Administering Medicine

What is the best way to administer liquid medication to an eclectus orally? I've been giving my bird pluck no more orally, in hopes that it will cure her plucking problem. She has everything, toys, fresh fruits and veggies, more than enough attention, and spends all her time out of the cage except when she is eating and sleeping. She is also a flighted bird that gets to fly back and forth to me and her perch, and she gets daily walks in the sunshine for her vitamin D. So I'm fresh out of solutions for her plucking, hence my resort to pluck no more.

On the bottle it says to stop giving fruits and veggies, so that the bird will drink more water, which is how they recommend administering the solution, by putting it in her water. I just disagree with starving my bird. What would I feed her if I don't give her fruits and veggies? I think its ridiculous. She doesn't drink much water, because she eats fruits and veggies, so I am just giving it to her straight with a dropper.

Not an easy thing to do as one person. What was working the best was toweling her (with her head still exposed), and then I would cup my hand gently around her eyes, and place the thumb of the same hand into her beak, to keep it pried open. Covering her eyes seemed to calm her down more, and the towel would keep her from wiggling. The good thing is she doesn't bite when I do this, so I feel safe placing my thumb in her beak, and then I just come from the side and slowly drop it in. However, today, after about half the cap was in, she regurgitated some liquid, and I can only assume that it was the solution that she regurgitated.

I tried to make sure she was upright, so she could swallow. Obviously, she did swallow, but she also rejected it. She also poops numerous times throughout this procedure, out of nervousness or stress I assume. But maybe its the way I'm toweling her that makes her regurgitate? She has regurgitated before when I've had her wrapped in a towel, not sure what it is. I'm definitely not squeezing her or anything.

Anyways, does anyone have some advice or techniques they have used for giving liquid medicine? Or for restraining their eclectus? She is such a sweet and good bird, and a fantastic companion. Unfortunately, her feather plucking is just too stressful for me, and too time-consuming to manage and treat, and if she doesn't get better, I will sadly have to consider rehoming her.

Ok, I'm giving my GCCs oral medicine, and the next time I do give it (in 3 hours) I will take some pics. I know a conure isn't the same as an eccie, but I'll help as much as possible. I'll come back to you.

Where is she getting her protein from? Fruits and vegetables are an incomplete diet without healthy grains and legumes.

What about sprouted seeds? Cooked eggs? Or organic pellets? Does she have any adverse reaction to eating pellets?

If she's not getting grains and legumes then she needs protein in some form in her diet... be that seeds and/or pellets.

I know, and realize, that there is a huge debate on the *correct* diet for eclectus, but not all ekkies react badly to certain diets. Some do fine on pellets that consist of 5-80% of the diet! Sometimes, it's just a matter of finding the *right* pellet for your ekkie. Harrison's, TOP's, Pretty Bird Eclectus, Roudybush and Roudybush Rice Diet would probably be the ones most often recommended... but there are other brands if you haven't tried them!


I don't think I know her history, but has she been to an avian vet to try and determine the cause of the plucking along with blood panels?

Method 1 : Duddles' method

Place down a towel or blanket on which to medicate the bird

Make sure it's something that the nails will not get stuck in.
Don't medicate your bird on a hard, smooth surface. It will make it easier for the legs to flail and slip. A fabric surface with more friction makes it easier for you to maintain your hold as you restrain the bird.
Place your hand and fingers in the following positions:

Palm of your hand on the side of the bird that is closest to you
Thumb on the side of the bird's face that is closest to you (at the side of the beak or on the cheek) or above the bird's chest
Fingers wrapped around the bird's back and side that is farther from you
Tip of index finger under the bird's jaw or above the bird's chest on the side that is farthest from you.
Method 2: LeeAnne's method (photos below)

"When I medicate Jo, I hold her in my left hand. As I am right handed, I find it easier to control the syringe with my right hand. I usually have her head in between my index and middle finger - I find it less painful to have her bite my knuckles than the fleshy part of my thumb! Also, if she fidgets her head a lot, I find it easier to keep her head firmly still but angling it up slightly using the knuckles of the middle & index fingers either side of her face, where her little cheek spots are. That position also helps me manipulate her beak for opening - sometimes she is SO stubborn and will not open that beak of hers!"

