Rio - rescued eclectus need help and tips!

Rio - rescued eclectus need help and tips (VIDEO UPDATES on page two!)

UPDATE: See VIDEO updates of Rio on page two! thanks for all the advice!i'm a very novice bird owner, so i'm happy for veterans to show me what to do. I want to do right by my little dude!



hello, everybody first post here so greetings!

SOO where to begin... Rio is about 12 years old, and was purchased by my parents from a breeder when he was a youngin'. me and Rio in my teenage years were buddies. fed him, played with him, (taught him lots of bad words lol) so me and Rio were very close. but i moved out of my parents house three years ago, and things have gone downhill for him. when i would come visit he was increasingly hostile towards me, so i'd leave him alone. but when i did, he would squawk and screech at me and aggresively bite at the bars and literally make a growling noise.

my parents bought two new dogs during this time, and i suspected that Rio was not getting the attention he needed to stay occupied and thus began the feather picking. my mom said he was just molting, but when it continued, i blamed their lack of affection and interest for his behavior issues.

fast forward to today. my parents went on vacation and asked me to take care of their animals. when I saw Rio, his terrible state was shocking. as you can see by the photo, he has bald patches beginning on his breast and wings. I got enough trust out of him to get him out of his (incredibly filthy and moth laden) cage and into a small travel cage to take him to my house. I brought his birdy stand with me, and immediately went out to buy him some fresh fruit, vegetables, sprouts, and some new "picking" toys.

it's day number 4, and he's incredibly quiet and shy. the only aggression I get out of him is trying to get him out of the travel cage and onto his stand. he hasnt bitten me, but he simply stares at my hand and makes no motion to get onto it. i kind of have to push him a little to get him on my hand, but i wish i didn't have to do that and for him to get on willingly.

sometimes when i close the cage door, he aggressively bites at the bars and does that growling thing. he seems to pick most when he's IN the cage so that's why i try to keep him out for most of the day and feed him fruits on the stand that i know he likes (sucker for strawberries and oranges). i've been keeping a close watch on him so that when i catch him picking at himself, i call out to him and wiggle a toy a little bit so he'll notice it and hopefully start picking at that instead.

he doesnt want to be held very much at all. he used to love being on people's hands and crawl up their arms and now, if it isnt a perch or his cage, he just wants to fly away from me when i hold him.

my questions are:

1) what should i do to help his transition to his new home here with me, and how do i re-establish trust?

2) how long will it be before i see any change in him as far as his feather plucking?

3) will his feathers grow back on the parts where he has plucked himself to the skin?

4) should i give him a bath at this time? would that make him feel better or worse?

thanks for any help and input you have on this. I'm currently making sure he's given a complete diet overhaul. his main food was a bean/rice and pellet mixture, but i'm not sure what else he was given. trying my best to get him back to good health and happy again.

Awww poor dude! Shame on your parents. I'm glad he's with you now!

1) what should i do to help his transition to his new home here with me, and how do i re-establish trust?
- I would say, start from zero. Treat him like a new bird. I wouldn't push him to do anything he doesn't want (like get on your hand). Will he step up for food? You can re-train him to "step up" on command. Build his confidence in himself and his trust in you. Just spend time near him.

2) how long will it be before i see any change in him as far as his feather plucking?
- Probably for about as long as it took for him to develop the plucking issue. It's hard to say though - it could start to resolve itself once the stressors are gone, or you may have to work really hard to break the habit.

3) will his feathers grow back on the parts where he has plucked himself to the skin?
- Most likely.

4) should i give him a bath at this time? would that make him feel better or worse?
- If he wants to, sure. I have also ready that "wet birds don't pluck; they preen" so a nice spray every day will help. It may also prevent itchies that encourage further plucking. But don't do it if he's not into it.

I'm so glad you rescued him He looks in need of some TLC.

1. Begin as though he is a totally new bird with behavioral issues who you had never met before. Any relationship you had in the past is in the past to him. You need to start by building his trust again.

