Eclectus doesn’t shower .. help with moult please

[Talaya]

Hi everyone. I’m just looking for some general advice.
my boy is 6 months old, and seems to be moulting. I know this is normal around this age, but I had a few questions I’m hoping you could help me with. I would love your expertise.
He’s very independently minded ! He loves to chatter along to the hoover, and is often quite sweet but he will nip when he’s not getting his own way and fly to my nape So I can’t reach him, then nip my fingers harder when I reach back for him.. Today he didn’t want to go back in his cage after some flight time and bit quite hard as I put him through the door, then growled as he walked back down his perch. Hes the first bird I’ve had that growls, and he does it a lot; when he’s irritated or disgruntled. (previously Budgies and cockatiel)
re his moult- I’m a little unclear.. is this his big moult or will that be next year ?
He seems very itchy, and very slightly patchy now (which I’m sure isn’t helping his mood) but reluctant to shower unless HE wants to. He usually tries to fit in his water bowl. I have a spray bottle, he avoids.. by usually flying off to my head. I’ve had better luck in the shower, he will hop in and out of the water, from the frame to my head and back, a little but not much.. My head seems to be his safety zone so I think he’s going there to avoid the shower, not get in it.. it’s very hard to wash, clean, dry and leave the shower with a clinging fidgety bird. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I have a very tiny amount of experience training and have had some luck training a couple of things with him. So I thought today I’d start trying to train him to sit on the side of a large bowl of water but he seems to have no interest. I really want to make him feel better.
I’m very grateful for your experienced knowledge on the moult and suggestions. The picture is from where he tries to bath in his water bowl.

 

[Talaya]

Can anyone tell me if his first moult will be his largest or is that next year ?

 

[SailBoat]

Lots of questions.
Using a spray bottle wrong is a common error! Never spray at your parrot! Always stray up over the top of your parrot allowing the droplets too fall from above.

 

[Talaya]

Lots of questions.
Using a spray bottle wrong is a common error! Never spray at your parrot! Always stray up over the top of your parrot allowing the droplets too fall from above.

Thank you Sailboat, yes it’s one of those fine mist sprays, I usually spray up in the air at the end of a perch & it’s his choice to go in it or not, usually not ! just to my head lol.
Do you know will his 6/7 month moult be his mojo moult or is that down to each bird, his poor little head is getting a bit ruffled now.

 

[SailBoat]

We have one of those rare Amazon that refuses to bathe. But, once we fine mist him he heads directly to his water bowel where it becomes a game as to whether we can kept it full or he can splash it out faster. We set up a schedule so that he gets to play his game 'at least' three days per week. IMHO, at least one shower pre-week is must.

 

[chris-md]

Thank you Sailboat, yes it’s one of those fine mist sprays, I usually spray up in the air at the end of a perch & it’s his choice to go in it or not, usually not ! just to my head lol.
Do you know will his 6/7 month moult be his mojo moult or is that down to each bird, his poor little head is getting a bit ruffled now.

Good questions but really kind of non-issues.

Mojo molts can happen any time, and there is no “hardest molt”. It’ll be different every time, some harder than others. My boy molts once a year in august, so during that time looks a raggety mess, and his cage look like a bird exploded.

 

[Talaya]

Good questions but really kind of non-issues.

Mojo molts can happen any time, and there is no “hardest molt”. It’ll be different every time, some harder than others. My boy molts once a year in august, so during that time looks a raggety mess, and his cage look like a bird exploded.

Thank Chris

 

[cytherian]

Just a note about growling...
It's very common with Ekkies.
TBT, our Eclectus pair (male/female) never growled, until they reached maturity and started copulating a lot, the female frequently laying eggs. You put the food dish in their cage, they amble down to the grate floor quickly and then growl at you. But it's just a brief moment. The two had a fertilized egg that we allowed to mature and hatch. That guy is a sweetie. Never growled. Now 3 years old, he will sometime growl, but often only as an imitation of the others (never anything behind it).

 

[Talaya]

He even growled at himself the other day.. so funny. He was holding a chunk of corn eating and dropped it Hes just quite good at expressing his frustration !
Im used to the growls now, they Just happen a lot ! He’s like a grumpy old man who mutters at everything.
tbh he’s usually quite sweet to me and will snap out of his ‘play fighting’ and become a different character. not always lol but usually
Love the name btw

 

[cytherian]

He even growled at himself the other day.. so funny. He was holding a chunk of corn eating and dropped it Hes just quite good at expressing his frustration !
Im used to the growls now, they Just happen a lot ! He’s like a grumpy old man who mutters at everything.
tbh he’s usually quite sweet to me and will snap out of his ‘play fighting’ and become a different character. not always lol but usually
Love the name btw

Yes, I've also found that Ekkie moods can shift very quickly. We've observed that it can often happen after they ruffle their feathers. It's like "rustling" the brain, changing focus. So we call it "emotional feathers" or "shuffling the deck."

