Help! Young electus

[kiwismom]

Hello all. My husband and I bought a 3 month old male Red Sided Eclectus on Saturday. The first day home he was fairly quiet (no surprise) he crunched a few peanuts and played with a toy. The next day however the screaming began.
The breeders told us that he was eating well and the only time he wanted formula was when he saw the little ones getting it.
So, I made him a great mixture with some young Eclectus mix (the microwaveable kind with carrots, oatmeal, etc.), cooked summer squash, cucumber, spinach and a strawberry. He picked at it yesterday and continued to scream whenever he saw us in the room...I can only guess this is a begging behavior? I've been told by many people though that the last thing we want to do it take him backwards...if he's eating food don't give in and give him formula.
This morning was a bit better, he still screamed a lot but also ate a whole lot more. He was squawking while he was eating. Am I doing the right thing?
I want to make sure he is well-adjusted and I don't create any bad habits or health problems.
He also seems to want to fly off his cage every time I put him on the top with the play area. He flies to the window where his play perch is and likes to eat there. Is that OK? Or am I giving in too easily?
I know he's probably just freaked out by his new surroundings and mama and daddy. The breeders told me to not respond to his screaming and put him in his cage if he acts up. It's hard though when he screams every time you go by the cage. They said the last young bird they sold took about three days to fully adjust.
I just want a happy baby.

 

[kiwismom]

BTW - I unintentionally mis-spelled in the thread name...oops! I promise, we did a lot of reading before we got Kiwi.

 

[Peta]

Hi and Welcome to PF,

How long has he been off the formula?

As long as he is eating and drinking well, he will be fine. Yes its gonna take him time to settle into his new home with his new parronts

He is fine flying to his playstand, he seems to prefer it there to the top of the cage, maybe it might be better to put him straight on his playstand rather than the top of his cage. Is he flighted or clipped?

The biggest mistake you could make at the moment is to give in to his screaming (yes its hard to ignore a screaming bird, there's a few of us here who will tell you that. ) Give him a few days to settle in, keep an eye on his food intake to make sure that he really is eating and not just poking round in his food bowl.

Wilma is our resident Ekkie Mum and I'm sure she'll be on soon and will be able to give you some good tips.

If you need anything please just ask we are always here. Look forward to seeing lots of pics of your new baby.

 

[kiwismom]

Thanks for the welcome! I'll post some pictures as soon as I get home from work tonight. I'm not sure how long ago he was taken off formula but I want to say the breeder said it was two weeks. They also refuse to sell birds that aren't weaned.
My husband says I'm being paranoid. I'm afraid he's spoiling him though. He has the week off and I'm sure he's taking that bird everywhere. He just took a shower!
I think he's actually eating the food. He seemed to love the banana and I think he holds a record for the longest time taken to eat a piece of squash.

 

[Eclectica]

Hi there, i am a mom to a very crazy almost one year old ekkie, who gave me lots of nonsense, and i was once so fed up and wanted to exchange him for another male and then for a female, i think i drove my breeder up the wall!!! So here is my questions for you. Oh, sorry, how rude of me, WELCOME to parrot forums!! I'm sure we will get something figured out for your baby.

My questions:
- Where is his cage situated and in what room, how big is the cage, is there lots of traffic etc.?
- Is he cage aggressive in any way?
- How many times does he get his baby formula per day?
- How close is he to a window, and is he with the other birds?
- Did you handle him on the first day, and when did you start to handle the whole time(When did you start taking him out frequently?)
- Does he perch good, or is he still a bit stupid with his feet? They do grow slowly, and have difficulty manuevering in their cages, and he may want to fly to his perch because it may be braoder perches( Dont know, but might be the case) He may have been kept on a playstand when he was at his breeder.
- The sqwauking, i wouldnt be too worried about that, my ekkie also did that, and sometimes still do.
- Screaming- He may be insecure, do you cover him at night, and again, where his cage is situated plays a big role, and also if he eats his baby formula 2 times a day, he must get his formula twice a day until 4 months, and then change it to once a day, in late afternoon/ evening.

Sorry for all the questions, i cant think of anything more, but do ask anything, i too had some problems with my baby, which i got at 4 months, but with patience and much love and even more food you can have a lovely ekkie!!

Wilma!!!

