Potentially adopting a "complicated" galah

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bug_n_flock

bug_n_flock

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B&G Macaw, Galah, 5 cockatiels, 50 billion and a half budgies. We breed and do rescue. Too many to list each individual's name and age etc, but they are each individuals and loved dearly.
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Real quick and later I will read all the lovely comments and post a longer comment... I got a text this AM from the previous home. Noodles I think was right. They confirmed the husband had been the favorite there and that he missed Pidge. They would love updates. :D That makes me feel better.
 

Scott

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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Real quick and later I will read all the lovely comments and post a longer comment... I got a text this AM from the previous home. Noodles I think was right. They confirmed the husband had been the favorite there and that he missed Pidge. They would love updates. :D That makes me feel better.

Ahhh, redemption! Think of them as Pidge's extended family!
 

SailBoat

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Just an FYI regarding updates! Make them only on your schedule and detail level! Past owners can be a bit intrusive. Know that you have no obligation to comply and that you can stop at any point they want more than you are willing to provide!

Enjoy Your New Addition!
 

noodles123

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Real quick and later I will read all the lovely comments and post a longer comment... I got a text this AM from the previous home. Noodles I think was right. They confirmed the husband had been the favorite there and that he missed Pidge. They would love updates. :D That makes me feel better.


I have really enjoyed talking with Noodles' past owner (I only have a contact for one of them, but the most recent (prior to me) owner just couldn't handle her due to human health issues etc). It has been really nice to have that past perspective and it also has made me feel less crazy at times (Noodles has a fear of sticks/perches that has spanned mine and her past home, despite the fact that the past owner swears they never used sticks badly-- granted, there are like 3-4 other homes we know nothing about...but still)...It's better than nothing!



I also think of how heart-breaking it would be to give away your baby, even if you couldn't care for them properly, because you know how close we get to them...That is why I try to update every 6 months or so at least, but I also asked to make sure that wasn't too upsetting for them (because I know that it had to have been hard). I do think it makes them happy to see her happy. If I had a bird and had to let her go, I would be hesitant about the adopter and seeing my ex-bird in a good home would certainly alleviate some of the guilt, I think! ??
 
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noodles123

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Hi hun congrats on your new pink punk LOL. I have two, one recently taken on a long foster. Seriously messed up by humans Grrr! Makes me so cross. I would if you are able to have full bloods, you will be better informed to know how he is and you will have a baseline for the future. Sonu is my third pink punk, been through two previous homes and two safe houses that were good but he doesn't like beards and just didnt make any progress at the second. He plucks, all around his middle was bare, also a little mutilation under wing, making a slow improvement but honestly he was terrified when we bought him home from the charity handover. Galah's can become phobic if in a scared state and then are pushed and that is an up hill battle. I allow Sonu to dictate events and bless him he is making slow progress. I have him on Harrison's High Potency Fine pellets for six month period and then will swap over to the Adult Lifetime. He like my other pink girlie likes Harrison's. Fresh foods are the main order of the day, as many diff foods of many colours as possible in a chop, he loves this. He gets other fresh bits and I sprout a lentil, mung bean and chick pea mix. Small pieces of nuts are given as treats. I am very conscious that they are prone to becoming over weight and fatty liver issues. Oh I do give the pink punks a little Neophema seed at night (mainly grass seeds), I find their droppings are better if a little seed is incorporated into their diet. They flip flop in terms of people/person choice, the best option is to decide who is head honcho and then that person feeds and cleans; that would be me here! Hubby still has a good relationship with the two girls and Plum before but they know who is the one when things are not right to look for.


Sonu sits most of the day looking out into the garden, he is in same room as my other two girls which is fine. He only has come out of his cage twice, by accident, flew out while I was cleaning. I did quarantine him for a few weeks before mixing just in case.


I did contemplate a name change but they do get to know their name so felt this was unfair to him.



(PS I have only have a band cut off if it is too tight, microchipping as mentioned is a good call if not already done, if so remember to get in touch to prob pay a fee and update his details. I try hard to keep all mine away from artificial colours and additives, they dont need them.)



Thank you for taking an older bird, it may take a little while for Mojo to settle in but he will melt your heart!