2+3. I would start by taking him to a qualified avian vet for a health checkup to be sure the plucking is strictly behavioral and not also dietary or infection related. Given he came from a "incredibly filthy and moth laden cage", this would be especially important to do as soon as possible. The vet will be able to advise on how serious the damage is, tips for helping to stop the plucking as well as give an idea on how long it will take for the plumage to return to normal. Chances are, it will be at least a year or two AFTER the plucking has been addressed and discouraged until he's back to how he should look.

4. ABSOLUTELY! Since he is rather naked, be sure to bathe him in a VERY warm room and let him dry off in there so he does't get chilled. Obviously, it's not your fault, but the feathers the poor guy has left are filthy. He could do with a good bathing, and even some of the special birdie aloe spray to help him if he's itchy.

Best of luck, and keep us posted!

It breaks my heart to see eclectus like this.
The first thing is the diet change thank you for getting on that right away.

The other thing is baths, whether he wants them or not it is a must right now the feathers that he does have are really filthy. Bathe him in the morning with warm water at this point I would use only very well filtered or distilled water for bathing. (never give distilled water for drinking).

I also agree that a vet visit is a very good idea just to rule out any bacterial or fungal infections.

Depending on how long he has been plucking in those really bare areas will determine if the feathers will grow back. If follicle damage has been done he may never get all of them back but you can certainly through diet and baths get him looking way better than he does now.

Somewhere inside him he remembers what it was like when he was cherished. Give him time and patience, talk sweet and softly. He will remember in time.

thanks for the responses, everyone!

I will try to give him a bath on one of these warm days were i can put him in his little cage outside and mist him lightly and the sun can dry him out. (he's very timid and will fly away if i try to spritz him down on his stand like i used to, and i don't want him to be scared of me.)
were can i find this birdy aloe spray you speak of? can i make it myself perhaps?

i'm being really patient with him, trying to speak softly and move slowly around him so he doesnt get spooked. in terms of moving him in and out of the cage, should i just leave the door open and let him decide? he's taken a dive to the floor (on a account of him having no feathers to fly with right now) a couple times, after me trying to coax him out on my hand. so clearly he wants to come out, he just doesnt want the human interaction maybe?

I am really not a fan of spraying anything on my birds except pure water after all it doesn't rain aloe. That said there are some people who have said the aloe spray helps, you can order it at mysafebirdstore.com I would not try to make it yourself. His reaction to that spray is going to be the same as being misted with plain water so given the state his feathers are in I would stick with water, and truthfully I would not wait. Plain water is going to be better to start with anyway just to get the dirt and grime off the rest of him.

What about cleaning out the tub really well and placing him in the bottom so the spray can fall on him. It really is important at this point to get daily baths in. I also wouldn't do it outside just yet. Even if you have to put him in the small cage, take everything else but a perch out and put the whole cage in the shower, that is better than waiting. The two I recently rescued were not given baths and they reacted like there was acid in the water misting bottle however over a few days they got more used to it and their feathers look much better!

Also you really don't want to lightly mist at this point with how bad his feather condition is that isn't going to do a whole lot you are going to want to get him soaked that is the only thing that is going to help right now.

Mine are all in perfect feather and they get showers almost everyday, sometimes I skip one day but never more than that.

ok, so i soaked him really well both yesterday and today...he's looking better already. he doesnt seem a fan of bath time (he kind of sits there like a grumpy squat frog and deals with it haha). but maybe with a good routine, he'll come around to liking it the way i've seen other Eclectus do.
soaking him down, i noticed so many other places that he has been plucking. I dont see any sores, but there's a lot of bald patches. under his wings there is almost nothing but bare skin.

i will try and get him to the vet ASAP, as i dont think he's had a check up in many years. I hope to have some updated pictures soon of his progress.

My ekkie goes crazy when I run the vacuum when misting him...it really changed his mind about being bathed
I am glad to hear he is looking a little better, and I bet he must be feeling loads better.

You will need to re-bond with him. I'm sure the biting and growling when you get near the cage is just him protecting his territory. He hasn't gotten much human contact since you left so he is a neglected bird that's been locked in a dirty cage... nothing fun about that. Be patient and loving and give him a good diet of fresh foods and he will come round. The way to an Eclectus heart is truly through its stomach.

