How to bond more with my ekkie

[kiwismom]

Hi ya'll! Things are still going well on the food front with Kiwi but I want to know any tips you have for bonding more with my bird.

I know ekkies aren't overly fond of cuddling so I don't try to force it, but it seems lately he wants to be in his cage a lot. He perches a good bit, although I know he plays with his toys b/c one of them was demolished haha!

He has a play stand and I try to get him to come out and watch me cook or read but it seems like after he's done eating (that's where he gets breakfast and dinner) he's ready to go back to the cage for a nap.

Any suggestions? Is it just b/c he is young and still getting used to his cage and new home? He's been with us for a little more than a week.

p.s. He can also be ear drum-shattering when he wants to be fed - nothing unusual I presume?

 

[Peta]

Bucc was like that when he was younger and even now, at over 2 years old, he still gets like it on occasions. I get him out in the morning he will stay long enough to get his good morning scritch and kiss then he takes himself off to his cage to play around in there. I even took him to the vet when he was younger, (rather safe than sorry) but he was fine and it was just how he was, he would either grow out of it or not. He hasn't. He's not as bad now but he still goes in for a nap sometimes.

When he goes in do you leave the door open for him? so he can get out if he wants to. You've only had him for a little over a week, so he could still be feeling a little wary of the outside of the cage,

p.s. He can also be ear drum-shattering when he wants to be fed - nothing unusual I presume?

Totally normal. When I'm getting the fruit and veggies ready, all mine start and believe me thats really earsplitting, even when there were only a few of them the noise was earsplitting. I never knew I could get fruit and veggies ready so quick.

 

[kiwismom]

Well it's good to know that it's normal. There is a small door that opens down at the top of his cage. He'll perch up there for hours. I think he likes the view. He's a regular chatterbox when we watch TV too. I think he'll be talking before long.

I hope letting him sit near the top of his cage doesn't create some dominance/territorial problems. But I probably just worry WAY too much!

 

[Peta]

If it does then make sure that when you go to move him you stand on something, so you are higher than he is. I believe Redballoon did this with Skippah and it helped. Has he shown any signs of being cage aggessive yet?

 

[kiwismom]

Not particularly. He's only bitten me once and that was my fault b/c he was already upset. I should have just let him be. Although I've heard if you let your birds get their way all the time it will be like living with a terrible two-year old forever. I don't want that.

 

[Peta]

Then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some birds never become cage aggressive.

Although I've heard if you let your birds get their way all the time it will be like living with a terrible two-year old forever. I don't want that.

Yeah, but when they are letting you know they don't want to be touched then its a good idea to leave them alone till they come round. I get most of my bites because I push them too far when they really don't want me too. There's a fine line between them letting us know when they don't want us touching them and them getting away with things they shouldn't be doing.

 

[kiwismom]

Well scratch what I said about Kiwi not being cage aggressive. He got a little nippy last night and seemed disgruntled overall. I called the breeder and she said that he's just regressed to being a baby and it will take him a few more weeks to mature.
She said the squawking when he's not hungry and I'm just talking to him are just his way of talking...baby talk if you will. She said he might want to cuddle so I tried that, but he preferred hanging out on his cage.
I thought he might be grumpy because we are on a new schedule this week. Last week my husband was home the entire time and now he's there by himself.
I know the eclectus aren't the most affectionate birds, but I hope he warms up a bit.

 

[Eclectica]

The drum shattering scream is probably because he is still afraid that you wont feed him. Try talking to him, and take him out while making his food so he can see that you are going to feed him. He will scream every time when he knows it suppose to be feeding time, he is still unsure if he will get his food, so to stop the habit i suggest you take him out when making his food and talk to him while making it.

But keep it in a soft voice, as exciting him by chatting up a storm will encourage him to compete with you or make sure you know of him, so talking softly will calm him. You want him to sqwauk, not scream, so dont discourage the sqwauking yet, he will do it till about 6 - 7 months, but softer, and it will be more of a talking sqwauk then a begging one.