I also did not change Noodles' name, because she knew it already and it seemed like one more change on top of everything else.
 

noodles123

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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
So...really interesting twist....I just Googled the full name of Noodles' previous owner (with whom I have spoken on a number of occasions, over the years) and her name is (disturbingly) associated with a lot of animal abuse..It could be a different woman with the same name...but this makes me re-think what I thought I knew (because there are too many similarities)! I hope that it's a different woman...I know the guy who re-homed her to me had no idea because he gave me her number and then we (she and I ) exchanged emails... I do think she loved Noodles in her own way...not sure how well...based on this info...but it's crazy to find this YEARS later....I still think abusers BELIEVE that they love their animals in many cases...just wild that this thread prompted me to check on something that I never knew....


I am not sure if my advice is still good- although, again, I do think that crazy people still THINK they love their animals and want them to be okay, even if they fail to care for them adequately. So I guess really nothing changes-- there are a lot of messed up people who want to care for animals and cannot-- they often still care, even if they mistreated them (I am talking neglect, not necessarily downright abuse, although that is a possibility too).


I have no problem updating her old owner-- even knowing this, as I do believe that there must be some redemption in knowing that the animal turned out okay (even if the human doesn't deserve it-- it still seems worth sharing). Today is the first day I even considered this idea that maybe she was treated badly :(
 
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plumsmum2005

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"Today is the first day I even considered this idea that maybe she was treated badly" ... there is some mileage just realising that the previous didn't do as well as you or I in caring for our second hand birds.



It could be quite easy to get carried away taking every bird that comes across your path just because you feel sorry for them and before you know it, resources becomes limited and you become stretched.It starts as well meaning but ends up something completely different. (Apologies to the OP, this has well and truly deviated)
 

Scott

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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
NB. Warning: post is too long: you don't have to read it!

Scott, I've pondered this subject at length and have mixed feelings about it.

Years ago, I agreed with the notion that wild cockies fly and burn off the energy they eat in seeds. I gave all my birds a pellet diet and they seemed just fine. More recently, though, I've found they just seem to *do* better when they get a fair proportion of seed to eat. I was beginning to feel Rosetta's keel far more than I'd like to, so I added in some seed mix and she's doing much better. She's also happier, IMO.

Here's an analogy for you. It's a bit far removed from what we're talking about, but my tiny mind can see parallels.

When I was in college, we had an overseas student arrive from New Guinea. He spent two years at our uni learning techniques for running a mass spectrometer, along with your basic lab technician's course. (This was absolutely ridiculous, IMHO, as Mape was bright enough to have been running the department, not doing menial lab tech work). However, I digress.

Mape came from a village about 100k east of Port Moresby and he lived almost exclusively on fish and native vegetables. About twice a year, they'd kill a pig and he'd get pork. When he arrived here, he was what my Mum would call 'a magnificent specimen': he was six-foot-two and was built like Jason Momoa. We found out he'd won a silver medal in the South Pacific Games for weight-lifting. So, in a nutshell, Mape was buff!

Twelve months later, he was plagued with gut problems and seemed not to be able to shake a whole series of 'flu-like symptoms. The doctor was treating him for a 'nonspecific virus', but we (his friends) worked it out. The college diet just didn't suit his metabolism. While it kept the rest of us fighting fit, with meat, veggies, cereals and all good things, it was no good for a guy who had always lived on fish. We went out and bought a whole bundle of fish and Mape cooked it for us in the traditional PNG way (wrapped in banana leaves and packed with coconut meat, then baked among hot stones in a pit).

O yum! I have *never* eaten fish as good as that! We had fresh cooked mangoes alongside it and everyone begged for more.

Anyway, the end of the story was that Mape's illness dissolved away after only a few days back on his 'native' diet. He got back his trim figure, lost his bellyache and felt great again. This is what I think of when I'm pondering my birds' diet. I think birds are evolved to eat a certain way and when we change their diets we're not necessarily doing them a favour.

I mean, after all, Blind Freddy can see if a bird is getting fat on a seed-based diet. That would be an occasion to resort to pellets (as we did with Dommie). However, I think seeds should always be offered to seed-eating species in measured amounts because that's what they're adapted to. Sort of like herbivores being adapted to metabolise cellulose where other species don't do so well with it.

