Feeding my new girl enough?

kellycraig125

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Mar 12, 2015
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Alabama
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I have a 6 month old female Eclectus named Lucy
I am worried my girl isn't eating enough. We've only had her a few days and I am giving her all the stuff I know she's supposed to eat. Lots of fresh veggies, lentils, etc. I only give her a little of the Volkman's Eclectus mix at night as a snack, but I think she got too much seed and pellets at her previous home and so she just kind of picks at her veggies and such. I don't want to give her more of the seed mix because it defeats the purpose of trying to make sure I give her the right foods. In the meantime, however, I'm worried she's not getting enough to eat. Should I just keep offering the fruits and veggies...stick with what I'm doing? Thanks!
 
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kellycraig125

kellycraig125

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Mar 12, 2015
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Alabama
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I have a 6 month old female Eclectus named Lucy
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I am really concerned. Someone please respond,
 

Lullx

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Mar 6, 2015
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Central New York
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Nephele - Baby CAG | Genevieve & Phaedrus - Green Cheeks | Lucy - Lutino Cockatiel | Ludo, Zero & Anzu - Budgerigars
I don't have any experience with Eclectus, but with many birds, you have to slowly introduce new foods to them if they've only ever had seed.

Maybe try offering some veggies in the same bowl as her seed? When I try to convince my monsters to eat their food, I'll sprinkle millet or popcorn on top because they love those treats. Perhaps you can sprinkle her seed onto the new food to get her interested?

Eventually, she should develop a taste for the healthy stuff if her seed is in contact with it. Birds are horribly curious!

Hopefully someone with Eclectus experience can chime in and help further :)
Good luck!
 

labell

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Feb 17, 2014
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In my experience the eclectus I have had and hand fed and weaned over the last 25 yrs are piggies with wings. It is very important that they have a lot of variety fresh foods. Do you know her weight and sub-species? There a ton of food recipes and food lists on the website "Land Of Vos" keep giving her the fresh and she should come around.
When in doubt it is best to weigh her each morning to make sure she isn't losing weight, do you have a scale, if not I would highly recommend you get one. She is 6 months old?
 
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kellycraig125

kellycraig125

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Mar 12, 2015
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Alabama
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I have a 6 month old female Eclectus named Lucy
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I give her tons of variety. She is 6 months old but has really only had seed and pellets until I got her. She is a Solomon Island Eclectus. I am trying so hard and have done so much research....I will start weighing her. :/
 

Flboy

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Dec 28, 2014
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Greater Orlando area, Florida
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JoJo, 'Special' GCC, Bongo, Cinnamon GCC(wife's)
A trick that works well for me is I only introduce new foods on JoJo's play stand. This is where he gets the majority of his treats. He is much more inclined to try, spit it out, retry, then act like it is now something to die for!
 

labell

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Feb 17, 2014
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She is still young enough to remember the warmth of hand feeding formula so what I would do is make a base of either brown rice or quinoa and warm it in a pan with coconut oil (very good for them) not too hot then add your veggies to that. Let it cool enough, add your fruits and mix it all together. Sometimes finely chopping it and mixing it well will help her try new things because it is all mixed in together. The warmth of the food will be a comfort to her and encourage her to eat more. Mine always have their food warmed for breakfast. Sometimes late lunch/dinner is as well but mostly it is room temp again fruits and veggies only this time mixed with sprouts.

It is unfortunate that the breeder didn't take the time to properly abundantly wean this baby to the proper foods, now it will be more work for you but it can be done.
 

camo

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Gizmo - Male Eclectus Parrot

Pebbles - Female Eclectus Parrot
We got our female eclectus under circumstances that we did not know her feeding history, but suspected it was poor. I am not sure if we were just lucky, but we started by mixing seed and pellets with the "chop mix" we had already been feeding our male eclectus.

The "chop mix" is cut using a food processor, so all the little pieces stick to everything, so it would stick to the pellets and seed. This basically forced her to try it. Like I said, not sure if we were just lucky, but we were able to quickly reduce the seed and pellet mix as she liked the "chop mix".

