Male ekkie suddenly biting me.

[rev29k]

I am hoping someone has some insight for me.

Some quick background info:

I recently (about 5 months ago) received a male eclectus from an old co-worker. Actually, it was his girlfriend's mother's, and she was an avid bird lover, and had been giving away her parrots because she just didn't have the time for them. She was divorced (possibly living with her boyfriend). I mention all of this just in case his past enviroment might be relevant.

Anyways, when I first took him he was very shy, but also very gently. A pure sweetheart. I took a while (maybe a week) for him to get used to me. Then my wife came home from a business trip and then he took to her in about a week as well. In fact, she has obviously now become his favorite. He is constantly begging when she enters the room, whistles and talks like crazy when she picks him up, etc. He was always just very friendly when I held him.

About 3-4 weeks ago, we started trying to curb a few bad habits he has.

1) he is always trying to masturbate on you
2) I have a cockatiel, whose cage he is constantly climbing and trying to get into because he wants his seed over his standard ecckie diet (fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, pellets)
3) he has developed this desire to constantly peck around in my mouth. He will always want to "check inside" and then be ok for a bit.

Well, any time he starts any of these behaviors we (my wife and I) would start by giving him the mean face and saying no (not yelling). If he continued we would then add a time-out back in the cage. He clearly began to pick up what this meant. After putting him back in his cage after any of the 3 he will "growl" or "roar" (not the normal scream) in resentment for putting him up.

Now, it seems he has begun biting me (not my wife) any time I even attempt to tell him no to any of the above. If I am able to hold him (he's been very "pissy" towards me) and he starts to mastubate, or go for my mouth, just the act of starting to give him the face and say no will cause him to lunge at my mouth and bite, or bite my hand if he thinks I won't let him masturbate. If I catch him on top of my cockatiel's cage (or in!!) I just take him and say no and put him back home. Now, he won't even step up when on the cock's cage, he just tries to strike at me.

I am recently unemployed (several months) and thought this would be a good opportunity to strenghten my relationship with him. However, it seems my efforts to curb his bad habbits have created this "tension" from him. My wife doesn't experience any biting whatsoever. If she catches him misbehaving, he lets her put him up without a snip (although he will still "roar" in protest when put up).

Sorry for the book, but trying to give all the info I can. It's almost as if he is testing his limits, but it doesn't seems to be getting any better. Does it normally take a long time for ekkies to learn like this? Any ideas what his problem is?

TIA, guys.

[rev29k]

I forgot to mentione, she said he (Petey) is about 5 years old.

[sodakat]

I believe he is comfortable enough in his new home to act "normally", which in his case is hormonal. Here are some links from the LOV website that may help you. Meanwhile, you can do a search on Birdboard under hormonal or hormonal males and find lots of valuable info including suggestions on not petting him, not allowing him to feed you, etc. Usually the strong hormonal actions last for only a month or so, several times a year. Good luck!

Male hormonal behavior and trust building
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Male hormonal behavior and trustbuilding

Male Additional Information – Breeding behavior
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Male Additional information - Breeding behavior??

Male Additional hormonal information – getting nasty
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - MALE Additional hormonal information - getting nasty

Living with hormonal Eclectus – DISTRACTION
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Living with Hormonal Eclectus; DISTRACTION

Food toys
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Food Toys

[sodakat]

I believe he is comfortable enough in his new home to act "normally", which in his case is hormonal. Here are some links from the LOV website that may help you. Meanwhile, you can do a search on Birdboard under hormonal or hormonal males and find lots of valuable info including suggestions on not petting him, not allowing him to feed you, etc. Usually the strong hormonal actions last for only a month or so, several times a year. Good luck!

Male hormonal behavior and trust building
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Male hormonal behavior and trustbuilding

Male Additional Information – Breeding behavior
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Male Additional information - Breeding behavior??