The nippyness, that may be because he is tired, altough he is all feathered and looking older and a huge baby, he is still a baby, so if you can, open his cage in the evening, and if he comes out talk to him, but dont pic him up just yet. He will probably run away back into his cage. Leave him to sit around on the cage, and you will see that he gets more comfortable and will only stay out a few min and retrieve to go to sleep or even fall asleep where he is standing.

Its important not to get him cage aggressive at this age, so give him time to do things on his own for the first month, let him explore more by coming out on his own time ( at evening that is ) and handle him for short periods at a time, he needs sleep, so he'll get grumpy if he doesnt get it.

Please feel free to ask questions, if something is bothering you, i have tons of suggestions with these guys, and i will consult with my breeder on things i cant yet answer. But with the cage aggression, i think its just because he wants to sleep, but please dont let this put you off, he will come around with age, and because you want to handle him in the evening, give him time, and stretch out the minutes very slowly with you out at night time.

Hope this helps, and if you want tips on how to stop the nipping/ biting, just pm me.

 

[kiwismom]

Thanks Eclectica,

He seems to have gotten a little more comfortable these past few days. We had a wing clip last night and he took it pretty well. Another owner I know clips her female eclectus' wings a lot. We just trimmed him according to books and diagrams we've seen online. He can no longer regally soar across the room, but at least he has enough wing to coast to the ground. We have hardwood floors and the last thing I want is him to break his breastbone b/c he has no wing to coast. The other owner says that by not inhibiting his flight completely he will be more aggressive and territorial...is that true? I mean he's a bird! He should at least have some wing to flap to get from perch to perch in his cage!
Kiwi has also, amazingly, started to prefer his mash to the syringe food! Last night he just wanted his big boy food, ditto this morning.
I'll still keep an eye on his crop and make sure he's got enough food, but if he doesn't want that syringe. I'm not gonna push.

One more question. I give Kiwi some ecelctus pellets mixed with high quality seeds and some dried fruit every day. Do you feed a limited amount of pellets? Also what kind of food do you leave in their cages during the day for them to forage and play with. He hasn't ventured to the bottom of his cage yet, so he's not big on foraging. Sorry for the marathon post! You guys are so great

 

[Peta]

he needs sleep, so he'll get grumpy if he doesnt get it.

Hey you've just described me as well.

 

[Redballoon]

I have wrestled with this problem since I got Skippah.
I want him uncaged, yet safe and happy at all times. So to clip or not to clip?
I had to clip him when he was younger so I could get near him. To convince him to enjoy my company, I clipped his wing. He could coast down and even flap upwards for a short distance. Last 3 feathers of one wing. In the time the wing has been unclipped, I have worked a lot with him handling wise. Maybe over handling? can you do that? Anyway. Now that he no longer lives in a cage, but on a perch 24/7 (see pix elsewhere, its a cool prech) he can be handled by me and Debbie. He has fewer panicy attack in reagrds to kittens walking neaby and dogs play fighting underfoot. So now He is a more Happy confident bird, I am tempted to let his wing grow out. He will step up on command, even when scared, even on the end of a broom, so I think I can handle it.
This would mean I have a fully flighted Cockatoo loose in the house, and I am not sure what problems that would bring.
Dilemma: non caged bird? Still safe?
Caged bird? Unhappy bird?
Uncaged, flighted bird? Happy, safe bird,.....Win Win?
I am trying to make the latter work. A fully flighted bird, on a perch, 24/7 who is happy and safe at all times. So far so good.

I have pictures to prove its working so far, but if he gets too "cocky" or dominant or flighty or anti social in any way, I will again clip him and let it grow out again and try and work on the problem as it grows out. Then in 4 or five years I will have worked out all the bird bugs and have the perfect uncaged, fully flighted, walking talking flyng buddy.

Right? thats all it should take? Right?