I haven't seen a single intensive study to support or disprove my theory (and remember: I'm only calling it a theory as I could well be wrong!) I've just formed an opinion from what I've observed in my own circumstances. Oh, and having plentiful access to numerous species of wild flocks has contributed as well. LOL! My parents were convinced I was taking drugs because of the intensity of my 'bird-watching habit'. :)

One last point. I've heard Jamieleigh Womach state that 'wild cockatoos fly many miles each day in search of food'. LOLOL! That's just not true of Oz natives. Our wild cockies fly from farm to farm, gobbling up spilled wheat, barley and corn and denuding rather more of the crops than they have a right to. *Some* Australian parrots (eg. the lorikeets for example) must fly after seasonally available native fruits and blossoms, but that's not necessarily 'many miles' either. It's usually just up the road to the next stand of trees.

O shoot! I just realised how long this is. Sorry. My bad. :(

Trish I read your post with interest. Unfortunately in my honest opinion humans have rather ****** up this planet, are using up too much land which is most likely why the 'too's eat crops a) 'cause it's easy food and b) that their natural diet just is not available anymore.



Pellets should never be fed as a total diet. They have been formulated in the main as an easy means of feeding our birds, supported and recommended by AV's because they saw so many cases of malnutrition and obesity. Whilst working with a UK charity I asked a potential adoptee what she fed the bird she already had? "He likes bread and jam!". Really?



Feeding parrots veggies and fresh foods is a way of enabling us to tick all the nutritional boxes. I know several people in the parrot community that will not touch pellets, they are keen, interested people in the welfare of their birds and can keep their birds healthy without them. So although I give my pink punks some seed * it isn't much, it's a treat, too much seed resulted in me losing Plum, along with his previous home's failings. This is why I feel I should have known and done more earlier, in my eyes I am gulity. I will not let that happen again for sure. In many cases a bird does not have to be overweight to have too much fat in their system, my Ruby was not overweight when I got her but her bloods were higher than Plum's were. A lot of the damage is already done by the time you can see something is wrong.



* I have changed from no seed in their diet as per my AV's advice but IMHO think they potentially have better gut health if allowed a little as long as not the full fat seeds.


There are loads of great nutritional foods available (here) that are completely free and all you need to do is go forage for it.


Certainly if you go look parrot nutrition is evolving and does not just have to be veggies and pellets. Karmen Budai has produced some really good information that does not cost a mint. (I'm not on commission btw!)



So to round up if folk are feeding their birds in the main plenty of varied fresh foods and some pellets (with or without some seeds) I feel that is a good start. I will always live in hope that it will not stop there and they go looking for more interesting ways of achieving that balanced diet for their birds sake. :)

Terrific food for thought (pun intended) and suggestive of "all or most things in moderation." Folks tend to adopt rigid dietary beliefs disallowing eons of evolution. I cut my cockatoos off seed several years ago and need to rethink. My two oldest Goffins are in excess of 40 years and have thrived despite my preconceived notions and contorted but well intended efforts to proved the best nourishment possible. Current diet is Harrison's pellets and abundant fresh chop - I'll be reintroducing a bit of quality seed for good measure.
 

SailBoat

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In an out and out deviation of the OP's Thread...

The discussion of 'SEED' is always over shadowed by the sad reality that it commonly refers to a straight or heavily loaded supply of Sunflower seed. That diet is far too out-of-balance and, in fact, dangerous to Parrot species like Amazons.

Likewise, a diet of straight or heavily loaded supply of Pellets is also out-of-balance.

With the number of excellent, high-quality seed mixes available today one can add a 'quality' Pellet and have a great 'dry' segment of the diet. That said, the Fresh 'wet' Veggies and like foods that make-up a great chop, which makes-up the majority of the diet should be the goal. NOTE: There are sources that will make-up a specific blend of dry-foods and separately supply a high-quality pellet packaged in their original packaging.

With the strength of the Internet, near anyone can determine what is common in the Natural Range of their Parrot's species.
 

Laurasea

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yes, I have actuall science diet studies in Amazon in my ornithology thread. With blood work and other science stuff done during the years long study. The parrots on pellets only, lost feather quality, stopped breeding, abd other stuff. The studies ended up adding back seeds in a very controlled measure, and saw improvements.
 

Betrisher

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In an out and out deviation of the OP's Thread...

