A Couple Questions

[OutlawedSpirit]

So when I got the pretty chicken, I was told she was about 8 months old, and that her hatch date was July 14, 2015. She is a SI. I have a couple questions, and that may be important.

First, when does an Ekkie reach their "full weight"? She averages between 345 and 350 grams. Her body condition is really good, so I don't think she is underweight for her, but from what I've been able to find, a female SI is generally heavier than that, but I am assuming that she will continue to gain small amounts of weight here and there until she is fully mature.

Also, looking at pictures of other Ekkies, the blue ring of feathers around her eyes is not nearly as pronounced as most. Is that something else that will come in more as she matures?

Finally, for the past week or so she has been rather...assertive. If she was older, I would assume she was hormonal, but I don't think that would be the case if she is less than a year old. Would it? Unless she is older than I was told, which wouldn't bother me a whole lot except for the fact that I was lied to, I would just like to know. She has pinched my wife a few times in the past week, even when she was picking her up off the floor to "save her". Even with me she has been very beaky, although nothing near a pinch. I also wonder if maybe it could be her diet. She was eating mostly pellets when I got her, and now she is mostly fresh foods. I still offer her some pellets in a separate dish, but she doesn't eat many, if any of them usually. I wonder if she could just be "feeling her oats" so to speak now that she is eating like she should be. Either way I am not too worried about her, because she has gotten more playful, more talkative, and just generally seems more alert.

So I was just wondering if any of you have any ideas.

 

[SailBoat]

Your little girl is growing up and testing the waters. It is important to work with bonding and developing a strong relationship (target, only good things happen when Humans are around).

It is always important to lock in the Step-Up request. If your are 'picking her up' like a ball, that could be some of the cause of the beak pressure nips. Yes, you may believe that you are saving her, but unless she likes being 'picked-up' you maybe inviting a nip. You can train for this type of handling by targeting. If you are talking about a Step-Up request that is resulting in a nip, that must be corrected.

Pressure (beak) training is also important as part of your communication training. Little pressure can be a sign of 'I'm not overly happy with being handled that way' or other communication item.

Diet will not result in aggression unless your parrot in starving and/or its formula had been removed too early (yours is to old for this).

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

She does step-up well, I never have an issue, it is only with my wife lately. Even then it's not a hard bite, she doesn't draw blood. I know she is only asking for a step-up, my wife would not grab her. She isn't comfortable enough with her to handle her like that. I can pick her up like that, however, with no issues. I can do pretty much anything to her and she doesn't react in a negative way.

It is possible she could be just testing my wife, since she isn't particularly a bird person. However, she knows enough not to let her "get her way" because of a bite. I made that very clear the day I brought her home, that if biting gets her what she wants, she will keep doing it.

 

[jess.reco]

I think your wife needs to bond with miss Aria from the sounds of it. I make my husband do it though he isn't a bird person. They get along LOL.

 

[SailBoat]

Fully agree with Jess and the need for the wife to become more involved - 'bonded.' Although, she may never have the level of relationship that you do, it is very important that your parrot understands that she needs to view your wife as a co-equal.

The process is to socialize your parrot. Near anyone that comes to your home should get at least some arm time. Its a two-way-street. Your parrot becomes more open to more people and at the same time, people that visit your home better understand this Parrot / Human thing. In addition, the relationship between your family members becomes more balanced.

Target that not only does good things happen when your wife 'Step-Ups' your parrot, but really great things, i.e... your wife gets all the happy stuff and your get stuck with doing the things that your parrot is not so happy with. Its tough to do, but it goes along way to growing their relationship and keeping the family balanced.

At some point, your wife will 'NEED' to move your parrot and there should be no fear or concern on her part! Example: You're out of town and the parrot becomes sick and needs to be seen by the Avian Vet NOW. There are any number of possible: Have to Move Events.

It is very possible that your wife may have an underlying fear to Parrot Ownership. Commonly, there is the fear of being bitten, but any number of other issues can be in place. Try family Parrot playtime or sing a longs, etc... The goal is everyone interacting and sharing. Also find something that your parrot loves. Lets use either being read to or singing with (lots of possibilities - and it is for only the two ladies!