 

[kiwismom]

Hi there, i am a mom to a very crazy almost one year old ekkie, who gave me lots of nonsense, and i was once so fed up and wanted to exchange him for another male and then for a female, i think i drove my breeder up the wall!!! So here is my questions for you. Oh, sorry, how rude of me, WELCOME to parrot forums!! I'm sure we will get something figured out for your baby.

My questions:
- Where is his cage situated and in what room, how big is the cage, is there lots of traffic etc.?
- Is he cage aggressive in any way?
- How many times does he get his baby formula per day?
- How close is he to a window, and is he with the other birds?
- Did you handle him on the first day, and when did you start to handle the whole time(When did you start taking him out frequently?)
- Does he perch good, or is he still a bit stupid with his feet? They do grow slowly, and have difficulty manuevering in their cages, and he may want to fly to his perch because it may be braoder perches( Dont know, but might be the case) He may have been kept on a playstand when he was at his breeder.
- The sqwauking, i wouldnt be too worried about that, my ekkie also did that, and sometimes still do.
- Screaming- He may be insecure, do you cover him at night, and again, where his cage is situated plays a big role, and also if he eats his baby formula 2 times a day, he must get his formula twice a day until 4 months, and then change it to once a day, in late afternoon/ evening.

Sorry for all the questions, i cant think of anything more, but do ask anything, i too had some problems with my baby, which i got at 4 months, but with patience and much love and even more food you can have a lovely ekkie!!

Wilma!!!

OK, let me tackle these questions! Thanks for the help
- We got Kiwi a really big cage which my husband, who has owned cockatiels for awhile, set up with good rope perches, a cement perch and a few others. And toys! The cage is in our living room kind of in a corner, near a traffic area but it's just my husband and I and we've been trying to go to bed around 10 each night and wake up at 8:30 a.m. to feed him. So after 10 there is no noise downstairs.
- He doesn't really mind me getting him out of his cage. He nipped me a little this morning but I think it's just b/c he got up on his bungee and wasn't quite sure how to get down. So, I made him step up and come out.
- He's not on formula anymore b/c the breeders told us he was eating regular food fine and doesn't need it, but we can always reconsider. He's 3 months old. My neighbor fed hers until 7 mos which she said was way too long.
- His cage is across the room from several windows and a sliding glass door. This is where he flies to when I put him on the play top. The other birds are upstairs.
- We did handle him on the first day at the breeders and cuddled him when he got home for a bit and let him sit on his play stand to be near us, then he was in and out a few times yesterday but not excessively, especially b/c he was screaming.
- He is getting much better with coordination even within the two days he's been with us. He is exploring his cage...the various perches and trying to climb the sides, which he is doing with a little wing flapping. He was in like a small play crib with a perch when we first saw him. His cage was one quarter the size of his new one here. My guess is he spent a lot of time out of his cage in the play pen.
- I guess what he's doing is a sqwauk and not a scream really. It's usually one sqwauk and then a few seconds and then another. He could even go minutes between. We started covering him up at night.
- Since he doesn't get formula, he gets fed in the morning and evening with seed and pellets in the cage all the time. with water of course.

I think I got it all! Thanks!

 

[Eclectica]

Okay, thanks for answering the questions. First things first, that baby is not weaned, that breeder is totally wrong, they are extremely difficult sometimes to wean, but since this baby is sqwauking alot, he is begging for food and really needs his formula. He must get his baby formula, not mixed with anything, just water and feed him twice daily. Then at four months, you should start weaning him to one day, preferably only late afternoon/ evening, because you want him to explore and eat his pellets.

What to feed. You must have read somewhere that an ekkies digestive system is different to other birds, not necessarily more expensive, just different needs. I would suggest you give him his pellets, not coloured, and small bits of carrot and a bit of apple, make it small, ekkies are not birds that like to hold their food, they just want to dive in. But please get that baby back on his formula, he is too young, weaning of bigger parrots are 4 months.

If you can, move the cage to a quiet room, he is still very small and he needs lots of sleep, so he maybe going to sleep at around 7 and the tv is bothering him. My baby was also like that, but he was in a busy room and began to get nervous and a bit cage aggressive, so it is very important cage placement. Remember that ekkies are observers and they like being with you, but he is going to take some time to adjust, and may seem annoyed sometimes, but its really just cause he is young.

Dont handle him too often for the first week, my breeder suggested that to me, because he still needs to get used to his cage, and if you are taking him out too much in those few days, he may not be adjusting to his cage and that may be why he is flying away from it, remember, it is new to him and he needs time in it to know its his little safe haven.

