New eclectus owner

[nadinemel]

I just got my beautiful girl Rooster from a friend that didnt have the time to take care of her. I have never owned a parrot, but wanted to give her a forever home. I have had her for 2 months and took her to the vet. She is a little under weight and I am trying to fatten her up a bit.

I was told when I got her that she didn't like females. She HATES me and dislikes my daughter. Last week, my daughter was sitting on the couch. Rooster stomped down off her cage, climbed up on her shoulder and bit her on the face and drew blood! She is very territorial of her cage and does not like me or daughter to go near it. She puts her head down like a little bull and charges me when I try to give her food or water. My son can do anything to her and she is fine, but I cant. She hates for me to try to touch her anywhere. Any time I try, she draws blood. My hands are a mess from her bites. She will occasionally step up for me, but not on a consistent basis.

I have been on several boards trying to learn how to deal with her, but there are so many different answers, I am a bit lost. I feed her Lafebers pellets with no artificial color (she isn't crazy about them). She also gets a seed mixture and I offer her fruit and vegies daily. She will not eat anything red, shreds lettuce but doesn't eat it. She is very picky. She does love pasta though. If we eat spagetti or Ramen noodles, she sits on the door of her cage and calls for us to give her some. I do let her have some and she loves it. She also loves ice cream! I give her a little DQ vanilla, but am a little leery of it being too much sugar. I want to give her things that she will eat as I waste a lot of food that she doesn't seem to eat.

Can someone give me a good starting point? I have read what is in the pages here but need a little more help. My vet has some experience with birds, but during our visit he kept calling her a 'he' and was pretty vague about things I should do so I am looking for a new vet.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Sashagirl]

Welcome to BB

First you need to get her on the proper diet and learn what Eclectus should be eat.What you are feeding her is all wrong.Go to Eclectus Parrots and there is so much information to tell you the needs for and Eclectus.There is also Parrot Talk that has a live site to help you with all the different issues you are having.I am currently owned by 7 Eclectus mostly rehomes.But it is very important that you educate yourself about Eclectus and other parrots because sugar and ice cream is a definate no for them among many other things.She should be eating lots of cooked vegetables(not canned),fruits,sweet potatoes,brown rice,beans,sprouts,no avacado or guacamali,snap peas,broccoli,carrots,corn,green leafy vegetables,not spinach.The seed mix should not be fortified.Eclectus do no eat the same diet as other parrots so you must be careful what you feed them.I feed mine Volkman Eclectus Avian Science Diet which is specially made for Eclectus needs.

Marcia

[loyallyroyal]

Congrats on your new ekkie! Even though she sounds like you are having a rough time.

I dont even feed my baby boy pellets, he gets 2 cooked meals a day that consist of beans or bean sprouts, 7 grain kashi pilaf or quinoa pasta, tons of fruits and veggies (I buy frozen in bulk)

I make this in week batches, I add lemon juice to keep the fruits/veggies from browning, then I add passion fruit grape juice to sweeten it up, a can of veggie baby food, flax seeds for his feathers, and Acai fruit powder.

For dry food to leave him during the day he gets ekkie bird-elicous, go-raw live granola, 7 grain kashi cereal puffs and nuggets. He also gets almonds, pine nuts, walnuts and freeze-dried fruits and veggies in his foraging toys.

The cage aggression lets put it in her perspective, most likely she came with the cage its familiar and she feels safe in it, especially in a new home with new people ect.

She is also a female, famales tend to be rather cage aggressive, what can I say it's hormones.

This site has exellent advice on cage aggression:
play cage, roosting cage concept.

you could also try playstand training her
Can my parrot live cage free?

No offense to your vet, I'm sure he is a nice person, but he needs to go. My old exotic vet went too, she didnt even know what color his beak was supposed to be she charged me a lot of money for me to inform her about my pet.

see if you can find one close to you with this list
Birdsnways - Board Certified Avian Veterinarians

if not try talking to other people with parrots, maybe your local bird store and see what vet they use

I would also advise taking a look around land of vos, it's kind of like home base for ekkie owners, the forums there are incredibly informative also

Hope that helps, hang in there! Feel free to ask questions.

[nadinemel]

Thanks so much for your help. One site I was on said to feed her pellets and limit her seeds, so I went out and got her pellets with no artificial color. Another said they need seeds so I upped what I gave her. I also read thast pasta was good for them so I allowed a small amount of that as well. My spagetti is home made with fresh veggies, so I didn't think that would be a problem. I do offer her fresh fruit and veggies daily. I was told by her previous owner what she liked and what they were giving her and I followed suit and did some of my own research, but obviously in the wrong places.

I will look at the links listed here and print these pages. I do want to be a good mom to her and give her the best of everything. It is just sooo difficult with all the incorrect information out there.

Do you have any advice on the issue of hating females and how to gain her trust?

Thanks again!

[loyallyroyal]

The best thing I can think of is to give it time...
I'm sure she will warm up eventually, especially if you work on the cage aggression.

This should help you deal with the hormonal behavior too
landofvos.com :: View topic - PDR - Female hormonal behavior

[nadinemel]

Thank you again for your help. The first response to my post was initially pretty harsh. It has been modified now. I was trying very hard to do the right thing, but with conflicting information in so many places and a vet that wasn't much help I came here. I have been on this site several times and thought I'd give it a try.

I have a little feedback for experienced bird owners. Don't be so hard on those of us that are new to bird ownership. I have had 2 cockatiels for years, but am new to the parrot world. I came to the board because I care about my new Eckie and am trying to do the right thing. Chastising doesn't help, but the education did. I won't be so quick to ask questions here if I have to worry about how people answer my questions. You were all new parrot owners at one time and I am sure you made a few mistakes.

I did go to the grocery store and stocked up on some things I didn't have already. I also went and did some more reading on Eckies on Land Of Vos. (Thanks loyallyroyal for all your help) This was one of the many sites I went to when I first brought her home. (A few of the sites that I was on are no longer available.) I am committed to my girl and will do everything I can to give her the best home possible!

[nadinemel]

How do I put a picture on the board? Cut and paste isn't working?

[loyallyroyal]

if I am correct, you have to host it on an image host like imagshack then put in [ I M G ] Url [ / I M G ] without spaces then click submit

[Liezlmd]

Hi Nadine

I bought my 5-month old female Ekkie, Rosie on an impulse more than a month ago and immediately joined LOV and Ekkiechat to learn all I could! I never regretted my decision, although Rosie is still a bit bitey .. She was VERY aggressive around her cage and a good tip I got from Carolyn from LOV is to remove Rosie from her cage (use a towel gently if she does not want to step up)... If I had not done that, I don't think I would have made so much progress with Rosie.. It's only now a month later that she will SOMETIMES step up out of her cage, and she turns into the sweetest bird when she is out of her cage.. She hates touching though, and I have just learned to STOP touching her and I think me and her have a better relationship because of that.. She just likes to sit quietly with me... I talk to her and watch some tv etc.. She still hates my hubby lol... She always wants to bite him as soon as she sees him!

Concentrate on her diet as well, because I remember reading something bout some Ekkies getting grumpy on certain foods.. I am still struggling myself with Rosie's diet, because her breeder and petshop just gave her pellets and she is SO picky (yes I know weird for an Ekkie) when it comes to fruits and fresh food.. And so far she don't even want to touch cooked food... I am trying sprouting today to see if she will actually like that!

I don't know if anything I said helped... but don't give up and give yourself lots of time to start developing a bond with your Ekkie!