Adopting an ex-breeder Cockatoo

Hi everyone. I've been reading and contemplating for a long time and I feel ready to get a pet bird. As much as I love my farm birds I really want a pet and a companion that I can bond with on a stronger level. I've been trying to find a cockatoo as I love their personalities and think they're some of the most beautiful birds I've seen.
It's been hard to find any in my area but I finally found a promising aviary nearby. One of the cockatoo's she was telling me about, a 17 year old Galah, was previously used as a breeder and according to the woman I spoke to isn't as accustomed to being a pet. She says that the bird is still very sweet and she thinks with some patience and time spend in a stable home she could make a very good pet. The bird hasn't bitten anyone in her 3 month stay at the aviary but they are still trying to find her a home.
Does anyone have experience with something like this? I'm a little worried if it'll be hard for her to adjust to being a pet and having her main companion be a human, especially since she's not too young anymore.
I'm a little nervous about getting a bird this old as well. I know they live a long time but I'm more worried about her already being set in her ways and unable to adapt as well to a new owner and a new environment.
She also mentioned that this particular cockatoo has lipomas, a fatty tumor near her abdomen that should be fairly manageable with a low-fat diet. I'm doing my research before making such a big decision but any advice or personal accounts would be very helpful.
Thanks

Walk up to any 17 year old Human and call them old and watch the expression on their face. Although the Too you are looking at is on the smaller end of the Too family, they still have a long live into their 50's and 60's. So, it would be hard to call this Parrot at 17, old!

I'm short on time at the moment, so I will let a Too expert jump in and provide you some additional information.

Welcome to the forums, thanks for considering the adoption of a former breeder! Cockatoos generally have sweet dispositions and are more amenable to taming than other species.

Closest personal account is an abbreviated story of my pair of wild-caught Goffins. I've had them for 30 years and the previous owner owned them for about 12. Both are energetic and robust, quite healthy.

They were not high-volume breeders but produced 3 healthy chicks in my custody. About 6 years ago male aggression reached a peak requiring permanent separation. He is in a large flight cage and tolerates people, can be scratched and hand fed. I have not worked extensively with him because he seems to prefer autonomy.

The female is another story! Always sweet and docile, upon separation I kept her in a cage for a while but saw great interest in people. So I placed her in my bird-room that was home to 2 of her tame offspring, a Moluccan, a Citron, and TAG. None were/are caged and have free range. She quickly adapted and has become extremely tame. Won't voluntarily fly to me or perch but allows me to roll a finger under her feet and place her on my shoulder. I can approach her, put my hands on her back and place her on my chest to cuddle. Ironically, she has never bitten or pinched hard, unlike her three ultra-tame but bratty children!

The Galah you are considering was probably a more hard-core breeder, but deserves consideration. Many folks prefer to be "chosen" by their companion; see if she shows special interest in you.

Yes, Galahs are prone to lipomas and FLD. (Fatty Liver Disease) Several members can attest to the care required. I'd have her evaluated by a certified avian vet to gain a full understanding of condition, prognosis, and treatment.

Thanks for the replies! I guess I needed a little reminder on how long these guys live to remember that 17 isn't all that old.
From what I've read the care mostly involves Vitamin E, a low fat diet, and extra exercise all of which seem fairly doable without being much more work. I'm just a little nervous having my first pet bird be one with special needs but I think they're ones I can accommodate if she's the right bird for me.
It was said that she's never bitten while at the rescue and she seems to enjoy affection but doesn't seek it out as much as some birds that have been kept as pets longer. But this bird is going to be a companion for most of my life, so I think if it's something that can come with time I'm willing to be patient.
I'm definitely planning to meet her and hopefully soon! I'm incredibly excited as I feel meeting her will be the deciding factor for if I want to go through with adoption or not. And even if she's not meant to be my bird, it'll give me more of a baseline to go on when meeting others.
Here's a picture of her, her name is Cherry and I can't wait to meet her. If anyone can understand my excitement I imagine it's all of you!
I was sent a picture of her lipoma as well if anyone thinks it'd be helpful for me to upload it.

