Know before you bring one home
Meet the Galah.
A clownish, athletic, deeply social cockatoo that can outlive its owner — and the parrot most reliably ruined by overfeeding. Diet and flight are not side issues for a galah; they are the whole job.
Daily life
Personality, housing & routine.
A safe enclosure is the starting point, not the bird’s entire world.
Personality
Playful, acrobatic and sociable, with a strong sense of humour and a cockatoo's need for company. Less intensely clingy than an umbrella or Moluccan, but still a bird that suffers when left alone all day.
Cage size & type
Minimum 120 × 90 × 150 cm, with an aviary or flight strongly preferred. Bar spacing 20–25 mm in heavy-gauge, bird-safe metal. Galahs chew — use secure latches.
Perches, toys & setup
Natural branch perches (25–40 mm), replaced as destroyed, plus foraging toys and daily destructible wood. Foraging is the main tool for keeping a galah's weight down.
Time & social needs
3–4 hours out of the cage daily with genuine flight or climbing exercise. Galahs are built to forage across open country for hours; a sedentary galah gains weight fast.
Exercise & enrichment
Make the bird work for most of its food: foraging boxes, wrapped parcels, puzzle feeders, shreddable wood. This is weight management and enrichment in one.
Noise & neighbours
Loud screeching, heaviest at dawn and dusk. Fine on a smallholding or a detached house with tolerant neighbours; difficult in a townhouse.
Sleep
Provide 10–12 hours of quiet, uninterrupted darkness on a predictable schedule. Sleep-deprived parrots become irritable, scream more and are more likely to pluck.
Household safety
PTFE and non-stick fumes — pans, air fryers, self-cleaning ovens, some heaters and hair dryers — kill birds within minutes and are the most common preventable household death. Never house a bird in or near the kitchen. Also keep away from scented candles, incense, air fresheners, aerosols, cleaning sprays, pesticides, cigarette and vape smoke, ceiling fans, open water, hot pots, open windows and doors, electrical cables, toxic houseplants, and zinc or lead sources such as galvanised wire, costume jewellery and old paint. A cat scratch or bite is a medical emergency — cat saliva carries Pasteurella, which is usually fatal without immediate antibiotics.
Behaviour & warning signs
Galahs can be nippy, and hand-reared birds often become hormonal and demanding at maturity. Limit petting to the head and neck only — stroking the back and under the wings drives sexual frustration, screaming and plucking. A raised crest with a stiff stance is a warning.
Important: Use positive reinforcement only. Never hit, shout at, squirt, drop or “beak-flick” a bird for biting or vocalising — punishment reliably makes both worse. Parrots are prey animals: they hide illness and they bite because a warning signal was missed, not out of spite. Learn your bird’s body language and the biting mostly stops.
Nutrition
Build health in the bowl.
A seed-only diet is the most common cause of premature death in pet parrots. Every species below needs a formulated base, daily fresh vegetables and measured portions — change any diet gradually, with an avian vet’s guidance.
What to feed
- A low-fat cockatoo or galah-specific pellet where available — galahs need a leaner formula than macaws or greys.
- A large daily volume of vegetables and leafy greens: this should be the bulk of the fresh food.
- Soaked or sprouted seed and cooked whole grains in measured portions.
- Very limited fruit — it is sugar.
- Very limited nuts. A galah does not get a daily nut ration the way a macaw does.
- A cuttlebone and clean fresh water daily.
AVI Plus Complete Diet MaintenanceComplete formulated maintenance food.
Nature’s Nest Avian CompleteVet-formulated complete daily nutrition.
What NOT to feed
NEVER SHARE FOOD FROM YOUR MOUTH OR PLATE
- Sunflower seed and other high-fat seed as routine food — galahs are exceptionally prone to fatty tumours.
- Avocado — every part of the plant, including guacamole.
- Chocolate and cocoa.
- Caffeine, alcohol and xylitol (sugar-free sweetener).
- Onion, garlic, chives and leeks.
- Fruit pips and stones: apple, pear, cherry, apricot, peach and plum.
- Raw or dried beans — all legumes must be thoroughly cooked.
- Rhubarb leaves.
- Salty, sugary, fried or processed human food.
- Dairy in more than a trace — birds cannot digest lactose.