If he is eating other types of food, please dont give it to him, he is only 3 months and needs formula, non coloured pellets, and carrots with a bit of apple. You dont want the baby to eat too many strange foods for now, his system may not be able to take all this and he might not feel too well on a later stage.(digesting all these may make him sick, he is too young)

Im sorry if it sounds like im ranting and raving, but seems like this breeder didnt quite help you in the right way when it comes to feeding. But as i said try moving the cage, i did it and my baby began to say a few words, which showed he was now a happy birdy, so happy birdy, makes a happy momma!!!

Please keep me updated on this, i would love to help, as i too had some problems with my baby, just dont give up and never stop asking questions!

Wilma!!!

 

[Eclectica]

Oh, i thought about the screaming, he may be competing with the tv or feeling insecure. But do watch out, if he does scream, not sqwauk, it could become a bad habit everytime he hears the tv on. Rather put some music on a station on for him, mine loves his radio, and he will feel more comfortable, being it not as loud and no violance and that its still human voices his hearing.

As far as seed mixes, no sunflower, none whatsoever, if you want to add some it must be white and preferably once or so a week. Pellets is the only thing they need, nothing else, the rest is just to spoil them. I do cook a seedmix(cookmixure available at most petshops) , that i gave in the mornings for him, with his pellets and then later i would give him his formula in the early evening.

Other things you can give, Weetbix with honey, with boiling water to soften it. You can even make him some birdy bread and freeze it in blocks. I talk wayyy too much, sorry, im just very angry with this breeder, she/he should know that they wean at 4 months.
So please reconsider putting him on 2 formulas a day, then at 4 months to once a day, he should wean within that month.

 

[kiwismom]

Oh, i thought about the screaming, he may be competing with the tv or feeling insecure. But do watch out, if he does scream, not sqwauk, it could become a bad habit everytime he hears the tv on. Rather put some music on a station on for him, mine loves his radio, and he will feel more comfortable, being it not as loud and no violance and that its still human voices his hearing.

As far as seed mixes, no sunflower, none whatsoever, if you want to add some it must be white and preferably once or so a week. Pellets is the only thing they need, nothing else, the rest is just to spoil them. I do cook a seedmix(cookmixure available at most petshops) , that i gave in the mornings for him, with his pellets and then later i would give him his formula in the early evening.

Other things you can give, Weetbix with honey, with boiling water to soften it. You can even make him some birdy bread and freeze it in blocks. I talk wayyy too much, sorry, im just very angry with this breeder, she/he should know that they wean at 4 months.
So please reconsider putting him on 2 formulas a day, then at 4 months to once a day, he should wean within that month.

Oh my goodness....I just trusted them b/c they've been breeding for so long and my neighbor bought from the same breeder..I'm not sure what to do really... my husband may fight me on giving him a "bottle" if he is eating. You'll have to admit it seems like every source has their own take on how to care for these little guys. They didn't even give me any formula at all...thankfully if he continues there is a great parrot shop on the other side of town.

 

[Eclectica]

Here are some websites you can have a look at,

www.poozleanimus.com- check under eclectus, great info with many sites.

www.ruffledfeathersaviary.com

www.avesint.com

www.solomoneclectus.com

www.lovebirdsalberta.tripod.com

www.landofvos.com- complete ekkie site.

www.avairy.com

www.cuckoosnestaviary.com- food, recipes, seedmixures.

Hope this helps!

 

[kiwisdad]

Hi everyone. I'm Kiwi's "dad" and Natasha's (kiwismom) husband. Today has certainly been a noisy day for me and Kiwi.

The more I watch his behavior I'm also becoming convinced he's not fully weaned. Our neighbor brought her 1.5 yr old female over today and her and Kiwi actually get along very well. But I noticed Kiwi begs from her, like he wants to be fed. I've seen a lot of small birds and actually weaned a Cockatiel about 10 years ago - so the behavior is definitely "feed me, I'm a baby" behavior. In fact, Kiwi almost gets "upset" when the older female won't actually feed him.

Our neighbor also brought me over a good mix of mashed foods today, of which Kiwi ate with pleasure and then was quite for a while. Shortly after though he started turning the volume back up. I eventually put him to bed for the night and he's been quite (so I think he was tired after eating).

No doubt when my wife gets home shortly he'll hear us downstairs and start calling to us again.

