Yoshi update

[Sterling1113]

So today is day 6 of bringing home Yoshi, the wonderful 3 year old male Eclectus. He's started making a variety of sounds, though no words yet (Just a mumble that sounds similar to "hello." Hehe.)
He has also started preening his feathers, and does the beak-grinding happy bird sounds quite often. His favourite fresh foods(and by favourite, I mean the only ones he eats..) are grapes and carrots. Next time I go grocery shopping I'll be picking up dirty rice/wild rice and some new foods and start making mash for him to see if he likes it. I've also moved him from the conure/tiel seed mix he was ever so attached to, to a zupreem natural pellet to help get some nutrients in him.
As you may remember, his cage is quite empty, although much larger than the one he was previously housed in. Last night I had an awesome gig co-bartending at a private Mardi Gras party, so the funds from last night are going to new perches and toys to fill up his cage.
His step-up is going well. Still doesn't like hands near him when he's in/on his cage so we use a perch to have him step up for us, then from the perch to an arm or hand. He sits in my lap sometimes(for very short periods of time) while I'm on the computer, and he's started exploring more around the top of his cage. He isn't always hiding in the back corner anymore haha.
And of course, what would an update be without a picture?

 

[Terry57]

I so love updates about Yoshi!
Have you tried red Swiss chard? Ekko goes nuts for a stalk of that. He also loves pomegranates, kiwi, kale and cooked sweet potatoes rolled in red chili flakes

 

[Sterling1113]

I so love updates about Yoshi!
Have you tried red Swiss chard? Ekko goes nuts for a stalk of that. He also loves pomegranates, kiwi, kale and cooked sweet potatoes rolled in red chili flakes

I have not! I feel like he's just weird about trying things when they don't *look* like food, y'know? Imagine being fed sunflower seeds and stuff your whole life then someone throws a plate of weird shapes and colours at you and is like "alright, eat up!"
I'd be just like Yoshi. "Thanks... but that doesn't look like food." Haha.
But I'll definitely be making a list of foods I've seen mentioned on other threads/posts about other Ekky's favorites.
Sweet potatoes/yams have to be skinned before giving them to birds, yeah? Or is that just a preference? I remember reading about certain food skins/seeds that need to be removed like apple seeds.

 

[Terry57]

I bake the sweet potatoes in their skin until they are soft, then after they cool I remove the skin and cut it into chunks and refrigerate. He doesn't seem to like them mashed, but I know others do so you could try that. Ekko started eating them after I tried rolling them in things - sometimes sesame seeds, sometimes red chili flakes. He will not touch them unless I decorate them in something..lol. For bananas, they have to be rolled in unsweetened coconut.
You could try handing him a leaf of kale or swiss chard, or hanging it in his cage. He may get interested that way

 

[TessieB]

Aw! The little guy is breaking out into his new world. Good for him!

 

[Gizmomania]

My ekki LOVES kiwis. He goes crazy over them!

 

[Anansi]

@Terry: I think I'll try some of those myself.

@Ashley: Bixby also goes crazy for kiwis, as well as blueberries, bell peppers, jalapenos, Jamaican hot peppers, sugar snap peas, quinoa, brown rice, asparagus and pomegranates. These things might be foreign to him right now, but stay persistent with the exposure. Given time, the strange will evolve into the familiar.

 

[Sterling1113]

@Terry: I think I'll try some of those myself.

@Ashley: Bixby also goes crazy for kiwis, as well as blueberries, bell peppers, jalapenos, Jamaican hot peppers, sugar snap peas, quinoa, brown rice, asparagus and pomegranates. These things might be foreign to him right now, but stay persistent with the exposure. Given time, the strange will evolve into the familiar.

Definitely gonna keep offering new foods. I just didn't want to go out and buy a bunch of foods that go bad before he even eats any of it, haha! But that is to be expected with a parrot that can be such a picky eater, so I shouldn't be surprised, eh?

 

[antoinette]

Yoshi is to cute OMG
He sure is warming up to you

Thanks for sharing

 

[skylala]

Yeah my boy loves kiwi fruit and pomegranate.

He likes Bok Choy, Kale and broccoli, but only if I leave it 'whole' and stick it on a skewer. He's funny like that. If I chop it up in little bits and put it in the bowl, he wont touch it. He prefers a lot of his food left large/whole on a skewer instead of chopped up small. Not sure what's up with that lol.

 

[Sterling1113]

Yeah my boy loves kiwi fruit and pomegranate.

He likes Bok Choy, Kale and broccoli, but only if I leave it 'whole' and stick it on a skewer. He's funny like that. If I chop it up in little bits and put it in the bowl, he wont touch it. He prefers a lot of his food left large/whole on a skewer instead of chopped up small. Not sure what's up with that lol.

