Advice needed on introducing new Galah to Eclectus

[Pickle's Mom]

So big news for our household! This has been in the works for a couple of weeks now, we're adopting a Galah. We've met her, and visited with her. We're actually a little unsure if it is a female though, will only know after vet visit I think. She has very dark colored eyes though. We are also unsure of her age. We know the current home has had her for 1 year, and that she came from a breeder on the Big Island who had her living outside for about 5 years. She also had a home in between those two. The home that she is in right now has two adults, 5 kids, 2 dogs, and 3 cats. So needless to say, she is overwhelmed. Apparently when she is out she tries to head right back to her cage. When we visited her the other animals were put up and not in the room. She stayed out and was just very quiet and observing the situation, but didn't seem nervous at all. She even started to dose off a bit on the back of the couch. She did let me give her pets on her head. She has been taught to step on a towel draped over an arm. I want to get away from that as soon as possible, where do we start with it though? Piccolo, our eclectus, did come back with us later to meet her. The owner was very insistent on that happening prior to agreeing that we can be her new family. They did great from what I could tell. Great being that she stayed where she was on the couch just watching, and he sat with us, and with the other owner, to just observe her as well. I counted that as a win because no one was stressed, aggressive, etc. Am I right as seeing it that way or are there behavior cues I may have missed? The owner is supposed to bring her over to our home Wednesday for a visit. She said if that goes well that we can bring her home on Thursday. My question is where do we start when we do in order to get things off on the right foot? Do I keep her in a separate part of the house for a couple of weeks, or right away have them in the same room? Piccolo has a large cage that is for daytime, and a separate cage that we cover for him at night. Right now she only has the 1 cage. We intend to also get her a large daytime cage as well, but don't want to overwhelm her with it right away. How long do you think we should wait to introduce that too? We definitely will be a much calmer home for her. It is just my husband and I and Piccolo. We want things to be as easy as possible for both birds. She also has been eating mainly whatever the family is eating as well. So that will be another aspect that needs addressed. I'm worried about overwhelming her with too much too quickly as well. I know we have some challenges ahead, but my heart wouldn't walk away from getting this bird and giving her a long term and stable home with us. Any advice on all of this is much appreciated!

 

[LaManuka81]

I don’t have any particular advice for you @Pickle's Mom, but I want to say congratulations on your soon-to-be new family member, I’m sure she’s going to love living with you. And I’m looking forward to seeing some pics too!

 

[Pickle's Mom]

I don’t have any particular advice for you @Pickle's Mom, but I want to say congratulations on your soon-to-be new family member, I’m sure she’s going to love living with you. And I’m looking forward to seeing some pics too!

Thanks! I will make sure to share pictures too

 

[kme3388]

Hi there, my Ekkie surprisingly has improved and came out of his shell since sharing his space with a macaw. I never let them out together at the same time. Too much risk. Their cages are just in the same area. They contact call when they are in different areas of my house. Nico is easy going. I’ve been so fortunate to have 1 relaxing parrot. I set up my macaws cage the day he moved in, and moved him in Nico’s aviary. I didn’t really do anything special. Their cages are 8 ft apart.

I’m not sure how bad the dust is off a galah parrot. Be careful though with your Ekkie’s medical sensitivity. When I volunteered in a shelter cockatoos were completely separate from the other parrots due to their dust causing respiratory problems in other parrots.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

Hi there, my Ekkie surprisingly has improved and came out of his shell since sharing his space with a macaw. I never let them out together at the same time. Too much risk. Their cages are just in the same area. They contact call when they are in different areas of my house. Nico is easy going. I’ve been so fortunate to have 1 relaxing parrot. I set up my macaws cage the day he moved in, and moved him in Nico’s aviary. I didn’t really do anything special. Their cages are 8 ft apart.

I’m not sure how bad the dust is off a galah parrot. Be careful though with your Ekkie’s medical sensitivity. When I volunteered in a shelter cockatoos were completely separate from the other parrots due to their dust causing respiratory problems in other parrots.

Thank you. I hadn't even thought of the dust possibly causing respiratory issues for Piccolo. That is something to really consider.

 

[osklvste77]

Even birds are can develop sensitivity to their own dust. If area is enclosed for humans and pets look at hepa filters. Make sure it is a true hospital grade hepa filter. They are relatively cheap now. They remove 99.9% of airborne junk. Used in hospital operating, burn, and immunity compromised areas. They come in different sizes. Pick one for area slightly larger than the one you have. They run quiet. Some have timers and day/night functions. A great many have washable prefilters. If you shop Amazon they have imitation mixed with genuine. So be sure to read carefully. I have a dusty CAG. He has one.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

Even birds are can develop sensitivity to their own dust. If area is enclosed for humans and pets look at hepa filters. Make sure it is a true hospital grade hepa filter. They are relatively cheap now. They remove 99.9% of airborne junk. Used in hospital operating, burn, and immunity compromised areas. They come in different sizes. Pick one for area slightly larger than the one you have. They run quiet. Some have timers and day/night functions. A great many have washable prefilters. If you shop Amazon they have imitation mixed with genuine. So be sure to read carefully. I have a dusty CAG. He has one.

Thank you. I will definitely look into getting one either way for Piccolo.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

So a bit of an update. We are holding off on getting her until the avian vet can give her a complete checkup prior to going forward with it. I had mentioned the respiratory concerns for Piccolo to the owner and she disclosed that the Galah had a respiratory infection a few months back. She said that the vet told her it is missing a part inside the throat that filters air(she said similar to tonsils, but that was confusing)- from lack of nutrition as a younger bird, and that they don't grow back after they are gone. She said it will always be prone to respiratory issues more that usual. It would have been great to know that earlier, but at least we do now. So I don't know enough about the anatomy, etc. to fully understand, and she was unable to provide any records from the vet. Sadly, this may be something we have to back off of going through with. It's going to be a difficult decision either way, but I am just not comfortable for Piccolo at this point. This bird really tugs at my heart, but it's looking like we may not be the best home for her.