Iggy is being a jerk

[AmberH]

So I have an eclectus that is a year and half, Iggy. He is usually very friendly, he goes everywhere we go shopping, traveling, park, he is very socialized to people and has hours and hours out every day.

Right now I think he is having a molt so he has been a bit grumpy, tons of down and old ratty feathers everywhere, throwing toys on the floor, growling to himself as he preens, humping stuffed animals, just really weird.

So anyway in the last week he has bitten me twice.

1. He was trying to climb up the couch to get into my dinner plate and I told him "no no" and so he growled, lunged and bit me.

Every stupid article I have read says to tell him to step up 3 or 4 times well that is a load of crap because the second I put my hand near him and asked him to step up he lunged again, I got my hand out of the way luckily.

2. Today he seemed in a much better mood so I asked him if he wanted to take a shower which he always enjoys. I asked him to step up which he did just fine but then he decided to munch on my finger! Out of no where! There was no growl and no weird feathers like everyone says to look for.
**If he doesn't want to do something he moves to the edge of the perch and will not step up so he purposely stepped up and then turned into a devil bird.

Since this time we was attached to my finger I didn't know what to do so I just blew in his face and he let go and then put him on his perch. I carried the whole perch to his cage and made him go in from one perch to the other. Is this okay?

So ANYWAY my questions

1.What is what is the recommended way to handle a bird who is biting you and doesn't seem to want to let go? I don't want to do the wrong thing we have a very good relationship I think he is just having a pub attack or something.

2. How can you read a birds body language when they are LYING to you? He stepped up like everything was gravy then went ill on me and we were having such a good day.

I really hope he is just getting feathers and feeling crappy and will get over it but what do I do during this time frame?

Thanks

[Wolf]

Some very good questions.
This is not his fault either as he is hormonal and can't help himself, so you are going to have to understand this and be patient with him for a while. He is molting too early so this suggests to me that his internal biological clock is freerunning which is not a good thing.
He should be kept to a solar light schedule unless there is some reason why this is not possible, such as geographical location. Otherwise you run the risk of having a consistently hormonal bird and the situation will continue to worsen with time. He also needs to be on a low fat, low protein diet. He needs to be getting up around sunrise after having been exposed to the light of the early morning dawn which is a twilight period before the sun rises above the horizon and he needs to be exposed to the same period in the evening which is called dusk and then go to bed by full dark. Hopefully if you adjust his schedule to this he will complete the breeding cycle and be alright until the beginning of the cycle next year. And this is a yearly cycle, so you will need to be aware of this and be prepared to spend a period of time with less interaction with him as they get more aggressive during breeding season and itchy and uncomfortable while molting. Some aloe in his bath water may help with the itchy skin and to soften the sheath on his pin feathers. I use about 2 oz. of aloe to about 10 oz. of water in a spray bottle for my birds.
Since this is a seasonal occurrence I would consider getting or making a " T " perch for use while he goes through this part of his life, as it will help to protect you from some unwanted bites.

[Pajarita]

Wolf is correct, his endocrine system is out of whack and you need to remedy this asap. BUT, when it comes to ekkies, this is more difficult than with other species because ekkies are a parrot species that has the longest breeding season (up to nine months!!!) so, with them, is absolutely imperative that they are kept to a super strict solar schedule or you will have trouble. They also have the longest intestinal tract of all parrots and a VERY specialized diet in the wild so they require a much more vigilant eye and care when it comes to their diet, no pellets, a minimum of seeds and then mostly cereal grains, super high fiber, super high moisture and, all in all, low nutrition (stay away from fortified products, breeding and molting supplements, etc). The other problem with ekkies is one you already figured out on your own: they don't display before they bite and, when they do bite, they never go for the warning nip as most other species do, they go for the bad bite! And this is another reason why is so important to keep them to a strict solar schedule, because sexual hormones = aggression in birds.

Ekkies are one of the most beautiful species of parrots, they can be independent, clownish and they have the most wonderful little voices when they talk (my SI female sounded just like an adorable little girl) but, in truth, they are one species that should not have been bred for the pet trade... they are too hard to keep healthy and happy and they all die young.

[AmberH]

Iggy eats veggie chop which I prepare and freeze and some fresh fruits. He gets MAYBE 2 harrison's pellets a day that's it. I am sorry you feel that way about the breed but know people with 40 year old ekkies in great health!

He is not much of a morning bird he gets up around 8am but he always goes to bed between 730 and 8pm so that is about 12 hours

I will try to look into the suggestions above and give it a try. This is our first year with him and his hormones so this is a new topic for me.

Thanks for the advice

[Pajarita]

Well, the few 40 year old ekkies that are around, if they are any (I've never heard of any that can be verified), are wild-caughts (they didn't start breeding these birds commercially until later and messed up the whole thing because they didn't even know of subspecies then) which are much hardier and healthier than any captive-bred bird. Ekkies usually never reach an old age but I do hope yours does!