I need some help please...

[AnnBrown]

Thank you everyone for all of the Information! I am going visit with a lady tomorrow who has a local bird supply store and owns G2s, several breeds of Amazon, and several breeds of Macaw, I think she may also have Galah 2's also (i'm bringing my kids... I already know they will both fall in love with different birds! They are already convinced that they each want a large bird of there own one day) Just so we can go sit down with her and pick her brain about her birds. She told me on the phone that all her birds can be handled by anyone so she seems we will see, But acording to my Avian vet she is an awesome local resource both on bird training and local breeders. Fingers crossed this is a productive visit!

 

[Birdman666]

That's the way to do it. Go and play with them. Find the one that really floats your boat... that interacts with everyone.

Reading about it only goes so far...

Gotta play with them!

 

[emmy414]

How noisy are the red fronted macaws? Just an idea of how noisy compared to cockatoos, amazons, the larger macaws? Thank you!

 

[Birdman666]

How noisy are the red fronted macaws? Just an idea of how noisy compared to cockatoos, amazons, the larger macaws? Thank you!

Sweepea goes off at feeding times.
She goes off when I get up in the mornings.
And she goes off when I get home from work.

She's not as loud as Maggie, my greenwing, but she certainly can make herself heard when she wants to.
She IS a large macaw. Just the smallest of the large macaws.
My greenwing can shatter glass when she goes off...
My red front is just loud enough to be annoying. About on par with my amazons, who are plenty loud themselves.

She's not a screamer, if that's what your asking, but macaw screaming disorders are generally an attention and training thing. Mine gets enough attention, and has been trained not to sit and scream. So the rest of the day she's pretty quiet.

Sweepea is NOT a very good talker. Just a hand full of words. So that part doesn't fit my bird. I've seen others that talk better than her, but none of them are CAG/ECKIE/AMAZON ability talkers.

 

[emmy414]

Thank you for your reply! I was trying to get a feel for them. ; )

 

[Birdman666]

Thank you for your reply! I was trying to get a feel for them. ; )

Any macaw can become a screamer if their attention needs aren't met, BUT I HAD SWEEPEA IN AN APARTMENT FOR THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF HER LIFE WITH ZERO NOISE COMPLAINTS... So, yeah, that wasn't really a problem with her.

THE BIGGEST problems I have had with Sweepea are (1) the mechanical abilities of these birds mean things get taken apart constantly. and (2) she went through a phase where she went from being friendly with the other birds, to being a bit of a bully with the amazons and the CAG. (I'm bigger, so I can!)

It took me about six months of tearing my hair out to break her of these things, and she will still occasionally take toys apart, or take her treat cup door off (even though she isn't even locked up), just to keep her "skills" up...

They just get a kick out of disassembling things. And Blue Throats are very much the same way. (Not that my Greenwing doesn't, but it's not as often.)

 

[AnnBrown]

After a long talk with my husband last night I think we have narrowed it down between Galah or Goffin! YAY one step closer! LOL Can anyone tell me the major differences between the two (personality wise) I know that they are slight size differences and obviously Galahs are pink... but does one tend to be more needy (i'm a stay at home mom/work from home pastry chef) I'm also having a lot of trouble finding breeders in the Louisiana/Mississippi area for either Goffins or Galahs.

 

[Birdman666]

Well, you can't go by me, because I never worked with a "normal" intelligently raised G2. I worked with other people's throwaway problem birds... so, less neurotic than some of the other white toos, but still plenty neurotic at times from my experience. BUT AGAIN, THAT GOES BACK TO HOW THEY WERE RAISED. (In this case, BADLY!) My little G2 was a sweet thing. Neurotic to the core. Scared of his own shadow. Did NOT adapt to changes in environment, etc... and quite literally plucked down to his very last head feather, and covered in sores... he plucked to bare skin, and kept right on going... SO ABSOLUTELY YOU CANNOT GO BY THAT. THIS WAS THE ALL TIME WORST CASE SCENARIO BIRD... Raised correctly they don't behave like that.