Don't force him, just let him determine when he is ready to trust, because their bites can be very nasty.

small update on Rio:

three weeks here with me, and he's begun to settle in (finally!). he's learning his new daily routine of feeding/baths/games, and is getting more comfortable. he's not trusting of my fiance at all, but i've been telling my fella to just talk sweetly to him, approach his cage slowly and offer him a treat through the bars. my fiance' isnt used to birds at all, but is willing to learn to help Rio with his progress.

the squawking/screaming problem hasn't come up nearly as much as it was with my parents. we've been careful not to give him any eye contact or talk to him when he tries to squawk to get our attention. it doesnt take long for him to go back to his "hello!" and the sweeter "aww"s that he does instead, so i reward that.

his diet has been consisting of:

Breakfast: any combination of fruits (orange, berries, papaya, grapes, mango, nectarines etc) with a small sprinkling of whole grain oats OR scrambled egg. or a mini birdy bread muffin.

Treats: salt-less chia seed tortilla chips, a couple walnuts, or peanuts.

Dinner: steamed vegetables (carrots, corn, snap peas, beans, etc) with fresh kale, spinach, sprouts on top. or small bits of cooked fish, scrambled egg, sweet potato or rice.

the feather plucking still happens when he is bored, or by himself (like when we are at work) but he has begun to explore and shred the paper/wooden toys around his cage, so i'm hopeful that he is taking a turn for the better in terms of entertaining himself when he's alone. still not a fan of bathtime, but they ARE getting him to preen himself and not pluck. the feathers he DOES have look much better too.

he still doesnt want to get on my hand, but it's making very slow progress. he's gone from being very aggressive (got a bite from him already. owwww!) to just moving away and/or getting into his defensive open-mouthed stance. most of your advice, and what i've read on my own simply says not to push him, and he will want to when he's ready. he seems perfectly happy to recieving close contact through the cage bars, so he likes attention and closeness, just not yet ready to fully trust with hand perching.

he's had several moments of curiosity about where i am, and the house so he will fly out of his cage to come find me. he will get on my hand when he's on the floor, but is VERY nervous and pensive and doesnt want to do anything other than get to an actual perch when he's on my hand. i've tried to give him a treat for being on my hand, but he doesnt want to eat. he just wants to get off! i talk calmly, move gently, and keep the encounter short since it seems to stress him out so much.

at three weeks, i definitely dont expect miracles in regards to trust but hopefully we're headed in the right direction. if you think there might be something i could improve on i'd welcome the advice. I want to do the right thing, and make sure he is happy and comfortable.

I'm glad theirs other people to help you, because I don't have any advice. I just wanted to say how wonderful you are for taking the liberty to do right by him. A better diet and you taking care of him should make him a lot happier.

Wow, how great of you to take Rio in. I bet he turns around quickly as he has a good past with you and you are doing all the right things for him now. Hurray for you!!!

OMG the poor little darling.
The first thing I would do is get him to a bird vet for a full check up.
1. Gather all HIS familiar things (if he had any, lack of brain stimulation is the number-one cause of feather plucking in Ekies). Like toys etc.
Put him in a place where he can see you at all times and hear you.
Talk to him. Use his name. Even when you r doing simple household duty's. This will start to establish the broken bond and lets face it ,if he is listening he's not feather plucking.
2. This is fairly impossible to answer. Its going to take time .Spend some m0oney on toys for him, but introduce them slowly one once a week or something along them lines.
Brain toys I find r the best puzzles but if he is depressed (which I can guarantee he is probably) they may not work so grab some toys he can destroy.
3.Yes his feathers will grow back in time witch answers your 4th question bathing him in warm water will make him feel a whole lot better.
He may, under all that mess have some pin feathers growing back already and they would be very uncomfortable. May I suggest putting him on top of the shower recess or in a closed bathroom and turn the hot water on full power this will be less stressful for him.
I hope some of these suggestions will help you and the little guy.
Cheers

Hello and Welcome !!

So glad you were able to save him

I may have missed this somewhere But, PLEASE tell me you are keeping him and won't have to give him back?

An update picture would be nice

Thanks again!!

