Hello from Minnesota

[aportinen]

My name is Anne Portinen and I live in Northern Minnesota in a small town called Ely. We are 10 miles as a crow flies from the Canadian Border.

I have been visiting 2 Eclectus and 2 Amazon birds that a small feed store had. The owner had bought out a pet store in Virginia where these birds had been and part of the inventory were the birds. The owner of the feed store has no idea how to care for these birds and I had been offering to help him but he did not want the help. I do not think the birds have been out of their cages for some time. The birds are fed only seeds and are housed in very small cages. The cages are not clean and the building is nasty. He has many ferrets and the smell is something you can not describe.

After about 4 months of watching this horror, I finally got him to sell me the female Ekkie. The male talks a lot but his vocabulary can make a truck driver blush. Wilabie (the male Ekkie) is not friendly at all and screams. The owner had sold him to a young woman in town that is a known drug user (Meth) and she had him for 1 week. He was returned so stressed out he has not been the same since. Not sure if he was exposed to any Meth or not.

Ruby (the female Ekkie) is just a sweet bird. My daughter and I have been the only people who had ever taken her out of her cage while at the feed store. She is still very nervous but I have only had her for a week. I have ordered a new cage for her and am expecting the shipment today. She is in a cage the size I would house a Tiel in.

I do have a couple of concens for her. She does not seem to be drinking any water. I change the water a coupld of times a day to make sure it is fresh but I does not look like she is drinking. Any suggestions?

She is learning to love food! She will only take the food from my hand and does not seem to be eating from the bowl. Her new cage will have many feed bowls along with a play top. She is afraid of the couple of small toys I have hung in her cage but seems to be tolerating them.

My main concern with Ruby is she seems to be sneezing a lot. The feed store does heat the building with a old pot belly stove in the bulding. We do live way up North and am curious if her sneezing maybe from the smoke. I have given her one shower where she was totally wet and take her in the bathroom daily while I shower. She has no desire to get near the water and just shakes.

I also notice she will not take food and hold it with her feet. The previous other parrots I had all did this but I have never had a Ekkie before and am not sure if it is just a Ekkie thing or not.

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to all your help.
Anne

[Lisa B]

Your girl is sneaking drinks....when they are unfamiliar with situations, they tend to be sneaky......alot of people notice this when they first bring the birds home.......

I suggest you post your conserns in the Ekkie forum so our members can help you out with their experiences. I have never been owned by an Ekkie, so I can only direct ya to the spot where others can help ya......and welcome!