Updates on Mister Duke

[tashawithanekkie]

Hey all, haven't been here in awhile. Oddly enough, adding an eclectus to the family has kind of eaten up my time. Who woulda' thought? (haha) Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was going to work out -- the kids were excited, the bird was stressed, and I was feeling pretty overwhelmed.

Things have calmed down now, thank goodness! The kids have learned how to respect Duke, and even the dogs have calmed down a lot. Even better, we've mostly stopped the plucking and overpreening, so we're seeing new feathers popping through.

Of course there are things we need to improve. He's still not keen on veggies, and I think he might be overweight. I have yet to convince him to step onto the scale to find out.

He hates the Feather Teather, alas. I'd love rec's on other harnesses if anyone has them.

But the big issue is, he seems very dependent on people to, like, show him how to play and amuse him. His old mother clearly doted on him, but I don't have that kind of time! I'm sure some of the over preening comes from boredom but he doesn't seem to know what else to do. We have a fair selection of toys, but he doesn't show interest. Could his age be a factor? He's at least 10, probably 12.

It's taken me ages to type this -- the human kids woke up, breakfast happened, blah blah. I'm going to stop before I get interrupted again. At least I got to read old threads before the day "started," glad to see you all and learn from you and your fids.

 

[SailBoat]

Not sure why your Thread got missed by our Eclectus members, it happens. This will get you bumped back on the board.

NOTES:
- Stop trying to get his weight until you can transfer him to and from a free standing perch. At present, you are only adding to his stress.

- Flight vests require a strong trust bond before even starting. Not sure you are at that point yet. As above, you are only adding to his stress.

- Your Parrot had not learned to 'Self-Entertain' and this will need to be added to you long list of things to do. The good news is, he should be very open to interaction with Humans.

 

[tashawithanekkie]

"Very long list" is right! I'll stop trying to weigh and look for a pak-o-bird for sun and walks.

He's very receptive to us, thankfully. Maybe I just need to slow down. He was basically alone for a long time.

Thanks for bumping.

 

[SailBoat]

"Very long list" is right! I'll stop trying to weigh and look for a pak-o-bird for sun and walks.

He's very receptive to us, thankfully. Maybe I just need to slow down. He was basically alone for a long time.

Thanks for bumping.

Good point regarding slowing down! We say it so often that it become easy to forget how important that point is. The stated goal is to move at or just in front of you Parrot. Also remember: Its NEVER the fault of the Parrot! Its ALWAYS the fault of the Human! When we approach everything from the Vantage Point, we more quiet see what we are doing wrong and change it more quietly!

We do not use harnesses, so take this with a grain of salt: Have the harness find (be introduced to) the Parrot over time. Once the Parrot is use to it hanging around, start playing with it and him. Then trying laying it near or a bit on him. And, then just keep progressing!

Enjoy!

 

[Anansi]

Good to see you, again!

For the weight scale issue, I found it much easier to just get them a gram scale with a perch attachment. (Just make sure the scale has a tare function so you don't wind up having to do the math every time you weigh your bird.) Then training them to just step up onto the scale perch became so simple and easy.

As for the self entertainment issue, as Steven said he'll need to be taught how to play. You'll have to play with the toys yourself while showing an insane amount of enthusiasm for it. Also, ekkies have a definite preference for softer woods and will be far more likely to play with toys that have these softer woods rather than the hard wood types favored by macaws.

 

[tashawithanekkie]

Didn't even know I could get a perch attachment! Cool! Duke will be way more comfortable with that.

I think I'll have some fun with the 'insane enthusiasm' and the kids -- they will think it's hilarious. They thought it was great when I was chewing popsicle sticks and loudly pretending it was wonderful.

 

[Anansi]

Hahahahahaha! Oh, yeah! Any observers will find your "insane enthusiasm" hilarious! But it really does work.

