My 12 year old eclectus

[mablesmomma]

I recently purchased a 12 year old female eclectus. She was purchased from a breeder, but she was not hers from the beginning. I know that she has been through a few homes before I got her, and I have some concerns about her recent activities. So when we got her she seemed to be a little shy, but came around and started to love on me. Just recently she has become very aggressive! We let her out of her cage and she will get on the floor drag her little blanket around and try to nest in it, but will not allow anyone to interact with her no matter how much we try. We have tried to remove the blanket from the equation, but it doesn’t change anything she still has the same behavioral problems. Just a few days ago I have noticed that she is pulling out a few of her tail and large wing feathers along with a few of the smaller ones. It does not seem like she is plucking them out a one certain spot, but it did start to concern me. She eats normally when it comes to her pellets, but will not eat any fruit or vegetables. I give her scrambled eggs a few times a week with frozen pees and corn, and she will eat the egg and corn but that is it. I am a little concerned that this may be a sign of something that I should be aware of, but there isn’t anyone in the area that has much knowledge about these species. I read that you can purchase special lights that might help with these behaviors, but I didn’t want to make the investment unless it would actually make a big difference. If anyone has any ideas, or could direct me in a direction that could help me that would be great thank you!
Amanda

 

[Pedro]

Amanda this is typical nesting behavior of a mature eclectus hen & it is such a shame that she does not have the opportunity to be able to have a male eclectus to be able to hang out with. I am guessing this poor bird has been passed on by previous owners because of this very reason & are not educated on the requirements of a hormonal hen.

You will have to take all nesty things away from her starting with the blanket. Give her lots to do like showers, foraging toys. Keep her away from open cupboards & dark cosy corners.

Also it's not a good idea to feed a hormonal hen scrambled egg so often. I only give boil egg to my breeders, She should have a very balanced diet.

diets

Some great ideas on what to feed your bird.

With her dropping feathers she could be going through a molt. You will have to keep a close eye on her to make sure it's a molt & she hasn't started to pluck which is possible if she is frustrated.

 

[Miriam]

Hi there...welcome to the forum!! Congratulations on your new eclectus!! You will find a lot of advice here and help. I recently got a young eclectus and know what it's like with a new bird and trying to make sure I do everything right, and help her adjust. A good suggestion i've seen regarding the fruits and vegetables is to try and make the birdie bread. You mix the fruits and veggies into the bread and get them to eat it that way. There are a few good recipies on here. If you go to the recipies section you'll get some different ideas/ways to make it. I've heard that too much eggs aren't good for them...my breeder said to limit it to once a month. I don't figure the egg in the bread as counting

My Saphira loves corn on the cob! I'll put a half a cob on a kabob and she'll go to town on it all day! Since your ekkie likes corn, why don't you try to put a corn on the cob on a kabob but add some other vegetables on there also and she might try them then.

How long have you had her? It may take some time for her to settle in and really trust you. Does she have toys to play with and chew on? You can get those foraging items to hide food in, or at least make them work for it...it helps keep them busy and hopefully distracted from pulling their own feathers. I have a munch ball that I put Saphiras vegetables in before going to work and she works on that all day. This way instead of taking it all right away from the bowl and tossing it to the bottom of the cage, she gets a little at a time and is likely to have eaten a bit first!

On the behavioral side, nesting, i'm not really sure...except maybe it's that time of the season for her and she needs some time...and if so, I understand it will pass.

Well good luck and keep us posted! :red: