Potentially adopting a "complicated" galah

[noodles123]

I just want to reiterate the importance of patience-- go into this with no expectations (other than the worst) and then remember, there is often a 6 m to 1 year period when you think you know them but dont lol!



I am happy that you know what you know going in-- just don't get too discouraged if things go well and then take a turn, or vice-versa!!!


It's all about patience.


Many people get discouraged right off the bat, or become discouraged after the bird changes from how it was initially within the home.


Just never ever give up! If you get a cockatoo, you have to marry the idea.

 

[Littleredbeak]

So sweet!!

Here are some photos from the ad, and that the current owner sent. Doesn't he have the sweetest face? :3

 

[Scott]

Absolutely gorgeous bird, you won't be sorry!!

 

[bug_n_flock]

Today we got out! Bridge had water over it still, but little enough we felt it safe to drive across. I feel SO much better having seen human faces other than my husbands, even tho they were thru glass and masks! Happy sighs all around. We got to the post office and bank so once the check clears we are golden. Opened a savings account and will figure out something more secure than that for most of the money. Bank lady said 2k should clear by the morning, so we will go back out to get the rehoming fee cash in the AM. Sent the current owner a text with a short update, and said we would be happy to meet whenever after tomorrow. Happy to meet before or after Christmas. In a major change from the last time we were able to get out, just about everyone we saw was wearing a mask. Last month nobody was, and Hubbs even got harassed by some jerk at the grocery store because he was wearing a mask!

Our neighbors to the North are just SUCH wonderful people. The daughter of the eldest generation(3 generations all live on the farm, with their own houses but all close together) works at the walmart and helped us thru the process and said she is willing to specially go get anything that the pickup people subbed or couldn't find, and that she is happy to do this for us again. To just give her a call and coordinate with her work schedule.

I admit I had a bit of a breakdown when trying to place the order. My phone would get to the last page(confirm all details and hit ok) and then crash. Spent an hour on the phone with walmart and they said download the app(can't do that over data my phone refuses to download apps on data even when told specifically to do so and all settings should let it). I said I couldn't download the app, and could I pay by phone? Apparently no and they could lose their jobs for taking payment info over the phone. I held it together while on the phone, and then went and had a cry(sorry if TMI, but 2020 has been pretty rough emotionally). Then I got fired up and decided I wouldn't be beaten by this and we would not have canned chili for xmas dinner! Asked if I could give my card and login info to my mom and have her finish the checkout process for us. While waiting for her text back(she said yes), I decided what the heck, I'd try to download the app. I don't understand why it worked, but it did! And I had the order placed before my mom could even text me back.

When we go to the bank in the AM we will also hit up the local grocery store and the dollar store for a few things walmart didn't have or that we didn't want to put on the order and have our neighbor have to bring back a whole lot and get annoyed. For whatever reason, walmart didn't have candy canes for pickup! Weird.


It is finally starting to feel like Christmas. Sent some gifts thru Amazon to my mom. She hadn't gotten a tree yet as of last night, so we had a small fake one sent to her thru the mail. She has since gotten a tree for the front porch tho, so at least has that. I don't like her having to be alone for xmas. we are planning to watch a movie "together" on xmas. Hopefully we can keep each other cheery. And with luck, these vaccines are safe and effective and next year we can all spend our special holidays with our friends and families again.





Anyway, sorry for the long rambling story. Hopefully soon we will have Mr. Mojito home and can make another happy update!

 

[fiddlejen]

Here are some photos from the ad, and that the current owner sent. Doesn't he have the sweetest face? :3

I see the halo! Nice counterpoint to the sweet-faced look of serious ATTiTude eyes in a couple of those photos... yeah, "complicated" for sure. I am soo glad you are gonna take-on this baby!

(Suggest you print and frame that Halo-Angel pic, display it prominently, to look at for reassurance when you're seeing only little pink horns & pitchfork instead.)

 

[bug_n_flock]

"Little pink horns and pitchfork".... Gahh what an adorable image.


The big day is Saturday! SO excited!!!!

 

[bug_n_flock]

Mojito is home! Uneventful meetup, I didn't go due to icy roads and no passenger seatbelt in the truck. Everyone wore masks(without even discussing this beforehand, so that's cool). Cell phone tower has been down for about a day and a half and only recently popped back up. Who knows how long the signal will stay up so super short update. Feet seem a little pink on the bottoms and the scales are missing in a few spots it looks like. Not angry red, but he does still have bumblefoot I would say. We will have him in to the vet as soon as we are able. He is contact calling when either of us steps out of the room, but with us both sitting in the room with him he is making quiet bird noises, looking around, and chewing on his beak. Cage was disassembled for transport, so we still have to set that up.



Saturday is movie night in our house, so we will see what Mojito thinks of Svengoolie in a few hours!