Joe

I had a Eclectus Vosemeri Female, she was beautiful and never plucked. The one thing that I did was that I kept her cage door open except at night when I went to bed. (I had no other pets). I also had a play pen on top of it, and she would come out on her own whenever she wanted to. I would put fresh fruits, vegetables and treats in the top food bowls to entice her to come out. I even had toys for her to climb on from the ceiling, and she loved the peanut toy with the carousel that she would turn and take out the peanuts and eat them.

When she started talking I would talk to her, and give her attention. She liked to be the facilitator of attention. If she sat on the cage door, facing me at the computer, I knew that she wanted attention. I had an African Grey, Lesser Cockatoo, and the Eclectus. The Eclectus was the Prima Donna of the group. I would take all of them to the park and let them play on the trees near the pond. They loved being in their little carriers because they knew they were going somewhere fun.

Just be patient and she will come back around to you. She probably felt abandoned, and she is angry with you, and doesn't trust you anymore. Remember, parrots bond for life. So, when a mate abandons them, they are probably really angry. Just don't abandon him again, and it will be fine.

GW.Joe said:

Hello and Welcome !!

So glad you were able to save him

I may have missed this somewhere But, PLEASE tell me you are keeping him and won't have to give him back?

An update picture would be nice

Thanks again!!

Joe

Click to expand...

He is definitely NOT going back! My mother wasn't very happy about the fact that i essentially stole their pet, but my step-dad sided with me and they knew that it was for the best that Rio stay with me now. and in leu of a picture, i have a video! you can view it here:[ame=http://youtu.be/zvr3xb7AGHA]Rio is curious of the cell phone - YouTube[/ame]

BriarCrow said:

He is definitely NOT going back! My mother wasn't very happy about the fact that i essentially stole their pet, but my step-dad sided with me and they knew that it was for the best that Rio stay with me now. and in leu of a picture, i have a video! you can view it here:Rio is curious of the cell phone - YouTube

Click to expand...

GREAT Job !! In the video he looks "cautiously optimistic"

Please keep us updated on his progress, he looks like such a sweet bird!!

Thank You

Joe

4 month update!!

Hey everybody! thanks for everyone's responses. I thought i would give you all a little update on Rio. He's slowly turning around. His feathers are growing back! he has lots of little pinfeathers poking back through the fluffy grey downy cloud that he was when I first got him to my house. unfortunately he still plucks, but it's not nearly as severe as before. When he first arrived, the cage bottom would be covered in downy blooms from where he plucked. it hurt my heart to have him do this. Now there's only a few that show up from time to time. The feathers at the bottom of the cage are very ratty and appear to me to be very old ones that were about to come out anyway. he's been leaving the NEW pin feathers alone, so that is a positive sign!

He is still very timid and scared. No hand holding just yet. i've just been working on getting him comfortable with being close and associating coming out of the cage with treats, and letting it be on his terms. I figure letting him have a choice in the matter may help build a more confident and friendly attitude. below is a video I shot of how i'm trying to accomplish this. before i set the travel perch on a stool outside the cage. I'd put treats in it, and retreat to a "safe" distance so that he would come out. I've been moving closer and closer, and today was a big break through: on the cage door taking a treat from my hand! yay! someday soon, i hope he'll be comfortable enough to sit on the travel perch while i'm sitting here and we can have a nice chat without him flying away in terror lol!

sitting next to the cage, reading to him and singing has helped him relax and see me as non threatening too. I also got this funny idea that maybe if i played videos of OTHER eclectus parrots talking and having a good time, maybe he would enjoy it. I played a few videos and his little eyes were glued to the screen making little cooey noises (especially when a female was on the screen hee hee). maybe he likes them? i dont know.
i'm always trying new things and techniques, so if you think i could improve on this or something else that would help, i'm open to suggestions.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/embed/0jJUxfcLmN0]Rio gets a treat - YouTube[/ame]

Aww, Sweet Video !! LOVE the way he slowly gains confidence

Treats are a great aid !!

Thanks For Sharin

He looks so much better now than in that first photo you posted. You have done an amazing job with him! I'm staggered that your parents couldn't see the bad condition they had let him get into, but good for you for standing up to them and taking him into good care. That takes a lot of bravery, and I'm sure as his pins open and he gets his color and condition back they'll realize what a great thing you've done for him. You're doing a great job!!