- Mouldy or fermenting food, including fruit left in the bowl.
- Anything from your mouth, plate or fork — human saliva carries bacteria that kill birds.
- Grit. Parrots husk their own seed and grit can cause fatal impaction.
- Human medicines or supplements unless prescribed by an avian vet.
Galah-specific: No sunflower seed as routine food, at all. Weigh your galah weekly: a bird creeping above its healthy weight is heading for lipomas and liver disease, and food is the first thing to adjust, then foraging, then flight. Ask your avian vet for this individual bird's target weight. Portions, hygiene and change: Measure food rather than filling a bowl to the brim, and weigh your bird weekly on a gram scale — appetite is a poor guide, weight is not. Remove fresh food after two to three hours in warm weather; bacteria in a warm bowl cause more illness than most owners realise. Wash bowls daily in hot soapy water. Change any diet gradually over several weeks under an avian vet’s guidance — a bird that stops eating during a rushed pellet conversion can die in 48 hours.
Health & veterinary care
Birds hide illness. Act early.
Galahs are the most obesity- and lipoma-prone parrot commonly kept. Watch for fatty tumours (lipomas), atherosclerosis, fatty-liver disease, feather-destructive behaviour and PBFD, to which cockatoos are highly susceptible.
Recommended specialist
Bryanston Avian, Exotic & Small Animals Clinic
99 Grosvenor Road, Bryanston, Johannesburg
011 706 1381 · WhatsApp 061 533 9950
info@baesac.co.za · baesac.co.za
Arrange an avian-vet examination within the first week after purchase, and weigh your bird weekly on a gram scale. Not every vet treats birds — find your nearest avian-experienced practice before you need one, and save the number.
Seek avian-vet help urgently for:
- Difficulty or open-mouth breathing
- Pronounced tail bobbing at rest
- Fluffed, quiet and sitting on the cage floor
- Collapse or severe weakness
- Bleeding that does not stop, including a broken blood feather
- Seizures or loss of balance
- Repeated vomiting or regurgitation
- Not eating, or noticeable weight loss
- Straining, a swollen abdomen, or a hen unable to pass an egg
- Sudden major change in droppings
- Any contact with a cat or dog, even a minor scratch
- Suspected poisoning, fumes or trauma
- A soft lump on the chest or abdomen — possible lipoma
- Breathlessness after short flights
Before you buy
Ask the seller for the hatch date, the closed ring number, a DNA sex certificate and any disease screening already done. A seller who cannot answer those questions, or who will not let you watch the bird eat, is a seller to walk away from. Ask what the bird is currently eating, so you can keep it stable for the first fortnight.
Your first month
Book a wellness examination in the first week, not just when something looks wrong. Quarantine a new bird for 30–45 days away from any birds you already keep, ideally in separate air space. Recommended screening: psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD), psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci), polyomavirus and avian bornavirus.
Ongoing & human health
Annual check-ups, moving to twice yearly for larger species over ten. Wing clipping is not routine care — discuss it first, because flight builds fitness, balance and confidence. Psittacosis passes to people as a flu-like illness or pneumonia: if you develop unexplained respiratory symptoms, tell your doctor you keep birds.
Is this your bird?
Who this species suits.
Being honest about this before you buy is the kindest thing you can do for a parrot.
First-time owners
Not a first parrot. The lifespan, noise and weight management all need an experienced hand.
Experienced owners
A wonderful companion for an owner with space, an aviary and the discipline to keep the bird lean.
Families & children
Possible with older children in a detached home. The sticking points are noise and the fact that this bird may outlive the parents.
Whatever your experience: buy from a seller who lets you meet the bird, answers questions about diet and hatch date, and takes the bird back if things go wrong. Ask about adoption too — rescues and sanctuaries are full of the species on this list, and an adult bird’s temperament is already known.
The commitment
Can you provide a good life?
“A happy bird isn’t just loved — it is understood, fed properly, kept safe and cared for every single day.”
I can weigh this bird weekly and keep it lean, including saying no to treats.
I have aviary or flight space and tolerant neighbours.
I can manage cockatoo feather dust in my home.
I have named who takes this bird if it outlives me.
If several answers are “No”, this is not the right bird for you — and walking away is a good outcome, not a failure.
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