Thanks everyone! We used to live in Australia and bought a wild caught Rose Breasted cockatoo (except they were called galah's in Australia) for $25 from a pet store. Despite being wild caught and full grown, he became gentle and loving almost immediately. Broke my heart to leave him when we moved but Australian export laws would not allow us to take him with us. All our Aussie friends teased us about PAYING for a galah when they were everywhere for free. But at that time (1990) they cost $4,000 in Canada!!
These two galahs are only 6 mos old, and can be quite rowdy at times. They went through quite an aggressive phase where they'd bite a lot, and get right into the kid's faces trying to intimidate them. We would just say "No" in a firm manner and put them back in their cage. They learned REAL quick that biting ended their out of cage time.
We've had the grey for 9 yrs - got him from a shady pet store in FL when he was still in pin feathers and hand feeding. The man had him in a Tupperware container covered with a towel and said "Oh, you don't want HIM. He's a crap bird. Look at these Amazons!" I looked at the "crap" bird and couldn't stop looking at him. And he kept tapping pathetically on the container side, begging me to take him. He's bonded to me and will bite the daylights out of anyone else who tries to handle him. He still bites me on a regular basis, but I love him dearly anyways.
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!
Loree