Rosie The Galah and parrot care

A blog about my galah and I, as well as parrot care

[rosiethegalah]

[rosiethegalah]

"This turn of the century photo shows a  Moluccan Cockatoo chained to the perch,  with nothing to do but mutilate itself.We have been abusing this wonderful creature for over 100 years now... and yet we've learned nothing.... "  

[birdchannel-blog]

Bring Out Your Bird's Inner Ground Forager

[rosiethegalah]

Bring out your bird’€™s inner ground forager by providing foraging opportunities at the cage bottom.

[rosiethegalah]

Rosie then and now

Today is Rosie's 2 year anniversary since I adopted her

[rosiethegalah]

This is truly sad. I hope one day this person comes to understand their parrot, as well as the hundreds of other people who feel the same.This isn't a terrible situation, but it's not ideal either.

If you ever feel this way join the web site http://www.parrotforums.com/ to ask for advice from experienced parronts. My username there is "copperarabian", feel free to PM on the forum or message me on tumblr.

"Sitting here listening to my Parrot squawking, i thought i’d inform all those out there who are thinking of getting a parrot how much of a nuisance they are. They cause endless amounts of mess, noise and stress with them constantly throwing things out of their cage, constant squawking, shouting and whistling and their all round annoying presence. However, Their overall gentle nature and their ability to mimic speech have made them popular pets – if they do have this nature. If they have an annoyingly clingy nature, like mine, you will never hear the end of it unless you’re in the room speaking to him.

My parrot, Baby, is the noisiest, messiest and most irritating animal we have ever owned – despite his cuteness. When he is in a good mood and someone is in the room, he dances with me while i whistle ‘The Muppets Theme’, chatters away like a human and sits quietly to watch tv. However, as soon as no one is in the room he makes a complete racket until someone is in there again. We’ve tried leaving the tv on for him while no one is in their just to make it seem as though he’s not alone, but of course that didn’t work. Being situated in the lounge, he is where the most activity is, but even that isn’t enough for him.

Despite how annoying he is, he has to be the cleverest animal you could ever own. When i put my coat on in the morning ready to leave he says ‘See you later’ because he knows i’m about to leave. When he gets tired he says ‘Na Night’ to tell my parents he wants to go to sleep. When someone falls asleep in the room, he is completely silent until they wake up again. He whistles along to tunes like ‘The Great Escape’ and The McDonalds tune. When my cats stand at the door to go out, he says ‘Do you want to go out?’ to tell us the cats are wanting to go out. But despite how clever he is, it doesn’t stop me regretting my dads decision to buy him.

Overall, from this post you have learned:

My parrot is the most annoying thing in the world.

My parrot is also the most clever thing ever.

I would sell the stupid thing if i could.

So for anyone who is thinking about buying an African Grey, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure the parrot isn’t like mine before hand – unless you like being squawked at every five seconds. Observe the parrot a great deal before you purchase it because remember you’re going to be having to live with that annoying little creature.

Until the next time my pretties, Scarlett x"

[rosiethegalah]

Found this story on the parrot forum. Anyone buying from a breeder must be very careful, check, double check, then triple check. Remember that it's the job of our breeders to provide a weaned healthy baby, trying to convince you to take on hand feeding is a irresponsible breeder. Parrot pet stores are notorious for this. I'm glad everything turned out ok for this girl, and what a STUNNING shamrock macaw she has.

"I hope this never happens to anyone here . My dream bird has always been a macaw. And in my country it was quite hard to find a breeder .... Since I was studying far away from my hometown So I found one in a webpage called" Mercado libre" that is like the eBay of our Country. I didn't want to buy a wild caught so I thought that I was doing the right thing when I put the first deposit for my baby. Putting all my trust in that Idiot. He told me that I needed to get the bird before it weaned because he thought I would have a better bond with it. Since it was the only guy out there who I knew that sold legal macaws I couldn't complain. He sent me many pictures of my baby .... I was going trough a rough time and the bird gave me the hope I needed . My baby is a Shamrock macaw and has a lot of yellow in its head since I chose him before he developed it . One day he sent me pictures of another baby that wasn't mine and I grew suspicious of him .... I fought with him for the baby I saw growing up and I thought I won when I put in his bank account the last deposit .And the baby was going to be sent the next week. Summer break started and I was so happy to see my family and my baby but it wasn't going to be that easy It took 3 weeks for the baby to arrive and even I don't know how it passed all the airport regulations because the box were it was sent was too small...

