Tips for new owner (long post)

Hey everyone, first time here. Ive had birds when I was younger but havent for about 10 years now. I recently came into a female SI Eclectus.

First a little history on Scarlet so that it may help with the advice. She is 18 years old. The first lady who had her (about 10 years) was one of those crazy pet hoarder people and eventually had animal control called on her and all her pets got taken away. The lady I got her from was married and it was her husbands but he didnt want it after it bit him pretty good so the lady had her for the last 8 years. She is moving in with a new boyfriend and he didnt want a bird in the house so she had to give her away. She gave me the bird with the cage (macaw cage) and everything for free just because she wanted her to go to a good home. (I found out about this because of a friend and the lady is her aunt). I just couldnt pass this opportunity up and have been wanting a parrot again for a long time.

So here I am! Ive done my research preparing for her; learning about the proper diet and so forth.
Scarlet did pretty good on the way home (about an hour drive) and I talked to her the whole time. We got home and I had to set up her cage (it was too big to fit in the suv so I had to take it all apart and then put it back together.) She was still nice to me until I put her back in her cage and then she got pretty nippy. Im assuming she is just being territorial and a little freaked out with her new surroundings. She didnt draw blood, it was more of the pressure bite like a warning.
She was bonded to the previous lady enough that she could pet her on her back and touch under her wings and everything. Scarlet will tolerate me holding her as well as my Mrs. but you even try to touch her back she goes into "eat your finger" mode which is to be expected.

Just so you all know, ive only had her for a couple days. I know its not much but I want to try to do things as educated about her as possible-for Scarlet's sake.

My first question is what is the best way to break her into her new home? I know time will be the biggest one and Im completely prepared to give her all the space she needs. Whats the best way to get her trust? She seems very emotional and very moody haha. Ive read that the females can be like that. Ive been learning to read her body language. Its weird but very curious to me. When she dosent want to be picked up, well, she definetly dosent want it and will give you a nice nip haha. But when she does she jumps right on my hand/arm with no problems.

Second question- I know she is adjusting, but she seems to be taking lots of naps during the day. Ive made sure she is getting good sleep. She is sleeping with one leg up which I believe is a good sign (as well as her head turned backwards). Just kinda worries me that she is sleeping so much.

She is eating really well and has seemed to adjust rather quickly. She even eats with me or I put her perch on the coffee table when Im playing xbox and I feed her bread or apples or carrots etc. and she eats it all no problem. She is eating her pellets and drinking water and has started to play with her toys a bit.
She has all of her feathers and in the 8 years her previous owner had her, she has never plucked, not even once. The lady took really good care of her and fed her tons of fruits and veggies and spent alot of time with her.

So I guess thats it for now. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

And of course a picture!

Wow she is gorgeous. You are very lucky to get her.
It will take time to gain her trust, just be gentle with her. This has been a great adjustment and 2 days is not very long. Try leaving her cage door open and just talk to her. She will come out on her own when she is ready.

PS My green cheek who trusts me doesn't like me to touch his back........unless he is in the mood so I just have to watch his body language and not push it. He also doesn't like head scratches unless I sneak them in and he seems to be enjoying them and turning his head and then NOPE that is enough. I wish he liked it but he really doesn't. I think he is the oddball that way from what I hear from others.
Oh well maybe someday he will like it more, I think he is just a little moody.

Thanks, she is gorgeous and I feel very fortunate to be the one to take care of her. I feel even more fortunate that I have been given this opportunity for free. Its very rare to stumble into something like this.

I do realize a couple days isnt very much time (at all haha) but im just trying to keep it smooth if ya know what I mean. Im not too worried about not being able to touch her back, we have a puppy for that! My Mrs. had to have her Bichon Frise puppy and she is now 6 months old. I just want the beautiful Scarlet to trust me enough to be my buddy and have her on my shoulder all over the house and eat with me. She will get there, I have no doubts, I just want her to adjust properly and be as happy as possible. Im sure she misses her mommy and I know that is going to take time to get over as well as loosing another person (as im her 4th owner).

Ok, where to start. First off, welcome and congrats on your new addition.