Male Additional hormonal information – getting nasty
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - MALE Additional hormonal information - getting nasty

Living with hormonal Eclectus – DISTRACTION
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Living with Hormonal Eclectus; DISTRACTION

Food toys
landofvos.com • View topic - PDR - Food Toys

[rev29k]

A quick update:

As of now, we have decided to just leave him in his cage for the next few days. We (mostly I) will sit and talk to him through the cage. I will also try placing my hand near the cage in an effor to "de-sensitize" him from my hands (as it seems he now lunges to strike practically every time I was getting him out). If he starts to lunge for my hand from inside the cage, should I just ignore it and maintain my hand's position, or should I get up and leave, letting him know that that behavior will not get him any attention?

We'll leave him in his cage (his grouding ) for the next few days, and then I'll start opening his door and let him come sit out.

My wife has decided to lessen her attention to him in the evenings in an attempt to get him to realize he can get more attention from me, if he behaves.

Please feel free to provide any feedback on this approach. I've always had cockatiels (for 20+ years), and am finding that parrots seem to require a different type of psychology. The problem is finding out what that is.

Thanks!

[kali]

Originally Posted by rev29k

2) I have a cockatiel, whose cage he is constantly climbing and trying to get into because he wants his seed over his standard ecckie diet (fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, pellets)
3) he has developed this desire to constantly peck around in my mouth. He will always want to "check inside" and then be ok for a bit.

If I catch him on top of my cockatiel's cage (or in!!) I just take him and say no and put him back home. Now, he won't even step up when on the cock's cage, he just tries to strike at me.



TIA, guys.

If everytime i stepped up from a certain place (in this cage, the cockatiel cage) i was put back in my boring old cage, i'd get pissy too!!!

Do you reward him for stepping up? That's what i would have done from the start... Using your negative reinforcement (the mean face and no) and not using any kind of positive can confuse him.

Apologies if you do this, it's just the first thing that came to mind...

[becca623]

Eclectus are very sensitive birds. They throw temper tantrums and pout when they don't get their way. If he's good for your wife, I wouldn't have her handle him less. What you may want to do is positive reinforcement whenever he does the slightest thing the way you want him to. I've found them to be very nosy too. They think all cages are theirs and all food dishes are there for them. I don't think he deserves a time out for going on the tiel cage. They enjoy exploring.
I have a 3 yr old male. I've had him since before he was weaned. I, also, fostered a very aggressive and hormonal female for a year until I found the perfect forever home for her with a male ekkie who desperately needed a female ekkie companion.
Echo (my guy) enjoys greeting my other birds. He talks to them. He calls them by name. He loves to yell at them when they misbehave (according to him). He and my zon feed each other. He has taken a special interest in a handicap jenday I adopted. He loves to sit on his cage talking to him and trying to feed him.
Ekkies usually love food. Try to bribe his friendship with special treats or bites of your food. Let him know you are not the enemy.
Echo and I have a very strong bond. He says hi to my husband and will sometimes accept a treat from him but that is the extent of their relationship. My vet saw and commented on the strong bond when Echo was very young. He said that as Echo ages he would probably become very protective of me and dislike others.
Echo is great with other people outside of our home. Anyone can handle him. At home, he is a little more guarded. He expects everyone to talk to him and loves to show off for them but prefers they don't touch him unless they are one of his chosen ladies. He does have a preference for younger women and will shamelessly flirt with them. However, if he sees a male human around them he turns his back on them completely ignoring them. It's really funny.
You may never have the type of relationship with him that you desire but you should continue to try to build a friendship with him. They will challenge you to see what they can get away with doing. Try to stay positive, calm, and consistence with him.
Be sure to give him enrichment activities. Ekkies get bored easily. Do give him lots of foraging toys and easy to shred toys. Keep his environment as fun as you can. You might want to get a harness or a small cage so you can take him outside and on short trips. Echo loves to visit other people's homes and businesses. He gets excited when he sees his harness. He knows at the very least it means he gets to go outside to hang out on the porch. He enjoys watching the wild birds and yelling at the people he sees out there.
Best of luck! Ekkies are my personal favorite birds!!!!