Getting a female eclectus to bond

Reub

New member
Aug 24, 2016
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First time eclectus owner, previous cockatiel and budgie owner. Had a 4 month old female for about two weeks now. I gave her plenty of treats (mostly apple and bits of almond) whenever i got her out of her cage to teach her to step up without biting, and while she doesn't bite anymore, she kind of just hangs around until the treats run out, after which she will scream at me for more (even tho she doesn't get any after screaming) or just go to fly off and sit by herself. She can be rather vocal when by herself in her cage, and while I take every opportunity to respond to her, she only screams at me when I get her out.

Anything I should be doing that could get her to bond more closely with me, or should I just give it time? Haven't seen any progress since she stopped biting (about 4 days in), even though I've been making efforts to train her further for things like flying to my arm when called or accepting head scratches (both works in progress!). She was partially hand reared, but was a bit wild when I got her due to the hand rearer falling ill and missing a few weeks of training. Just a little worried that she might not be properly socialized or something and is just using me for food :54:
 
I wouldn't try to give her head scritches, chances are she will not appreciate them. Ekkies have unique feathers on their heads and generally do not like them to be disturbed.

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It will largely be a matter of time. It can easily take more than 2 weeks to begin to form a true bond with a parrot. As she comes to associate your presence with treats and positive interaction, she will begin to more deeply appreciate, and even look forward to, spending time with you.

It's great that she's not biting anymore. Means she's at least receptive. You just want to work on building the trust with her. Go at her pace and be mindful of her body language. The better you get at reading her body language, the more you will facilitate the forging of a bond between you.

As for the head scritches, some ekkies like them, some don't. But as OutlawedSpirit pointed out, eclectus feathers are structurally different from those of other parrots. So if you do attempt to pet her, always make sure to go "with the grain". The feeling of their feathers being ruffled in the opposite direction tends to be irritating to them.
 

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