Galah (Rose-Breasted Cockatoo)

This page is educational reference material for preparing questions. A licensed veterinarian examines the animal, makes the diagnosis, and sets the treatment.

Pink, gray, and still a cockatoo

Galahs are Eolophus roseicapilla, the common pink cockatoos of Australia. Adults are about 12 to 14 inches. They usually last 40 to 70 years, the noise is moderate to high, some birds talk well, and care is intermediate to advanced. They are the cockatoo people meet in videos looking easy. The adult still wants a flock, shreds wood, and can scream hard enough to bother a neighbor.

A cage of at least 24 by 24 by 36 inches is only a minimum. Time out of the cage is the larger need. Pellets and vegetables should lead the diet, with fruit and a limited seed mix. They powder a room less dramatically than some white cockatoos and still produce feather dust. Australia does not export wild galahs for the pet trade. Legal pets are captive-bred.

Forty years of chewing

Budget the perches and the door frames. A galah with nothing to destroy will start on the cage and then on its own feathers. Have an avian vet from AAV before that happens. A bird that goes quiet and fluffed needs the quiet bird guide the same day.

Galah questions

How long do galahs live?

40 to 70 years. Count on the long end when you decide whether the house can keep a cockatoo.

Are galahs quieter than umbrella cockatoos?

Usually. Noise is moderate to high, not extreme. They still yell, and an apartment can be too small for that voice.

What do they eat?

Pellets, vegetables, fruit, and limited seed. Wild galahs eat a lot of grass seed. A pet on sunflower seed alone gets fat.