|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 17, 2012 13:54:25 GMT 10
In the bird cages of a pet shop I go to, I noticed they had (the attached photo) in their cages. I got some and put it in my Galah's cage and he loved it, but I'm not sure if it is good for him? Does anyone know what plant it is and if it is good for birds? Also, my husband wants to get our 13 week old Galah a friend...how will that go? Something small like a weiro or something? One more thing out of curiosity...when would he start talking? Thanks! Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 17, 2012 20:53:19 GMT 10
that looks like some sort of pine tree bit to me?? Why do you want a friend for your galah? They make truely beautiful little companion birds. I found my girl not hard to look after. She was not demanding and happy to play in her cage and happy to sit with any of us and just be patted 24/7 if we so desired to pat her for that long  |
|
|
|
Post by avinet on Jan 17, 2012 21:15:04 GMT 10
I'm not sure what the plant is - the photo is too out of focus to see it clearly. However since the shop is using it I would assume it is safe. They are unlikely to use a plant that would harm their birds - and their profit.
Talking in Galahs is usually happening between 6 and 12 months - but not all Galahs will talk, just the majority, and many Galahs are not particularly good talkers.
Finally a friend for your Galah is a tricky one - it is hard to predict what sort of bird he would bond to - another Galah would obviously be likely but smaller birds really depends on how his temperament develops. I have seen Galahs that were great friends with cockatiels, Quakers, Rainbow Lorikeets, and Sun Conures but I've also seen Galahs that strongly disliked smaller parrots. Most neither like or dislike smaller birds, but co-exist rather than be friends.
Since you are from Perth I assume you have a West Australian subspecies of Galah - they are usually better natured than the Eastern subspecies so there is a greater chance of him befriending a different species.
Certainly keep them in separate cages until you ar esure they ge ton well together.
cheers,
Mike
|
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 18, 2012 7:12:50 GMT 10
yes also I had my galah or rather my cockatiel I had at the time in the same cage as my galah...........the cockatiel was fine but Bo the galah was not very happy about the situation.....she tolerated the cockatiel and after a few months I took the tiel out of Bo's cage.
|
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 18, 2012 7:22:44 GMT 10
I believe the leaf to be of a "conifer" type tree and I am sure it grows tiny little cone type flowers/buds on it. i just cannot think of the name of the plant. I have googled "pine leaf" and "conifer leaves" etc and can find "similar" leaves but not the exact one. As Mike said if the pet shop are giving it to the birds then it would seem it is ok to give to the birds..............why not ask them what the leaves are?? I am now curious anyway |
|
|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 18, 2012 12:46:49 GMT 10
Thanks everyone I will ask what it is next time I go there, which will probably be next Sunday as we are picking up a new rabbit cage from there. Here is a link to what it looks like, and yes it does say it is a conifer leaf... greensteadnursery.com.au/species/conifers/thuja-orientalis-nana.htmlIt also has these little grey 'nut' things on them? The lady we are getting our cockatiel off tonight is a breeder of many birds, so I will take a sample and ask her. My husband is the one that wants to get a friend for him. I personally think he will be fine on his own, and I would sort of prefer it that way. We are picking up a baby cockatiel tonight, who is only a few days out of the nest, so it will be a while until they share a cage anyway. If worse comes to worse, we will just have to buy a seperate cage for the cockatiel. Germaine seems like a really friendly bird, and like yours vankarhi, he just loves to be near you all the time and get scratches. We were told that if you introduce brids at a young age, there is a better chance for them to become 'friends'. Like I said, if worse comes to worse, we will just get a seperate cage. |
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 18, 2012 18:40:01 GMT 10
you might be lucky to be able to house both birds together since they are both young.