Method 3 : the towel method

- You can restrain your bird in a towel. I personally do not like using a towel, since I find that I cannot tell if a bird is overheating unless my skin is in contact with the bird. In a towel, you cannot always tell if the bird is overheating. However, if toweling the bird makes the medicating session faster, then this can prevent stress and overheating. To towel a bird, use as small and light a towel as is necessary (a facecloth will probably do for a budgie or cockatiel). Place the towel over your bird and gently wrap the ends around your bird's wings, and also around the feet if this helps. Make absolutely certain that the bird is not tightly wrapped, and that the body is not confined in a way that makes it difficult for your bird to breathe. The chest needs to be able to rise and fall in order for your bird to breathe. It may be safer to just wrap the towel around the tops of the wings rather than around the whole body, if you are not sure if the bird has enough space to breathe. Do not rest your hand on top of the towel, as this can squeeze your bird. You will probably still need to use your hands to manipulate the bird's beak/head, so you may need to have another person present to hold the toweled bird.

Method 4 : in the cage
- Here's a method that may work for your bird, and may be less stressful for him/her if it does. I used this method a few times with Mudge. While your bird is inside the cage, hanging on the bars, facing you, put one hand in the cage and cover its back (you can use a small towel, if you wish, but you may not need to). Use the fingers of this hand to gently manipulate the bird's head and open its beak, if necessary, and if possible. Use your other hand to administer the medication right through the cage bars. - Be very careful not to squeeze the bird against the side of the cage.
Tips for all methods:

If your bird struggles, adjust your hand/finger position to prevent movement, being extremely careful not to squeeze your bird. While medicating Mudge, I found that touching the tips of my thumb and one of my fingers together to make a ring created a circle that was just the right size to prevent Mudge's shoulders from going through the circle, so that he could not squirm out of my hand. I did not have to squeeze him at all.
Remember - birds do not have a diaphragm to help them breathe. Breathing relies on the ability of the bird's chest to rise and fall. Be very careful not to push against the chest.
Administering the medication
Place the syringe at the left side of the bird's beak (the bird's left, not your left) and point the syringe towards the right side of the bird's throat.
Place just the tip of the syringe inside the bird's mouth or at the side of the beak (do not put the entire syringe inside the bird's mouth, or down its throat).
Apply a gentle, even pressure to the syringe plunger to slowly squeeze the liquid into your bird's mouth.
-If your bird is actively drinking the medication and it is not leaking out of the mouth, continue with an even pressure
- If your bird is not drinking the medication, stop squeezing it out of the syringe and wait until the medicine is swallowed before giving more.


I found this information on this website Medicating Pet Birds Orally
I hope it helps. I know it's not much, but I wish you luck

(Oh and I have been using your bathroom method for Nalani's screaming; she still screams when she hears my voice, but has quieted down slightly when I am around... Without talking. But I will take small improvements over none. I also found a bird club by where I live that has bird trainers as guest speakers, so I will take part in that and ask millions of questions. Haha. Thank you for all of your help)

Is there any kind of "absorbent" treat your bird likes? My amazon LOVES fruit loops (it's a VERY rare treat that he gets one). The few times he has had to take oral antibiotics, I use the syringe to "soak" a fruit loop with the medication, which he will then gobble down. Very little, if any, of the medication he needs gets wasted that way, and he doesn't know the difference. He probably feels pretty darn special when he's sick, getting treats he almost never gets 2x a day until he's all done with the medicine An awful lot of necessary medication gets wasted if you try to force their beak open and shoot it in. I highly suggest "tricking" them that their getting a treat instead.

Wanted to add, this "method" also doesn't cause the already sick bird any undue stress being restrained and then having some presumably nasty tasting liquid poured down their throat. The last thing a sick bird needs is additional stress.

MonicaMc said:

Where is she getting her protein from? Fruits and vegetables are an incomplete diet without healthy grains and legumes.

What about sprouted seeds? Cooked eggs? Or organic pellets? Does she have any adverse reaction to eating pellets?

If she's not getting grains and legumes then she needs protein in some form in her diet... be that seeds and/or pellets.