I guess the second thing would be diet. You are aware that Eclectus have different diet than other birds? They don't eat much seed nor pellets. They require a lot of fruits veggies especially green leafy stuff as well as any of the orange colored food or foods that have vitamin A. This is a good article to start with Laurella Desborough's Eclectus Center

Also, STOP TOUCHING HER BACK, sorry for the caps, but I can't stress this enough, this is a sexual thing with most all birds. You want to bond with your bird not have the bird think that you are their sexual partner. Female Eclectus from my experience and the research that I have done can and are a bit more nippy and moody compared to the males. The couple of female ecelctus that I have been around acted as if they wanted to rip my arm off and beat me with it.

But the best thing you can do right now is interact with her as much as you can without over crowding her. She still needs her space and alone time. Yes, I can see where she would be a bit exhausted from the past few days. But if you see this behavior continue for the next couple of days, with the sleeping quite a bit, get her to an avian vet as soon as possible. You really should have her checked by a vet anyway and blood work done if it hasn't been done in a couple of years and it probably hadn't been done at all on her.

Also, birds tend to be territorial in their cages. So it's best to wait for her to come out. If she seems moody then let her be for a bit and try again later. But once she gets settled in, you need to start working with her. If you go to pick her up and she acts as if she doesn't want to go, Say in a LOUD clear voice to STEP UP and push your arm into her chest while bringing your other arm up behind her and under her tail. Then once she steps up onto your arm without biting you, you praise her for doing a good job and if you have a treat handy you can give her one. I usually don't give treats to birds that I'm teaching to step up. This would be a good opportunity to try stick training her too. Basically it's the same principle but with a stick.

Good luck, she is a real beauty and seems to be in great feather so it's a good indication that she has been well cared for.

mtdoramike said:

Ok, where to start. First off, welcome and congrats on your new addition.

I guess the second thing would be diet. You are aware that Eclectus have different diet than other birds? They don't eat much seed nor pellets. They require a lot of fruits veggies especially green leafy stuff as well as any of the orange colored food or foods that have vitamin A. This is a good article to start with Laurella Desborough's Eclectus Center

Also, STOP TOUCHING HER BACK, sorry for the caps, but I can't stress this enough, this is a sexual thing with most all birds. You want to bond with your bird not have the bird think that you are their sexual partner. Female Eclectus from my experience and the research that I have done can and are a bit more nippy and moody compared to the males. The couple of female ecelctus that I have been around acted as if they wanted to rip my arm off and beat me with it.

But the best thing you can do right now is interact with her as much as you can without over crowding her. She still needs her space and alone time. Yes, I can see where she would be a bit exhausted from the past few days. But if you see this behavior continue for the next couple of days, with the sleeping quite a bit, get her to an avian vet as soon as possible. You really should have her checked by a vet anyway and blood work done if it hasn't been done in a couple of years and it probably hadn't been done at all on her.

Also, birds tend to be territorial in their cages. So it's best to wait for her to come out. If she seems moody then let her be for a bit and try again later. But once she gets settled in, you need to start working with her. If you go to pick her up and she acts as if she doesn't want to go, Say in a LOUD clear voice to STEP UP and push your arm into her chest while bringing your other arm up behind her and under her tail. Then once she steps up onto your arm without biting you, you praise her for doing a good job and if you have a treat handy you can give her one. I usually don't give treats to birds that I'm teaching to step up. This would be a good opportunity to try stick training her too. Basically it's the same principle but with a stick.

Good luck, she is a real beauty and seems to be in great feather so it's a good indication that she has been well cared for.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I only tried to touch her back once before letting her warm up to me but it seems like its not a good idea anyway! Thanks for the heads up.

Yes, I have read alot about their dietary needs compared to other birds. She does eat pellets but not that much. She definetly likes her fruits and veggies way more and I make sure she always has them. When I have her out on her perch, I feed her apples and other stuff and she gladly takes them. It seems to be helping her get used to me as well.

She does know the step up command, but like I mentioned before, she is a moody girl! This morning I picked her up twice and she was fine, then 2 hours later she bit me a little and backed away. I use her perch to get her out when she is like that and when its time to go back she is friendly and lets me hold her.

