# Eeek



## KylieAnne (Nov 8, 2012)

So I was just looking on Gumtree and came across a "Galatiel".. to be honest,I am horrified!

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/sydney-region/birds/first-time-on-offer-galatiel-galahxcockatiel-/1009120953


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

Whoa...

When i first saw the pic i thought it must be a photoshop job, but then i came across this article. I'm still not 100% convinced lol.

http://talkingbirds.com.au/world-firsts/galatiel-php/world-first-galah-breeds-with-cockatiel/


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Poor birds


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

They could end up having endless health problems and be unable to breed =/


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## hysteriauk (Jun 24, 2012)

Really hate people who do this sort of thing, They have no idea what issues they are causing the poor offspring when they mix different breeds and they look kinda ugly as well


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## MildlyAnnoyedBird (Jun 10, 2011)

Whaaaaaat?

Okay, so in the sense of being a biological curiosity, they're amazing. My science nerd brain is having a FIELD day with that. I am stunned that a cockatiel would mate with a Galah, given the size differences.

But...

Given the size differences, how'd the 'tiel GET to the Galah? Who lets that happen? I'd be terrified the 'tiel would get shredded! 

Also, it strikes me that there must be something not quite right with the 'tiel that is mating with the Galah. I'm operating under the presumption that the Galah is female, since I cannot imagine a significant size increase like that if the female bird was a 'tiel.

The basic biology means it's certainly possible. In dogs you see all kinds of size-different crosses. But yeah, I'd be a little concerned about underlying health concerns...especially organs and musculoskeletal issues.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

considering the first ever bird was an accidental occurance in a mixed aviary... if this was purposely done, then they got the idea from there. by all means, cockatiels ARE cockatoos and this proves it. however, its not been around long enough to know any problems with them.


because they state they wont show any other photos also makes me think it could be a scam.


however time for me to step in and say a warning now, please leave any personal bashing out of this, keep it civil, and do not bash the owner. basically, they are not here to defend themselves and we generally do not allow people to bash craigslist/kijiji/gumtree ads here  so you can discuss hybrids, but please keep any personal feelings towards the ad poster out of it.

not saying anyone has, but just to make it clear we wont have any personal bashing. if there is any post that is too personal it will either be edited or deleted at the staff's discretion.



as for me, i find it interesting, as it is not a common hybrid to see. but the health problems may or may not happen and if they do it may not be until these birds are older. we wont be able to tell. 


i wonder if the birds male if they would get a bright yellow face still


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Really REALLY weird. I had no idea the two could hybridize. :blink: I'm not saying I agree with purposefully doing it, but I would be very interested to see how these birds grow up. I imagine they'd have delightful personalities (though they're kind of ugly).


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

DallyTsuka said:


> considering the first ever bird was an accidental occurance in a mixed aviary... if this was purposely done, then they got the idea from there.


I was thinking it could be the same person...


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

echolalia said:


> I was thinking it could be the same person...


i was wondering too, as it is a possibility.


i know they DO exist. it isnt a fake hybrid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Va82B64ow

(not my video obviously)


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Yeah, I just saw that video too. And, another picture.









(Found here)

This one is actually pretty cute.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

ive seen other hybrids. there are countless lovebird hybrids, there are macaw hybrids, conure hybrids... its a common occurance, but cockatoos and cockatiels is a new thing. some hybrids should not be bred because of health issues. thats my belief, though. if i hybrid has no health problems, i dont see much wrong if it happens. the galatiel is way too new for anyone to know of health problems and i think these babies should have very regular health checks their whole lives to stay on top of any potential problems. IMHO i think if these birds prove to be perfectly healthy, there isnt much wrong


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Hybrids do occur in the wild, too. So, there really isn't necessarily anything wrong with them, per se. Should "galatiels" be intentionally bred? Probably not...but I hope for the sake of the ones that already exist, they are in good health.


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## sonic123 (Nov 2, 2012)

oh my what kind of birds are these they look sick


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> oh my what kind of birds are these they look sick


They're not sick, they're what's called a "galatiel" which is a galah/cockatiel hybrid. Basically, what happened, was the tiel and galah were in a mixed aviary together and picked each other as mates and hatched out babies. There's no telling yet how these birds will turn out. I for one find them interesting and think that its pretty cool that it happened without force.


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## Oni (Feb 20, 2012)

I saw the first well published Galah - teil cross and actually he was odd but not what I'd call BAD looking. That one though I'm afraid is a real ugly duckling


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Watch out Oni, lol. Better not let Sid near your lady tiel.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Oh, and I agree this bird is an ugly duckling, but to be fair he looks very young. He may get less awkward as he grows up. The other (the one in the video) is pretty cute if a little strange.


