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Post by shnakeygirl on Nov 30, 2009 17:22:53 GMT 10
Hi There,
My fiance and I got our first bird about a month ago, a gorgeous Galah we were told was female and 3 months old.
The breeder we got her off told us not to feed her fruit and veg as they supposedly cant digest it properly for the first 12 months. I thought this sounded odd and after some reading and talking to a friend that keeps birds, I decided to give her fruit and veg.
Here in lies the first problem, she will not, under any circumstances eat fruit and veg. She started eating strawberries and brocolli, but has decided she doesn't like them again. She was eating corn, but now when offered she simply throws it away. Is there a way to get her to eat anything other than seed for longer than a day?
Next problem, she is biting a lot. When we first got her, she'd have a little nip, very gentle, nothing hard or anything but now, shes biting harder and harder. I'm getting tired of it, whats the best way to get around this. I'm not about to give up on her! The other thing is she wants to be constantly be patted, if you stop, she bites!
Last but not least, I'm positive shes bored, she has toys, but will not play with them, I've tried demonstrating how to play with them, as I read that can help, but nothing, she won't play. What can I do? I talk to her and interact with her as much as possible, but its like someone forgot to give her a playful gene!
Any help you can give would be great!
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Post by xoxoEbzxoxo on Nov 30, 2009 17:34:49 GMT 10
I'm not sure about the fruit and veg one but the biting problem you could try giving her three chances. Give her a warning on the second time she bites and if she bites ya the third time put her straight in her cage. Keep doing tht until she learns tht if she bites she will go in her cage and the biting should stop after time. I did this to my GCC and after a week of training he stopped nipping me everytime he was out the cage.  |
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Post by shnakeygirl on Nov 30, 2009 20:43:39 GMT 10
Thank you. Can anyone else offer any advice?
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Post by vankarhi on Nov 30, 2009 20:59:25 GMT 10
When my birds bite they go straight back into their cage if it is a hard one. They probably shouldn't bite at all but I tolerate nibbles (I tell them off) but a definite bite.......back into the cage.
Fruit and veges is a must from an early age so they get used to them. Galahs (well my girl anyway) tend to "toss" things around if they don't like them or they don't want them. They also seem to stress if they are not used to something......anything, new food, new toys, furniture rearranged etc etc......a new pet anything would set Bo off (my female galah). She was though a wonderful pet and loved to be loved 24/7. She they do love to be patted ALL DAY if you let them lol But they do need to know how to amuse themselves without you. I have to say Bo didn't really play with toys but she loved to strutt her stuff around the yard and she loved eating nutgrass. She loved showering under the hose and she just loved to sit with us.
I would keep putting fresh food in the cage ....... all sorts of different ones depending on what is in season and letting her decide what she likes. Maybe don't put seed in her cage for a few hours so she might be encouraged to try to eat her fresh stuff. Galahs are prone to weight problems if allowed to eat too much seed and nuts. Also keep putting toys in her cage. She is only a baby and you have only had her for a month......... not long really. Be patient......galahs do make wonderful pets.
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Post by just4birds on Dec 1, 2009 7:07:04 GMT 10
I'm no pro and have never owned a galah before ... but a couple of things ... with the biting .. i would try target training her .. you should be able to youtube it and find some stuff on it ... its also worked on while the bird is inside the cage and then try it outside the cage ... you probably could try a reward to keep the birds head up and away from where it bites .... as for the food my suggestion would be to give it to the bird a different way ... ie: cut up real small or hang it on a kabob stick or something like that .. and its best to just keep trying to give it to the bird ... cause it takes them a while i think to work out "hey this is food" my eckies will play with most raw food given to them in a bowl cause i dont give it to them often enough that way ... *Added* One other thing ... when a bird bites and you end up putting it back in the cage ... it will end up being a negative reinforcement and you could easily end up with a bird that doesnt like going back into its cage .. check out the blog on www.goodbirdinc.com |
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Post by shnakeygirl on Dec 1, 2009 7:13:53 GMT 10
it doesn't matter how you give her food, on a stick, in a bowl, attached to her perch, diced, chunks etc. She will nor eat it, it just gets thrown on the floor.
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Post by just4birds on Dec 1, 2009 7:17:16 GMT 10
ahhh well just a thought ...
