She is like a different bird :( help!

I met Scarlet two times before i brought her home, she was perfect. The only problem i had was with her not stepping up, which makes my problem **** of alot harder.
Anyway, since she came home shes turned into a little devil. The first day i spent being quiet, spending a bit of time by her cage talking to her and feeding her treats every now and then, she was okay but as it got later on in the day she started to scream, i think for her brother who she was housed with her whole life, and from yesterday and today, i have had the cage door open all day today and yesterday she wont come out,she wont let me touch her, she just bites me, hard. I got her out tiday and she kept flying into the walls so i had to put her back, i dont want her breaking her neck or injuring herself in any other way, poor girl. Shes fine though.
So my question is, i called her breeder, he told me to get her out and spend as much time with her as possible, i dont think he really understood her aggression since shes been here, she was such a gentle bird when i seen her the first two times. So how do i get her to stop flying? I cant spend time with her outside the cage because she will injure herself. Also, i wanted to know if i should be getting her out, i just figured if she wanted to come out she would, but is she flying into the walls because she doesnt actually want to be.out the cage with us? The only time she wont attack me is when i give her her.food llol. But if i try hand feed her she will snatch it, throw it, or jusy growl at me. Every other bird i have gotten from a breeder have.been fie within the first day or so. I didnt have any aggression like this. Is it just eclectus'?
Her breeder said he has never known her to bite and he expected her to be fine. So did i. Its like a total personality change. I need help i dont want her to be cage bound, and not be able to come out and hang out with us around the.house
thanks guys

My advice would be to take it slow. She doesnt know where she is or where her brother is. Try leaving her cage door open and simply sitting as close to the cage as she feels is comfortable with. Talk to her and maybe handle a toy or a piece of crinkly paper while near her cage. She will find you or the paper interesting when she feels comfortable, and she will then come to you. Offer her a treat( maybe a raisin) if she remains calm with you sitting and talking to her.She will learn that you are not a predator and become more content with you near her. Then she will begin to trust you enough to allow touch. It takes time with some birds, so dont give up it is worth the work in the end.

hi brodie, scarlet sounds like a beautiful looking bird. shes probably still just settling in. i would clip her wings for now, and then clicker train her. try having her step up to a perch, and reward her for good behavior. you could also feed her with longer treats such as carrots or millet so shes not so close to your fingers. then you can work your way down to tiny treats like sunflower seeds. To help her trust you, once her wings are clipped, and she steps up on a perch (or your hand, whatever your are both comfortable with), you can bring her into a dimly lit room and set her on the floor while you stit on the floor. chances are, she will feel insecure and come to you for security. this depends on the individual bird, some parrots get testy and territorial on the floor. i hope this helps and good luck ! if you were thinking about buying a training course, good bird inc. has some good ones IMO.

ann brought up all very great points!

See if you can find out what her favourite food is, and use that to coax her.

I agree with their advice. Patience is a must for you. Your bird is very scared and will need a lot of calm talk for reassurance. Try reading a book to her and have some sort of treat as a book mark. She take notice once she gets use to having you there. My Cameo loves to sit on my arm while I am reading which started by my reading to her.

First off, GET THIS BIRDS WINGS CLIPPED! This should have been the first thing done. This way, she becomes dependant on you and it will be easier to train her. How long have you had her? Yes, she is most likely resentful of you because of being moved around and being taken away from her sibling. Female eclectus have a stronger personality than the males do and will dominate the male. So unfortunately, this can make owning a female eclectus more difficult. You are going to have to show her whose boss. They are all gentle when they are at the breeder or pet shops. It's when you get the home and they become more comfortable with their environment that really tells the story.

Is she like this with everyone in your household. or just with you? I agree with Ann on most points, but I would work with stick training her if you see that she wants to bite your hand or arm when offered. Then once you get her trained to the stick, you can then offer your hand or arm.

I'm curious, how old is she?

Scarlett is only a baby & how you treat her now will have lasting effects. Brodie please don't clip her wings. She is under enough stress as it is. Your baby is biting out of fear pure & simple. It could take a week or two for her to settle. Being cage aggressive is normal as that is the only place she feels safe. I would cover her cage & only leave the front open, will give her some security. Also get a small calcium perch & screw it to the inside of the door. once you target her & she learns to stand on the perch you can offer a treat & praise her. Once you have targeted her to the perch open the door & offer your hand for her to step up. When she is comfortable & ready to trust you she will come to you on her own.