SO glad it all worked out and he is here. We were really worried when the cell signal was so bad for so long, but we had juuuust enough to sometimes be able to get a text in or out, and it was enough to coordinate with the previous owner. After he settles in for a while and we can tell if he knows his name or not, we will decide if we are going to change his name. "Mojito" isn't a bad name, but not our favorite either. We don't do a lot of drinking so it seems a bit odd to have a bird named after a drink. Shrug, not a big deal tho.

 

[LaManuka]

Woo hoo, wonderful news bug! Glad Mr Bug (?) was able to get out and back safely and that communications held up just long enough! Congratulations and welcome home Mojito, you sure have hit the rehoming jackpot, and I can't wait to see some pictures

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Just awesome..I'm with Martina on the pics!



Jim

 

[saxguy64]

Congratulations! Very excited to hear how Mojito adjusts. Sounds like he's comfortable being around you, and beak grinding already is a big positive in my book! And yes, pictures please when you can!

 

[Scott]

Well done, safely braving the elements! Congratulations, and I know your instincts will serve you well as Mojito begins to acclimate!

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations on Mo,
So exciting!!! Glad feet aren't too bad. Im thrilled you are welcoming him home to his new life. What great news!!

 

[Ellie777Australia]

Mojito is home! .... After he settles in for a while and we can tell if he knows his name or not, we will decide if we are going to change his name. "Mojito" isn't a bad name, but not our favorite either. We don't do a lot of drinking so it seems a bit odd to have a bird named after a drink. Shrug, not a big deal tho.
[


So glad that you were able to get out, hopefully get something other than canned chilli for Christmas dinner, and....to bring Mojito home. If you don't like the 'alcohol' associated name you can always call him 'Mojo' after the spicy, yummy sauce (I love to cook).

 

[Betrisher]

P'raps you could give him an Aussie-sounding name like 'Matey'?

When my Rosetta arrived, her name was 'Houdini' because she was good at escaping. (Nasty, masculine-sounding name for a beautiful white angel like Rosetta!)

I just changed the name and it took her a few weeks to learn it. Birds are brilliant. They learn very easily.

 

[wrench13]

Always nice to read a Christmas miracle story! Congrats to you!

 

[bug_n_flock]

Hubbs seems to be the Favorite so far. Lmao he keeps saying things like he "finally has a bird of his very own" hahaha what a punk. I struck back by saying, "they are all both of ours. He just seems to like you best for now. Only fair since the others like me best, especially Hima." LOL we are just playing around. I don't give a crud if hubbs is the Favorite. And Hima is often "translated" by one or the other of us.... saying she is calling the other one a "poopyhead" ("whaaat? That's just how she knows you! *I* didn't call you that, that is her name for you! ")


We have fun.


Mojito doesn't so much contact call for me it seems, but constantly when hubbs leaves the room. Even tho I'm the one who gave him water and yummy things. lol


He got half an apple(by hand, he seems to like apple), some spinach(not a hit), a millet spray(destroyed rather than eaten I think), and a small piece of a wheat cracker. He came home with 2 peanuts in his cage also which I let him have, but no more. He looks like he may be overweight, but I have not weighed him or felt his keel yet. I'll let the vet do that and not be responsible for stressful interactions. He has hung upside down a few times and seems like he wants to be a clown. Such a cute boy!!!


He is molting, and we will probably bring a radiator in the bedroom and give him a bath today. Nice warm day for winter; nearly 50°F right now.



They did not give any of his old pellets or anything like that oddly enough. Today we will see if he likes Mazuri(Freedom's food), and we have a big bag of some fruity pellet or other in the living room we can open to try. He was mostly eating a homemade diet they said, which I hope was balanced properly. We will see what the vet says after a blood test.

 

[Laurasea]

I love that the new pink parrot has chosen your husband for now!!!

Did they seem like good people? Maybe they just forgot the food??

 

[bug_n_flock]

It easily could have been an oversight. They gave us the toy he had accepted, the rope perch he will sit on, a wood perch he will not sit on, the playstand, cage, food bowls, etc etc etc, even a little dog crate that they transported him in. LOL they had to completely disassemble the cage and meet "us"(hubbs) a couple miles away.... they had a sedan LOL no WAY they could have gotten any closer than they did, even in dry weather.



Hubbs who met them said they seemed like good, nice people. And that was also the impression I got from emailing and texting with the wife. They did clearly care for him a whole lot.

 

[bug_n_flock]

We will also probably have the vet cut his leg band off. Any other thoughts on what to have the vet do/ask the vet about? This will be our first post-covid vet visit. We are planning to write up a notebook with questions and requests to send in with him that they can fill out as they do the exam and stuff- writing down weight, blood levels(unless they will email this), etc etc etc. I will ask to have them send the band home in his medical records, tho I doubt he will need paperwork like that since they are so common in the wild. Better safe than sorry tho.



He needs his nails trimmed, and we can emphasize NO wing clip, tho our vet is not wing clip happy. She doesn't try to clip our other birds or anything like that.

 

[Scott]

Seems you are making some good progress! What little I know about Galahs is they are prone to FLD so weight is a concern.