And the next day I took him to a breeder I found in my area because there are no avian vets in my hometown. The breeder told me that that guy who sent me the macaw wanted me to take care of the unweaned baby because it was less expensive and it was sent to die because it was also showing symptoms of malnutrition and was too weak. I was heartbroken but thanks to him my baby is growing stronger each day. And I feel bad because I could have bought him a bird but I didn't know he was there when I put the first deposit. So now I am waiting my baby to grow stronger and wean to take him home. And hopefully that evil breeder will pay for what he did. English is not my native language so forgive me if I have any grammar error."

[rosiethegalah]

night time crazies (by copperchan)

Rosie gets really excited at night before bed sometimes.

[rosiethegalah]

Photo from bird tricks face book, they're about to make chop mix.

[rosiethegalah]

Congo African gray with Tenmeh African gray

"These two different subspecies share many similarities, but are also quite different even to the casual observer.  The nominate ssp. (whom I will refer to as the African Grey) is larger and lighter is color and has a bright red tail. As you can see, the Timneh Grey has a much smaller distribution, and it is thought to be named after the Temne tribe with whom they share part of their range.  Maybe the Timne people have even kept these parrots as pets. The Timneh Grey is a bit smaller and has a darker grey plumage, as well as a darker burgundy colored tail and a horn colored upper mandible (as opposed to the solid black beak of the African Grey).

Grey Parrots are among a few species of parrot that flock solely with their own kind.  They flock in large numbers that can exceed a couple of hundred birds.  They are partial ground feeders and birds inhabiting the Congo Basin and surrounding areas can often be found flocking around clearings that were made, over time, by the African Forest Elephants.  They like to nest in palm trees as well as eat the oily fruit that these same trees bear.  It is said that Greys Parrots will feed almost solely on the palm fruit when it is available.  "

[galah]

[nocturnowl]

By the end of summer I will either have an african gray or a galah. I JUST CAN’T DECIDE!

[rosiethegalah]

Galahs if purchased young(or raised correctly) are immensely entertaining, full of energy, very out going, very social and enjoy meeting new people, and extremely good at trick training. One potential down side to galahs is that they NEED to be fully flighted. Galahs are desert & harsh climate parrots who have a very good metabolism to survive on food with little nutrition. They are highly prone to fatty liver disease, fatty tumors, obesity, and heart disease/failure as they age if not exercised. They need daily flying, even just a couple short flights, high quality pellets, and healthy  fresh & prepared foods. Galahs are known for being neurotic and phobic, they need to be socialized young and introduced to new objects from day one.

If you think you can handle a fully flighted bird go with a galah, they are amazing. A galah just learning to fly can fly circles around a African gray who's flown for 20 years.

African grays on the other hand are more reserved, prefer only a few people(known for being a one bird person), are honestly too intelligent for captivity and fall easy into phobic or neurotic behavior. They are highly intelligent and are truly capable of understanding words if you talk to them like a person rather than baby talk.

African grays are prone to Aspergillosis, a terrible fungal disease in the lungs that can take months, and even years to heal.

they are also prone to calcium deficiencies which will cause seizures. Avoid supplements at all cost unless your vet specifically tells you to use them, instead feed dark leafy greens, and other foods naturally high in calcium.

[rosiethegalah]

Getting Rosie's outside cage ready for a party tomorrow. Cut down some fresh branches and put in a couple permanent branches.

Tomorrow there will be more Rosie in her outside cage pics :)

[rosiethegalah]

Rosie is trying really hard to get this treat out of a foraging toy, and is constantly making these quite little noises of adorableness.