Also I would say your not confident in handling her & that would be another reason for her aggression. This little bab needs to know she is safe from harm, she needs to feel comfortable. So slow & steady.

Go bend up the sides of a teaspoon & buy some hand rearing mix & mix up a nice warm feed for her & see how she goes. You really have to build trust with her.

Brodie this may help you understand how Scarlett is feeling.







* Fledgling and Transition Stress

Inherent then, in this developmental stage is considerable stress. New territory, confinement regardless of athletic impulses, and fear of becoming "lost in the woods" or left behind by fellow flock members all contribute to anxiety. Fledglings must process huge amounts of data regarding the new territory and the artificial domestic environment.

Experience convinces us that at this time it is best to continue hand weaning birds with hot, wet foods. Nutritious food from caretakers' hands at least twice a day dispels a lot of stress and reinforces trust. Further, Abundance Weaning will reinforce to the young birds the consistency, dependability and benevolence of their new caretakers. Young birds abundantly weaned in their new homes quickly realize that, while all else may be different and new, at least the food supply is consistent. Of course, Abundance Weaning also addresses the considerable nutritional needs of growing young fledglings.

Additionally, many fledglings' eating skills actually regress during transition: fledglings that were eating so well at the breeder's or pet store are now whining, crying, begging and soliciting in the new home. Regression results from insecurity during transition and is most efficiently reversed by abundant weaning practices.

All related solutions to stress during fledging and transition are based upon the establishment of loving routines. We recommend consistent practise of the following activities:

1) Bond Deeply. We instruct new caretakers to bond deeply with the fledgling. We initiate positive bonding through eye contact which is important and highly recommended because mother birds spend a lot of time eye to eye with their young chicks. We consider quiet time, hugging and talking very important as well as time spent sharing foods. Playing with young birds on a horizontal surface such as a bed, sofa, kitchen counter or floor can encourage interaction and bonding. We allot extra time to young fledglings because they soon enough get increasingly independent. Even then, the extra time given need not be unrealistically excessive because young birds must also accustom themselves to time alone spent in the cage eating and playing with toys.

2) Alleviate Anxiety. Transition stress often manifests itself with lost in the woods-type calls which are incessant, loud, inconsolable. Caregivers frequently confuse these as calls for food, but lost in the woods calling continues regardless of satiety. Abundance Weaning ensures us that chicks' calls are not food-related. We provide comfort (see 1, above) during this time but also recognize calling as a natural part of the growing up for young birds. Eventually, the calling ceases. We lessen its intensity by holding, comforting, or playing with our fledglings.

We do not allow fledglings to practice negative behaviors such as crying, pacing, or nipping. We suggest and reinforce alternate behaviors. Most disagreeable behaviors during this developmental period result from insecurity and anxiety while comfort, diversion and play effectively reduce anxiety. Insecurity lessens as the bond between human and companion deepens.

3) Encourage Exercise. Vigorous athletic activity helps reduce the manifestations of stress in young fledglings. We encourage enthusiastic wing flapping, especially for birds recently clipped. Development of athletic stamina provides not only a viable outlet for the young birds' naturally high energy level, it also cooperates with a good diet to produce a robust, broad-chested and healthy bird.

4) Provide Quiet Time, Naps and Adequate Sleep. As important as exercise, adequate quiet time, naps and sleep ensure that activity does not turn into hyperactivity. Fledglings need twelve hours of sleep per day, plus a nap, and two or three times per day when they can relax in peaceful surroundings. Many cranky young parrots are merely too tired.

5) Teach Manners and Lessons. Although immature, fledglings are not too young to learn basic manners. Fledglings who understand "up," "down," "good bird" and "I'll be back in a minute" begin life-long good habits. We alleviate a lot of stress for young parrots when we clearly instruct them. Because fledglings delight in comprehension and in pleasing, this is a very fertile time for early training.

Thus, we see the fledging stage as a developmental stage unique in a parrot's life: a brief but important time when caregivers can establish chicks' good habits. During fledging we lay important foundations of trust, athletic abilities, manners, security and eating habits. We capitalize on this time of bonding to develop a deep-seated familiarity with the fledgling. Soon enough the next developmental stage, Avian Adolescence, presents more pointed challenges for parrots and caretakers.