That tree I am sure is the same one that lines the driveway of the school my youngest child attends. There are only 10 kids in the entire school and I think there are more trees lining the driveway than students in the school lol
|
|
|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 19, 2012 12:33:58 GMT 10
We ended up getting 2 bubs We couldn't decide which one we liked better, so we got them both lol. I asked the breeder about the leaf and she had never heard of giving it to birds either, but she was interested aswell. I think I'm just going to have to ask the pet shop where I got the idea from! I also found out from the breeder that my Germaine (Galah) is infact a wild  She told me that the breeder that sold him to me (which they are somewhat friends) is being investigated by the DEC as he has been selling wild caught birds. I was a little upset to hear it, mainly because I sort of got 'stiffed', but Germaine is so fantastic, you would never know he was 'wild'. I think I love him even more for knowing this now. She assured us that the DEC couldn't take him away from us, which is a HUGE relief!! |
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 19, 2012 13:35:40 GMT 10
I am not 100% sure of the rules and I don't know where you are from but I would be trying to get some sort of paperwork from the person you got the galah from.........or try to contact someone who would know. I am sure Mike will come on here and tell you what you can and cant do. All I know is before xmas a wildlife carer offered me a sulfercrested cockatoo. Supposedly a baby still being fed formula with a broken wing (that I was told would need to be amputated). Long story short.....I decided to go to the vet involved and ask about the bird before I took him. I was told in no uncertain terms I could not have the bird (I think he suspected it was a wild bird) he told me it was illegal. So I went back to the carers who said I certainly could have the bird as they believed he was once a handraised tame pet. I think they thought he was still a baby actually. They told me they would get a piece of paper stating I could have the bird and have it signed by a JP. I ended up taking the bird back after a week because I suspected he had PBFD which is apparently rampant amongst the wild birds here.
My advise..........try to find out where you stand and if there is any paperwork needed to keep a wild caught bird that quite obviously is now a very quiet pet.
Just out of curiosity.........what colour are his feathers?? Is there a lot of grey intermingled amongst the pink on his head and chest area? That is a good sign of baby or very young galah. Juveniles also have dark eyes but so do mature males.
|
|
|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 19, 2012 16:34:23 GMT 10
He was definately a baby when we got him...he hadn't gotten all of his feathers yet, he couldn't perch or fly. I believe he was really around 7 weeks old when I got him. And yes there is pink and grey intermingled on his chest, almost looks like a ripple effect of the 2 colours (I don't think you can tell from the photo though) This is a photo of him (well he isn't sexed, I just call him a him lol)  Sorry the photo isn't the best. He doesn't sit still as good as he use to lol. He also still has some hardened food on his face from when I got him and the breeder didn't wipe his face after a feed. I haven't been able to get it all off Aww that doesn't sound good about maybe needing paperwork to say that I can keep a wild pet. I'm not sure if the lady said that he was actually plucked from the wild, or just his parents were and he was bred in captivity. Either way, he had a mite infestation shortly after we got him, which we treated and is now gone. That probably indicates he was plucked from the wild?  |
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 19, 2012 19:43:31 GMT 10
He is definetly a baby and a cute one at that too I have also privately messaged you |
|
|
|
Post by avinet on Jan 19, 2012 22:24:39 GMT 10
The regulations in WA regarding Galahs are that no license is required if you keep no more than 4. More than 4 and a license is needed. So my suggestion is to do nothing - I doubt they do house to house searches. If in two or three years time they happen to find out about the birds, then you got them from Gumtree and have lost the details  cheers, Mike |
|
|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 20, 2012 11:02:09 GMT 10
Thanks Mike! My Germaine is enough Galah for me lol. Funnily enough, I DID get him from an ad on Gumtree. When my husband called up, the breeder said he had a Facebook page about his aviary. So I went on his page and it all went from there...
Thanks vankarhi, I think he is cute too ;D
He is my baby and I love him to bits.