Have an open conversation with your wife. Any fear or concern that she may have is fully understandable and excepted by you. Remember that a sizeable part of the Human population has a built-in fear of a bird flying at them or landing on them. People with long hair seem to have a fear of a bird landing in their hair and becoming entangled. Point is, and in a comfortable manor, let her express any concerns she may have. Now work at building a relationship that works around those concerns, but at the same time and over time, works at addressing those concerns. The wonder of time, is that you have it. A year from now or even two years from now is just as wonderful as is tomorrow. You will find that working just as well with your parrot - the same time on time reality.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

I understand what you are saying, it just seemed odd to me that it has only been the last week or so that she has really been this way. Although, you are probably right, and she is just testing to see what she can get away with.

Another question now is, could the way I let her play with me be causing more issues? She is rather beaky with me, and likes to grab my fingers with her beak and rough house a little, like our B&G did when I was growing up. I don't have a problem with her doing this, because she has always been gentle with me. With my wife, however, it doesn't seem to be a "play" thing. She actually pinches her. So I don't think she is trying to play, but I just want to make sure that me letting her play like that isn't making things worse for my wife.

 

[coopedup]

I think your wife needs to bond with miss Aria from the sounds of it. I make my husband do it though he isn't a bird person. They get along LOL.

I made the mistake of showing my husband the vid of the ekkie talking into the empty coffee cup (hysterical, if you havent seen it). The first thing the bird does it let out a loud belch into the cup. My husband is already plotting how to corrupt our new addition, and she isnt even here yet!

 

[SailBoat]

Well you have clearly defined a problem that is a guy thing regarding ruff play. It does have some likelihood, however parrots have the ability to understand ruff play with one and not with another.

The biggest error that we can make is to not address Socializing our Parrots. It is very easy to except the bonding with us and not the other co-owner. The Bonded person needs to work twice as hard at assuring a positive relationship with the other.

Really target both of you working equally with your little girl. This is a very important time for Socializing!

 

[Anansi]

Let me first address your question regarding weight. Aria is likely not yet at her full weight. But you also can't really go by what people say an SI female eke "should" weigh. It's good as a general guideline, but some ekkies will fall outside of those parameters. A more specific measuring stick is the feel of the pectoral muscles in relation to the keel bone. If the keel bone feels feels sharp and seems to protrude outward from between the pectorals, then your bird is likely underweight. The sectorl muscles should be nearly flush with the ridge of the pectoral bone. I emphasize nearly, because if you have trouble feeling the keel bone due to your birds ample bosom, she's pretty much overweight.

As for the situation with your wife, I think Sailboat has given you some excellent advice. Socialization, socialization, socialization. What's happening now with Aria is quite similar to what happened with Maya and my wife. For the first month or two, Maya was almost as sweet with Aida as she is with me. (Aida is my wife. Maya is my ekkie. Because that sentence reads quite differently with the relationships flipped to the wrong names. Lol) Then Maya seemed to make up her mind that I was her person, hands down. After that, she began biting Aida progressively harder until she got to the point where she was viciously drawing blood.

We've been working on this issue, though progress is limited by my wife's understandable reluctance to risk being bitten. That said, it has been several months since Maya has nailed her. Long story short? It definitely does happen. And no, Aria isn't reacting to hormones. She's just decided that you are her person.

You want to act quickly, socializing her extensively to discourage this aggressive behavior. Nip it in the bud before her biting becomes reflexive habit. And yes, bite pressure training would also be called for, here.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

She actually got me fairly good today. She didn't draw blood, but that may have been due to the fact that she grabbed the entire knuckle of my finger when she bit. However, I know why she did it. She was playing with a toy on the kitchen table while I was having coffee and she decided she wanted my coffee. She ran for my cup, so I moved it and put my hand in front of her so she couldn't get it. She got mad and charged my hands and grabbed my knuckle. I told her no bite and that she was a naughty chicken. Then I made her go back home for a little bit to reinforce the no bite.

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