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Post by shnakeygirl on Dec 1, 2009 7:19:50 GMT 10
Sorry I didnt mean to sound rude if I did, I'm not a morning person lol
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Post by megzly on Dec 1, 2009 12:42:12 GMT 10
Hi Shnakeygirl, As a breeder and handrearer of galahs i can confidently say that your breeder wasnt telling you the truth when they said not to feed your baby fruit and veg. Fruit and veg is an essential part of any birds diet as seed alone does not provide everything they need, just think about eating breakfast cereal for every meal, every day for the rest of your life! Since your girl was not fed her fruit and vegies while she was weaning then it will be a little harder to convince her to eat them! Basically you will have to waste a fair few vegies and a bit of time to try and convince her that they are actually good for her.. dont worry i dont just have this problems with birds that come to stay for a while but also with my partner...  You can try some of these ideas (sorry if anyone has allready mentioned them!) - Eat some cooked vegies and/or fruit with her, say peas, corn, carrots, apples etc. quite often when birds see their owners trying out some tucker they want it too! - Try mixing some fresh vegies and fruit with a soaked seed mix if she sees the seed as food and the vegies are mixed in she might just try some. - i have had some success with putting fruit and nuts into forgaing toys and when the birds play with them they sometimes have a nibble. Everytime she has to play with, move or chuck her vegies away she is tasting them (well generally  galahs are good at chucking everything away without touching it!) Eventually - i mean it could take 6 months or so, something will click and she will realise she can eat her vegetables and fruit, then there is no turning back! I find, cost wise, to train birds to eat their fruit and veg its cheaper to buy frozen diced vegies or stirfry vegies and in season fruit rather than a heap of fresh produce that she may or may not eat. Once mine have learnt they can eat fresh food then i buy fresh produce as it isnt wasted. Good luck with your new baby, but with time and perseverence you will convince her to eat her vegies and fruit, theres no quick fix unfortunately short of buying a bird who loves vegies and fruit and will teach your bird to eat them! |
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Post by shnakeygirl on Dec 1, 2009 14:38:07 GMT 10
I've had a small win with Ruby today, I offered her some Broccoli on her fruit stick and she goobled most of it up!! I'm about to cut her up some strawberries and a bit of apple so we'll see how she goes with them.
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Post by Robyn on Dec 1, 2009 14:40:29 GMT 10
Hi shankeygirl,
Some info on Galah food:
The food should be offered in such a way as to mimic the feeding habits of the birds in the wild. Galah's tend to forage throughout the day & in captivity are very prone to obesity. They therefore should be offered half their daily quota of their seed mix morning & later in the afternoon & a variety of fresh greens throughout the day.
The nutritional requirements of Galah's may differ with the time of year, the breeding & moulting cycles. Extra greens & protein sources may be offered during this time.
Galah's are primarily seed eating birds & ideally would be offered the types of seeds they would eat in the wild. However, in practice for convenience & economy, we usually feed a limited mixture of introduced seed types. So a good quality small parrot seed mix would be good.
Galah's should be offered a selection of fresh greens & vegetables as part of their daily diet. These can include a selection of foods such as, celery, parsley, endive, silver beet,spinach, beans, peas, grated carrot, broccoli, seeding grasses in season, winter & summer grasses, wild oats, oats, wheat, barley, sorghum, niger, millets, thistles, dandelion, chickweed. Almonds, pecan. macadamia, acacia seeds, orange, mandarin, banana, pumpkin, capsicum & melon seeds, gum nuts, casuarina nuts & pine nuts. They may also be offered a variety of fruits & berries but usually prefer the fresh grasses & herbs.
Galahs can also be offered cuttlebone, cooked bones, shellgrit & some clean coarse river sand. Pelleted foods are also available for Galah's.
As for the biting, i would say she is testing the boundaries. The main reason i find a bird bites is because its not getting what it wants or it doesn't like what we are doing with it. You as new owners have to figure out what is upsetting your bird. Try understanding her body language because they usually give a sign before they bite.
Lisa has a lot of good ideas. And getting the tapes from Good Bird Inc may help you. Don't forget you just don't have a feathered friend but a very intelligent animal. And they truly love to learn. I always only start my babies off with only 1 toy & that's usually a large bell, they spend many hours ringing it. Then i introduce other toys later.
Hopefully with all this info you are able to find some helpful advice.
Robyn.
