Galah Training Tips

[rick]

I have had my galah for just a week today.. The last 2 days I have let him out of his cage. His wings are unclipped and I have used a gum tree branch to bring him out.

Since I let him out yesterday, he is so excitable, I know he just wants to keep coming out. He is chirping loudly and flapping and keeps looking at the door. I was a bit precarious after last night when he flew up and bumped his head on the ceiling twice... tonight he came out and was a lot more lively and is coming closer to me (he still won't let me come close with my hands however, he likes the comfort of the stick).. well a long story, tonight he flew onto the stick mid-air - he flew for it, lost balance and got really excited and fluttered around the room - hit his head a few times and ran into the glass door.. Was very scary for both of us.. that excitable raaawk can get the heart pumping!. He ended up strangely in a plastic chinese container huffing and scared by the time I could get his blanket over him and held my hands over him.. I let his beak pop out and held him firm and gave him a scratch on his crest.. was rewarding for me to finally give him a scratch, and I know he is less fearful for it.. I read on here somewhere that if you hold them in a blanket they calm down and it can be a training technique.

I feel a bit bad for him having the bumps and thumps..He appears uninjured, and I know when I have owned galahs before there has always been a bit of a rough initiation for them to discover what they can and can't do... He had no trouble flying after the incident and is back in there chirping away..I think he has learnt his lesson from this little flutter.. I really hope so. Unfortunately there is a mirror in the room which probably made matters worse.

I still want him to come out of the cage for exercise.. I know if I do it next time, I will have to be more careful and at his pace.. and of course not coax him onto the perch mid-air..

Is there any other tips you guys can give me.. This forum has been a very good resource for me so far.. I've already managed to get him on a pellet and seed mix, set up his cage with big gum tree branches and begin feeding him thistle, celery and apple.

I know I probably rushed him coming out of the cage a little early.. but I can see in his eyes he is almost expecting it now so I'm not sure I can turn back the clock on him. Also, I don't know if clipping his wings will be an option as I am not at that level with him and it would be quite the ordeal.. probably manageable, but I don't know that I want to clip his wings at all. Don't really like the idea of it.

Any tips much appreciated.

[avinet]

Mirrors can be potentially very dangerous - birds can easily hurt themselves by flying into a mirror. Be sure to cover the mirror when he is out of the cage if you keep him clipped. Depending on the size of the mirror, it may be easiest to put a newspaper over it with sticky tape while he is out.

cheers,

Mike

[birdtraining101]

Cover any mirrors and glass as birds fly into them. You don't need to clip is wings if you don't want to, birds are given wings to fly and this keeps them healthy.you can over come his fear of hands by clicked training. Go out to a pet store or a pet $2 shop and buy a clicker. Take sunflower seeds out of the diet and uses them as a training treat.you start by clicking and giving a sunflower seed,if you can't get your hand near your bird place the seeds in a bowl or large spoon.training sessions 15 minutes a day. You will then target train with a clean chopstick, place the flicker on the end and your bird will be curious to what it is and touch it with its mouth and when it does this click and reward. You can then move the chopstick and the bird will follow. You can then place your arm near your bird and hold the chopstick further out so your bird has to stand on your arm to reach it. My YouTube channel is birdtraining101 with the profile picture of my galah watch my videos and if you have any question just ask or if you need help I can make a video for you.