May be worth doing a search on "chop mix" and perhaps give it a go on a small scale initially.

Cheers,

Cameron
 
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kellycraig125

kellycraig125

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Mar 12, 2015
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Alabama
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I have a 6 month old female Eclectus named Lucy
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Unfortunately, I did not get my girl straight from the breeder. I got her from a family who decided after having her for a month that they did not want her anymore. They already had three birds (a macaw, a cockatoo, and another one I wasn't sure of), decided they had their hands full, and got rid of the newest one which was her. So, they only had her for a month. In that time, however, I am fairly certain she had free access to all the seeds/pellets she wanted which makes her less inclined to eat her veggies.

I will say, however, that I've been making chop (just little batches to start with in food processor), which she is hesitant to eat on it's own. I did try mixing a tiny bit of seed, that seemed to peak her interest in it more, so I will keep trying that. Also, per Iabell's advice, made some quinoa. Heated it up this morning in a little coconut oil, added a little of her chop and served it to her warm and she seemed VERY interested in that.

Thanks for all of the advice, I guess it's just a process. She is coming out of her shell, however and talking up a storm. She is also doing much better about stepping up when I ask her to. I just need to remember to be patient!
 
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kellycraig125

kellycraig125

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Mar 12, 2015
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Alabama
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I have a 6 month old female Eclectus named Lucy
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I am still concerned about this. I hate to wear you all out, but I thought I'd write again. It felt we were making progress at first, but then took at step back. I am worried she is not eating enough and wonder about mixing pellets into her food (the kind with no color that the lady gave me when I got her) because I know she will eat those, but she just picks them out and leaves the rest. I want her to have good eating habits, but she is so stubborn. I wish you all knew all the things I try....should I stick with one thing for several feedings or something different each time? Mix pellets in?

I'm going to start weighing her daily also, so that way I have a good idea of whether she's losing weight etc. She is, I think, doing well otherwise. Eager to come out and see me and let me love on her in the evenings and mornings, chattering a lot. So I don't know, I am just worried about her eating.

I am, by the way, taking her to the vet next week for her first checkup since she's been with me.
 

Comafly

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Feb 8, 2015
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My housemates eclectus was also fed with a seed and pellet diet, and I've found that she really enjoys vegetables she can "shell" like seeds: frozen peas, sugar snap peas, corn, grapes, etc. It's familiar work because they've been shelling seeds, but it's way better for them.

Try placing corn, chili, and other bits of food around the cage. You can get a pack of stainless steel skewers from your local supermarket for like $5. Skewer any fruit or vegetable on there and hang it in their cage. This can make the experience of eating fun for them. They love foraging and finding food and exploring things.

Also just from person experience with my own and my housemates eclectus parrots - 7 and 9 months respectively - they SQUAWK when they're hungry. It's a very gutteral, loud squawk, too. Unmistakable. If she's content playing, isn't squawking loudly, and doesn't look dishevelled or listless, I wouldn't let the issue worry you too much until you can get her to a vet to make sure she's alright.

Good luck, and be sure to keep us updated!
 
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kellycraig125

kellycraig125

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Mar 12, 2015
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Alabama
Parrots
I have a 6 month old female Eclectus named Lucy
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I just wanted to update you all and say thank you. I've been sticking to feeding her different things and she has all of the sudden decided that she like everything haha. Now, she mainly likes quinoa and brown rice, but I've found that if I pulse her veggies and fruits in the food processor an mix those with the quinoa/lentils, etc., she will just chomp it all down. It's crazy, like it's happened overnight. So for 3 or 4 days now, she's just been eating whatever I give her and I've all but completely weaned her from the seeds. I've also been tying foods (broccoli heads, chilis, corn) etc. around the cage and she loves finding those and nibbling on them.

So anyway, I think we are definitely on the upswing and I just wanted to thank you all for the patience, advice, and help! :)
 

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