My new baby is home and... I'm a little scared

[Babyblue033]

Everything went smoothly last night and we picked up our baby Vos Eclectus. First thing I said when I met him was "Wow he's bigger than I thought!". Of course I've met birds much bigger than him but I guess him being MY bird it feels a little different.

We settled him down in his new cage and he immediately started playing with toys and ate his food. I've never seen a bird eat anything with such gusto! No wonder we get suckered into cooking them all kinds of food

Miki does his usual morning calls if I'm not up by 7:30, but this morning I was awakened also by a "thundering" squwak from the big green guy. Miki will do his call, then he'll answer it There will be no more sleeping late in this house...

I said I'm a little scared because in general he is much different than my Miki. I've done as much research as possible before bringing him home, but I still have much to learn. One immediate thing I would like to ask about is that he is biting. Not mean bites, and no broken skin or anything, but I'm thinking more like baby bites to test things. But he is biting often and so far I'm not giving him any reactions, but should I try to curb this behavior by firmly telling him No? Or should I just let him grow out of it? Just wanted to know the "proper" way of dealing with this so I don't unintentionally turn him into a biter or something.

And I learned very quickly that Big birds = big poop!

[kensbuns]

He is just nibbling your fingers like all birds do. But I would suggest that you try to stop the behavior. And you think that is a big bird well let me tell you Bogart my B&G has really really really big poop lol!!!!

[The Outlaw]

Gently take his beak in your fingers and say No Bite. Don't squeeze hard, just let him know that it displeases you.

If your largest bird is a tiel, then an ekkie beak must look huge. However, they tend to be very sweet. Since my ekkie is still smaller than my macaws, I don't think twice about her beak and her voice isn't anywhere as loud as the BGs. However, when an ekkie screams, its something to get your attention, for sure.

Ekkies and amazons are absolutely the best eaters in the bird world. I'm glad you are cooking for your ekkie. Its essential for a healthy, happy eclectus over the long haul. Its just a matter of getting used to each other. I think the little males ekkies are among the finest parrots on earth. They are just sweet and beautiful pets.

[Lori L]

Also I might add that while you're holding him if he starts to nibble harder than you'd like, have a toy or something else to distract him. You can also use the earth quake method which is to just move your hand a little bit so he ever so slightly has to pay attention to his balance and that will also be a distraction. I would hesitate doing this until he's older because since he is a baby he is still getting used to perching and finding his balance. He will be looking for YOU for stability an safety and if your hand is the one that is not secure for him...well you see where I'm going...I guess I'm trying to say that distraction is good and the best way is with a treat or toy. The earthquake method can be used when he's older and has a more familiar relationship with you. Congrats on your baby, I love the little green men

[Babyblue033]

Since I've never had anything bigger than a tiel, yes his beaks AND his poops are huge! I'll no longer be complaining about Miki pooping on me, that's for sure

I've read tons about Ekkie diet and have a huge list of things he can eat. I spent hours the night before he came home chopping fruits and vegies and cooking rice and beans. And it's good to see that my efforts are appreciated. LOL. New diet wasn't very graciously accepted by Miki.

He's still quite clumsy it seems. He steps up and sits on my hand/arm but loses his balance a lot. I guess it'll improve as he gets older.

[Alika]

I remember how huge Beeper looked when I brought him home. No worries! You'll get used to it!

I handle biting by ignoring all bites, and my birds rarely if ever bite me. I do let my birds play with my fingers, though. I taught them how to be gentle by saying "gentle" in a warning tone when they were applying too much pressure. Not everyone feels comfortable with this, though.

The advice you got from the others is great too. Everyone handles biting differently.

[Babyblue033]

I thought I read that you shouldn't give them any reaction when they bite, or was it when they're yelling? I have no problem ignoring his bites, they really aren't all that bad, but by simply ignoring the bites will he learn to stop? Or do I really need to tell him "No" everytime he does it?

Also, he came with his wings clipped but IMO it looks to be a pretty severe clip. Could this be one of the reasons why he's so clumsy? Just wondering because he seems to be a heavy bodied bird and he's quite unstable on his feet.

But he sure is a beautiful bird and I swear I'm saying it without any bias

[Vankarhi]

Hello, I can remember when I bought my red sided girl home. I was a scared of her beak to (and she nailed me a beauty too when trying to get her from the travel cage to her new home). I have owned a couple of 'toos in the past but it had been years and the biggest bird since then was my galah, and her beak was tiny compared to Skyes It took about 3 days and she did not bite me anymore and now is just lovely. When putting your hand in to get him out or handle him, I would advice to clench your fist(if you look at my website at the end of my signature I have a picture of me holding my galah and my ekkie. My fist is clenched with skye and not clenched with Bo, because it makes your skin tighter and harder for them to latch onto, thus making it easier for you not to react). It will probably take him a couple of weeks to really settle in, they tend to watch a lot of what is going on around them, but he will settle and he will be just adorable. Also it is very normal for babies to be clumsy, they are learning how to balance just like when our human babies learn to walk. My baby alexandrine is at that clumsy stage at the moment (she is only 9 weeks old) and falls off perches when climbing around, but she is getting much better.

It always amazes me how when i researched about the ekkies and then made the final decision to get one, I was terrified I was going to do something wrong and hurt her some way. Well I find she really is not much different to the other birds I have owned except she needs a lot more fresh fruit and veges and not much seed. She gets a wide variety of foods, it changes from season to season. But she loves passionfruit, pumpkin seeds, rockmelon seeds, grapes, boiled egg with the skin on, chicken leg bone (cooked of course), home made popcorn, pasta, cooked brown rice. she also loves my cooking like fried rice, lasagne, spagetti, curried mince on rice oh and she loves pizza too lucky we do not eat that often.

Good luck with him and I know you will enjoy him.............oh I should have said congratulations.

[The Outlaw]

Ekkies and other shorter tailed birds do seem to have balancing issues for a long time. And, ekkies hold on to perches much more easily than macaws. I think that long tailed birds use them to counter balance and therefore can do more exciting and amazing physical things.

Larger baby birds shouldn't be clipped until they are at least 8 months old. It takes a while for them to learn how to do things properly.

[Babyblue033]

and she nailed me a beauty too when trying to get her from the travel cage to her new home

And I thought I had it bad because as soon as I took him out of his travel cage I was greeted with the biggest poop ever!

Larger baby birds shouldn't be clipped until they are at least 8 months old. It takes a while for them to learn how to do things properly.

I didn't know that! It was today that I was reading one of the sites that recommended letting the baby birds learn to fly first before clipping their wings, which would build their confidence as well as stronger muscles, all of which made perfect sense.

Miki also came to be clipped and I've let him grow out his wings because he was just falling all over the place. He's slowly learning to fly and I'm quite proud of him, altho he still needs some work with landing. I was planning on giving him a moderate clip once he is more comfortable with himself. Do you think same would help with my Ekkie? I sure hope no permanent damage is done