I do plan on taking her to a vet, for a regular check up and to have her nails trimmed (a couple are REALLY long). She said she had her beak shaved a bit once a year (she took Scarlet for a checkup once a year) but I dont know how I feel about that. Anything I can do to help her with that? Like a cuddlebone or something?

Sounds like you are pretty prepared in terms of having done your research.
but if you ever have any troubles this forum is great

pay attention to her body language. she gives you plenty of warnings that she isn't in the mood any more before she will fake-bite you, once you get to know her more you should catch on to her patterns.
cuttle bone should be available sometimes, but it wont directly help to keep her beak short, or stave off any vet visits (im not sure which you meant in your question)...
they are pretty messy eaters and when she gets food all over her face the act of wiping her beak on her perches is supposed to wear it down.
perhaps a pedi-perch would help. all the bad things you hear about them are only really a problem if the bird ONLY stands on that perch, or there are no other real perches in various sizes available.

I have my birds groomed every 3 months. I have the groomer file their the tips of their beaks just to knock the tip off and dull it down a tad so when they bite it doesn't puncture the skin quite as easily. I also keep my birds wings clipped. So you will need to take her in to have her groomed at least every three months. I'm very fortunate and have a mobile bird groomer located near me. So I don't have to worry about loading them up and transporting them to a vet to have their grooming done.

Also, grooming is a great way to build a bond with your bird. I stay out of the room when they are working on my birds. But once they are done and they put my babies on the floor, they come running looking for me and can't wait to climb up on me and look for comfort.

She is stunning! Best of luck with her, I'm sure she will be fine once she has had time to settle in

Thanks for all the tips everyone! She definetly opened up alot today. She is still pretty reserved but she even bathed in her water dish (lol) and she was coming out of her house by herself and let myself and the Mrs. take her out a few times without trying to eat our fingers. I had her on my shoulder for about 30 minutes just hangin out playing some xbox and she did fantastic. She still always wants to go back to her home but she is doing much better. We has steamed veggies with rice and shrimp for dinner and made sure she got a dish as well and I put it on top of her house and she climbed up and had her mini birdy feast.

Here is the Mrs. taking a video of part of her birdy bath time haha. Seems like the puppy is a little too curious of Scarlet

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/38663327/VIDEO0035.mp4

Congrats on getting Scarlet, she is beautiful... my Abby is 2 and she is the same way... if she want to step up it is fine, but there are times when she lowers her head, I know to leave her alone. She will climb down her ladder and get on my foot and climb onto my arm, she wants to get on my shoulder, but she will start beaking my ear, and will tell her no.. Usually she will step up for me and I will put her on the arm of the couch, but Saturday she took a chunk out of my knuckle and the top of my hand.... so watch their moves and I am not letting Abby on my shoulder, they are fast and can take a chunk out of your ear in a flash...
You seem to have studied up on the Ekies... patience is the #1 thing.

Good Luck.

I liked the video, she looks just like my Abby.

Cowtown said:

Congrats on getting Scarlet, she is beautiful... my Abby is 2 and she is the same way... if she want to step up it is fine, but there are times when she lowers her head, I know to leave her alone. She will climb down her ladder and get on my foot and climb onto my arm, she wants to get on my shoulder, but she will start beaking my ear, and will tell her no.. Usually she will step up for me and I will put her on the arm of the couch, but Saturday she took a chunk out of my knuckle and the top of my hand.... so watch their moves and I am not letting Abby on my shoulder, they are fast and can take a chunk out of your ear in a flash...
You seem to have studied up on the Ekies... patience is the #1 thing.

Good Luck.

I liked the video, she looks just like my Abby.

Click to expand...

yeah I saw your video you posted on Abby taking a stroll! She is adorable! The only thing im kinda worried about is that she is bonding to my lady instead of me haha. I know its not something I have ANY control over but I want so badly that she is my buddy haha. Her last companion was female so I figure she may like my Mrs. simply for that reason.

So you never leave her on your shoulder? I have Scarlet on my shoulder but I do admit im a bit scared she will get startled or something and take a nice chunk outta something in or around my face area haha. But she seems extremely comfy and safe on my shoulder which is why I let her. Mabey I should wait until she knows us better haha.