I know, and realize, that there is a huge debate on the *correct* diet for eclectus, but not all ekkies react badly to certain diets. Some do fine on pellets that consist of 5-80% of the diet! Sometimes, it's just a matter of finding the *right* pellet for your ekkie. Harrison's, TOP's, Pretty Bird Eclectus, Roudybush and Roudybush Rice Diet would probably be the ones most often recommended... but there are other brands if you haven't tried them!


I don't think I know her history, but has she been to an avian vet to try and determine the cause of the plucking along with blood panels?

Click to expand...

She gets a bunch of TOPS pellets in the evening along with her fruits, and she eats all of it! She loves the pellets, from what I can tell. I don't think diet is the issue. I haven't taken her to the vet yet, but the previous owner had, and all the vet said is that it is hormonal.

Thanks for the link, moni.k. I had seen that website, but found it hard to apply to a larger bird like eclectus. Glad the bathroom punishment is working out

Kiwi, I like your idea. The only absorbent thing I can think of is manna bread (sprouted grain bread) that she eats up. I could just pour the capful on there and see how she does. She will likely eat it all up. That would be a good solution!

Yes, I know she's a GCC. Not much help but... Maybe you can do this hold with two hands and if possible, have someone give her the medicine? Can you hold her like this in 1 hand? Notice I am not constricting her airway...

Chikoo, I really wouldn't stress her out anymore by forcing her to take the meds, that will only make things worse. As already mentioned putting it on her favorite foods is a better idea. I cut a passionfruit in half & put meds it that.

As far as plucking goes, if it isn't diet or health related there isn't really much you can do about it. It is a problem we sometimes have to live with when we house companion parrots. I wonder if hanging a cotton mop head in her cage will help. There is a pic in the link below.


Foraging for Birds: Easy & Cheap

Pedro said:

Chikoo, I really wouldn't stress her out anymore by forcing her to take the meds, that will only make things worse. As already mentioned putting it on her favorite foods is a better idea. I cut a passionfruit in half & put meds it that.

As far as plucking goes, if it isn't diet or health related there isn't really much you can do about it. It is a problem we sometimes have to live with when we house companion parrots. I wonder if hanging a cotton mop head in her cage will help. There is a pic in the link below.


Foraging for Birds: Easy & Cheap

Click to expand...

Thanks Pedro. When the passionfruit was in season, I was putting the pluck no more inside there, but even then it was hard to fit the whole capful in. I will keep doing it though, once the passionfruit comes around again. Tomorrow, I will try putting it in some bread, and see how that goes. She does have a cotton mop, but she doesn't play with it. She just uses it to climb when I place treats way up there.

Overall, she has no significant response to toys. She likes to climb things a lot, so she has a lot of fun on her boing, and loves to seek out the treats I place in high places that she has to climb to. But otherwise, she seems content just to sit on her perch and observe.

She doesn't pluck everyday, and sometimes it goes weeks without any signs. Occasionally, she will barber a feather, but for a while, she will have you thinking everything is fine. Then eventually, I walk in and there she is with her feathers looking all ruffled, and I look at the floor to the unfortunate vision of messed up feathers on the ground.

I'm hoping its minor enough for her to outgrow or break the habit of. She does have quite a serious brooding patch, so it could all just be hormonal. In any case, it is obviously challenging for me as an owner to see my feathered friend pull out her own feathers like this, so I feel compelled to do what I can.

CrazyConure, I can't really hold her in one hand, she's too big. My wife happens to be away, so that makes it tricky. Otherwise, with both of us, the solution could easily be administered, and quickly. But I would really prefer to go with Pedro's line of thought and not create stressful scenarios at all.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I will see how it goes tomorrow.

When my girl Ruby needed meds for a crop infection I took a small piece of white bread and placed the medicine right on top of it. I then crumbled 1 kix cereal ball on top of that. She gobbled it right up every time. I know it wasnt the healthiest of options, but she wouldnt take it any other way. it was stress free on both of us.

I agree with Boysmom. If you find an aborband food source, than she will eat the food and not notice the medicine. Eclectus do not have strong taste buds but rather sense it all through texture of the food. One food I found quite useful was ironically Pototoes and Corn since these absorb lots and most parrots will gobble it up without thought.