[mihaelthewhammyhousekid]

This is my parrot that will be with me long after everyone else in my family is dead (I’m the youngest) because they live forever.

[reallyepicstuff]

Only if you change the way you are feeding him! Seed diets, even with some supplements are a slow death for parrots. My galah came to me on a staple sun flower seed diet, she had organ failure, possible fatty liver disease, calcium deficiency, emaciate, and was overall just extremely unhealthy. Because your parents feed their yellow naped amazon seeds, they are actually cutting his/her life in half. There is still time to save him though.

A amazon(actually, nearly all parrots) should have no seeds, except a occasional treat(by treat I mean one or 2 individual seeds, not a bowl). They require high quality pellets such as Harrison’s pellets, Totally Organic pellets, Zupreem Natural, or Roudybush pellets. Harrison’s and totally organic are the best, but they are hard to find if you are unwilling to order them online. Zupreem natural and Roudybush are available at most chain pet stores.

Please read these 3 pages

http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/the-4-most-important-components-of-a-healthy-diet/

http://animalzoneproducts.blogspot.com/2012/09/too-many-sunflower-seeds-can-eventually.html

http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/chop-mix-for-your-birds/

Please don’t give up changing his/her diet to pellets and fresh food. If you want to know how he feels start only eating McDonald’s big macs and french fries for lunch, breakfast, and dinner for 3 months. You will feel absolutely terrible. It took my galah cockatoo 6 months to finally be off of seeds. But now that she is eating healthy her character and health have completely changed.

[rosiethegalah]

I'm really hoping this person takes my advice. Absolutely breaks my heart to see that amazon.

[galah]

So excited to tell you that Rosie is finally getting normal colored gray feathers! After nearly 2 years it’s finally happening. She came to me at least 50 grams underweight, and was a very sick bird. I can’t wait for all her feathers to be replaced. A healthy bird is the most beautiful!

[galah]

[rosiethegalah]

Remember to try to only pet your fids on the head, anywhere else is telling them you want to be there mate and also make them hormonal and or aggressive.

[rosiethegalah]

Rosie was one of the winners of a birdtricks face book contest! So excited!!!! She will be winning a custom pin or pendant(I'll be getting the pendant) for her human to wear.

When it is created, shipped, and finally arrives I will take a photo of Rosie with her mini-Rosie

The contest was parrots in harnesses

[rosiethegalah]

Seriously. "Normal" people buy dogs, cats, and fish. Some even get bunnies or snakes. But we, the crazy people, choose to buy pets with beaks. Almost every parrot owner knows they are almost guaranteed to be bitten by their parrot. Some birds like macaws can snap broom sticks, yet we choose to buy them anyway. Of all the pets we could have, we choose the messy, loud, freakishly smart, demanding parrots. Instead of having an obedient dog, we would rather have a bossy toddler that bites. However, that isn't what makes us crazy. What really sets us apart is that we actually enjoy it. We love our birds, who just might be crazier than we are. every day we clean up after them. It's no secret that seed gets everywhere: in our clothes, other rooms of the house, even our own beds! I still find feather sheaths in my sheets. Yet every day, we come home, clean up, get pooped on, maybe bitten, and then we do it all again the next day. We spend hard earned money on toys that will be destroyed in a matter of hours or even sent to a soggy end in the water dish. As if that isn't enough, we go out and get even more birds! We all know that one eternal toddler isn't enough, no, we need more. What could be better than cleaning up after 1 parrot? Cleaning up after 5! Somehow these little terrors are too cute to turn down, and they know it. We are no match for their deceiving cuteness. If only we could see through the mask of fluffed-up feathers and big eyes, and into the manipulative, conniving, little minds our birds have. From day one, we are under their spell. We have been bitten by the bird bug and there is no turning back. Now, and forever, we are "bird people", the underground society of crazy bird people with loud houses, confused neighbors, and way too many cleaning supplies. We are the people with mysterious white stains on our clothes and beak marks on our shoes. In all fairness, we chose this, or maybe our birds chose us. Either way, this is our life. If that isn't crazy, I don't know what is.