Couple ekkie questions about diet, moulting, and hormones

[chris-md]

Hey everyone!

Had a couple questions I wanted to ask about with some things I'm seeing with my ekkie Parker:

1. Are we in a minor breeding season for ekkies? Parker has been clearly trying to mount my arm when I rest it, and he's been biting at my lower lip which I interpret as an attempt to get me to regurgitate. When he does these I put him in his cage for a couple minutes to cool down. I know ekkies generally have multiple seasons, if not just outright no season at all. Just wanting to see what your ekkies are doing.

2. Moulting and diet: Parker is going through a heavy moult right now (quite possibly even a mojo moult, since he had "dirty" looking patches on his head), starting to feather out everywhere (pics to come). My two parter here
A) how should I change his diet to accommodate the moult? More protein? Possibly an egg a week?
B) Parker doesn't seem to be as voracious an eater since he's started feathering out. Is moulting known to cause reduced appetite? I emphasize he's still eating somewhat, and I'm not at this time VET worried he's not eating as everything else is fine. Still bright eyed and feathery tailed.

 

[camo]

Hey Chris,

Will let other more experienced people tackle most of the questions, but one thing Gizmo (my male eclectus) has taught me is moulting and showers/baths go together. If he misses a shower for more than a day or two, he gets really crabby. He is always up for a quick run under the shower, but if he is moulting, he will fly to the bathroom, then back to me, fluff up, etc, etc, until I get the picture and give him a daily shower. Then it's under the shower where he will sit wings spread. If he isn't moulting, showers are more about me, my shirt etc getting wet as he runs around.

Just thought I would mention it, Gizmo always seems to feel better after a shower, when moulting.

Cheers,

Camo

 

[chris-md]

Thank you camo I do try to make sure that Parker gets wet at at least every other day. He's not a big water fan, but tolerates the shower. Since he's a bit of a plucker, I try to strongly emphasize water where I can.

 

[chris-md]

Just a bump

 

[DexMom]

I don't have any answers, but wanted to post on this thread so I can stalk the answers you do get, since I'll have the same concerns once Dexter goes through his first moult.

I also haven't seen any pictures of Parker lately, and I must insist on behalf of the whole community, that you post some right away.

 

[katie_fleming]

A) how should I change his diet to accommodate the moult? More protein? Possibly an egg a week?
B) Parker doesn't seem to be as voracious an eater since he's started feathering out. Is moulting known to cause reduced appetite? I emphasize he's still eating somewhat, and I'm not at this time VET worried he's not eating as everything else is fine. Still bright eyed and feathery tailed.

Jasper is in month 5 of his moult so I can share my experience with him (it's his first moult)

A) I know they need extra calcium during moults so I've been giving him egg shells every other week (although I admit I've gotten a little lazy lately)

B) I read their appetites can increase or decrease. I've noticed his has been doing both (still room for treats of course hehe). I've read to look out for what they're eating most and increase that slightly. They'll crave different things that they need extra vitamins/etc from. Right now Jasper is in a grape faze.

Hope that helps

 

[chris-md]

Thanks Katie, I wasn't aware of the calcium requirement. Always hearing about protein. I might see if he'll take to a cuttlebone, and try to feed more dark green leafs and broccoli.

I would love to use what he's eating more of, but right now it's he's preferring mostly not-so-great stuff like seeds, nuts, white rice, and corn, all of which I'm keeping to a minimum (except chia and flax seeds). He's picking these out of the otherwise healthy veggie mix and leaving everything else. I'm about to feed exclusively great veggies so he quits the junk.

 

[katie_fleming]

I've read that cuttlebone shouldn't be given to Eclectus parrots, you might want to read up on that one. Not totally sure tbh. Pumpkin seeds are also good for calcium.

Jasper is definitely avoiding some food himself, which is why I started him on the LeFeber (sp?) pellets. I was completely against them after toe tapping from Harrison's but my vet recommended these ones and he hasn't had a single episode of toe tapping.

