New owner as of yesterday. Couple of Q's

[shynook11]

We have a female eclectus which we saved from Craigslist. I say saved because it was clear the owner was not feeding her the right diet. He only gave her seed mix and an occasional dried hot chile pepper. He says she is 2 yrs old, but I never believe what CL people tell me. I'll have the Avian vet see what they can determine

So, she is super tame, came with a wonderfully large cage and has been all over the house exploring. She seems not too stressed so far.

My question is, we need to get her on the correct diet ASAP for her health. She appears healthy, but who knows what damaged that diet could have done to her. Is there certain veggies/fruits that are better to start with or should we just start with the approved types and see what she likes?

So far, the only the she is interested in are the oranges. We're not sure how to feed her....in the cage, out of the cage, at certain times/ how small the bites shoule be, ect....The guy we got her from just left seed in the cage all the time like a parrokeet.

We'll be heading out today for additional supplies, such as a pellet to supplement, vitamins, cuttlebone.

Anything help to us / suggestions would be great

 

[shynook11]

Also, her beak. From the little pic I attached....can anyone tell if it's overgrown?

 

[Spiritbird]

Beak looks fine to me. I think it is a nice idea and bonding method to sit down to your meal with your bird having a small plate of food also. Hand feeding is good too even though she is not a baby. Dark leafy greens like kale are super good. I do not have an Eckie so others that do will chime in here I am sure.

Thank you so much for saving this sweet little bird. Anything more we can help you with please ask.

 

[Cowtown]

Welcome to the Forum... she is very pretty.. do you have a name yet?

I feed Abby the following

Cooked brown rice
Frozen Peas 1/2 tablespoon Just put in tap water and it will thaw
Frozen Corn 1/2 tablespoon Just put in tap water and it will thaw
Broccoli 4 small pieces
1/4 of Granny Smith Apple cut up in pieces she can hold and eat
3 baby carrots I cut one up into avg pieces and leave the others whole so she can hold them while she eats,
Jalapeno pepper, 3-4 pieces cut into 4ths.

I also give her fresh Kale, sweet potato (boiled and mashed up)
cooked pasta, unsalted almonds, oatmeal, plain cherrios, tomatoes without the seeds, cucumbers. I boil an egg and give her half of it. I break up the shell and cut the egg in to average size pieces and put it in a separate bowl.

I give her oranges, kiwi, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, bananas, cooked unseasoned chicken and I others have given the chicken bones also.

Abby will eat just about anything..

Here is a link to Eckie diets. look at the bottom of the page,
Land of Vos Eclectus - Main Page

I hope this helps.. If you have another questions let me know. I am no expert but I have done a lot of research on Eckies before I decided to become a guardian.

Mike

 

[Rani]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I have a female ekkie as well and we have had her since august. She was very very very quite when we got her for about a month or so. Now she has started to play around in the cage and she comes out of the cage on her own and plays on top of the cage as well. I try to feed her a wide variety of foods but i see most of it is on the cage floor. Then in the afternoon she will go on the floor and nibble on the food. I think she finds more fun in throwing food out of the bowl
We got her from a breeder here and my husband absolutely hates that breeder now. He feels that all the breeder did with her was give food all day long. For the first few days she ate and ate and ate and no other reaction. He feels that we paid a lot for her but thats besides the point now. We greatly love her. You have done a great deed by saving that bird from seed diet.

She loves pumpkin seeds, brown rice and kiwi fruit and pomogranate seeds. I give her other things and most of the time she will try a bit of the new fruits and veggies.

I baked some pumpkin with cinnamon and she seems to like that. She eats some cereal as well. Most what i have seen is she loves her pellets.

She does kind of try to sing or make a lot of weird sounds in the afternoon. Sounds like her singing to me lol.


Also do you guys mind sharing how old is your ekkie and how much do they weigh?

I feel that visually she looks a little slimmer then when we got her. But ofcourse she is growing but i just want to make sure.

BTW her name is RANI

Chrisi

 

[Cowtown]

Abby was hatched on May 2010... I got her in August.

I don't know how much she weighs but she has grown and put on weight.

 

[shynook11]

Thank you all. Tiki seems to be adjusting well. She is very tame, but will bite or try to bite when you put your hand in the cage. I read that females are sometimes terrritorial if they are fed in the cage. True? I find that if I wrap my hand in a towel, she won't bite and will get on it and come out on my arm.

She also has the option to get out of her cage alot on her own, but doesn't seem to want to. I also assume this is normal. She is eating alot, which given the previous seed diet, is encouraging!

 

[shynook11]

Tiki is supposed to be two, but I have no idea if that is right. We got a fabulous deal on her & her cage through Craiglist, so I was worried there was something wrong with her. So far, can't see a problem, nor can the vet.

 

[Cowtown]

Hey Shy.... how is Tiki doing?
Just give her time to adjust.

 

[Vickiesbirds]

Try some mashed yams or sweet potatoes... my baby caique LOVES these. They're messy, but sooo nutritious and high in vitamin A. You could also try some corn... not as high in nutrients, but a good buffer for getting a bird to eat veggies... most parrots won't refuse a corn kernel... or ten Once she accepts those, try slowly adding in other veggies. My guys eat a pellet base diet, but I try every day to give them a mix I make and freeze in single portions. It contains corn, carrots, broccoli, lima beans, kidney beans and garbanzo beans. A bird bread also might help to get some veggie intake... super easy to make and portion freezable as well. I'll paste the recipe below so you can try it... A woman on the caique forum gave it to me... and all my birds love it. You can really pack it full of lots of fresh produce... and it's a good way to disguise a veggie or fruit

Bird Bread
1 package Jiffy corn muffix mix
1 small jar babyfood, any fruit or veggie flavor
1 egg
Any frozen or fresh fruits or veggies desired!

1.) Preheat over to 400.
2.) Combine Jiffy mix, egg and baby food. Stir, leaving batter just a little lumpy.
3.) Add fruits and veggies as desired.
4.) Pour into cupcake cups or loaf pans.
5.) Bake 15 minutes or until slightly browned on the top. *Note- larger loaf pans require a longer cook time.

 

[shynook11]

She seems quite happy, eats like a pig and has alot of time out of her cage. She talks and is now making alot of vocals. Now I am trying to find her some new toys. When we got her they gave us 3 wood/rope chew hanging toys. Looking now for something different to rotate around or give her when she eats up the current toys.

 

[etse20]

They don't need any supplements or vitamins if they are on a proper fresh fruit/vege diet. Too much supplement/vitamins can cause wing flipping or toe tapping.

Willie eats pretty much everything, except grapes. Don't know why, but he hates them. He attacks the grapes....He eats pasta, hard boiled eggs, doesn't like scrambled, chicken breast, steamed veges, pumpkin/squash, bell pepper, veges, nuts, oh, and wheat grass.

 

[Ratzy]

The guy we got her from just left seed in the cage all the time like a parrokeet.

This is the sort of thing that upsets me... budgies/parakeets need a balanced and healthy diet just like any other parrot.