Wow, she is beautiful! Congrats!!! Well, when we first rehomed our female ekkie, she was timid and didn't get the attn. she deserved from her former home. So, we had to work with her a bit. What helped the most ,we believe, was just being in the room with her. Sometimes talking with her , but even just sitting there reading a book,sleeping or being on your computer; just so she knew you were there and got a chance to get a real good "look" at you. It was like she was observing us! Letting her eat at the same time, even if it isn't right next to you, lets her know she is included in a "flock." When we got our ekkie she bit to a first. What we did was just walk away for 30 secs ,maybe a min, almost like a timeout. She learned that when she bit she wouldn't get attn. You must be careful with timeouts though, if the timeout is too long; she won't know what she is being "punished" for. Another is just to reinforce good behavoir like give treats when she isn't biting and don't when she does! Also, our one female ekkie loves being on our shoulders she feels secure and comfy! Now on the other hand our other male ekkie hates anything but our hands to stand on! But, if she likes to stand on your shoulder I would let her because it can help with bonding etc.. Unless she has a reason not to be trusted. But our ekkies will bite is they are in a bad mood and we didn't read thier body language but we still let them on our shoulder.Hope this helped,good luck!!

3parrots said:

Wow, she is beautiful! Congrats!!! Well, when we first rehomed our female ekkie, she was timid and didn't get the attn. she deserved from her former home. So, we had to work with her a bit. What helped the most ,we believe, was just being in the room with her. Sometimes talking with her , but even just sitting there reading a book,sleeping or being on your computer; just so she knew you were there and got a chance to get a real good "look" at you. It was like she was observing us! Letting her eat at the same time, even if it isn't right next to you, lets her know she is included in a "flock." When we got our ekkie she bit to a first. What we did was just walk away for 30 secs ,maybe a min, almost like a timeout. She learned that when she bit she wouldn't get attn. You must be careful with timeouts though, if the timeout is too long; she won't know what she is being "punished" for. Another is just to reinforce good behavoir like give treats when she isn't biting and don't when she does! Also, our one female ekkie loves being on our shoulders she feels secure and comfy! Now on the other hand our other male ekkie hates anything but our hands to stand on! But, if she likes to stand on your shoulder I would let her because it can help with bonding etc.. Unless she has a reason not to be trusted. But our ekkies will bite is they are in a bad mood and we didn't read thier body language but we still let them on our shoulder.Hope this helped,good luck!!

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Every day we have her, she seems to open up more and more. Its almost magic haha. Ive figured out most of her body language and know the difference of when she is being cautious and when she just dosent want to be bothered AT ALL. She even lets me pet her chest/stomach and she actually seems to like it. One thing that I found that helped ALOT with being okay with me touching her is lightly grabing her beak. Almost like rubbing her beak with a little grab. When doing this she tends to completely relax and even taste my fingers and just mellows out almost right away. Its wierd. But it has done wonders for trust.

Her bites have been less and less destructive as well. When she would give a warning bite, it hurt like hell. Now its more of a quick nip but very soft. She hasnt bit me too hard in the last day, not even once.

We feed her every time we eat, even bring her over to the kitchen when we are making something and have her on one of her perches just so she can watch and be there and I will feed her a little something like a piece of apple or whatever and she seems to enjoy the company.

And it seems we have a closet talker!!! The lady I got her from said she talks but rarely. In the last 2 days we have heard her talk quite a bit! She wont do it when your looking or next to her but she definetly talks and its amazingly clear. And wow, she is a fast learner. She already leared how to say "Hi Cali" (our puppy). She says "Hi Scarlet" "Sorry Scarlet" "I love you Scarlet" and makes a door knocking sound and then says Hello.

Anyways, you guys are awesome. Look forward to hangin around here!

DerSchniffles said:

Cowtown said:

Congrats on getting Scarlet, she is beautiful... my Abby is 2 and she is the same way... if she want to step up it is fine, but there are times when she lowers her head, I know to leave her alone. She will climb down her ladder and get on my foot and climb onto my arm, she wants to get on my shoulder, but she will start beaking my ear, and will tell her no.. Usually she will step up for me and I will put her on the arm of the couch, but Saturday she took a chunk out of my knuckle and the top of my hand.... so watch their moves and I am not letting Abby on my shoulder, they are fast and can take a chunk out of your ear in a flash...
You seem to have studied up on the Ekies... patience is the #1 thing.