Here is a version of the scale I got for my birds. They've apparently upgraded since I bought mine a few years back, as this one looks all fancy with the lighting and such. Lol! My Weigh i2500 Digital Bird Scale With Two Perches and Bowl

There are other, more expensive ones on the same site, but this one serves my purposes well enough. (The perch did break off the attachment at the base after a while, but a little Gorilla Glue made sure that never happened again. Though who knows? The upgraded version may have addressed the break factor.)

 

[adz1984]

I put this together with random stuff around the house, total cost $7! not pretty but does the job..

 

[tashawithanekkie]

even better, adz1984!
i'm thinking we have a long journey ahead if i'm going to train this fella. any time i have attempted 'step up' he looks at the treat, flies to a certain curtain rod, and poops while looking at me. it reads very much as "i am not your little performer, how dare you?" we'll get there . . . probably.

 

[tashawithanekkie]

Progress! Finally got him to hold things to chew on! A couple of popsicle sticks and some paper. Plus, he climbed to the top of the cage stand and chewed on the cloth strips he used to be afraid of. I'm pretty excited, he was only willing to chew if we held things for him before.

Kind of feels like a silly thing to be excited about, with so many of your fids doing cooler stuff. But it's a start.

 

[wrench13]

RE harnesses. I been working with my little amazon Salty for over a year, every night, yes every night. I just got his harness on him a week or 2 ago. Fully on, and him outside. Sal;ty is no dumb bunny, but some parrotsw progress very slowly on this , it is very much about the trust level. Pak o bird, is an excellent though pricey investment. We have one, it's Saltys car carrier.

 

[tashawithanekkie]

Well I have updates on my master. Besides the fact that yes, I am wrapped around his dragon claws.

I never got around to posting pics but we went through a pretty heavy molt -- from reading here I guess it was a mojo molt brought on by such big changes in life and diet. He was gray from his neck up to his eyeballs, and all the way around. Thankfully pinfeathers popped through in abundance and he's almost got all his green back.

I've got him down to about two teaspoons of seed a day, and he gets a good mix of fresh fruits and some veggies. Managed to get broccoli and sweet potato into him by making them into a chop and drizzling with coconut oil. This week we're trying sugar snap peas. He's not keen, yet, but he tried it so that's something. I have to keep rotating things in and out, he gets tired of the same thing after about two to three days and tosses it.

I'm glad to say we finally found his papers -- or one of my brothers-in-law did, anyway. So now we know he's a red-sided eclectus, hatched on 10-6-06. He came to live with my mother in law when he was 9 months old, and we have the name of the breeder -- Lucky Parrot out of Michigan.

Haven't managed to weigh him, but he's a bit more willing to go where I ask him to . . . sometimes.

I have got him outside a bit, in a spare cage. Mostly he hung upside down and whistled and chattered. It's very much a "when he feels like it" thing. I take him out to the garage and if he wants to go outside, he'll get in the cage. Otherwise, he just stays on my shoulder.

His hormones seem to be calming down since I moved the cage and made sure he got enough dark and quiet. Not that he's stopped trying to put the moves on, but now it's only like once a day instead of all. the. time.

And I finally got to see this "family bird" stuff in action! Now I'm not the only one he flies to, and what a relief that is. He visits the kids shoulders now, and he adores my husband.

*phew* Didn't really mean to type so much, but no one in my life cares much. They just want to know if we taught him to swear yet.

 

[Anansi]

Oh, what a great update! Sounds like you and Duke have made a lot of progress! You do get out of it what you put in, so you should be proud.

As for the "when he feels like it" aspect, that gets better with time and consistency as well. Important tip? Try to "aim" your commands for those times when he is most likely to obey them. That way, doing what you ask becomes a habit for him. Know what I mean?

 

[tashawithanekkie]

Thanks Anansi! I will keep working with him. This is such a rewarding journey. I keep looking back to the sad, lonely guy that landed on my shoulder in February. I'm so glad he took the chance -- and that I stumbled on these boards! You all are literal life savers.