With the number of excellent, high-quality seed mixes available today one can add a 'quality' Pellet and have a great 'dry' segment of the diet. That said, the Fresh 'wet' Veggies and like foods that make-up a great chop, which makes-up the majority of the diet should be the goal. NOTE: There are sources that will make-up a specific blend of dry-foods and separately supply a high-quality pellet packaged in their original packaging.

Yes! Exactly! My problem, though, is that where I live there simply aren't any 'excellent, high-quality seed mixes available today'. The best I can get is a 25kg bag of seeds called 'Backyard Mix', which is sold for ducks and geese. It contains corn and sunflower seed as well as a few other more acceptable ones like hemp, millet, wheat and oats. This might sound a bit odd, but my kids spend rather a long time picking out the bad seeds from the mix so we can feed it to the birds. The sunflower, corn and safflower are set aside for training treats. Rosetta's not much fussed on corn, but the Beaks will eat it if nothing else is offering.

When I was a kid, I could toddle up to the feed store and make my own bird mix out of the bulk supplies they had on offer. These days, all you can get is pre-packaged stuff from the supermarket or the same stuff from a petshop (only for twice the price). I have one brand of pellet readily available to me. Occasionally, I see a different brand for sale, but I only bought that once: birds wouldn't go near it!

My birds' favourite thing to eat is fresh-cut gum tips or a branch of gumnuts with the seeds still intact. Since both of these occur at the very tops of very big trees, I can only get them when they fall after a storm (one of which we had last night). The tried and true method of shooting them down with a .22 rifle wouldn't wash in our municipality.

The most important thing is that each of us here is doing his best to feed the best diet available. Armed with knowledge about things like the fat content of sunflower seeds, we're not doing too badly. I know we all watch our birds like hawks and can tell from day to day how they're doing. It's that kind of dedication that makes a great owner. IMHO. :)

PS. Forgot to add: Australian cockatoos didn't evolve to eat cereal crops, certainly. However, they've been enjoying them for two hundred years and the wild flock numbers fluctuate to reflect the availability of the crops. In years of drought or flood when the cereals fail, the wild flocks are decimated! :(

Much of inland Australia (at least, the bit that's not desert) is like the prairies of the US or the steppes of Russia: grassland. This is where our native cockatoos come from and, before white settlement, they ate grass seeds. We have a dizzying array of wild grasses (I know this on account of two years studying Agricultural Botany) ranging in size from Microlaena stipoides (a tiny, almost microscopic seed favoured by grass parrots) right up to Themeda australis and Cymbopogon refractus (large-seeded grasses with compound seed-heads). These are the ones the big cockies like! I used to be able to pick an armful of these native grasses from the fencelines around local paddocks, but not any more. They've been out-competed by oats, wheat and barley spilled from grain shipments.

'nother boring story:

Coming home from our honeymoon, hubby and I chanced upon a flock of galahs feeding on spilled wheat that was spread across the 'highway' (single lane, soft edges, country town). There were about a thousand of them and they were gobbling the wheat like there was no tomorrow. We didn't have the heart to disturb them (glorious pink-and-grey carpet of scrumptiousness), so we just parked in the middle of the road and waited till they'd finished. This took about ten minutes and by then the birds were so full they had trouble attaining lift-off! We could almost hear them burping! LOLOL! The flock rose as one, though, and only made it as far as a dead tree about thirty yards away. There, they landed and went promptly to sleep, the remainder of the spilled wheat forgotten as they slept off their huge meal.

The larger white cockatoos and the galahs live off windfalls like this. The black cockatoos, not quite so much as they're not plains-dwellers, but tend to live more in the bush. Their main food is the fruits of native trees (and by that, I mean the woody seed-filled nuts that occur on Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Melaleuca, Hakea, Banksia etc). The Glossy Black Cockatoo lives almost exclusively on the nuts of the casuarina tree and has a massive nutcracker bill to help with that. Can you tell I'm a bit in love with our native cockatoos? :)
 
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Scott

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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
I am fortunate to live a reasonable drive from a large parrot "supermarket" with all types of birds, foods, cages, toys, accessories, etc. They bag a variety of seed mixes from raw components on site and sell specific items by the pound. One can easily concoct a custom selection.
 

Betrisher

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Scott, I *dream* of such a shop being available!

