Question about behaviour

[Martin93]

Hi

My Eclectus parrot is now 13 weeks old, at about 11 weeks he started eating on his own after a hard period of rejecting feedings, so i'm relieved he's all okay and healthy!

But lately he started to act up, like growling at stuff or my hands and attacking my fingers and even my nose!
He still likes to cudle and lay down on my chest but when he's got more energy like fresh in the morning he's just going nuts. Also when he's flapping his wings he starts growling and attacking at his wings.
Now maybe this sounds all bad but its not all the time!

I was wondering is this a phase? Like some sort of puberty? Or is this just how he is now that he's no longer a baby? As a baby he did not really do anything besides sleeping and sitting so this is quite a diffrence.n

 

[SailBoat]

Sounds like baby is growing up and pushing boundaries!

 

[wrench13]

OMG, they do more then eat and sleep? What, like, burp and do card tricks? The guy at the pet shop didn't tell me about any of this!

 

[Martin93]

OMG, they do more then eat and sleep? What, like, burp and do card tricks? The guy at the pet shop didn't tell me about any of this!

-.- I realise they do more then eat and sleep...
But the thing is is behavior seems a little too aggresive at times and i was wondering if thats also normal or if its a behavioral problem.

 

[LordTriggs]

yep. Sounds like a parrot to me!

Sounds to me like they're not a morning bird. He could be a little territorial over the cage which is fine, a lot of birds are.

When they rejected hand feeding did you force him to feed? This could cause them to not be the happiest with you associating your hands with being chased around and held down to have food forced down when not hungry. I know I wouldn't be too pleased having that happen to me.

Just go slow and almost reset with them and treat like a new parent reared bird and slowly tame them. Also know that you may just have a grumpy baby throwing his toys out the pram so to speak

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

he's a baby still! "What are these things??flapflapflap...hey! they move when I do this!!"
Like the others have stated...pushing/testing his boundries..now is the time to teach him what is acceptable,and what will not be tolerated..like BITING..
Does he have toys to play with/chew on?
Teach him "step-up" using a suitable perch..if he chews at it..tell him NO in a firm voice (that could be your finger one day)
All of what you are concerned with is normal baby growing up stuff..now is the time to learn him goodly reward/praise him for good behavior..



Ekkies have the cutest face...btw! lol



Jim

 

[Anansi]

Ekkies definitely go through a grumpy pants phase after weaning. Bite pressure training is imperative at this point.

One thing, though. When you say he starts "attacking at his wings", what do you mean? Is he plucking, barbering or snipping them?

 

[Martin93]

Ekkies definitely go through a grumpy pants phase after weaning. Bite pressure training is imperative at this point.

One thing, though. When you say he starts "attacking at his wings", what do you mean? Is he plucking, barbering or snipping them?

when he sees his wings behind him he starts growling at them and tries to bite them. at least that's what it looks like

 

[Martin93]

Glad to hear that this is probably normal.

But another thing i think is weird...
When i put him in his cage at night (when its dark) he goes to sleep.
But as soon as the sun comes up or when i put him back in his cage while there is light he goes crazy and wants out again, but if i dont get im out he will start sitting in a corner at the bottom of his cage, also he does not eat or drink while in his cage.
He just sits there silently waiting for me to get to him, and as soon as i aproach he jumps up and starts randomly climbing and when i open the cage door and put my hand in he will step up. or jump up or fall into my hand, whatever is the fastest way to get to my hand...
As soon as he's out he's calm again and making sweet sounds as if he's saying thank you.

Also normal? Becouse i am concerned about not eating while in the cage, right now i'm at home a lot so he's out more than he's in his cage but when i start working again he'll be in his cage a little more, there's toys for him but he has no interest in them, outside the cage toys are fun though.

 

[Anansi]

Hmmm... sounds like you've set yourself up for a ROUGH transition once you return to work. At this point you seem to have spoiled him a bit when it comes to the nature of your attentions. (No judgement in that statement. They're notoriously difficult to resist, so I understand.)

See, take for instance when you say that he won't eat while inside the cage. That tells me that you've gotten him accustomed to only eating from your hand (or from a bowl on a play stand or some such). He's grown comfortable enough with that idea that he feels he can ignore food waiting for him in his cage, secure in the knowledge that you'll come and take him to his preferred dining area.

Also, you've pointed out that you are spending a lot more time with him now than you will be once you start working. Both of those will potentially cause you some serious transition issues when the time comes.

In terms of the food in the cage issues, here's my approach. In my home, breakfast and dinner are only available in the cage. Why? because it gives them something positive to associate with the cage. In their minds, going to their cages = eating a filling meal. The only eating they get to do outside of the cage is when they get treats during training. That way, the cage always has at least some level of allure. After all, you really can't blame him for wanting to eat next to you if that's always available as an option. (Note: if you decide to try this, it will likely be a hard sell at first. So you should start as soon as possible so that you have time before you actually return to work to get him settled into a routine.)

As for the time issue, you will have to slowly wean him off of the idea of spending as much time with you on a daily basis as he does now. Doing it gradually will be far less traumatic than having it happen all at once. Remember, to him it will seem as though you just stopped hanging out with him for no discernible reason. So you definitely want to ease him into it. (Of course, weekends can still be big spoil me days... once he's gotten used to the shorter hours routine of the work week... assuming, of course, that your off days are indeed on weekends.)