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Post by shnakeygirl on Dec 2, 2009 17:15:44 GMT 10
I think I may have found a game Ruby likes but am not sure if I should be encouraging it or not? She lovesss tearing up paper and running around the room with it in her mouth!!Its hysterical to watch, but I'm not sure if this is encouraging bad destructive behaviour or not.
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Post by vankarhi on Dec 2, 2009 20:44:35 GMT 10
Mine love to rip paper up ;D Erik loves to drop his toys from the top of his cage and then rush down and either throw them around or mock kill them. He also loves to hang from his boing above his playstand and scream and flap to his hearts content. ;D
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Post by shnakeygirl on Dec 3, 2009 6:05:40 GMT 10
Ruby does that too!! She will get to the highest point on her stand and scream and flap like mad! I was a bit worried when she first did it in actual fact!! By the way Erik is atunning, Eckies are my favourite of all parrots and I can't wait to get some.
My partner and I went shopping last night and brought Ruby a whole bunch of vegies to try. We got a pack of sprouts for her to try while we try and get her seeds sprouting and she loves them! She also loves cabbage! I have a question, or two really, I've read conflicting things on both onion and lettuce saying that they can eat spring onion but not other types of onion and that lettuce is good for them and in other lists it says that it offers no nutritional value at all. If someone could clarify that'd be great.
Also, it was mentioned earlier that beans are really good for them, I've also read these should be cooked? Yes? No?
Thanks for all your help everybody!
Oh and Ruby's biting was a lot better yesterday, my fingers aren't so sore! ;D
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Post by shnakeygirl on Dec 4, 2009 12:50:25 GMT 10
Anyone?? I just need to know about the onion thing please??
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Post by Robyn on Dec 4, 2009 12:57:21 GMT 10
NO i believe onion is toxic to birds. The list of foods in my above post would be the only foods i give any of my birds. I have a Galah and he is almost 70 years old. I feed him the same food i feed all my other birds & have never had any health problems at all.
Robyn.
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jody
Newbie
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Post by jody on Dec 6, 2009 9:08:01 GMT 10
A vet told me that beans do not need to be cooked and as for onions I'm not sure but they really would'nt need to go eating onions anyway. The vet also said CHILLIs are good for them and no it does'nt burn them. The biting this is just a youngens faze and if you just put he back in cage when she bites she will grow out of it NEVER hit or scold her she will just defie you more. If she likes a certain seed like sun flowers then hide them ontop and under veges so she has to get the smell and some taste before getting the sun flower seed but dont use too many bcause as you would know they are not good for them. They are very active like to be kept busy and really like their owners attention so basiclly you have a 2 year old kid in the family now. She will want to be out of her cage almost all the time BUT if you have her out always be on the look out for things that she can chew and make her sick my baby chewed on a cabnet that had tiny strips of lead light lead on it and oviously I did'nt know this had happened. And bcause lead sits there little body and slowly poisons them and as birds will not show there sickness untill it can be TOO LATE. there are many things in the home which has poisons in them like varnishes on chairs home made TOYS may have traces of poisons so bcareful |
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alemap
Addicted Member
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Post by alemap on Dec 7, 2009 3:47:38 GMT 10
I have kept and bred galahs for several years and they love sprouted beans, fruit and veg. My babies are always weaned on a healthy diet before they go to there new homes.I have to say my bird definatly prefer green leaf vegtables such as cabbage and spinach.
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Post by shnakeygirl on Dec 7, 2009 8:35:43 GMT 10
thanks for your replies everyone. I asked about onion simply because I brought a mix for her with cabbage, lettuce, carrot etc and it had a bit of spring onion in it, so i wasn't sure on whether i needed to talk it out before giving it to her or not.
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Post by Robyn on Dec 7, 2009 9:05:01 GMT 10
Shankeygirl,
If your not sure what is OK or not to feed your bird{DON'T} It is so much better to be careful. Rather than buy the prepacked food i would recommend to make up fresh. Not sure how long that prepacked stuff has been made. I know i have bought it at times for us to eat & had to turf it because it was off. So i just make up fresh everyday.
How is the little nips going, have you worked out why yet. LOL.
Robyn.
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galahs are good at chucking everything away without touching it!) Eventually - i mean it could take 6 months or so, something will click and she will realise she can eat her vegetables and fruit, then there is no turning back!
