A stunning pink-and-grey Australian cockatoo — clever, playful and affectionate, but loud, long-lived and demanding, and prone to obesity on the wrong diet.
The galah (or rose-breasted cockatoo) is a beautiful, hardy Australian cockatoo — soft rose-pink underparts and a grey back, with a playful, clever, affectionate nature. They’re more robust and a little less overwhelmingly needy than some cockatoos, but they’re still a serious commitment: loud, highly social, long-lived (40–70 years), and intelligent enough to need constant enrichment. They’re also notably prone to obesity and fatty tumours (lipomas) on high-fat seed diets, so diet matters hugely. Prices range from about £1,000 to £3,500 depending on colour morph and rearing. A rewarding but demanding parrot for an experienced, dedicated keeper.
Best for: experienced, dedicated keepers with time, space and tolerance for noise — wanting a clever, playful, affectionate cockatoo.
💷Costs & Getting Hold of One
The animal
£1,000–£3,500 depending on colour morph and rearing.
Full setup
£500–£1,000+ — a very large, strong cage or aviary, play stands, and lots of enrichment.
Ongoing costs
Moderate — a formulated/low-fat diet with veg, toys/enrichment (they destroy them), avian-vet care.
Availability
Available from specialist parrot breeders; less common than budgies/cockatiels.
These are minimums, not budgets. The low end still has to meet the animal's needs — proper UVB, a heat gradient, space and filtration are not optional extras. A vivarium alone can cost £250–£300+, and a tortoise's UVB lamp alone is often ~£100. Price the whole setup before you commit to the animal.
Buying tip: Buy a captive-bred, well-socialised bird with documentation from a reputable breeder. Be realistic about the noise, mess, 40–70-year commitment and daily interaction before acquiring one.
🏠Enclosure & Where to Keep It
A very large, strong cage or aviary with lots of climbing, chewing and enrichment suits this active, intelligent cockatoo.
Space
As large as possible — a spacious aviary or a very large cage plus daily out-of-cage time; they’re active and need room to climb and flap.
Strong & safe
Cockatoos are powerful chewers with strong beaks — use a robust cage with secure locks (they’re escape artists).
Enrichment
Constant foraging toys, destructible chew items and rotation — a bored galah screams and feather-plucks.
Placement
A sociable but not chaotic spot; they’re part of the family but need a proper sleep routine (10–12 hours’ dark).
Galahs are loud (piercing calls) and highly social — they need hours of interaction and enrichment daily, and suffer (screaming, feather-plucking) if neglected. Not a bird for close neighbours or a quiet house.
🌡️Temperature, Lighting & Humidity
Temperature
Comfortable at normal room temperature; hardy, but avoid draughts, damp and sudden chills. Aviary birds need frost-free, sheltered housing.
Lighting / UVB
Natural daylight or full-spectrum avian lighting; a consistent day/night cycle with 10–12 hours’ uninterrupted dark for sleep.
Humidity
Normal household humidity; provide regular bathing/misting opportunities for feather health.
Bedding / substrate
Line the cage floor with paper for easy cleaning; keep it clean (they drop a lot of food and produce feather dust/powder).
🍽️Diet, Supplements & Feeding
An omnivore prone to obesity — diet is the single biggest health issue: they need a low-fat, formulated/veg-based diet, NOT a high-fat seed/sunflower mix.
Staple
A good-quality formulated pellet as the base, plus plenty of vegetables and some fruit.
Limit fat
Strictly limit high-fat seeds/nuts (sunflower, peanuts) — galahs readily get obese and develop fatty tumours (lipomas).
Foraging
Offer greens, sprouted seeds and foraging opportunities — they’re ground-foragers in the wild.
Water
Fresh water daily, plus bathing water.
Obesity and lipomas are the classic galah problem — a low-fat, veg-and-pellet diet with limited seed is essential, guided by an avian vet.
✨Grooming, Shedding & Additional Needs
They preen and bathe themselves and produce feather powder down (dusty — worth noting for allergy sufferers); provide regular bathing. No routine grooming, though an avian vet can help with nails/beak; never clip flight feathers without good reason.
A fluffed, quiet, or feather-plucking galah needs prompt avian-vet attention. Feather-plucking is usually a sign of boredom, stress or poor diet — address the cause, not just the symptom.
🖐️Handling & Interaction
Clever, playful and affectionate — they bond strongly and enjoy interaction, but can be nippy and demanding, and need firm, kind, consistent handling. An advanced bird best for experienced keepers.
How to handle
Build trust with positive reinforcement and foraging/training; give lots of daily interaction and out-of-cage time. Handle gently and read their body language; provide a stable routine.
✅ Do
Give hours of daily interaction and enrichment.
Feed a low-fat, veg-and-pellet diet (limit seeds/nuts).
Provide a very large, strong, secure cage/aviary.
Use positive-reinforcement training; keep a sleep routine.
Work with an avian vet.
⛔ Don't
Don’t feed a high-fat seed/sunflower diet (obesity/lipomas).
Don’t leave them alone/under-stimulated (screaming, plucking).
Don’t underestimate the noise, mess and 40–70-year commitment.
Don’t use non-stick (PTFE) cookware near birds (fumes are deadly).
Don’t punish — it destroys trust.
🦎Fun Facts
A pink-and-grey Australian cockatoo, also called the rose-breasted cockatoo.
Clever, playful and affectionate — many learn words and tricks.
Prone to obesity and fatty tumours on high-fat diets.
Long-lived — commonly 40–70 years, so a lifelong commitment.
Colour morphs (e.g. paler or ‘white-back’ forms) affect the price.
⭐Overall Verdict
A stunning, clever, affectionate pink-and-grey cockatoo — rewarding for an experienced, dedicated keeper, but loud, long-lived (40–70 years) and demanding. Give it a huge secure cage, hours of daily interaction and enrichment, and a strict low-fat veg-and-pellet diet (to avoid the obesity and lipomas galahs are prone to), and work with an avian vet. Not a beginner’s bird — but a magnificent companion for the right home.