Chikoo said:

She gets a bunch of TOPS pellets in the evening along with her fruits, and she eats all of it! She loves the pellets, from what I can tell. I don't think diet is the issue. I haven't taken her to the vet yet, but the previous owner had, and all the vet said is that it is hormonal.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the additional information! Is there is possible way that you could get the records from the previous vet to find out what was done? It wouldn't hurt to have a second opinion! Or if there's some tests missing, get those done!

To the administration of meds! You can mix meds/supplements with foods and drinks. Plain/Greek Yogurt with Live Cultures, Honey, Organic Baby Food (be careful of salts & sugars), Apple Juice, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Black Cherry Juice, Grape Juice, etc. If possible, try to find organic juices without all the extra crap! OR.... tea. Herbal teas, green teas, flower teas (chamomile may be a great option here! it is supposed to help calm the system).

Find something she likes and mix it in! It will make things easier!



Back to plucking... Is she flighted? Does she get to go outside for at least 30 minutes a day? Or at least 3+ hours per week? Longer if possible... Can she forage? Foraging toys and fresh, safe branches that haven't been sprayed with anything can be a *great* way to keep her mentally busy, if she's not afraid of those things!



It does sound behavioral, although it doesn't hurt to cover all bases. Can you get us a picture of her cage setup by chance?

I soaked meds into a piece of whole wheat bread

MonicaMc said:

Chikoo said:

She gets a bunch of TOPS pellets in the evening along with her fruits, and she eats all of it! She loves the pellets, from what I can tell. I don't think diet is the issue. I haven't taken her to the vet yet, but the previous owner had, and all the vet said is that it is hormonal.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the additional information! Is there is possible way that you could get the records from the previous vet to find out what was done? It wouldn't hurt to have a second opinion! Or if there's some tests missing, get those done!

To the administration of meds! You can mix meds/supplements with foods and drinks. Plain/Greek Yogurt with Live Cultures, Honey, Organic Baby Food (be careful of salts & sugars), Apple Juice, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Black Cherry Juice, Grape Juice, etc. If possible, try to find organic juices without all the extra crap! OR.... tea. Herbal teas, green teas, flower teas (chamomile may be a great option here! it is supposed to help calm the system).

Find something she likes and mix it in! It will make things easier!



Back to plucking... Is she flighted? Does she get to go outside for at least 30 minutes a day? Or at least 3+ hours per week? Longer if possible... Can she forage? Foraging toys and fresh, safe branches that haven't been sprayed with anything can be a *great* way to keep her mentally busy, if she's not afraid of those things!



It does sound behavioral, although it doesn't hurt to cover all bases. Can you get us a picture of her cage setup by chance?

Click to expand...

She is flighted, and I take her on walks everyday, for about 5-10 mins. She goes outside for about hour or so a week just on walks, but I also take her into town with me to the store or coffee shop, or beach, and that happens once a week too for a few hours. I do need to provide her with more things to forage.

As for the meds, I put half a cap in the passionfruit today, and the rest of it in the bread, and she gobbled it all up. So I think it worked! No stressful encounters. I have some yogurt she really likes too, so that is worth a shot as well. I'm so glad to have found a non-stressful way to give her this stuff! Thanks to everyone for their help. Don't know why I didn't think of it first!

As for the cage, she only eats and sleeps in there. Otherwise, she hangs out on her perch in my office, or on her boing, and goes where I go. She is free most of the time, and I fly her back and forth as I move around too, so she gets to flap those wings of hers. I could take a picture of her perch setup here though, so you could see what she has hanging.

Sounds like you've got a great setup for her! And so glad you were able to figure out the meds part!

I hope you are able to help her stop plucking altogether!


My mitred conure is willing to try just about anything (namely, if I'm eating it! ), but he's picky when it comes to what he *actually* eats! Had to medicate him once, and finally mixed the meds with yogurt and he liked that! After he was done taking meds, gave him yogurt without meds, and he thought it tasted funny!

When Gitana had a respertory infection, the vet told me to put it in her water, I knew better as she doesnt drink enough water to get the meds down.

So what i did was delute the med as instructed by the vet and I mixed it in with her yogurt. She loves plain organic yogurt. On days I dont offer her yogurt i would put it in her oatmeal , or her mashed potatos. those are the things she loves. It worked she got rid of her infection.