Hi there, I'm a wannabe Galah Mummy.

[alibaby]

Hi there,
My name is Ali and I'm 19 years old. I finished high school last year, and next year I hope to do a Professional and Creative Writing Course at University.

I'm an animal lover and always have been. I've had cats and dogs all my life (currently have 3 cats and 2 dogs), and have had rats and rabbits in the past as well. When I was a kid we looked after the class budgie for a week, and since then I've wanted a pet bird. Until now, my mum has always said no as she hates the idea of caging a bird (thinks it's cruel, even though I have assured her the bird would spend as much time out of the cage as possible!). Anyway, long story short, dad overruled her and said that I can have a bird!! I have been researching for the past two or three months on what kind of bird to get. I'm basically now tossing up between an Eclectus and a Galah. My understanding is that a Galah would be a bit easier to take care of (as it has a less specialised diet) and would be cheaper to initially purchase. I also love the crest and the way a Galah uses it to express itself. So I'm leaning more towards getting a Galah, but of course I intend to do a lot more research before hand. (I'm a huge believer in researching a pet before you purchase it).

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or information they thought I should know (or that they wished THEY'D known before they bought their Eclectus/Galah). Also, if anyone has owned both (or at least one of the species) what are the pros and cons of both please? Also, if anyone knows of a good Galah breeder in Victoria, Australia that I could talk to?

Thank you =]

[vankarhi]

I have owned both........my galah was a lovely pet, she loved to be loved 24/7, I would let her out of her cage daily so she could 'strutt her stuff' around the yard.......and "strutt" she did lol ........ my 2 staffies at the time knew to move when Bo was "strutting" around the yard. She was a gentle bird but would bite the dogs lol and they were scared of her ;D She was easy to look after and was not a very noisy type bird. She did scream however but usually only in the mornings and afternoons and when she was enjoying a shower under the hose and the sprinkler and occassionally if she saw something that scared her. You do need to make sure they eat fresh stuff and are used to all sorts of food being put into their cage.......they can become seed junkies......so maybe a good brand of pellets and a limited amount of seed with plenty of fresh food and veges. Also make sure your galah is used to having different toys and branches put into its cage......they do seem to freak out when not used to having new things. Having said that........I do like the galahs as a pet bird. They can talk......some very well others not so well, and they do love to be loved.

Ekkies......they are lovely birds too.......I have owned both male and female as pets and they both make great pets. Males however I have found to make the better pet......they tend not to be so "hormonal" or "antsy" when they mature although having said that I have heard of some "hormonal or antsy" males. Talk.......OMG they can talk and they are as clear as a bell. My older female talks very clearly and when she was a house pet she had spoken in context at times and she sounds just like me. My pet male ekkie talks up a storm now and recently the real estate was showing people through my house and she came up to me and said "does your bird talk?" I said "yes they all talk" and she said "no the big green one upstairs.........he sounds just like you" lol

The thing I have found with the eclectus is they are high maintenance, their diet is more specialised and they can have problems like plucking (so can cockatoo type birds), wing flipping and toe tapping and a lot of those problems can be related to their diet.......not always though. If you only have one ekkie though it isn't really a problem. When I only had Skye.......I didn't find looking after her that hard and my other birds gained too because whatever fresh stuff I gave Skye I gave to my other birds too......so they all benefited. I will however say that I now believe that a lot of problems might be arising from us caregivers in the goodness of our hearts might be overfeeding our birds and especially the eclectus and it is causing them to be in permanent breeding condition and this might be causing some of the "problems" we relate to hormones.......just a thought.

So each one has it's pro's and con's ........ both make lovely pets........I myself have found though that the ekkie is a little more high maintenance than a galah.......others here might disagree with me but that is my own personal experience.

Doing your own research is a good idea........I am a firm believer of researching before doing anything ;D

Oh and welcome and goodluck with your bird hunting ;D

[Robyn]

Hi Ali, welcome to BB. I seem to remember you. Still researching i see.

Well apart from what Tracey has said, i would have to say i don't find the Eclectus any more challenging to care for than my Amazons & Hahn's Macaw. Personally i feel if your going to get a bird they need a well balanced diet, that goes for any bird. All my parrots get fed much the same food.

As Tracey said both birds make wonderful pets & i agree as i have also had a Galah until last week, he died of old age, he was over 70 years old, & I still own & breed my Eclectus. BUT all the research & information you collect will not prepare you for the long term of caring for a companion parrot. The final decision must surely be yours.

To be honest i have never researched a parrot before buying it. Once i have the bird home everything else all falls into place. I just go with the flow & deal with any issues that may arise with regards to the birds behavior when & if it presents itself.

Think very carefully as to how much of your time you can share with a companion parrot. Take on board the health issues that can arise. Also you have to consider the cost of an Avian Vet should you need one.

That's about all from me.

Good Luck in finding your special friend.

[alibaby]

Hi Vankarhi, and thanks for your quick reply and advice!

I would never feed any bird on a diet of just seeds or just pellets. They'd definitely get fresh fruit and veges, but it just seemed that an Eclectus required a more specialised diet as far as the intake of vitamins and the types of fruit they needed (ie. needing lots of vitamin a, and green leafy and yellow veges).
As far as your galah "strutting her stuff" outside, was she harness trained? I'd like to harness train and I want to know if it's possible to do that with a galah? I want to have a flighted bird, and I've read that in particular galahs need to be able to fly to get lots of exercise (because they are prone to obesity).

Yeah, all the problems that Eccies have with toe tapping etc did worry me. I'm concerned that as my first bird it may be too much too soon, you know? I was thinking I might get one later, as I build up my flock (that is of course if I feel I can handle it and if I have the finances).

