new eclectus questions

Hi there,

I got a female one-year-old Eclectus named Scarlett two days ago. I have some questions about her behaviour.

I have offered a large variety of foods so far, but she has only eaten a little bit of corn, peas, pureed apple, and cooked pasta. I have read about toe-tapping and wing-flipping, and I think I saw her do these things. She is really aggressive when in her cage, and refuses to step on my hand, and bites me. A few times she has looked like she really wants to come out, only to bite me when I try to help her out then she climbs onto the top of the cage by herself. She has also flown into the window a couple of times (seems to be fixed by putting a towel over the piano and letting her sit on it and look out the window).

And I haven't seen her drink once! I tried tricking her into drinking last night - I put a little bit of water in a plastic bottle lid, let her bite it, then tipped the water into her mouth. I don't know if any actually went down her throat. Do these birds normally not drink much? Could she be sick? Her droppings are whitish and watery with a solid thin squiggly bit of green. This is the first Eclectus I've met, but her feathers look shiny and healthy. The water bowl in the cage seems to have the exact same level of water as when I first filled it. Should I be forcing her to drink? If so, how? Should I take her to the vet?

You should always take a new bird to an Avian vet to make sure they're healthy!

I hardly ever actually SEE my birds drinking. They don't drink a ton really.

Now for the hard part. You've had this bird 2 days and it seems like you might be pushing her a bit too hard to accept you. Step back and let her have some space. Leave her cage open when you're there to supervise and let her come out on her own.

Find something she likes and start offering her that as a treat. My guys are wild over pine nuts and raisins but every bird is different. This will start building the trust that you will need to have with her to have a long successful relationship.

I wouldn't try force feeding her anything as it could be traumatic and/or injure her. I really can't stress that getting her to a vet is very important to make sure she is healthy!

Hope this helps some.

S&T covered it pretty well. All I can do is second what she said.

The stool sounds normal, and from your descriptions I'd suspect you have a healthy normal bird - but it is always a good idea to have a vet check up shortly after moving to a new home.

Take it slow, let her come out of the cage on her own - don't reach in to get her.

I have a male eclectus around the same age and he too took a while to settle when we got him. Puffin just loves blueberries and blackberries and would do just about anything to get one lol. Keep trying new foods and you will soon hit one some that she loves and it won't take long for her to accept you.

My eclectus doesn't really drink when he eats peas, corns, or fruits. These food already contain alot of water in them therefore, they don't really need any extra hydration. If you can't get her out of the cage then you should try using a stick and have her climb on to that first. Once she is out and away from the cage (away as in she can't see the cage), then she will calm down and will be safer to handle. Note; safer. You should put her to your chest and let her stay there for awhile. Use one hand to hold her in place (sort of like pushing her against your chest). Make sure you don't get bit in the process. After a short time she will begin to loosen so that you can handle her more often.

I always want to encourage input from anyone and everyone here - but in the interest of the bird and the relationship I have to say I strongly disagree with Nikko's recommendations. Do not force her or restrain her in any way.

Not force but interaction with the bird in a friendly manner. If she is willing to step up onto the stick then Quantumcat is closer to getting the bird to calm down and become friendly.

Ok, more problems

The only time she will step up is after she's flown into the window and I'm picking her up off the floor. She attacks anything put into the cage if she's in it. We decided to just leave her alone with the door open and let her do what she likes. If the cage is in the loungeroom, she flies out and onto the piano, where she screams at the window and attacks the edge with her beak, presumably trying to get out. There are no blinds or curtains on the window. If put in the bedroom where there are blinds, and they're drawn, she just sits there and looks miserable, door open or closed. If the door is shut and she's in view of the window, she screams at it.

Would she be happier on the balcony? She gets freaked out by birds landing on it (which they do regularly) so it might stress her if they are really close and she can't run away from them, and there's no shelter from sun or rain either...

Hi Quantumcat, I have a female eclectus as well and I have only had her and her mate for a few months and my female doesn't like to be picked up either, and she will bite you if you stick your hand in the cage with her. I find letting her come out on her own and then sitting next to her cage talking to her and offering her treats and letting her do everything at her pace is working out really good.
When first got her she very scared and had been really mistreated so she is going to take time to start trusting anyone again,my friends call her my red feather pit bull cause if she is out of her cage and if she thinks some is going to hurt her or if she don't like them she will try her best to get down and bite them,but she is getting better cause she knows now that no one is going to hurt her here, her and her mate aren't the only birds I have, I have 6 other birds and I only started out with one and she is a blue and gold macaw that I raised from a babie,but I just couldn't say know and they all needed a good home and alot of love, they are my childern and they run the house.

Hi Quantumcat,

Well, my 'Tiels were really afraid at first too. Take things at Scarlett's pace, and try not to push anything. Let her come out on her own, and talk softly to her. This is how you should bond for a few more days. Keep a soft tone, and just keep chatting with her.

I had a recent problem with the window as well. My 'Tiels didn't like it when they saw a car or a bird fly by the window. Whenever they saw either of these things they would start nervously climbing around the cage in circles, and sometimes they would even scream for me! You should keep her cage a nice distance from any windows.

Also, don't worry about the water thing. It is always good to take your parrot to the vet every once in a while, whether they look sick or not. My little boys don't drink very much either, but they can get some extra water through the many vegetables that they eat.

Hope this helps.