Help with 88 days old male redsided Eclectus

[elkeddeh]

Hi, I live in Shanghai, China and its impossible to find a proper vet in here and breeders can be cruel in this place.
We adopted a new parrot yesterday me and my girlfriend.
A 3 months old beautiful male Eclectus, he is sweet in nature and doesnt bite when we come near him or feed him. We're hand feeding him and he eats great from us.

The only thing is that he only screams when he sees us even while eating sometimes, but still eats. He becomes quiet when we leave the room. I was forced to into moving him into the bed room, because he'll be screaming when we sit with him in the living room. Should we leave him in the bed room?

We tried to give him a shower today, he was quiet and closed his eyes during shower. Does closed eyes mean anything?

First night slept in an open carton box and today all day, but didnt try to fly at all. We got cage today. Chinese breeder said no cage for 6 months, i couldn't resist and felt bad, so went and bought one.

I haven't even seen him climb his cage all day, but he loves biting the bars.
Only 2 of us at home and we're fairly quiet.
2 times per day baby formula (each time 15 quarters of tea spoon) and Nutribird B14 for lunch : )
No other birds or pets at home, he is across the room from the window.
Got him a mid size cage for now and will get a bigger one when he's 6 month (read it somewhere)

Can you please help and let me know what does he means with the screaming when he sees us? should we move him to living room?

Thank you in advance and sorry for too much questions, i would love to get this right from the start.

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm not sure how much help I can be as I haven't done hand feeding of babies myself, except once, with the breeder there to guide me.

But, I think he may be screaming when he sees you because you provide the food. It might be because he is hungry, or because he is used to screaming for food. I know baby birds do that to their parents.

If he is old enough to perch, then I think it is good you bought him a cage. If he is not, then you probably should put down a towel or something at the bottom that is comfortable for him to sit on.

He probably just closed his eyes during the shower to keep water out of them.

He may not be climbing around the cage yet because he is uncertain about his new environment and because he has never had anything to climb before. I'm sure he will once he starts learning that skill and becomes more comfortable in his new home.

I'm sure some breeders here will be along soon to give you better information.

 

[elkeddeh]

That actually might be right, because this started right after we fed him the first time.

By the way, im not very sure about the food portion, any idea?

Again, thank you very much

 

[roxynoodle]

I don't know anything about food portions. We have a member here named Pedro, who I think breeds Eclectus. She is in Australia, I believe, so she may not be on until later as I think it is very late at night now there. However, you could try PMing her as well to ask.

 

[Pedro]

Hi yes it's a good idea to have him in a cage at 3 months. Just lower the perch close to the bottom so he can just step up. You can also introduce soft weaning foods like sprouts, corn on the cob, apple & so on. They also love lots of fresh green leafy vegetables.

Feeding formula 3 times a day at this age until he starts to sample weaning foods or refuses a feed. Then cut back to 2 feeds a day. I would feed a chick that age approx 40 mls per feed & make sure the formula is mixed to the consistency of pouring cream. It is not unusual for an eclectus baby to be vocal during & after a feed, they will be quiet after they settle, usually about 15 minutes. I feed my eclectus when they are vocal & making a bit of a noise at least i know they are hungry then. They get their last feed at around 6PM & are then settled in their cage & covered for the night.

Once i feed my chicks they go into their cage & put in a room away from the main living area, especially at night. If a eclectus is being fed by it's parents it would be in the dark nesting log until such time it is ready to fledge, although it doesn't hurt to give cuddles when feeding. The main thing we don't want to do is teach the baby any bad habits like screaming. I think a little bit of tough love is in order here. Eclectus do very well if they are not given 24 hour attention. They are capable of entertaining themselves on a play stand. If you teach him to be needy he will be needy.

If you would like to know more just ask.

 

[elkeddeh]

Thank for your response.
That's exactly what happened. He was calm after 15 mins of feeding this morning. I fed him around 7am his breakfast.

I will lower his perch, because he stuck his head out of the door and but didn't even try to climb out, so i had to spoon feed him while he's inside.

Do i need to get him toys at this age?

 

[Pedro]

Yes you can introduce toys but not to many at a time. If he shows signs of being scared of anything just leave it in view until he gets used of it being around.

 

[roxynoodle]

I would start with one or two toys. My amazon never had any toys with his previous owner and is scared silly of new ones. I would think a baby might be as well, not being used to seeing things like that. I start by laying them next to the cage. Then I attach it to the outside of the cage, near the bottom. Each day I move it up a bit. Once it's been near the top for a couple of day, I can put it in without him hiding from it.

You could start by showing him a toy and see if he seems frightened. If he doesn't, try putting it in I guess and see what happens. If he is, do it slowly. My other 2 birds are very used to having toys and I can put them right into their cages. My conure actually says, "Gimme! Gimme!" as soon as she sees it.

 

[elkeddeh]

He cant resist when he sees the formula, he runs to me, climbs my lap and grabs the spoon handle. he is lovely and behaves well.

Hopefully the screaming when he sees us will stop soon
The only thing is that we both work 9 to 6. wakes me up at 6.30 morning to feed him, im running back home around 12 to give him lunch and we're home by 6, we give him dinner and goes to sleep in an hour. He's going to have his weekends with us.
I lowered his wooden perch yesterday, today he took a step and stood at the door of the cage when i brought his formula and its only been 3 days, he made me smile to honest.
I got him organic corn to start with, he took it well, but didnt eat more than couple.
i still havent seen him climbing with his beak at all, even he climbed my lab and the door, only uses feet. he's exactly 90 days today

 

[elkeddeh]

By the way, i just decided to take the morning off to stay with him. i moved him to the living room in his cage.
He seems happy and started eating his row corn, but non stop!
should i move it away?
im just worried of too much food

i would also love to hear about climbing and using his beak more for that.

Thanks

Moe

 

[elkeddeh]

Is there any issues with him closing one eye and opening the other sometimes?

Thanks

 

[elkeddeh]

cute noised during sleeping, is that just normal?

Sorry guys, i got attached to him already i really want to get this right make sure he's good and healthy.

Many thanks sorry for loading all these questions

 

[elkeddeh]

cute noised during sleeping (non stop for 5~10mins), is that just normal?
any issues with him closing one eye and opening the other sometimes before he goes to sleep?

Many thanks for all the help

 

[Safira]

Yes, both those behaviors are normal.

Mine mummbles a little as she's falling asleep, and I know one member on here says her bird snores, LoL.

You may also hear grinding, they grind their beaks sometimes when they're settling down.

My bird opens one eye, or the other when she's resting, just to take a peek.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, both are normal.

He will start using his beak to climb when he is ready to. Don't worry. He's still a baby and doesn't have all his adult skills yet.

One of my birds even talks in her sleep. Last night I heard her very quietly saying "Hello, hello".

 

[pawsfoot]

My ekky mumbles for about an hour every night before she goes to sleep, all mixed with beak grinding and soft "step up"s and "Hello"s. They are characters, and I too have heard her talk in her sleep very quietly. During the day if I catch her sleeping she will open one eye and peek at me to see what I am doing. they are so adorable when they aren't causing trouble. HAHA