Eclectus behavior..strange or normal?

[Strider86]

Wall of text inc (sorry).
We have had our eclectus for about a month now. We have taken her in from another home that could not meet her needs (she was feather plucking bad and she is overweight). We've changed her diet from mostly seed to almost all fruits and vegetables.
She seems to be adjusting well but lately she's been acting strange. Just last night she fell off my shoulder, which happens occassionally (the feathers on her wings haven't grown back yet and she had her nails trimmed so her balance is off). But she started squawking over and over and over again which she's never done. We figured she was scared so we put her in her cage for the night and that was that.
But just now we tried to give her a part of ear of corn and it almost scared her off my shoulder and she tried squawking but it almost sounded like weezing. Also, normally she's a chow hound and she hasnt eaten much today. We're kind of nervous because we're really attached to her even though we haven't had her that long. Any help would be awesome.

 

[MikeyTN]

Ekkies don't have good grip to begin with so you must becareful. Every few days or so I noticed my ekkies don't like pigglets like they usually do. Are you keeping your house pretty cool? We turn the air off whenever they get their bath. And I've been using hair dryer on low cycle. If she's weezing pretty good, a vet check is needed!

 

[Strider86]

well she's not weezing consistently; it only sounds like she was and it doesnt seem like shes doing it now. she was squawking really loud just before it. We dont keep the house too cool not as far as I'm concerned. should we keep it warmer?

 

[Pedro]

I am guessing she is a matured bird on account of her plucking. It would be unusual for a matured bird to be off balance & if she was only ever on a seed diet & is overweight i am thinking she has health issues. Calcium deficient is one concern. My advice would be to get a Vet to look at her. Her liver & kidney's could also be compromised due to the high level of fat in her diet.

Thank goodness you have given her a second chance & a good diet.

 

[MikeyTN]

If she's pretty naked since she's a plucker plus she doesn't have a mate, yes on warmer part.

They have a tendency to wonder off in their mind, day dream a lot. No fast approach to her, if your giving her something, make sure she's aware of it first, don't just stick it infront of her cause it will freak her out. Tell her first, even when you walk into the room, make noise before going into the room so they're aware of you approaching.

 

[Strider86]

well she's not really naked she's got a good amount of her feathers actually (picture is attached) but could it be she's just a tad freaked out? I know they're sensitive birds. I've taken her to the vet to get looked at before we brought her home and we got a lot of good advice but this happened all of a sudden (as in the past 48 hours). I haven't been around much today (been working) but we don't know what's gotten in to her. What would I give her for calcium? Cuttlefish bone?

 

[MikeyTN]

They should get their calcium through their food. Have you tried hard boiled eggs mixed with shell? There's plenty of sites out there providing info on how to feed them etc.

 

[MikeyTN]

From what I've read supplements should not be given to Eclectus that's why I said no.

 

[Strider86]

I haven't tried hardboiled eggs yet but I'll give her some tomorrow. She's all puffed up in her cage. Probably going to end up taking her to the vet come Monday just to be sure. She doesn't look to happy at the moment : /

 

[MikeyTN]

A vet checkup would be the safe thing to do! So you'll have a peace of mind.

 

[Strider86]

One way or the other, I think that's what's going to end up happening. Thank you so much for all the advice! We're new to eclectus even though she's not our first bird.

 

[MikeyTN]

We only had our pair for a month and a half so we're pretty new to them as well. But we're learning quite a bit about them in the short period of time we've had them. I've had birds the past 15yrs and my partner and I been talking about getting a pair of Eclectus for the past 6 years and now we have them, they're wonderful birds to have!!!! I hope everything would be all right for your baby!!!

 

[JJones1719]

I agree with Mike, you need to get your girl to a Vet ASAP. Anytime you rescue a Parrot or if you purchase one from a breeder or store, you should always have them Vet checked to be on the safe side plus your Vet will have all their counts, weights so if your Eclectus does get sick, they have your record on file and compare the numbers to see and confirm if your Eclectus is sick. Taking a fall from the Shoulder can really do so damage. I would not allow her on the shoulder until she is fully feathered and wings grown in a bit so she can flutter to the floor instead of crash to the floor. Please keep us posted on what the Vet tells you. If you give hard boiled eggs to your eclectus, please remove the yoke, only the white and shell shoud be given. Best of luck Joe

 

[Strider86]

thank you so much for your help everyone! I'm definitley going to be visiting here more often. I will keep you all up to date on her.

Update: she is eating but she is sleeping alot which she does not normally do. She's also not squawking at all. She's squeaking but it seems thats all she can do. I suspect she strained her voice (if thats possible) last night. Can eclectus parrots strain their vocal chords like humans can? Or is this something more serious?

 

[Pedro]

I would get her to the Vet ASAP. If she has a Respiratory Infection it will alter her vioce. other Symptoms can be Tail bobbing, open mouth breathing, noisy breathing, loss of song or voice, loss of appetite, poor flying (weekness) Although she doesn't have to have all symptoms. There is a range of diseases that can cause your girls problem & only your Vet can do tests to diagnose the problem if there is on.

Good Luck.

 

[Strider86]

she's going in now. Found someone on Easter.

 

[MikeyTN]

Good luck!!! Happy bird praises are with you, let us know the results!

 

[jgourd]

My girl is only 8 months old and she pretty much only makes noise when she is happy.

 

[Pedro]

Strider any new's on your girl.

I do hope she is OK.

 

[Strider86]

Ok so she went to the vet on Sunday and on Monday and here's the scoop: We went to an emergency clinic which had a vet on call that specialized in birds (and is now our regular vet for Scarlet). He took an x-ray of her and the good news is her airways and her air sacks are fine. We couldn't see her lungs as they are surrounded by her air sacks. He noticed she was breathing heavier than normal for a parrot as he said if you can hear her breathing that's not normal. The weird news is there is dark things on her x-ray and the vet wasn't sure what they were. He said it was either blood or inflammation. She slept in her crate as we didn't want to risk her falling because she had to get sedated for the blood sample.
So we took her back Monday for a follow up and they took some blood and a throat swab. He took the stuff back to the lab and he thinks all the symptoms are most likely due to the trauma of falling (no more shoulder or heights for her!). We are doing a test for fungus as well as we want to rule out a fungal infection (which can be tricky to root out). The vet put her on an anti-inflammatory, an antibiotic and something else. We are also improving her diet: we are supplementing her fruits/veg with Zupreme (sp?) pellets, giving her boost, and putting a supplement on her food and we are aiming at improving her overall health to stop the feather picking and keep her diet the best it can be. She is eating like she used to (chow hound) and willingly taking her medications in the form of mediberries (the vet did not want to risk doing medication down her throat to avoid the problem of it going down the wrong tube plus I'm not all the comfortable toweling her or having anyone else but the vet do it). We even lowered everything in her cage and lined it with towels just in case. She is also making some noises now as well so hopefully things are improving. We are taking her back in two weeks to see how we're doing and we'll get a call from the vet on the results of the fungus test.