Another way is to chop the stuff he doesn't like more fine so it mixes with his other food so it sticks to it and he ends up eating it

 

[Taw5106]

Venus hates pellets and pumpkin seeds, they go airborne, lol. Anansi recommended to me to chop food up very fine, he does this for his crew. It works. Venus needs a lot of vitamin A for an illness she can't seem to fully shake (I'm looking for the name of it) so I chop and grate food for both parrots and she can't chunk all the good stuff so I know she's getting it. I also mix cooked brown rice to the mix, she loves the brown rice so the veggies stick to the rice and she eats it. Vitamin A foods she gets, baked sweet potato, red, orange and yellow bell pepper, carrot (she doesn't like carrot so it always gets finely grated), kale, and yesterday I gave her yellow squash, zucchini and brown rice, the squash in 1/4 inch pieces. She ate the rice, threw out the squash so those will get chopped smaller. She also loves soft, warm food like room temperature, I steam the veggies to soften them but not loose all the nutrients. I also mix in fresh fruits like blue berries, grapes, melon, etc. she's so spoiled, lol.

 

[camo]

Gizmo & probably worse Pebbles can be very fussy, and don't mind throwing out what they don't like (for Gizmo it's especially broccoli and for Pebbles it's Kale). I make a chop mix once a month and freeze, because of their tendency to discard, it is cut very fine, and everything sticks to everything else. Pebbles and Gizmo can be as selective as they please, but good luck not getting there daily dose of everything. My biggest worry when I first did the mix was Gizmo not liking it (there goes hours of work and $ in food, I didn't have pebbles at that stage), interestingly I think they enjoy it mixed like that.

For calcium they get warm scrambled egg and shell once a fortnight, and then once a week when moulting, but I'm no expert.

Cheers,

Camo

 

[Anansi]

Hey, Chris! My ekkies aren't particularly hormonal atm, but keep in mind Maya is only 2 years 6 months and Jolly turns 2 next month. So neither is sexually mature. But that tendency to try and nibble on your lip is pretty much constant. Lol. I just catch the beak and deflect. As for his continued attempts to mount your hand, you're doing exactly the right thing. You don't want to make a big production out of it, but you definitely don't want to encourage it, either. So you put him in his cage or on his stand and leave him alone until he cools down.

As for changing the diet to accommodate his molt, yes, you should. Katie is right about the increased need for calcium. Broccoli and crushed eggshells are indeed good sources of calcium. And you were also correct in your belief that an increase in protein is also needed. I wouldn't, however, go so far as an egg a week. The most frequently I ever provide eggs to my ekkies is once every other week. (2x a month). And this much ONLY during molt. This is because too much cholesterol can lead to arteriosclerosis.

Beans are also good sources of protein.

Molting is known to increase the appetites of some birds and decrease those of others. It really depends on the individual avian in question.

And Tracey's entire post regarding her method of getting around the tendency of her birds to toss what they don't want was right on the money. Especially when it comes to getting them to eat foods as essential as carrots. I grate mine for Maya and Jolly as well. And this is simply because I can't afford to let them not eat their carrots. (Or dandelion. Or broccoli.) And the stickiness of brown rice is perfect for sneaking even more nutritional goodness past their ridiculously finicky tastes.

Hope this answers your questions, Chris. If not, don't hesitate to ask some more.

Oh! And given Parker's somewhat inconsistent appetite, I strongly suggest that you invest in a good avian scale. One with a tare function as well as the ability to take weight in grams. I personally have a preference for those scales that have a perch attachment (and this is where that tare function would come in handy.) Weight is often the quickest indicator as to whether something is wrong with your bird. I weigh my ekkies almost every day.

 

[kellycraig125]

I want to chime in that the chop is amazing for my girl. For whatever reason, if I just throw everything I want her to have in the food processor and pulse it all together (then add it to brown rice or quinoa etc), she will go to town on it, whereas if I give it to her individually or in bigger chunks, she will pick through it. It's also seemed to help her broaden her appetite for more foods.

 

[Taw5106]

Here is a scale I purchased for Venus and Buddy off of Amazon. I really like it. It works by battery or a power cord.

 

[chris-md]

How'd I miss these follow ups?? Stephen thanks so much for taking the time to write that very thoughtful response! It's very insightful for me, and confirms I'm on the right track. I've begun feeding him beans and did crush up some egg shells recently for him.

He's very hit or miss with chop. Some days he's good with it, other days refusing to touch it, instead preferring larger chunks. I have noticed he has a strong preference for warm foods so most of his stuff gets warmed up.

Now I need to guide him over this hump of starting to bite my partner. Oy vey, it's always something with these feathered buggers!