My New Rescue

I rescued a 13 year old Eclectus today. These birds are so sensitive and so intelligent. His owner got out of an abusive relationship, moving away and taking her bird with her. The bird has been kept in a small dog crate for at least the last 8 months which has left the bird a little emotionally scarred. He has started to pluck his legs, his beak is way to long, his feathers are not in the greatest condition, his toe nails need to be trimmed, and he hasn't been fed a proper diet. I have taken him in, given him a bigger cage which he doesn't seem what to think about it, given him the proper food which he instantly started to eat.

He does scream,something I've never known Eclectus's to do.

Any bonding tips or any tips to help with the screaming etc would be appreciated. My heart really goes out to him.

This is the cage they kept him in


And this is him



As I've stated he now has a proper cage and I will be getting him to a groomer to help with his beak, nails and wings.

I don't have any suggestions, but I'm so glad you brought him home!

Congrats on getting this boy out of a bad situation and on his way to a better life. I would love to see more pics, this pic the beak doesn't look too bad and I would be very careful having someone file his beak unless it's really needed and in his case it doesn't look like it. Give him softer wood toys, rattan ball, balsam wood and the thinner slat wood type toys and see what he can do also at least one pedicure perch in his cage should help as well. Eclectus love to rub their beak so that will help if he has something to rub it on that will condition it at the same time.

At this point I would also just let his feathers grow, I do feel eclectus are one of the three species of parrot that do better un-clipped if at all possible. You can put him in a travel cage or teach him to be in a harness if you want to take him outside later but at this point getting those feathers in good condition is priority number one. The two best ways are going to be diet and frequent baths. At least 4 good baths a week.

It is uncommon imo for eclectus to scream but if he came out of an abusive environment they are very sensitive to stress and I am sure he just had more than he could take. Just give him lots of love and patience without reinforcing the screaming and that should work it self out with time.

Please check out the website "Land Of Vos" as it is a great resource for everything eclectus including diet.

Are you having to wear a glove to handle him? This will slow down the process somewhat. Is he trying to bite? I would try taking him to a smaller room not the one where his cage is at because that is what he will be focused on is getting back to what he see's as the safety of his cage. Maybe a small bedroom where you can keep the interaction calm and positive. First training/bonding sessions should be short and frequent. Don't keep him out too long to stress him but just long enough so he can begin to see it as a positive experience. Use food as motivation and bonding, the way to any eclectus heart is through their stomach!

Dear Ein, I am happy that you gave him a home. I don't know about that bird type but I do have a rescue Paddy a GCC. I've had him for a year now, he was very scarred when I got him. Ratty looking seriously underweight no socialization and was never out of his cage as far as I could see. He was terribly aggressive would draw blood anytime I got near him. He was dumped as a baby along with 6 fids. I would recommend letting your birds feathers grow out and teach him to fly. Paddy had never been allowed to fly. So at 2yrs. he finally learned. He still doesn't fly real smooth I think from learning at a later age. But it keeps getting better. We spent a lot of time on trust and for a month I did nothing else but give unconditional love. Now he is a very sweet boy, loves being petted, steps up everytime, has nice feathers and is up 3grms. on his weight. Just love your bird, forgive the bites if your angry at his behavior leave the room. Never let him see anything but acceptance. Best Wishes Bonita

Thank you everyone for the advice or kind words.

Charlie doesn't need a glove to be handled anymore. At first he did because he was scared and when he first bit me he chipped a piece of his beak off doing it, his beak is fine but it startled me and him so during that time I used a glove.

Since then I haven't needed to use a glove. Charlie is singing and dancing and hardly screams. It seems he screamed when kids are around (which I have two but his screams scare them away) and when my husband get's near him. So it's obvious he has been abused. So I am working with him when it's quiet, the kids know to leave him be and he will be slowly introduced at times.. For my husband? Well this isn't the first bird that hates him so he rolls his eyes and does his own thing.

As requested I did get a few pictures of him. Showing his beak, his legs and his toes -he's missing a toe-





Also for a new behavior that he started to do with me.. He's humping.. a lot XD I don't mind but I was just taken by surprise that he was doing it.

Charlie was groomed today.
His beak was done a little bit, his nails were trimmed, and his feathers tended to. He had a lot of broken tail feathers that needed to be taken care of.

I also picked Charlie up some Sunshine Factor and some Prime (both supplements) to get him on the right track.

He seems so happy right now which is making life better. He is trying to feed me, as well as.... well.. show his "affections" to me... My husband says I'm cheating on him with someone with better plumage, LOL.

He seems to be doing good.

POOR BOY! He's so malnourished and underweight!!! Is he a Solomon Island? His foot size/colours etc look like it, but his beak size/head makes him look like he should be much bigger. What a poor boy he was.

I, and I'm sure all of us here, cannot express with words how happy and grateful we are that you took him in! His eyes show what a sweet bird he truly is. I am so happy for you and him! You can see it in his eyes just from the first photo to the most recent one, that he is much happier with you. <3

Hahaha, well, I can certainly see his point. You have a human husband and a bird boyfriend, I'll bet your husband's jealous!

Is it just me who can't see any of the pictures???

MikeyTN said:

Is it just me who can't see any of the pictures???

Click to expand...

I was using Tinypic to host the images, and I hear that Tinypic is fussy so I found another image host to use for the images. I hope you can see them ehre.

When I first Got Charlie and the Cage he was in.



Today before he was groomed.





I'll post some pictures tomorrow on how he looks now, but I'm hoping you can see the pictures now.

@Kinny - Yes he is a Solomon Island. He's such a good boy!

Yes I see all the pictures now....he's not as bad as I thought he was going to be. The nails is just a minor bit long but not awful. The feather condition, some bathing would do wonders.....So he's lucky for being what he looks like even after living in kennel for 8 months. I see he broke some tail feathers, but that's due to be in a insufficient size cage. Glad you can take him in though and give him a good home. I've taken in countless birds in far worse conditions that you don't want to know about....some people are just not meant to have birds.....

I know there are worst cases out there, there's no doubt in my mind, and Charlie's situation could of turned out worse I'm sure. I'm just glad that he's only going to improve from here.

Here are some pics from this morning, after his groom and him being introduced to my African Grey Roger.

His Nails after the trim





Sharing the tree with Roger