# Galah diet



## dihsmaj (Jan 27, 2012)

I've looked this up and found varying info but would a diet of medium parrot seed, corn and peas do well for a Galah?


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## vampstorso (Jan 27, 2012)

Found the perfect bird for your cage eh?
Goodluck!
(awkward if you arent the person i remember discussing redtails with in a thread lol)


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## dihsmaj (Jan 27, 2012)

CoolDenturesBro said:


> Found the perfect bird for your cage eh?
> Goodluck!
> (awkward if you arent the person i remember discussing redtails with in a thread lol)


I am I'm pretty sure. I've already found a breeder and I'm getting the bird in the next week or so but I'm still nervous because I haven't received a definite answer yet about the feeding.


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## vampstorso (Jan 27, 2012)

I'd just go with your seed mentioned, whilst giving them the odd unsalted nut (almonds are the favourite of my cocky),
Celery,pumpkin and carrot are good too, I'm not sure it'd eat the peas? My guy won't touch softer stuff. 
I also dry out the seeds of pumpkins I eat for him and he loves them.

So really the parrot seed with whatever array of vegetables you can get them too eat. As well as nuts and native seed pods (gumnuts, pinecones banksia etc) 

Hanging on a food skewer encourages them, as for example my guy won't eat vegetables from a bowl, but loves the skewer.


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## dihsmaj (Jan 27, 2012)

Oh god I just read Snakeluvver's thread on Galahs and apparently they get extremely destructive... I was already going to have him out almost all the time I'm awake (after reading your thread I found out that you did it and your bird gets loud when you don't) but I'm having second thoughts after hearing all of the bad things people have said.


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## vampstorso (Jan 27, 2012)

They are incredibly destructive...but if you give them appropriate things too destroy it's okay lol 
They're illogically destructive though...e.g. why you would chew right through the perch your standing on is beyond me! 

Puzzle boxes etc are great to stop some of the destruction, they love un-doing nuts etc. 

He does call if I leave and he knows I'm around (am working to discourage it, he's only a year old now), but if he doesn't know you're home, or you're out, he's totally silent. 

Definitively dont rush into it if you have doubts though. They're amazing fun, but definitively a bit of a pain too, all and all I find it worth it, but it's up too you if you agree of course!


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## Flaviruthless (Jan 27, 2012)

A diet consisting of Pellets, heaps and fruit and veggies and seed is good. You can use the seed as a foraging activity for your bird (instead of just having it sit there in a bowl) - this may lessen the destructiveness of your bird. E.g. Get a flat bottomed glass dish and sit it in the bottom of your cage. Place grass clippings, eucalyptus leaves, shredded paper or shredded coconut (please make sure any plants you use are pesticide free before adding them). For the first couple of days sit a small amount of seed on top of whatever you have in the bowl, so that the bird gets the idea and knows where the seed is, then start mixing the seed through. The bird will have to work for its food and will spend ages searching for the seed. Eventually you can reduce the amount of seed that you use and increase the amount of stuff that you put in the glass dish - your bird will spend hours looking for its seed. I know of someone that owns a pair of Galahs, kept in an aviary, and puts 2 - 4 sunflower seeds in the bottom, covers the rest in grass clippings and it amuses the birds almost all day.


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## dihsmaj (Jan 27, 2012)

CoolDenturesBro said:


> They are incredibly destructive...but if you give them appropriate things too destroy it's okay lol
> They're illogically destructive though...e.g. why you would chew right through the perch your standing on is beyond me!
> 
> Puzzle boxes etc are great to stop some of the destruction, they love un-doing nuts etc.
> ...


Already told a breeder I'd come up and have a look at the Galah, feels like I've signed a contract and that I am surely gonna buy it now, even if I want to back out


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## notechistiger (Jan 27, 2012)

If you're having doubts because they're destructive and loud, then a pet bird is probably not for you. Most birds are loud, and many species are destructive. It's up to you in controlling the noise and destruction by distraction and training. Don't forget birds require a LOT of attention and will live for quite for some time.


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## vampstorso (Jan 28, 2012)

I'm sure the breeder would prefer you left the bird if need be, rather than felt pressured into buying it. But I understand what you mean

Hiding food definitively helps. You'd be amazed how quickly theyll work out a puzzle if there's food involved too!


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## dihsmaj (Jan 28, 2012)

actually I think I will be good, just remembered I was talking to a zoologist who'd kept parrots since he was young and he said 'You can't go wrong with a Galah'.


