ECLECTUS- too scared

[RoyTheEclectus]

Hi,

Chris here. I got my first eclectus (male) from an at home-breeder last Saturday (4 days ago). There were 3 males and a hen in the cage, he opened the cage door and Roy (which is what I've named him now) flew onto my head and began nibbling with his beak. He was very playful, stepped onto my hand and eventually walked up to my shoulder where he was nibbling at my ear and lips. I was amazed by how comfortable he was around me. He is 12 weeks old and fully weaned.

Once I brought him home (it was an hour drive), I picked him out of the cage (took 10 minutes or so for him to step up), held him for 2-3 minutes spoke softly to him and placed him into his new cage. He slept overnight in the quite laundry with a blanket over his cage. The next morning, I placed him in the tv room and it was vey quite, just my brother and I speaking softly and the tv on low. he was squawking every 20 seconds (I think out of fear). I placed him some fruits and that didn't help although he did eat them.

When I approached the cage slowly and spoke softly to him and whistled calmly, he seemed to squawk less often. I think he missed his siblings. So I sat beside the cage and spoke to him for 15-20 minutes and he seemed to quite down. His squawks became less frequent throughout the day, happening every 5-10 minutes. I began spearing "hello" to him and he seemed to be mimicking something back (a sound vey softer than his usual squawk and has the same tone as "hello"). He mimicked a few other words together and eventually stopped.

The next day I thought he had become somewhat more comfortable with me so I decided to give him a grape through the bars of the cage. As soon as I slowly sticked the grape in between the bars, his back feathers lifted and he stuck forward his beak as if about to attack. This worried me a lot. He wasn't anything like the bird that was nibbling at my ears and standing on my hand at the breeders home.

Today (the fourth day), I tried opening the cage door to get him to step up again, but he would move away from my hand and repeat the same shivers of back feathers response. So I backed away my hand, closed the door and sat away from his cage.

He doesn't eat from my fingers nor steps onto my hand. If anyone could please provide some tips with Eclectus males and maybe something that's worked for you in a similar situation. What do I need to do to get him to eat com my hand through the cage bars (because I can't begin with any raining until he can accept my hand). Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Chris
RoyTheEclectus

[Wolf]

Sorry to hear of your troubles with Roy. It appears that you may have missed you first opportunity with him, it is hard to say because he is frightened in this strange new environment. At his age he was not ready to be alone at all and his first squawks were his attempt to tell you that he was scared and needed to be comforted, you missed that. On the other hand he may have been too scared to accept the contact he required.

He is fully weaned as far as the breeder is concerned but he may not be ready for that and you may need to extend the weaning process for a while longer. It is not unusual for there to be temporary set backs during stressful periods and this is definitely a stressful period for Roy.

Right now, Roy needs a lot of reassurance from you and this means hours spent just hanging out with him, mostly spent in talking to him just outside of his cage. Just talk to him and offer a treat once in a while, if he doesn't take it place it where he can get it on his own and continue talking to him. If the cage is open he will come to you when he is ready. You don't want to ask anything of him until he has relaxed and accepted you as his friend.

You may not be aware of it but even though you can't set up a training schedule for a while that every interaction that you will ever have with Roy is a training session and not just for Roy. You, in time, will discover that you will learn just as much from him as he will learn from you. So take your time and be patient, you have plenty of time for formal training later. Now is the time to build trust and friendship, everything else can wait.

[Pajarita]

Wolf is 100% correct. They look like grown birds but, in reality, they are just babies and babies need company 24/7/365. Period. You also need to provide him with soft foods (2 or 3 different kinds) and lots of fruits and veggies with some cooked whole grains mixed in. Pellets or seeds are not good for ekkies, they need a relatively nutrient and protein poor diet with lots and lots of fiber and moisture (that's why pellets are a no-no for them). He is confused, lonely and scared, just like any baby which was taken away from all he knows and given to a stranger. Please spend as much time as possible (a minimum of 5 to 6 hours) with him during the day (and that means not at night but during the day) and leave a radio on in the room when you are not around.

Also, please note that ekkies are one of the most hormonal species so you need to keep him at a strict solar schedule or you will end up with problems as he gets older.

[RoyTheEclectus]

Thanks so much guys! He's coming along very well. I've been sitting by his cage for half an hour at a time, around 3-4 times during the day. He's starting to eat an apple from my fingers from outside the cage, and just today i opened the cage door and he ate from inside the cage. However, i am wearing gloves as he does sometimes get shivers on his back and goes for the occasional nibble.

Just need some ideas for when i should start training him, such as step up and how long i should let him out of the cage for everyday, and when i should put him to sleep every night (by covering his cage). Your advice is much appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris

[Wolf]

Bedtime is dusk as that is when birds normally go to bed. That is what their internal clock is set for and trying to alter that can create more problems than it solves.

As I said in previous post do not ask anything of him until you have established trust, it is the foundation for all that will come. You are wearing gloves for protection from him, that should be a pretty obvious indicator of how much trust the two of you have for each other at this time.

I do not set training schedules for two main reasons. The first is that it not the way animals are wired. The second reason goes back to the first one in that every second that I am around them , my birds and animals, we are all engaged in learning from each other ( training ).

As for time out of cage I am with the bird on this one and feel that the more the better after all ,they are not naturally born in or live in cages.

[eckie awesome!2732]

Parrots are smart so they know how to get their own way. For example, Chris, you wear gloves when you give Roy food, that might just give Roy the hint that your scared of him. Which parrots can take advantage of in some cases. I wore gloves first time I patted/fed my eclectus and she took advantage of that and just pretended to bite for a bit until I didn't use the gloves anymore. I also found that black gloves scare them a bit?

pretend that's a eclectus