Baby Eclectus - Quick Questions

[maillet]

Hello Everyone,

I finally was able to bring home my new Five Month old, Hand weaned, baby Male Volsmeris Eclectus. He has had a busy day with a number of unexpected visitors to the home today but overall has been so good.

He has eaten a lot. And has remained relatively quiet aside from a few gentle coos every now and then. He has been out of cage for several times throughout the day but I limited sessions to about 20 Minutes.

....

1. Sometimes when I move to "Step Up" he backs away, I return in 5 Minutes and he steps up. Whereas other times he simply refuses and even attempts to Nip my fingers slightly (harder than beaking, not bite).

2. When I covered his cage for first time tonight. He seemed a little bit confused and/or frightened. It was 10:00pm he was up at 6:00am. Do you think I should leave it uncovered or condition him with the cover?

This is the first parrot I have ever owned, but I have read a ton. I just would like some practical quick answers for whether both of these are normal. And particularily, if anyone has a "trick" for the step-up. I found placing food just out of reach so he had to use hand worked well today?

[sidech]

Congratulations on your new baby !

First, as for not stepping up and wanting to bite, this is quite normal and to be expected. Your Ekkie has just been taken away from everything he knows, and is now in a totally strange environment. For now, he needs not to be forced into anything. The trust has to be built, it just doesn't come with the bird... A good way is just to sit by his cage and read outloud, and just talk to him. Jazz bit me hard, sometimes attacking me, for at least 3 weeks. I just gave him time. Some take longer than that. But once you have their trust, it's forever ! When he finally trusted me, one night I eas lying on the couch, and he came right up to my neck, snug tight and fell asleep in my hair... I was in heaven and I knew we had built the bond ! So please take your time and never forget that for now, he's just a scared little baby. Also, you can give him warm baby fruit jars at night, or even during the day is he squawks. Either in a seringe or in a deep spoon, dependinf on hiw he was fed. Sometimes they revert when they go to their homes, and they need parent care. Parents can feed their youngs for 6-8 months and even more, in the wild.

As for the cover, yes, I would persevere, but slowly if he's scared. Maybe you made too much noiise when you put the cover on, too. Talk to him softly when you do it, move slowly, softly, and explain why you're doing it. He won't know the words, but will understand the soothing.

Eclectus are very smart.

[JacobBird]

For the stepping up, reward if he does what you want. If he starts nipping and refusing, don't give him anything. And also, its better to train when your parrots hungry. They will do anything for the food. Sooner or later he will think stepping up is a good thing because he will get something from it.

For the covering, I would suggest my doing it again and see how it goes or by introducing it to the bird. Crumple the cloth so that it is only covering a small portion of the cage and then go slowly toward covering everything. When he is out of the cage, just place the cloth on top of the cage so that your bird can see what is it like.