Hi and thanks for thinking of taking Cherry on. As said before one of the first things you will need to do is have her assessed by a Certified Avian Vet. You need to know what the situation is with her organs, Liver, Kidneys and Heart. I have a male with FLD and a Heart Murmur and now requires meds every day but with hard work and putting him on a diet he has improved. Old, no! My Plum is 12, there is the possibility that because of his health problems he may not make ' very old' Galah bones and the same could apply to Cherry possibly depending on what the news is from the AV. But with sensible care and attention there is no reason to discount her. If you can afford the Vets fees then do take her she looks very sweet, bright and interested. Plum loves coming out with us (in his backpack) in the car and for walks, I do not think you will be disappointed with her.

As Cherry has indications of health problems I guess she was on an all seed diet? This needs to change to a Organic Pellet (fed in a small amount, ie couple of grams per day) as well as a low carb veggie diet * with small amount of fruit if she will take it. * I do this with a prepared chop that is frozen. Regular weighing will be necessary and I manage this by using flat digital scales and enticements to step up, it works, Plum knows the routine now LOL. Treats are now walnut instead of almonds.

With concentrating on one particular Vitamin there is the chance of another being in short supply which is why I recommend an Organic Pellet, I feed TOPs as Harrisons is not liked by Plum.
Top 10 Vitamin E Foods List

• 1) Almonds. 1 oz: 7.3 mg (27% DV) Do not feed
• 2) Spinach. 1 bunch: 6.9 mg (26% DV) Feed a little
• 3) Sweet Potato. 1 Tbsp: 4.2 mg (15% DV) Great!
• 4) Avocado. 1 whole: 2.7 mg (10% DV) Never Feed!
• 5) Wheat germ. 1 ounce: 4.5 mg (17% DV) ???
• 6) Sunflower seeds. 2 Tbsp: 4.2 mg (15% DV) Do not feed
• 7) Palm Oil. 1 Tbsp: 2.2 mg (11% DV) Avoid
• 8) Butternut squash. Great!

Vitamin E aids breeding which is not what you are aiming for in a hen bird, so balanced normal quantities! If Cherry is a confirmed seed junkie then it will be hard work to change her diet but it's not impossible, I did it.

I adopted Jasper, a goffin in February that was a breeder. We're still at the beginning of our story but I'll tell you the things I've learned.

1. Sometimes the history they tell you about the bird isn't true.
The lady that had Jasper for two years was told he had spent 15 years as a breeder. When we later had his band removed we found out he was at least 25 and had been wild caught, who knows what took place in those missing years. If the bird has passed though many people the story isn't very reliable.

2. The bird gets to decide how your relationship progresses.
Jasper really doesn't like people, likely with good reason. There is no physical contact with him, unless you want a bite. I knew this going in and accept it but sometimes it can be discouraging. Worst case you may never have a bird that wants physical contact, are you ok with that?

That said, I love Jasper even if I only get hisses right now, every little step of progress is exciting to see.

Hi, I like Galahs a lot, they seem lovely, inquisitive birds. My comment isn't on possible relationships and how well she will adapt, but what I feel is the most important thing to consider...

I would be extremely cautious. As said by others and yourself 17 is no age at all for a Galah and she already has a visible health problem. The most important thing for me is whether lipomas are related to general health/treatment like diet etc or whether they are completely unrelated and just occur randomly on some birds?

I understand what you are saying about preventing any more by changing her diet, but I would guess that breeding birds can be fed more fatty diets to make sure they have the energy to make and raise babies. I would be worried what the impact of 17 years of bad diet would be. I lost my Charlie, an orange-winged amazon to problems caused by years of poor diet. She was only around 13 and we had her for just under 2 years, we started to compensate, but we just couldn't catch up with the problems already caused. She went downhill quickly and there was just nothing that could be done.

I personally would only consider her if a very very detailed health examination had been recently done looking for raised or low levels of everything you can thing of and liver function etc. You specifically want a parrot so you can have that deeper bond. The cost of that is the heartache if you lose them. I couldn't encourage anyone to go through what we went through if it was at all avoidable.

Good luck, I'd love to know your final decision either way.