When the COVID scare has died down a bit, I'll do a bit of searching in the more agricultural areas west of here. Newcastle's getting a bit too citified for my liking and the good old feed merchants are a thing of the past, although there might still be some further up the Hunter Valley. Who knows?

Just out of interest, what seeds are in the mix you use?
 

plumsmum2005

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Trish/Scott this is the compostion of seeds for the pink punks called Neophema here:
Composition

  • Canary seed - 32%
  • White millet - 15%
  • Yellow millet - 11%
  • Japanese millet - 9%
  • Peeled oats - 8%
  • Niger seed - 6%
  • Yellow panicum - 6%
  • Buckwheat - 3%
  • Hempseed - 2%
  • Linseed - 2%
  • Cardy - 2%
  • Wild seeds - 2%
  • Grass seed - 2%
For my G2 this is too small, she'd be disgusted with me. This is more the composition (with some items taken out)

Safflower, Naked Oats, Red Dari, Papaya, Pineapple, White Dari, Red Maize, Yellow Maize, Raisins, Buckwheat, Coconut, Hempseed, Banana, Pumpkin Seeds, Paddy Rice, Puffed Maize, Flaked Peas, Flaked Maize, Hulled Pumpkin Seeds, Puffed Wheat, Chillies, Carrot, Rosehips, Mountain Ash Berries. She wastes loads, as she juggles the large items.


Important that whatever you buy is clean and been stored well/dry.
 
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Betrisher

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Holy dooley!!! I could probably get most of those seeds and other ingredients, but they would be wildly expensive from specialist health-food shops, where they're sold in little boutique packets, not the great lumpen sacks required to keep my lot afloat.

Just the other day, I asked the daught to bring home some sunflower seeds as I use them for treats and had run out. She brought home a tiny 125g packet of hulled seeds which cost her $4.95. It was all the shop had!

I believe that people who live in/near capital cities have better access to a wider variety of foodstuffs. I live in the second city in NSW and it's hard to get much at all here. In fact, it's easier to buy a bird than it is to buy food for it. :(
 
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bug_n_flock

bug_n_flock

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B&G Macaw, Galah, 5 cockatiels, 50 billion and a half budgies. We breed and do rescue. Too many to list each individual's name and age etc, but they are each individuals and loved dearly.
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We live in the wilderness, near a more ag based area. We'd be lost without the local feed shop. That, and mail order. Tho most places won't deliver to our PO box, so we must enlist friends and neighbors to lave some things delivered. Having Freedom's cage delivered was sure an adventure.....
 

Laurasea

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who do you mail over from? I just got two bags mix seed at petstore and price had gibe up an extra 10 bucks a bag!"
 

Scott

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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Scott, I *dream* of such a shop being available!

When the COVID scare has died down a bit, I'll do a bit of searching in the more agricultural areas west of here. Newcastle's getting a bit too citified for my liking and the good old feed merchants are a thing of the past, although there might still be some further up the Hunter Valley. Who knows?

Just out of interest, what seeds are in the mix you use?


I have not fed seed mix for the last 18 months since transitioning to Harrison's. Used to purchase "Senior Large Hookbill (no sunflower)" in 25 pound bags. IIRC the first ingredient is safflower followed by an assortment of seeds and a few very clean-looking Spanish Peanuts. Will have to visit and concoct a decent mix. My intent is to feed minimal seeds to supplement chop and pellets.
 

plumsmum2005

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Lou, Ruby, and Sonu.
Fly free Plum, my gorgeous boy.
Scott, I *dream* of such a shop being available!

When the COVID scare has died down a bit, I'll do a bit of searching in the more agricultural areas west of here. Newcastle's getting a bit too citified for my liking and the good old feed merchants are a thing of the past, although there might still be some further up the Hunter Valley. Who knows?

Just out of interest, what seeds are in the mix you use?


I have not fed seed mix for the last 18 months since transitioning to Harrison's. Used to purchase "Senior Large Hookbill (no sunflower)" in 25 pound bags. IIRC the first ingredient is safflower followed by an assortment of seeds and a few very clean-looking Spanish Peanuts. Will have to visit and concoct a decent mix. My intent is to feed minimal seeds to supplement chop and pellets.


Or you could sprout instead? Human grade ingredients should be easier to source?
 

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