Need advice on an adopted Galah

[Noddy Boid]

I've recently adopted a hand-reared Galah. She's about 4-5 months old, very loving and sweet and loves to spend hours with the family. I haven't had a Galah nor had any experience with them previously.

I have three questions:-

1. After preening, there seems to be flaky skin (dandruff?) left on your clothes. She doesn't appear to scratch excessively. Is this normal for the flaky skin.

2. She loves head scratches and stroking, and when you pull her neck feathers forward (towards her crest) she has a strip of bare skin about 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long running along the topside of her neck. The skin doesn't look inflamed or sore.

3. She has a strong odour, not like the other birds we have. They have a birdy smell, but the Galah is quite strong. Not offensive, just stronger. Maybe she hasn't had baths before, I don't know. I know she came from a loving home because of her behaviour with me now. She is gentle and loving.

Any advice would be appreciated, maybe these things are just normal. I can't seem to find any information that gets this specific about Galahs.

She eats fine and seems bright and happy.

[Graehstone]

Originally Posted by Noddy Boid

I've recently adopted a hand-reared Galah. She's about 4-5 months old, very loving and sweet and loves to spend hours with the family. I haven't had a Galah nor had any experience with them previously.

I have three questions:-

1. After preening, there seems to be flaky skin (dandruff?) left on your clothes. She doesn't appear to scratch excessively. Is this normal for the flaky skin.

2. She loves head scratches and stroking, and when you pull her neck feathers forward (towards her crest) she has a strip of bare skin about 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long running along the topside of her neck. The skin doesn't look inflamed or sore.

3. She has a strong odour, not like the other birds we have. They have a birdy smell, but the Galah is quite strong. Not offensive, just stronger. Maybe she hasn't had baths before, I don't know. I know she came from a loving home because of her behaviour with me now. She is gentle and loving.

Any advice would be appreciated, maybe these things are just normal. I can't seem to find any information that gets this specific about Galahs.

She eats fine and seems bright and happy.

I don't know much about Galahs in particular, but from your description it sounds like you have a healthy and happy bird on your hands. The "dandruff" is actually dander that they shed and is very normal for the species.
The naked strip, I would say s normal as well and not something to be concerned about.
But I am sure that there are others more knowledgable in the species to give you better advice than I.
:eusa_clap

[KimBear]

Everything you're describing is perfectly normal, so don't worry.

When a parrot preens, there's going to some flakes that look like dandruf but it's actually keratin, a normal component of healthy feathers. When you see new feathers come in, they're encased in this sheath that looks almost like it's made of plastic--that's keratin. It's also the main component of hair, nails and feathers. By the way, Cockatoos also leave behind a powdery dust that will leave you looking like you've been playing in chalk. Greys have this,too, but not as much as cockatoos.

Bathing your parrot often will help not only in keeping the dust to a minimum, but may also help tone down the bird smell. I've never smelled a Galah (often called Rose-breasted cockatoo) so I don't know if they have a stronger odor than other cockatoos, but our own cockatoo, a Citron, does have her own smell.

The bald spot is also normal. If you run your finger along various parts of your Galah's body you'll see that not all places have as much down, like over the crop, for example.

[Noddy Boid]

Thanks Kim Bear, I thought she seemed OK, I just needed to check.

Now I have another dilemma. She is obviously used to spending time during the day with people. That's not possible in our house with children at school all day and my husband and I work full-time.

She is taken out of her cage as soon as somebody gets home, and is then a little bit naughty - I gather this is her way of scolding us for being away all day. She settles down and is fine for the rest of the time. We are home all weekend and she is OK over the weekends.

She doesn't seem to like playing with toys in her cage, so what should I do to make her "alone time" not so stressful or is this something she will eventually get used to? Will a mirror help?

[TooLover]

Please do NOT get her a mirror. I have three cockatoos and they are all fine during the day; I also work full-time and they are home by theirselves during the day. Change out her toys frequently and make sure that you leave music or the tv on during the day for her. When you are home make time for her and her alone.

[Noddy Boid]

OK, so no mirror. Thanks. I was only asking that to see if it would give her company. I feel terrible that she seems so lonely, I want what is best for her and am afraid of her starting feather-plucking (or something) if she is bored. She is in a large cage on a covered verandah, so can hear other birds outside, and our small dog and cat would be moving about on the verandah during the day, so she's not stuck inside a quiet, dark house.

Do you think a bunch of twigs and sticks from a nearby reserve (galahs are native in my area) would keep her occupied? I think they would, but don't want to introduce anything that gets her into BAD habits, lol.

Oh, and she seems really freaked out by moths! ?

Update about the odour. On the weekend I bought a fine mist sprayer (the one I had was more like a water cannon and would have shot her off the perch!) - at first she looked at me like I was a nutjob, utterly disgusted, BUT THEN......... up came the crest, the wings held out and screeches of delight (I hope) as she bowed her head down towards her feet. She smells better. Her crest up and wings outraised seems to be cheeky or mischievous/excited body language - am I close?

[KimBear]

Crest up, wings out is a display of excitement, joy or even aggrevation, so it depends on the context what's going on. It sounds like she loves her shower!

For when you're gone during the day:

Branches and twigs are fine if you're sure they've not been sprayed with fertilizers or pesticides, and that the wood is bird-safe.

Spend a bit of time with her in the mornings before you go to work. Maybe give her a shower so she can get some exercise and will occupy herself preening for a while once you're gone.

Install a radio on a timer and have it come on a few times during the day. Having it on all day may be too much unless you're playing it softly.

If she can see or hear things outside that's fine, but hopefully there aren't a lot of beasties outside lurking about (stray dogs, hawks, etc) to make her more nervous. Moths may freak her out but at least they won't hurt her. Once she figures that out she may be okay with them.

Make sure some of her toys are puzzle-type toys--things that can be moved and manipulated, and also set up things she can chew and pick at, like maybe weave a bunch of twigs into a small bundle and stuff them into a cardboard toilet paper core. Use your imagination to create things that require her to spend a little time on them.

When you do get home, don't immediately rush to get her out or you might plant the idea in her head that she HAS to be out the second you get home. Talk to her but wait until you're ready to interact--don't just open the door and let her pop out and do what she wants.

When it's time to get her out, spend several minutes letting her whoop it up. Jump up and down to get her super-excited so she can let out some of that energy. Once she's done that she will probably be calmer over the course of the evening.

[smallonion]

Noddy, "Birds just wanna have fun" has GREAT foraging toys that make your bird work for a treat = puzzles to solve, things to take apart, etc. They have them from simple to complicated. Cockatoos are apparently VERY clever, so I bet your Galah would like some foraging puzzle toys.
www.birdsjustwannahavefun.com

The only cockatoo I ever knew LOVED chewing wood apart, so I think that's a great idea.