My Scarlet was the spawn of satan for the whole first week and a half when we brought her home. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with us finally she started settling in. She loves being with me now but hubby is still working on it. She would lunge and bite at us(we got a few good nips, hubby got a couple of nasty ones). Fly off into something if we tried to hold her. I started taking her out and putting her on the playtop, stop and speak to her in passing, stand by the cage without even trying to touch her and talk gently to her. She came around, now she runs to me when I near her cage. Just be patient, she is very scared and doesnt know you are not trying to kill and eat her. Stay kind and gentle and she will come around....LOTS OF PATIENCE....Good luck

Female Eckies take a lot of patience.. It took Abby several months to feel secure with me. She is sitting on the arm of the couch right now while I am typing this.... She still has her moments when it is her way or no way... I put her back in her cage for a few minutes and then she is fine... but there are days that she does not want anything to do with me. Birds have their moods just like humans do...

I would clip her wings it is safer for her.

Thnks so much everyone. Dont know what id do without the help!
First, ive never been a real fan on wing clipping, the only one ive ever had clipped was alex and we stopped that quite a while ago because she never flys anyway. If i cut Scarlet's winfs thats not going to make her flying around more dangerous is it? She doesn,t know how to fly as shes only 4 months, cutting her wings, will that make my situation worse.or better?
I can get her out eventually without her biting me, but once shes out, off she goes! She has perches and a play gym on the outside of the cage, she wont sit there either.
Shes agressive with both of us, its not just me. But i wont give up, i jist want to make sure im not doing anything wrong, and i wasnt sure ig it was okay she was taking this long to fit in, now that i know it could take much longer im prepared, i dont want to stress her out amd im glad i have some people who are willing to help along the way if i run into any other problems, thanks everyone, and sorry if theres some bad spelling, I hate this stupid samsung

In my opinion you should clip her wings to control her better then when she learns to trust you, you can let them grow back out. It's not permanent and I don't think it'll hurt her more, it'll just give you the chance to show her your not dangerous. But if I were you I'd get someone else to clip them so she doesnt associate the experience with you.

I wont clip them myself, I dont feel comfortable doing it, ove only done it a few times with alex, and that was with my uncles help, showing me how to do it, plus alex hsed to let me do it back then, she would just sit there lol. Scarlet wont do that. Ill get an avian vet to clip them for me, once she settles down a bit that is, dont want to stress her out anymore

Its up to personal opinion but maybe she should of come clipped from the breeder just so she wouldn't fly away . She is just VERY scared, everyone has already told you what you need to know about letting her settle. Is there any way the breeder could clip the wings for you? After you build trust and she is happy you can let her feathers grow out otherwise yes, she may injure herself if not carful. Good luck!

I clip all my birds wings and have since the early 80's. I also was one of those "Don't clip your birds wings" persons too. But that all changed after losing two of my birds out of open doors and the last straw for me was when one of my birds was riding on my shoulder and a car backfired in front of my house causing the bird to spook and fly off my shoulder into a wall breaking it's neck.

It's great to have flighted birds if you are equipt to handle them such as having an open air aviary that is big enough for them to fly around or if your the really really careful person who NEVER leaves a door open or makes sure the birds are never in the same room when your coming or going.

I see every now and then lost bird ads on Craigslist where birds have escaped. Some are located days, weeks or even months later. Mine never were located once they flew out the door.

I must add here that Pedro has a ton more experience than I do, but living in Florida where the weather is perfect for most birds to thrive and breed as with most any other animal, I feel that it's my responsibility that exotic animals not native to my country not be allowed to do this.

I agree Mike, I know some people don't clip, and thats fine, but I also lost two of my birds when I was younger due to them flying away out of fear I will always clip now.

Don't misunderstand me, I am not for or against wing clipping. It's up to the owner IMO. However with this little girl stressed out to the max i would wait until she has settled in or as mentioned taken back to the breeder to give her a clip. And it seems Brodie is doing exactly that.

Scarlett is still going to lunge & bite whether or not her wings are clipped. She needs time to settle & once she has calmed down some Brodie will be able to work with her.

Do touch training with a clicker! Teach her to touch the end of a stick for a food reward. the moment she touches it click the clicker. Be patient with her, it takes a while for birds to settle in and it can be scary. Try to think of everything from her perspective and don't force her to get on our hand if she doesn't want to.

I wouldn't clip her, don't force her to come out, rather give her a motivating reason to want to come out

I knew what you meant Pedro Hope she is settling down a little bit now!