New eclectus owner here

[cannabis]

I just got a male eclectus last week from one of my work customers who rescues animals and had more birds than they could deal with. I've had him for a week now and he is doing great and is the friendliest bird I've had any experience with. He still has a bit of a ragged look to him but I think it is getting better since he is on a better diet now and gets lots more time out of his cage. Was wondering if anyone has any idea what subspecies he is? (not that it matters to me) Also his nails are very sharp and me and my wifes arms/hands are covered with scratches from holding him. I bought 2 new perches that are supposed to keep them trim but so far have had little effect. Any help on that front?

 

[weco]

While I don't know which perches you got, sandpaper perches can irritate the pads on your new friend's feet, but if you got perches that are smooth on top and gritted on the sides, they do work, but what many people don't consider (and I don't think the attached card mentions) is that you need to get those perches larger than you normally would, so that the bird's talons come in contact with the grit surfaces on the sides.....if you get normal sized perches, the talons may just reach to the bottom of the perch instead.....



Unique member name ! ! !

 

[Brodie]

Oh I see a walking dead poster in the background! Best. Show. Everrr.
The perches mentioned above are the best! They are the only ones I've used that actually work, but I decided to place mine up the top of her cage, so she was sleeping on it at night, hence spending alot of time on the perch.
I can tell what sub species females are, but males I'm not to sure about by looking at photos, but I'm sure someone on here will be able to help you out! Good luck

 

[cannabis]

They aren't the sandpaper ones. I'm pretty sure one is ceramic and the other is made of ground up seashells i think. They are ~2'' in diameter

 

[weco]

I think I know which ones you purchased...give them time, they will take the points off.....

If you can bodily handle him, get your wife to help you...one of you hold him while the other uses a pair of nail clippers & just takes the points off.....one other thing, placing these perches so that your ekkie must stand on them to eat from his food bowl or drink from hi water bowl will insure that he spends a good amount of time on them.....

 

[Peeker]

Congratulations on your new Eclectus! What are you calling him? Did he come with a name? Are you changing it?

Graham Taylor has a nice site for comparing the different subspecies.
The Eclectus Parrot - Graham Taylor (Australia)

I can't tell much from the photo. Is that picture true to his color?

 

[moni.k]

My tip for the nails is to trim them yourself. I use a nail file, the ones you get for a dollar. I hold Nalani (since she trusts me more and I've worked with getting her comfortable with being on her back) while my friend or family files her nails. It takes about 5-10 minutes and we trim them 1-2 times a month. That way, we take off small amounts each time (mainly the pointy part) and her grip isn't compromised. Plus, the practice of restraining will come in handy if there were to be an emergency or a vet visit. My local bird store charges 10 for nail trims, plus a drive and it stresses out Nalani. Why waste time, money, gas and comfort when it can all be done for free at home.

 

[sodakat]

Regarding subspecies, what does he weigh and how close to the end of his tail do his folded wing tips reach when viewed from behind? If he is under 400g and his unclipped wing tips reach within an inch of the tips of his tail he is likely a Solomon.

 

[coltfire]

My tip for the nails is to trim them yourself. I use a nail file, the ones you get for a dollar. I hold Nalani (since she trusts me more and I've worked with getting her comfortable with being on her back) while my friend or family files her nails. It takes about 5-10 minutes and we trim them 1-2 times a month. That way, we take off small amounts each time (mainly the pointy part) and her grip isn't compromised. Plus, the practice of restraining will come in handy if there were to be an emergency or a vet visit. My local bird store charges 10 for nail trims, plus a drive and it stresses out Nalani. Why waste time, money, gas and comfort when it can all be done for free at home.

when it comes to nails i wish all my birds where like lexxy she just stands lifts her foot lets you grab what ever nail cut it move to the next all down in minutes ,never seen another bird let some one cut its nails like a kid

 

[ProbablyHarrison]

Moni.k, how did you work with Nalani to be comfortable on her back? I'd like to get there with Charlie but I've never really read anything about it.

 

[moni.k]

So I've taught the "spiderman kiss" mainly because I thought it would be pretty cool trick, but who knew it would be so handy . Basically, I would snap my finger (as a signal) and then tip my hand slightly so that she would fall forward and hang upside down. Note: I don't grab onto her feet, she dangles purely by her grip alone. Then she gives me a kiss while she's upside down. So after she became comfortable with hanging upside down. All I did was cup her back for support (laying on her back) I would do this a few times. The less she protested the more treats she would get. Once she realized no harm would come with my hand on her back, I would wrap my fingers around her jaw while she was on her back against my hand (not her neck, and there's not pressure involved) it's mainly for support/restraint purposes. Again, I would repeat this step until she became familiar. Then I would work towards having her on her back without gripping onto my fingers for support. Eventually she learned to lay on her back with nothing but my hand for support. It took about 2 days... and a lot of banana chips. Because this "trick" is so important for restraining in the future, I practice it everyday with her even to this day. I hang her upside down while I take her to her perch, or plop her onto the bed.

Even though your bird my "step up" to you doesn't mean that they fully trust your hand. Work with touching your bird under his/her wing, belly, head, neck, etc. You'll be surprised on how much your bird doesn't tolerate being touched. But keep working at it. It's another type of training in itself that will be beneficial in the future.

Another good tip is to play peekaboo with the towel. It really helped when Nalani went the vet and she had to be restraint with a towel. I just kept saying peekaboo and I noticed Nalani would protest less.