As for the toys, just try rotating some different ones in there. But yeah, at the moment he might just be seeing his cage as a place that he wants to leave, rather than as a home. As you make the other adjustments, this will hopefully change.

 

[Martin93]

Anansi:
Thanks for the info!
I think i'll try to let him be in his cage a little more then.
This morning was the first time i saw him eating in his cage, he was eating some seeds, but then he saw me and stopped and started to wait while hanging on the cage door.
He's eating from a bowl thats on a playstand now, but i think that he'll be allright eating in his cage eventually.

But some advice on meals for an eclectus?
right now i'm feeding him a special eclectus mix with seeds and dried vegetables and some grains i believe. He seems to prefer that mix above most other foods except corn.
Right now i dont really have meal times for him, i just fill his bowl and let him eat througout the day but i know that is not the best way to feed him.

How many times are you giving him a meal each day? and what are you feeding him?

 

[Anansi]

You're welcome, Martin93.

I feed my Eclectic Duo almost exclusively fresh foods twice a day. Once in the morning and then again in the evening. Here's the list I always give to cover my diet selection for my ekkies (tweaked each time I make any changes, of course). The list is long, but when I first started with eclectus parrots I remember that the info was scarce and often contradictory. So I try and make sure new ekkie parronts don't have to go through what I did. Here goes:

I currently tend to provide between 8 and 12 types of food per feeding for Maya and Jolly, weighted heavily toward the veggie side as only 2 of the food selections in a given meal are fruits.
Various sprouts, carrots (a part of every meal due to the high content of beta carotene - precursor to Vitamin A), bell peppers (red, yellow, orange and green), jalapeno peppers, Jamaican Scotch bonnet peppers, chili peppers, squash (butternut, green and yellow), pumpkin (also high in Vitamin A), blueberries and pomegranates (both among the most nutritious of fruits), snap peas, broccoli (high in calcium), cactus pears, persimmon, starfruit, bananas, grapes, kale, turnips, radishes, brown rice, quinoa, cucumbers, endives, dandelion (nutritional powerhouse offered at every meal), sweet potato (cooked), red swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya, African horned melon, hominy, oatmeal (sans sugar or flavoring), kiwi, barley, calendula flowers, fennel, chocho beans and garbanzo beans, as well as Volkman's Fancy Soak and Simmer for the majority of their legumes and grains.

For food accents I'll add one or two types of the following as well: star anise, milk thistle, elder berries, rose hips, hibiscus, bee pollen and chamomile flowers.

Twice a month, I'll give some hard-boiled egg (with the crushed shell for calcium). Slightly more frequently during a molt.

For their training treats they get an assortment of unsalted nuts (one or two per bird in a given day, broken into small pieces and fed as rewards through the training sessions). And for their "goodnight treat", up to a teaspoon or two of seeds, or even millet spray once in a while.

 

[Martin93]

You're welcome, Martin93.

I feed my Eclectic Duo almost exclusively fresh foods twice a day. Once in the morning and then again in the evening. Here's the list I always give to cover my diet selection for my ekkies (tweaked each time I make any changes, of course). The list is long, but when I first started with eclectus parrots I remember that the info was scarce and often contradictory. So I try and make sure new ekkie parronts don't have to go through what I did. Here goes:

I currently tend to provide between 8 and 12 types of food per feeding for Maya and Jolly, weighted heavily toward the veggie side as only 2 of the food selections in a given meal are fruits.
Various sprouts, carrots (a part of every meal due to the high content of beta carotene - precursor to Vitamin A), bell peppers (red, yellow, orange and green), jalapeno peppers, Jamaican Scotch bonnet peppers, chili peppers, squash (butternut, green and yellow), pumpkin (also high in Vitamin A), blueberries and pomegranates (both among the most nutritious of fruits), snap peas, broccoli (high in calcium), cactus pears, persimmon, starfruit, bananas, grapes, kale, turnips, radishes, brown rice, quinoa, cucumbers, endives, dandelion (nutritional powerhouse offered at every meal), sweet potato (cooked), red swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya, African horned melon, hominy, oatmeal (sans sugar or flavoring), kiwi, barley, calendula flowers, fennel, chocho beans and garbanzo beans, as well as Volkman's Fancy Soak and Simmer for the majority of their legumes and grains.

For food accents I'll add one or two types of the following as well: star anise, milk thistle, elder berries, rose hips, hibiscus, bee pollen and chamomile flowers.

Twice a month, I'll give some hard-boiled egg (with the crushed shell for calcium). Slightly more frequently during a molt.

For their training treats they get an assortment of unsalted nuts (one or two per bird in a given day, broken into small pieces and fed as rewards through the training sessions). And for their "goodnight treat", up to a teaspoon or two of seeds, or even millet spray once in a while.

Alright thanks for the info! i'll start trying him with these foods soon before giving him actual meal times to see if he'll eat it.
I found out that he wont eat strawberries or carrot, At least not now i hope he will later especially carrot since its healthy and quite cheap.
His favorites so far are: Corn, Pineapple, Green Beans and Apple.

Also i've made a mash for him that contains CéDé Eggfood (2 diffrent ones), CéDé Protein mix, Oatmeal, Some Sunflowerseeds and a little bit of lori food.

This is a recipe i got from the breeder and he seems to like it, he gets this once every few days now. dont want him to get fat.