_____

Hi Robyn! Yep, researching all the time =P

Sorry to hear about your Galah =[ But 70 years old! Wow! The average lifespan is 50 years isn't it?
Yeah, I know research won't really prepare me for the commitment and actually owning the bird. Mostly what I'm trying to gather from research is that I'll be able to care for it properly and provide it with what it needs. I'd hate to buy it and do something wrong, and then find out years later that I have fed it the wrong thing, had it in the wrong cage etc.

I've found a good Avian Vet nearby and I intend to go to talk to them sometime in the coming week. As I'm working 4-5 days a week at the moment I'm earning a good deal of money and putting as much as I can into my savings for things such as emergency vet visits etc (for my other pets as well). Also, if something went terribly wrong and I didn't have the money, my vet does payment plans so you can pay them off over the course of a year or longer if you have to.

Thanks for the advice =]

[vankarhi]

Hello again......no Bo was not harness trained she was clipped. That was back in the days when I couldn't have a clipped bird for it's own safety reasons with 6 kids in the house it was too hard to keep reminding them "shut the door, turn the fans off," etc etc

Now the two pet birds I have inside are not clipped.....but it means they are limited to inside only because I have not been able to harness train them.

There is no reason why you cannot harness train a galah.....I have seen cockatiels and cockatoos and many others inbetween in a harness. I did try with Erik when he was a baby but he got a bad fright and it took me literally ages to get the harness back on ....... and I managed to get him outside with the harness on but when i went to take it off he totally flipped out again and now I cannot get the harness near him and I have not bothered to try again. He gets heaps of exercise inside anyway.....it just would have been nice to take him outside sometimes. I did have Erik's mum (Skye) harness trained and it was great to be able to take her outside with me at times.

As for an avian vet......I am so so lucky that I have a vet here near where I live who most of the breeders here take their birds to so he knows a fair bit about birds and he knows about eclectus parrots too. He only charges such a small fee also. But there is an avian vet about 2 and half hours from me who I have taken a bird to when I wanted a second opinion (which didn't differ from the previous vet said).

I possibly have made it sound like eclectus are extremely hard or difficult to look after?? They are not.........but there are issues that eclectus are more pre disposed to and wing flip and toe tap are just two of those problems which in my own personal experience I have found to be mostly dietry related. As for research........in the past I never did research......but since the internet and me becoming computer literate, I do research now. Sometimes it can help to narrow down decisions. It can also help to discuss things with other people who own birds of the breed you might be interested in (this also is research) and then you can make an informed decision on the personality type and needs etc of the breeds of birds you have in mind. Because all birds have different traits......and yes not all birds are typical of their breeds but they are generally typical to a certain degree.

For all my life I had only ever owned budgies, cockatiels, cockatoos and a galah and about 7 years ago I decided I wanted something different.......through research I narrowed it down to an eclectus and or an alexandrine.......now I own both ;D

Ever since I was in my early 20's though my dream bird was a RTB2 ........ maybe that dream is a little closer.......maybe lol But the internet also makes one able to see ALL the other beautiful birds available and then the "wishlist" grows.........but then reality strikes and I realise some of those other birds are only ever going to be on my "wishlist" (I am a realist also lol).

One thing I will say which I just remembered now........I do remember doing all the research before I finally decided to get myself an eclectus. I had everything ready, I was well aware of what might or might not happen blah blah blah etc etc........I can remember commenting that looking after her was no different to owning or looking after any other bird I have owned. the only difference was she needed more food specific to her like orange/red/yellow fleshed fruit/veges and some dark leafy veges etc and the odd bit of protein (chicken leg, boiled egg with the shell on) and the side benefits were that all my other birds got the same stuff also.

I hope this has helped......... ;D

[xoxoEbzxoxo]

Galahs can make great pets.
I've had kept four of them in my life time and all of them have all been different in personalities. I got my first galah 'Mango' for my tenth birthday as an aviary bred bird. It didn't take much at all to tame her down. She did however become a one sided bird and would attack my brother, dad and occasionally my mum. She was such a sweet heart to me though. Sadly Mango passed away late last year from being egg bound.

My second galah was a rescued galah who had a broken wing, I named her Peachy.
She wasn't tame at all and would screech her head off if you went near her.

My third Galah is my current male who was given to me. He is a very vicious bird and will attack me whenever I go in the aviary.

My fourth is 'Henriette' she had a adoring personality and is nice to anyone. She love to be near me and will quite often ride on my feet when I go in the aviary. She is also an excellent talker and is clear as daylight.

I really think its just the personality of the bird you get and how it is brought up. I don't find galahs a loud bird at all. My indian ringnecks are much louder then them.
I hope some of the info I just gave you is helpful

[silvercloud]

Hi and welcome Ali. Good luck choosing your new friend.

[alibaby]

Don't worry, Vankarhi, you haven't talked me out of an Eclectus. Due to my own research and what I have read on the Eclectus Forum I'm a member of, I had concluded that as a first time bird an Eccie may be too much for me and too high maintenance. What you've said has definitely helped =]

______

Ebz, that has helped. I suppose as long as I know how to care for the bird and I have the right equipment and enough money, the breed won't matter too much as they are all individuals? Of course, I'll have to work with them and bond with them etc, but choosing a specific species will never guarantee that the bird I buy will be very affectionate or very loud etc.

____

Thanks Silvercloud =]

[pinkdevil]

Welcome Alibaby.
Good on you for placing effort into research of both pros and cons of owning a particular breed.
Alot of people see a bird they want, buy it, then when they realise it needs more attention, special diet, care etc, the poor thing is stuck in a too small cage for the rest of it's time with the family.

Good luck in finding your feathered mate.

[alibaby]

Hi Pinkdevil!
Yeah, I know what people can be like. I want to make sure my bird and I will both be happy, especially as it is such a long term commitment to get a bird.