I got your PM aswell and it seems there *shouldn't* be too much drama about the situation, which is a relief!
|
|
|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 20, 2012 13:46:14 GMT 10
Can anyone suggest how to get hardened food off Germaines face? The dodgy breeder I got him from fed him a few hours before we picked him up but never cleaned his face, so he has had it since we got him. I managed to get some off with warm water, but the bigger bits just won't budge. He has been crying and shaking his head constantly for the past half hour and I am getting scared. I tried to do the warm water again, but it is too hard for me to do it by myself, I need my husband to hold him still for me and he is at work. You can see in the picture I posted where the food mainly is, and I can hear it 'clinking' together when he shakes his head. Please help, it's like he is having a fit to try and get it off!! Here is a short video of him. He got camera shy when I pulled it out, so what you see is only a mild version of what I explained. I've never seen it affect him this much. I can't upload it, stupid Photobucket!!! |
|
|
|
Post by avinet on Jan 20, 2012 18:02:49 GMT 10
Can anyone suggest how to get hardened food off Germaines face? Some hand raising mixes do set like concrete - Roudybush in particular. The only way is to get it thoroughly wet with warm water and then it can be broken up with your nails. They will often lose a few feathers with it but they grow back pretty quickly. cheers, Mike |
|
|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 22, 2012 18:10:50 GMT 10
|
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 24, 2012 16:42:28 GMT 10
that is the tree..........I actually broke off a small branch this morning from one of the trees at the school.....it had a few little nuts on it too........... the ones at the school are bigger than that one though.......guess not too many galahs are chewing these ones down lol
|
|
|
|
Post by germaine on Jan 24, 2012 16:56:30 GMT 10
I've seen a few variations of this plant. We actually have one growing on either side of our house! Well they are our neighbours plants, but I still take a little off hehe. One plant looks like the picture with little nut things on it, and the other sides plant is really tall and has different kind of nuts on them. Germaine seems to like the smaller version plant variety though. So I guess we can say it's safe for them to eat? Although I will only be giving a little here and there just incase Did any of your birdies enjoy eating it?? |
|
|
|
Post by MyRomeo on Jan 26, 2012 0:37:23 GMT 10
I can only answer your question about getting your Galah a friend. I have learned that Galahs usually will only have one mate. So if the Galah is close to either of you, it may not want another friend. If he/she takes another friend, then don't expect your Galah to be close to you. This isn't 100%, but usually.
I tried to introduce a female to my Galah and when I came in the cage, he tried to kill her. I ended up having to remove her. He is attacked to me.
If you do decide to introduce a new bird, I was told by a bird breeder that with Galahs, if it is in a large enough aviary, put your Galah in a cage within the aviary and let the new bird into the aviary so that your bird doesn't try to be territorial. You may have to do this for a week or so depending on how they act. If you don't have an aviary big enough then put the cage next to the aviary.
Hope that helps.
|
|
|
|
Post by vankarhi on Jan 26, 2012 6:45:30 GMT 10
the correct way to introduce any bird.........is not to put them in a cage together immediately..........put them in cages side by side so they can adjust to each other and this adjustment can take a long time or a short time it all depends on the bird/s. It is also possible to have a pet bird who is attached to one person and get another bird ......... it all depends on what you want out of the bird/s. I have had a few birds over the years and I have had a few pet birds over the years..........most become quite attached to me..........and some I could put other birds with while others I could not. My breeders were in bigger aviaries so if they had a disagreement..........they could get away from each other (as you did say also) So it all really depends on what you are expecting out of the birds.......ie.......a pet for you, a friend for your pet bird, or a mate for a bird (as in for breeding purposes). I have had in the past more than one pet budgie and cockatiels and alexandrines at differing times and they all were very bonded to me but were friendly to the other birds of the same species also (even if they fought over my shoulder space ) I have also had a pet galah who tolerated a cockatiel in the cage with her for about 6 months.........I took the tiel out because Bo only tolerated the tiel and was not really too happy about the arrangement. But I never ever just a add a bird to another birds cage/aviary without a period of introduction for the birds. |
|