Now what I'm wondering is this. If we ARE to start hand feeding him (even a little bit) where do I acquire the formula to feed him? The breeder is over 100 miles away in the Upstate. Luckily our neighbor can help me get used to feeding him, though I think I'd start with once a day seeing as he IS eating his soft foods with ease now. Plus I have to go back to work next week and don't want him expecting me to feed him during those work hours.

He's definitely made me want to put on the headphone's today at times, but I'm sticking with him and we'll figure this out. A lot of books say to ignore a "screaming" parrot, but I think he actually IS just hungry. It makes me wonder just what "little bit" the breeders were still giving him when he begged for it.

I don't think they should have sold him just yet... and our neighbor agrees. He's a big boy though, bigger than our neighbors full grown Grand female. But he's definitely just a baby.

Thank you all for your help. We greatly appreciate it.

 

[kiwisdad]

Some good news. We blended up some food for him and put it on the tip of a spoon... he definitely wants to be fed like a baby. He gobbled it right down and you could see his crop get bigger. He was just starving, poor thing. He's now being very quite and has gone to sleep for the night. It was stunning how different he became after eating.

So hopefully that was the problem. Tash and I are tempted to fuss at the breeders, but at least we figured it out.

 

[Eclectica]

Oh, that is fantastic, i was definitely confinced he was screaming because he was hungry. But also see to it that he may be missing you guys when you leave him alone, he may be afraid of the tv and call out to you when you eventually leave him.

Its just a few suggestions, i know my baby growled at me when he was in the wrong place, as soon as my breeder suggested moving him to a more peaceful room, my room, he has become a real sweety. You can get the baby formula in any petshop, just ask for it, you may take the one with a coarser grain seen he is eating other foods.

Great to hear things are better and that you reconsidered weaning. Oh, males are bigger than females, and the Grand and Red sided's sizes dont differ too much, its more the females colours (so-called bib) and the blue rings around the eyes, as well as the fading yellow colour on both male and females tails.

 

[Peta]

Thanks Wilma.

That is great news, If you can't get the formula from the breeder, you can order it online.

When your little one is ready to come off the formula he will let you know, (I've just handfed my baby CAG) and he just wouldn't take anymore, even though I was making it everyday, he would just turn his head away. You can always feed you baby in the morning before you go to work then in the evening when you come home. Some breeders will unfortunately force wean their babies off the formula, even though the babies themselfs aren't ready to come off it. Sad I know but it does happen.

WELCOME KIWISDAD, nice to have you join our family.

 

[NicoleN]

I think the next step here would be to call the breeder and let them know that Kiwi was not fully weaned. It might prevent this from happening to someone else in the future.


Also,
WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!

I hope if you have any more questions you won't be afraid to ask.

 

[Peta]

I hope if you have any more questions you won't be afraid to ask.

Yeah never be afraid to ask, we always do our best to help.

 

[kiwismom]

Thanks to everyone for your help. Kiwi seems to be a lot more content (of course!) I was so furious at those breeders though, by the time I got home last night at 9:30 (I'm a reporter and had to work late on a story), I just cried. It's not that I'm mad he isn't weened, it's more that those people would jeopardize his health by not telling me.
He took some more of our mushy mix this morning although he doesn't prefer the spoon method so my husband is going out today to get a syringe. He screamed a few times this morning while I was preparing to feed him, but I think it was mostly b/c he still wasn't sure if we were going to feed him. After breakfast he just calmed down.
So now that we've figured it out we can get on with the process of bonding with our little guy.Thanks again ya'll!

 

[Peta]

You are more than welcome, I'm sure that once he starts getting some formula down him you are gonna have a happy baby indeed. Unfortunately there are always gonna be breeders who think its fine to force wean babies. Makes me damn mad, and I really do think they should tell the potential owners that they do force wean, at least then they can either be prepared with some formula for when they get their baby home.

 

[Eclectica]

So glad to hear things are going better! Keep us updated on little Kiwi, im sure his going to give you much fun and love.

I wont be on here for the next three weeks, but when i do return, i would like to see some PICTURES! I know Peta is dying to see the little fella, and also all on here love baby birdie pics.

Talk to you soon, Welcome to Parrot Forums, Kiwisdad!!!

Wilma!!

 

[Peta]

Noooooooooo Wilma, where you going? What you doing? Have fun anyway.