Those little pink birdies though, really do tend to be good birds. They're less prone to the neurotic plucking disorders as well... so if you're asking for my recommendation for a family bird, that would be it.

I'm not really the too guy. I'll let someone else answer this one for you.

 

[Scott]

After a long talk with my husband last night I think we have narrowed it down between Galah or Goffin! YAY one step closer! LOL Can anyone tell me the major differences between the two (personality wise) I know that they are slight size differences and obviously Galahs are pink... but does one tend to be more needy (i'm a stay at home mom/work from home pastry chef) I'm also having a lot of trouble finding breeders in the Louisiana/Mississippi area for either Goffins or Galahs.

While I've sung the praises of Goffins, never had a Galah so cannot objectively compare the two.

There are likely forum members with experiences to help compare and contrast, but in the final analysis it will be helpful for you to interact with both. Ideally, with several birds of each species as personalities will vary! All 5 of my Goffins have distinct distinct characteristics. Were you to blindfold me and place each in my arms, I could tell you their names within 15 seconds or less!!

 

[getwozzy]

Like Scott, I've never had a goffins so I can't really compare the two from personal experiences....

I just know that my two girls are complete opposite personalities despite being the same species lol. I would say they're pretty independent compared to what I've heard about other 'too species.

Chili wants to play, destroy and hang upside down like a bat and let her inner galah out
https://instagram.com/p/tGClqoRss-/

https://instagram.com/p/067SzKxskx/

Flower is content with just hanging out and being snuggled~ although she can be "needy" at times.

They're both great snugglers though, and will go to both my husband and I. Flower will occasionally let my 3 yr old son pet her, but chili prefers adults only-- she also enjoys meeting new people.

It all depends on the individual bird though-- I say play with both and see who picks who!

 

[Jayyj]

My galah is more of a Flower than a Chilli, certainly - a soft, sweet bird who mainly just wants to hang out. She gets anxious if she's not included in things and she's very clingy but it's manageable. Noise wise she's great, one of the quietest birds I've met. She has a contact / alarm call that gets a bit wearing if she does it repetitively but for the most part she just squeaks and whispers to herself. I live in an apartment and my neighbours had no idea there was a bird in the place until they called round and saw her on my shoulder so she's obviously not a problem to them. I'm always a bit surprised when I see galahs listed as loud birds on species comparison websites - they have their moments but I've never met one I didn't think was on the quieter end of the parrot noise scale.

 

[AnnBrown]

Thank you all sooo much! Today was eventful and I honestly think one bird stands out from all the ones we saw today. One sweet little girl climbed right up onto my 7 year olds arm and started nudging his other hand to be petted. She was more than happy to snuggle/talk to/cuddle every member of my family. She had a very soft spoken calm attitude. She is 6mts old and is still living with the breeder until she finds a forever home. just a very happy go lucky baby! She also followed me around the room! and any time I reached for her she either tried to climb my hand or rubbed her head against me to be pet!

 

[itchyfeet]

That's great! But what species was it?!?

 

[AnnBrown]

LOL I was soo excited earlier that I forgot to post her species. She is a Galah Cockatoo.

 

[Scott]

LOL I was soo excited earlier that I forgot to post her species. She is a Galah Cockatoo.

Seems like the Galah has chosen your family! Are you going to look further or consider her yours? You need not have buyers remorse as the probability of becoming infected with the MBS* virus is high!


*Mulbiple Bird Syndrome!

 

[AnnBrown]

LOL My husband stops the Multiple Bird Syndrome all together! He has said that the kids can each have there own bird when they get older but that we are a one bird family (he and I) While looking at her we had the opportunity to play with 3 others at the same breeders (all Galahs) and we also stopped and spend some time with a breeder that had 2 goffins and none of them seemed as sweet and just relaxed with the kids as this little girl did. The only thing im not sure of is if the price is fair. They are asking 1350.00 for her she has been DNA sexed and is UTD on all vaccines and vetting. what do ya'll think?

 

[getwozzy]

Sounds like you've found your baby!!! Isn't it amazing when they find you? That's awesome that she likes everyone in your family!

The price sounds fair~ that's right around what we paid for Chili and she was 6 months old as well.