Adopted a 6 mo. Eclectus

[bodhimind]

Hello all! I've decided to adopt a 6 month old eclectus. The owner says she was hand fed, but was neglected the last couple months. Her diet wasn't very good, mostly just low-waste seed and some apple slices, I've got her on a mixed bean, veggie and fruit diet now, which she took to instantly.

My main questions though, regard her behavior. I've raised other species of bird from egg, but never adopted one that is a little older. She is eating a ton, but also very aggressive. She will lunge at me, but rarely actually bites, and once I get her out of her cage, she either cuddles up against my chest, or makes a break for the cage again.

Also, during the day, when I'm not home, she tends to run around the floor of her cage a lot. The cage isn't exactly large (about a 2ft cube), as it was my plan to have her out of the cage most of the time and just sleep/eat inside of it.

Any tips on how to handle her?

Thanks!

 

[Chris Winkler]

Welcome to the world of being owned by a parrot!

You really need to give her time to adjust to you. Her whole world just changed and she is afraid.

Females are also cage aggressive if their food is in it. In the wild they protect the food and it is part of her instincts to protect her food in her cage also.

Please Please Please!!! Never leave your FID out when you are not home! You are asking for a disaster. Your furnature will get ruined you will have poop everywhere and way to many dangerous things to get into. Plants and electrical wires to name a few. Please have her safely in her cage with toys to play with when you are not home! She will get used to your routine and expect it as part of her day. I also leave the radio on when I am gone for the day.

Also invest in a larger cage as soon as you are able...

 

[bodhimind]

Welcome to the world of being owned by a parrot!

You really need to give her time to adjust to you. Her whole world just changed and she is afraid.

Females are also cage aggressive if their food is in it. In the wild they protect the food and it is part of her instincts to protect her food in her cage also.

Please Please Please!!! Never leave your FID out when you are not home! You are asking for a disaster. Your furnature will get ruined you will have poop everywhere and way to many dangerous things to get into. Plants and electrical wires to name a few. Please have her safely in her cage with toys to play with when you are not home! She will get used to your routine and expect it as part of her day. I also leave the radio on when I am gone for the day.

Also invest in a larger cage as soon as you are able...

Oh, I didn't mean it to sound like she roams the house unattended, I just let her out whenever someone is home to keep an eye on her.

My cage has a play area above it, would it be wise to move her food up there so she isn't so aggressive about her cage? Also, how long should I give her before I start handling her a lot?

 

[Chris Winkler]

I really can't help you to much with the cage aggression because I have only read about it. Some members with females will hopefully be along soon.. Anyway from what I have read if you remove the food from the cage before attempting to take her out it will make a big difference.

How long it will take is dependent on her and her alone. Talk to her and play with some toys to grab her interest.. One thing I did with a CAG I had that has 21yrs old when she came to me was put my head under the cover at night and talk to her. It is a part of my goodnight routine with all my FIDS and it will give you 100% of her attention hopefully helping her bond with you.

Just please keep in mind the amount of time it takes MUST be on her terms only. Since she is only 6 months old I would think it wont take to awful long. I think the usual time frame with a baby is about 3-4 weeks for adjustment.

Have you found any of the Eclectus info web sites yet? Tons of info on them and the very important diet also.. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

 

[bodhimind]

So she's become a lot less aggressive and will come out of the cage from time to time, and she is letting me handle her a lot more.

Now for the next problem... The previous owners had her on a "low waste" diet of mostly safflower and pellets, clearly this is a terrible diet for Eclectus. I've been trying to switch her over to a cooked bean mix plus fresh veggies, but she's being very picky. I started off mixing in her old seed with the new food, but she's only eating the seed and throwing out everything else.

Any tips to get her to try new/healthy food? I've tried mixing it and I've also tried sprinkling a little cayenne pepper (this works a little), but nothing with a huge amount of success.

Thanks again!

 

[Aussie Ben]

Congratulations on your new fid and welcome to the forum.

I would just give it some time for her to 'warm-up' to you, but handling can start right away, as long is she is happy to be handled. If she is not too keen on being handled then start by just talking to her, offering her treats and such.

As for getting her to try new foods, I suggest getting a second bowl and offering fresh fruits/veg in one and the dry food in the other. Offer the fresh food bowl first (maybe half hour or so) and then offer the dry food. See if this works, it may or may not.

Good Luck, here are a few good websites:

http://www.landofvos.com/
http://eclectusparrots.net/
The Eclectus Parrot - Graham Taylor (Australia)

 

[Rani]

Hey there,

Give her some time. I think that she is just getting used to with the new home and new cage. When i got my female ekkie she was about 8 months old and she did not come out of the cage for almost a week.

Now she is out on the top of the cage most of the day and she will actually jump down and go to someone in the house. She was so quiet motionless for a few weeks we all were getting worried.

Hope this helps
chrisi

 

[bodhimind]

Well she's definitely warming up to us. We are able to get her out of the cage when we want and she spends most of her time out of the cage when we are home.

The hard part now is getting her off her seed and onto some healthy food.

She rejects her sprouts, although I think I've seen her nibble on one or two. I'm trying a new cook and serve food which seems to be mostly lentils, peas and rice. I also toss in a few non-colored pellets that were recommended to me (small amounts), as well as a little bit of seed and the occasional monkey biscuit. She devours the rice, but doesn't care much for the healthy stuff. She also enjoys corn on the cob, some apple, peppers and whole wheat macaroni, but I'm having terrible luck with getting her to eat sprouts and beans. I've tried sprinkling cayenne pepper on them, lemon juice, mashing them into the rest of the food, but none of them seem to work.

Any food tips?

 

[rockslinger]

I have one that is a little bit older. She came to me through a death in the family along with another bird. The other big bird is settling in, but the eclectus is very spastic. I think Rani might be right. A little time to let her get used to everything is about the only thing to do at the moment.

 

[bodhimind]

Hey again, I'm back!

Thanks so much for all the help you have given me so far, it has been really great. My girlfriend and I have named her Stella, which seemed to go along with her attitude. I've got kind of a new problem though that I need to figure out...

She is okay to be handled by me, not great, but definitely better, but when my girlfriend handles her, she bites, hard enough to draw blood. This happens even when she is out of her cage, being picked up by hand exactly the same way I do it. I hope stella will get better, otherwise it could make it very difficult to live with her (the bird).

 

[2Birds3Kids]

Have your girlfriend handle your ekkie outside of your home. I was able to tame an aggressive ekkie this way so that all of my children could hold her. We took our ekkie to the beach all the time. She would let me pet her all over her, anywhere when I had her out. I was also able to pass her to our children by putting my arm under their arm (so it was like my arm was their arm) and then have them step up on their arm from mine.

Also, have your girlfriend give her treats through the bars when she walks by.