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## notechistiger (Jan 28, 2012)

Things can go very wrong if you don't know what you're in for


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## saximus (Jan 28, 2012)

The sound that galahs and cockys make makes me want to kill something. I have no idea why you people want to trap one in your own homes


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## notechistiger (Jan 28, 2012)

What's not to love about a big, cuddly bird?


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## Sarah (Jan 28, 2012)

any bird in a cage inside the home needs things to keep it occupied besides food, some toys , the odd leafy gum branch , i spend a lot on toys keeping my 3 occupied when they are not out of their cages. Otherwise you can find them becoming easily bored and that can lead to destructive behaviour and a lot of noise.


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## james.5 (Jan 28, 2012)

Make sure you give it a balanced diet - fruit, veggies and insects ( esspecially leafy greens) . I try to give mine something everyday. Galahs easily become overweight so don't give them too much fatty foods and they love leaves or seed pods from trees like eucalypts. If you have mealworms or crickets they will eat them too.


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## Fuscus (Jan 28, 2012)

We kept a galah for year in a pine box ( NOT that pine box) and it didn't chew it at all.
Mind you we used to replace its perches weekly with green gum branches with the leaves and nuts on it. First thing it would do to a new branch was to crush all the nuts, then shred all the leaves, then strip the bark then finally whittle away the perch until it was suitable for use as a toothpick.
We also let it fly around the house, unfortunately it was alcoholic and a very mean drunk. If my parents (this was when I was about 10 -12 ) left a gin and tonic unattended, it would fly down, guzzle as much as it can, fall of the table and hide under the couch. At that stage it would attack anything within range and any dog within sight.


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## dihsmaj (Jan 28, 2012)

saximus said:


> The sound that galahs and cockys make makes me want to kill something. I have no idea why you people want to trap one in your own homes


I don't mind the Galah's sound, it sounds like a smaller bird chirping... Cockatoos sound like demons screaming.


Sarah said:


> any bird in a cage inside the home needs things to keep it occupied besides food, some toys , the odd leafy gum branch , i spend a lot on toys keeping my 3 occupied when they are not out of their cages. Otherwise you can find them becoming easily bored and that can lead to destructive behaviour and a lot of noise.


Yeah I was gonna buy a few toys every weekend.



Fuscus said:


> We kept a galah for year in a pine box ( NOT that pine box)


?


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## Tildy (Jan 28, 2012)

I talked to my avian vet about the diet for my cockatiel, Indian ringnecks and eastern rosellas and he said that for those sized parrot feed them budgie seeds because most of the larger filler seeds in medium parrot mix are highly fatty and most of the time the parrots don't eat them. He reccomended pellets (Harrison's or vetafarm as the top two brands) with seed supplied in a foraging way. For example, I sprinkle some seeds on a square of astro turf and put it on the floor for my birds when they are out of thier cages. He suggested branches from the native trees with the flowers leave and nuts on them. Also, more vegies than fruit and things you can forage out of the garden like dandelions. 

I combine the medium parrot mix with the budige seeds and see how that works. I also offer both pellets and seeds as well as fruit, vegies, some herbs, dandelion, mealworms, crickets, willow branches, bottle brush branches (and similar tree branches). I also feed them boiled rice, split peas, barley, quinoa, and the like as well as boiled mashed egg occasionally including the shell. Sprouted seed is absolutely awesome for them.

Just no avocado, chocolate, alchol, and caffine as these can be deadly for your bird.

Good foraging toys are expensive so google DIY options as a way to help your budget.

Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

This is a fantastic parrot forum with lots of good diet and toy ideas.


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## browny (Jan 28, 2012)

they absolutely love the gum's (take an few sections and give them the whole thing especially when it's flowering) they love it
just not too many of the black sunflower seeds apparently each seed is like a chocolate muffin for us in fat content and as been said variety and lots of it will keep them entertained a fair while

I rescued an injured youngun of a pink n' grey few yrs ago (midnight walking home and it was staggering down the road, had a busted wing the vet said couldn't be fixed so she became my pet/companion) and it was rough first 4 months them practically overnight she was snuggling up and loving scratches etc, I had a 6 foot 5 tier cage and she loved it was such a great bird.


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## dihsmaj (Jan 29, 2012)

Well this thread won't help me now, just told that we can't put the cage inside as it's too heavy and it's hard to move, so we have to put it outside, but then I won't be able to take the bird inside, so that defeats the purpose.
EDIT:
Just thinking now I could get a big but light cage. That would work.


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