Good Luck.

I liked the video, she looks just like my Abby.

Click to expand...

yeah I saw your video you posted on Abby taking a stroll! She is adorable! The only thing im kinda worried about is that she is bonding to my lady instead of me haha. I know its not something I have ANY control over but I want so badly that she is my buddy haha. Her last companion was female so I figure she may like my Mrs. simply for that reason.

So you never leave her on your shoulder? I have Scarlet on my shoulder but I do admit im a bit scared she will get startled or something and take a nice chunk outta something in or around my face area haha. But she seems extremely comfy and safe on my shoulder which is why I let her. Mabey I should wait until she knows us better haha.

Click to expand...

Abby is comfortable on my shoulder, but like you said if she gets startled she will attempt to grab my ear.
I am single and have 2 dogs and cat.. so Abby has bonded with me, however, my neighbor takes care of her when I go out of town and she has bonded with Sherene and even talks like her.
Like I said be patient and if she is sitting on you arm or lap that is fine... she is bonding with you.

Cowtown said:

DerSchniffles said:

Cowtown said:

Congrats on getting Scarlet, she is beautiful... my Abby is 2 and she is the same way... if she want to step up it is fine, but there are times when she lowers her head, I know to leave her alone. She will climb down her ladder and get on my foot and climb onto my arm, she wants to get on my shoulder, but she will start beaking my ear, and will tell her no.. Usually she will step up for me and I will put her on the arm of the couch, but Saturday she took a chunk out of my knuckle and the top of my hand.... so watch their moves and I am not letting Abby on my shoulder, they are fast and can take a chunk out of your ear in a flash...
You seem to have studied up on the Ekies... patience is the #1 thing.

Good Luck.

I liked the video, she looks just like my Abby.

Click to expand...

yeah I saw your video you posted on Abby taking a stroll! She is adorable! The only thing im kinda worried about is that she is bonding to my lady instead of me haha. I know its not something I have ANY control over but I want so badly that she is my buddy haha. Her last companion was female so I figure she may like my Mrs. simply for that reason.

So you never leave her on your shoulder? I have Scarlet on my shoulder but I do admit im a bit scared she will get startled or something and take a nice chunk outta something in or around my face area haha. But she seems extremely comfy and safe on my shoulder which is why I let her. Mabey I should wait until she knows us better haha.

Click to expand...

Abby is comfortable on my shoulder, but like you said if she gets startled she will attempt to grab my ear.
I am single and have 2 dogs and cat.. so Abby has bonded with me, however, my neighbor takes care of her when I go out of town and she has bonded with Sherene and even talks like her.
Like I said be patient and if she is sitting on you arm or lap that is fine... she is bonding with you.

Click to expand...

Yeah, she has REALLY opened up to me and the lady. She hasnt even tried to bite me toda. Ive had her on my shoulder, ive eaten with her, watched a movie with her and she is just being a sweetie. She is talking ALOT....alot more than what her previous owner said. She told me that she spoke every now and then and wouldnt do it if anyone was around. Well let me tell you, she has been talking up a storm and whistling. Holy crap she is a fast learner. She already picked up a whislte and learned to say Hi to our puppy. Im glad she is settling in so well!

How often do your Ekkies do the wing shaky thing? Scarlet will lean down and start shaking her wings like she wants to go somewhere or is about to fly. Its wierd because its not like it happens once or twice. She does it for a long time and keeps doing it. She will be on my shoulder and do it and I take her to the area that she is leaning to and then she does it the other way haha. She does it on her fruit dish, she does it on her perches, on top of her cage, on my shoulder. It lasts for about an hour or two with little 15 minute breaks of "normal" in between 5 minutes of "wanting to go somewhere". Ive googled the crap out of it and it seems like its pretty normal as far as excitment or wanting to go somewhere. Ive just never seen it with any of my previous birds.

Oooow, he is so cute I'd like to get updates how is she. He have to be in a good hands.