the bird checked out. Any reputable parrot breeder will have a warranty, if your bird is sick they should either cover the bill, pay for at least 50% of the bill, or provide a new healthy bird(the last is hard to do for us parrot people). Lung are more common in younger and older birds. Birds are also wild animals and will hide any illness often until it's too late. Even if your galah ends up being fine get him checked out, it's good to know if your new friend is 100% healthy.

also check out this blog post about parrot diet, galahs shouldn't be getting any seed at all.
The 6 Components Of A Healthy Parrot Diet