 

[Talaya]

Success, today he was eager to get under the water. Got very excited, used me as a climbing frame and started to do his Ekkie chortle. Now to try and get him off my head lol

 

[chris-md]

Yes, I've also found that Ekkie moods can shift very quickly. We've observed that it can often happen after they ruffle their feathers. It's like "rustling" the brain, changing focus. So we call it "emotional feathers" or "shuffling the deck."

They don’t shift THAT quickly. At least not the males - females, there is potential. You have to keep in mind You’re situation is VERY different from the typical owner because not only do you have a male and female in the home, but you are encouraging two pet to breed. You’re definitely positioned to be experiencing behaviors atypical for the typical one-parrot owner.

 

[Talaya]

Just thought I’d update the progress. He loves the shower now. I’ve narrowed it down to he growls and gets angry every time I stroke my hair out of my face or wash it and has bitten my hand a couple of times.. So today I sat on a stool with him on my head and leant my head onto his perch.. he stepped off my head and showered on his own for a few seconds. He did continue to growl and stare at me whenever I ran my hand through my hair, but it gradually got less, he stayed longer each time on his own and he even stepped up from his perch without biting my hand. So we ended it on a good note and lots of praise.
I was very pleased with him. It’s like he sees my head, my hair and my hands as three different things.. not all part of one animal (me) and I didn’t even get that wet !

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

For our birds we have perches in the shower. We never let the water hit the birds directly or even spray it above them and let it fall on them. Both birds like it when we put our hand in a firm stream of water and the spray hits them indirectly.

 

[HeatherG]

Yes, I've also found that Ekkie moods can shift very quickly. We've observed that it can often happen after they ruffle their feathers. It's like "rustling" the brain, changing focus. So we call it "emotional feathers" or "shuffling the deck."

Or “fluffing out”? That’s what I call it.

 

[Talaya]

For our birds we have perches in the shower. We never let the water hit the birds directly or even spray it above them and let it fall on them. Both birds like it when we put our hand in a firm stream of water and the spray hits them indirectly.View attachment 42413

Thank you for the picture Beaver. Solo sits on top of the shower screen about the same height as your girl, I’ve found I can’t indirect or splash him, he gets very aggressive at flapping hands. but he does like to go directly under the stream of water. we progressed to he would jump to my head and play but it eventually became aggressive play. Not good near my ears/face and I couldn’t see him to get him off, so also got my fingers bit..
I now also have a centre stand he can perch on Instead of my head, half under the water & half not.. he’s become quite the water baby and I sometimes have to take him out before he has actually quite finished because he’s just so wet. He can hardly fly as he is so heavy and waits to be placed up on his cage. After that I can turn up the heat and have my own shower!

 

[Talaya]

Finally got him to shower on his own. I no longer have to go and sit in the shower with him. I did buy the special shower perch but the suction cups don't fit my tile spacing. So we’ve had to continue using our home made one, which he is used to.
I still have to stand outside and he likes to face me and pull faces at me. As long as he thinks I have a treat for him he is pretty good, otherwise until he is finished .. don’t put your hand near lol. With the stand we made I can pick the stand up, move him and not even get near his beak should I need to.
and here you can also see how hard he is on his tail. He has grown 3 new tail feathers in the centre.

 

[WingDing]

Congrats on the shower situation. 5 years now and our Toby still has to have me go in with him.

About growling: yeah, our boy does a lot of it. He growls at me every night when I drop an almond in his bowl and put him in his cage. Ungrateful, don't you think? It used to send shivers up my spine and now I just respond with "whatever Toby". He growls at his toys as he's playing and sometimes in the shower when he is having a great time.

I've heard others say that eclectus can be grouchy-growlers, too.

 

[Talaya]

Congrats on the shower situation. 5 years now and our Toby still has to have me go in with him.

About growling: yeah, our boy does a lot of it. He growls at me every night when I drop an almond in his bowl and put him in his cage. Ungrateful, don't you think? It used to send shivers up my spine and now I just respond with "whatever Toby". He growls at his toys as he's playing and sometimes in the shower when he is having a great time.

I've heard others say that eclectus can be grouchy-growlers, too.

That sounds just like my boy! Though he is growling less, but yes every time he showers, plays & sometimes when we put his dinner in too.

 

[Talaya]

It’s over a year scince I posted on this thread, but he now usually goes quite happily in the shower As long as it’s in the afternoon. Last week I took him in the morning and he just about reached his beak in then flew off.
today about 2pm.. I couldn’t get him out. Both me and hubby were asking if he had had enough but he just kept walking back in under the spray. And spreading his wings, head flipping and tail wags..
Then he just stopped still, turned around and seemed to take a deep breathe and just sat under the spray, dropped his wings slightly, shut his eyes and let his jaw drop, for about 15 seconds he just sat still, water parting his feathers and running down his neck and back... I absolutely swear you could see the bliss all over his face. I so wish I had a waterproof camera !
then he opened his eyes, walked over, stepped up ready to go.