Male Eclectus - Consistant Regurgitation

[laurendelfing]

A little over a week ago, I brought home a consignment male eclectus between the ages of 3-6. I noticed from the beginning that he regurgitates frequently. I was told that this is completely normal, especially for an eclectus, and that it's a term of endearment.

However, it seems although it's almost consistent. He is getting rather messy with it, and it is starting to concern as well as gross out the people that I live with.

Is this something that i'm just going to have to get used to or is there a possibility of a deeper issue or control? Thank you!

 

[Anansi]

Hello, Lauren. It is true that many male eclectus regurgitate as a sign of affection. My own Bixby regurgitates for me quite often, himself. He only does so for me, though, (oh, joy!) as his favorite person. Other eclectus, I've heard, are more free with their loving, basically regurgitating for anyone and anything within reach. Lol!

As for whether this is something you just have to get used to, I'd say yes and no. First off, definitely don't encourage it. And with Bixby, I've found that distraction works very well. Give him a toy to play with, or something to chew, the instant you see him warming up to offer you some sweet regurge. (Believe me, if you're not already an expert at spotting the body language, you soon will be!) Often, a pleasant enough distraction will be enough to get their minds off of their "gift offerings" for a while.

But that said, if the level of regurgitation is truly worrying you, I wouldn't necessarily ignore my instincts, either. Vomiting in birds can also be a sign of sickness. So if you're concerned, you might want to take him to an avian vet.

*Oh, and a good tool to determine if anything might be wrong with him is a bird scale. You might want to weigh him to make sure he isn't losing any weight, you know? Hope this helps. And keep us updated.

 

[RavensGryf]

Is it true regurgitating or vomiting? Do you see him shaking it out if his mouth and flinging it all over the place? If so, time for a vet visit. Regurgitating as a sign of affection is usually more controlled, though they can still fling. Only you see it, and like Anansi said, don't ignore your instincts if it just seems like something is not quite right. Best wishes with this.

 

[solrac13]

My Jade is almost a year old and has never do it!

But we are not very close to each other, it seems they can become like this when they rich 3 years or so.

Surprise Bixby is into it so early!

 

[Anansi]

Oh yes, Solrac. Bixby is very much into it. He's only around 8 months, now, so I hate to see what happens when he reaches sexual maturity! Lol! (He started this behavior at around 6 months.) Sometimes he'll wait 20 minutes or so before he starts up. Other times, he'll start immediately. My wife finds it VERY amusing.
There have literally been times when he's been sitting and playfully interacting with her for an hour or so before I've gotten home from work, and then when I walk through the door he flies straight over to me and starts that telltale head-bobbing! Smh.

@RavensGryf: thanks for pointing out the difference in control between vomiting and regurgitation, Julie. While I unfortunately have LOTS of experience with regurgitation, I thankfully have none with vomiting short of research.

 

[laurendelfing]

Thank you so much for all your responses! They have been very helpful. I have tried distracting him with a toy every time I see his neck start to bob and it's making a difference! He has a "well baby check-up" at the vet in a couple weeks, so I will make sure that I talk to her about this and the differences between regurgitation and vomit. Thank you again!

 

[drlisaort]

Very interesting post! Oliver is over a year and a half and has yet to demonstrate any sexual behavior...which is just fine by me! I guess in time the little angel will start showing his boy side. I'm in no hurry. Ha!

 

[JanMarie]

My Oliver is 13 and regurges all the time with anyone who holds him, he does have his favorite person-my husband.... it's little balls of food and if he offers them to us and
IF we don't take them he re-eats them yuck. We do try very hard to distract him in anyway we can, because it gets quite annoying but he's all into "spreading the love" to everyone.

 

[Anansi]

My Oliver is 13 and regurges all the time with anyone who holds him, he does have his favorite person-my husband.... it's little balls of food and if he offers them to us and
IF we don't take them he re-eats them yuck. We do try very hard to distract him in anyway we can, because it gets quite annoying but he's all into "spreading the love" to everyone.

Sounds to me like Oliver might have missed his decade. He's obviously a Hippy at heart. "Free lovin', baby!" Lol!

 

[lpolliard]

Chico is a mature bird. Somewhere between 10 and 30. He regurgitates only for me and in the mornings while perched on my finger huddled up to my face. He doesn't share so it is not a problem for me. He just seems to like to chew it up a second time :11:

 

[Gizmomania]

Ziggy regurgitates a lot...but onto the top of his bell. Every few days I have to clean off the pile of regurg. Ewwwww! Guess he must love his bell quite a lot.

 

[rockettheparrot]

I have a male ecky too 2 1/2 yrs old and he has 2 favourite toys he regurgitates on all the time .. he gets so excited but its only the two duplo lego toys with wheels.. he has many toys but these are his favourite to throw around. he is a very gentle affectionate bird to everybody.

 

[GW.Joe]

I have a male ecky too 2 1/2 yrs old and he has 2 favourite toys he regurgitates on all the time .. he gets so excited but its only the two duplo lego toys with wheels.. he has many toys but these are his favourite to throw around. he is a very gentle affectionate bird to everybody.

Welcome to the forum RTP !! Glad to have you join us

Joe

 

[Rave]

So Max started doing this for me tonight. Yuck. Fortunately for me, he didn't think of trying to present it to me, he was just content in chewing on it a second time and listening to me tell him that it was nasty.