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## hysteriauk (Jun 24, 2012)

I really don't think cross breeding by breeders should be encouraged in any animal/bird species if you are just after something pretty to look at and /or to make money , After all look at the mess the dog world is in due to all the cross breeding that has gone on .

And just because it happens in the wild is no excuse to do it either


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## Korvia (Aug 3, 2012)

That is a rather scary looking bird. Kinda neat, seeing the Galah colors come in.


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## MildlyAnnoyedBird (Jun 10, 2011)

Aw! They're not ugly. I think they're ADORABLE!

I'd buy that bird, if I could. I think they're so cute.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

hysteriauk said:


> I really don't think cross breeding by breeders should be encouraged in any animal/bird species if you are just after something pretty to look at and /or to make money , After all look at the mess the dog world is in due to all the cross breeding that has gone on .
> 
> And just because it happens in the wild is no excuse to do it either


Dogs and cats are a different story; mixed breeds are not hybrids. All dogs are the same species, as are all cats. So are you saying that humans should never have domesticated and selectively bred these animals (thus creating breeds)? I don't necessarily disagree, just curious.

Creating hybrids is usually scrutinized, regardless of the type of animal in question, because of potential health concerns and just because it's "unnatural." But hybrids can and do occur in the wild. They are just rare, and not likely to pass on their genes (in many cases, they're incapable).


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## Oni (Feb 20, 2012)

echolalia said:


> Watch out Oni, lol. Better not let Sid near your lady tiel.


LOL my eyes just watered thinking about the poor girl passing a Galah egg, never mind being crushed during the rondevu 

Good thing she's madly in love with Dante  I'm thinking instead of upgrading both cages to get a flight and let them share, they spend all their free roaming time together and sit next to each other in their own individual cages


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## Oni (Feb 20, 2012)

echolalia said:


> hybrids can and do occur in the wild. They are just rare, and not likely to pass on their genes (in many cases, they're incapable).


As far as I know most hybrids are born infertile  African fat tailed geckos and leopard geckos can have offspring together but they are sterile, as are Mules as far as I know (horses and donkeys)...there's lots including some snakes...not all 100% natural as they are from different geographic areas...but if the biology is close enough they can produce young together.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I don't know that the egg would be larger, actually...I know when breeding English budgies with normal budgies, there's no difference in egg size. The babies just grow larger. Not sure if it works the same with hybrids though. In any case, the encounter does sound awkward... :blink:

Yeah, I'm familiar with reptile hybrids. Some of the most striking, IMO, are the emerald tree boa x Amazon tree boa. The emeralds are WAY larger and fatter than the Amazons, yet they do breed in the wild occasionally. So I suppose it shouldn't be so shocking that a galah and a tiel would do the same. Apparently tiels are most closely related to galahs and palm cockatoos. Must be why I love galahs so much...they're overgrown pink tiels! Hehe.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

some lovebird hybrids ARE fertile. any other lovebird mixed with peach faces are usually sterile but a masked and fischer's hybrid is able to breed.

but yes some hybrid animals occur naturally. here are some:

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/04/07/todays-mystery-bird-for-you-to-205/

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/LivingBird/Spring2007/unknown_warbler.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1217_021226_tvinterbreeding.html

more on the above post with pictures
http://meeg-toomuchinformation.blogspot.ca/2009/01/mr-owl.html


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## retrochick (Oct 27, 2012)

I think they are adorable!!


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## Nicci_ (Aug 28, 2012)

I saw one ages ago when I was looking for cockatiels. It looked exactly like a cockatiel with a pink tinge. It was very pretty. I reckon the ones in the first pic haven't feathered up yet


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## Oni (Feb 20, 2012)

You're probably right about the eggs...when I was having my daughter and they were complaining she was small and wanted growth monitoring (  waste of time as they predicted her birth weight wrong by over 1/2lb ) ...anyway, I told them as my family have small babies and my kids are half asian which genetically normally have smaller babies than western parents then I expected my kids to be on the smaller size 
Anyway, the doctor gave me some talk about how the baby will only stay the size of the mother's race/breed/etc and the fathers genetics don't kick in until after birth. I found that hard to believe but she said that a study had been done while male shirehorses and female shetland ponies


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## Rizq (Jun 9, 2012)

I don't know about horses, but I know if a male dog is significantly larger than the female, there can be big problems birthing the pups, so I would tend to feel that maybe your doctor was not 100% in that one ... but maybe dogs are just different.

Birds are different, though, since they lay eggs and don't have babies. I have heard that crossing a large breed chicken with a very small breed can result in a chick that will not hatch because there is not enough room in the egg for it to develop because the egg would still be little mamma chicken size. Never tried it myself, though.


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