What do you use for a skewer? I imagine not just the wooden ones you can get from the convenience store since they're probably not healthy to chew on, and they splinter real easy, or is that type of thing okay for birds?
Never made a skewer of food for my birds so I don't want to give something that could harm them haha..

 

[skylala]

Oh no, they're metal skewers made specially for birds to hang food off.
Something like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/girlkicksyou/skewer.jpg

Sorry I think the more appropriate name for them is 'Kabob'

 

[Sterling1113]

So today I actually saw Yoshi seem like he was excited, which is nice. Most of the time when he makes his sounds he stands pretty still, doesn't move too much other than preening/fluffing/moving to and from the outside of his cage. Well today we were chatting back and forth copying eachothers sounds, and he started doing his bird-thing of lowering his head then standing up real tall and saying "Wooo!!" Or some other happy sound, followed by head-bobbing and hiding his face behind his toy, making a sound, then looking around to see if I'm still watching. It was quite the adorable show. He might never be okay with hands-on interaction like petting or snuggles, but as long as he keeps showing progress that he's happy and his feathers grow out as beautiful as he deserves to be then I'm happy. I'm working with him a little bit every day, offering him food from my hand, even though he hasn't taken it yet. I'll also put my arm up to him while he's in his cage, and even though he doesn't step up, I still praise him for tolerating me being close to him since he used to strike/lunge(even though he never really bit down, just whacked us with his beak to show displeasure.)
He's eating more fresh foods, even though he hasn't wanted anything other than grapes and carrots yet. I'll be making him a mash soon(probably for dinner) and see how he likes it.

 

[Anansi]

Sweet! He's bonding with you! As for the hiding his head behind a toy, part, maybe someone in the past taught him peek-a-boo? Maybe that's the sound he's trying to make when he's behind the toy. (I tried teaching Bixby peek-a-boo. He looked at me like I'd gone daft.)

Bixby was slow to warm up to hands on interaction as well. And it must seem slow as molasses to you since you have cuddle monsters like conures! Bixby still hasn't gotten into any kind of cuddling, (though my wife has sworn a solemn vow to win him over to the cuddle-side) but now he enjoys petting... in doses. And he very much loves sparring (aka finger-boxing!)

I'm glad to hear he's eating more fresh foods. And I'm especially glad carrots are among the ones he will accept. They're good for beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A.

What are you putting in the mash?

 

[Sterling1113]

I'm sure someone has played peek-a-boo with him in the past, the sounds he makes gives me the impression he used to be around children. But of course I could be totally wrong. He only did it a couple times and then stopped, so that was short-lived. But it's something!
For the mash I'm going to boil some brown rice and lentils, probably lightly steam some green beans and mash those up in there since he doesn't like them by themselves(Or in the same bowl as grapes and carrots.. hehe.)
He's eating his pellets just fine and hasn't shown any signs of irritation, toe-tapping or wing flipping so I'm not worried about trying to mash some pellets in there also. If he eats the food I make tonight I'll be adding more and more over time to find out how much healthy, yummy food I can get him to eat. (Even if he doesn't know he's eating it! Hehe.)
He likes scrambled eggs, even though he's only had them once so I'm confident he'll enjoy something of a similar texture. Warm and soft, since he likes making "soup" out of water and pellets.. hah.

 

[Sterling1113]

Also, something I've noticed, is some of is sounds he's making which I originally thought was just a mash-up of other sounds he makes is starting to sound an awful lot like a crying infant. It starts really raspy like a grumble then goes to a "Mmmmmm..wwwuuaahh!!" and ends on a higher note. It's weird trying to type out that sound... lol. Maybe one day I'll get a video of it.

 

[Gizmomania]

Is it a kiss? My Ekki makes 'mwah' sounds after we've just kissed his beak.

 

[Sterling1113]

Is it a kiss? My Ekki makes 'mwah' sounds after we've just kissed his beak.

If it's a kiss, then it's a really drawn-out kiss! Hehe. It lasts a good few seconds. Maybe he's just *really* affectionate, but too afraid to show it

 

[Anansi]

Green beans, brown rice and lentils, eh? Someone did their homework! Sweet! Let us know if he eats it. And yes, if you get a video of him making that sound you should definitely post it.

 

[Sterling1113]

Green beans, brown rice and lentils, eh? Someone did their homework! Sweet! Let us know if he eats it. And yes, if you get a video of him making that sound you should definitely post it.

Haha I tried my hardest! Especially since he came home much earlier than I was planning. I keep referring back to the list of healthy foods posted on the food and diet thread, just to make sure. I'll definitely update again after he tries the mash/if I get a video