Newly adopted Eclectus female named "Hope"

Hello, all! I'm a long-time parrot owner who just adopted an Eclectus hen a few weeks ago. I'm confident that everything will eventually be okay, but these first weeks are kind of rough, so some support from knowledgeable Ekkie parronts would be very welcome.

Meet Hope! She's a 15-year-old hen who's been through three homes and two rescues. She is a feather plucker. She lost her most recent home because she is reputedly a biter. She toe-taps and wing-flips. She has a minor respiratory infection (came that way from the rescue, sadly), for which we have to feed her antibiotics twice a day. Basically, we have All The Eclectus Problems!

...except for one. She has the absolute sweetest, most darling little personality you can imagine. Yes, she holds a grudge against the dreaded towel, and she will glare at me for hours after her morning med doses. But eventually she warms up and comes out for companionship. I adore her. So do my husband and 9-year-old son (who is gentle and reliable, unlike many boys his age).

So -- yeah. She's upstairs toe-tapping now, when she should be sleeping. Is it the antibiotic we started a few days ago? Is it the stress of the twice-daily towel? Is it the stress of yet another rehoming? Is it the Harrison's pellets that make up half her diet? Too much this? Not enough that? Stay tuned. We're settling in for a long ride with this girl.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

jtidwell said:

Hello, all! I'm a long-time parrot owner who just adopted an Eclectus hen a few weeks ago. I'm confident that everything will eventually be okay, but these first weeks are kind of rough, so some support from knowledgeable Ekkie parronts would be very welcome.

Meet Hope! She's a 15-year-old hen who's been through three homes and two rescues. She is a feather plucker. She lost her most recent home because she is reputedly a biter. She toe-taps and wing-flips. She has a minor respiratory infection (came that way from the rescue, sadly), for which we have to feed her antibiotics twice a day. Basically, we have All The Eclectus Problems!

...except for one. She has the absolute sweetest, most darling little personality you can imagine. Yes, she holds a grudge against the dreaded towel, and she will glare at me for hours after her morning med doses. But eventually she warms up and comes out for companionship. I adore her. So do my husband and 9-year-old son (who is gentle and reliable, unlike many boys his age).

So -- yeah. She's upstairs toe-tapping now, when she should be sleeping. Is it the antibiotic we started a few days ago? Is it the stress of the twice-daily towel? Is it the stress of yet another rehoming? Is it the Harrison's pellets that make up half her diet? Too much this? Not enough that? Stay tuned. We're settling in for a long ride with this girl.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

Click to expand...

Hi and welcome, no probs ramble away we love it here lol

We have very experienced Eckkie owners on here and I'm sure you will get input later. In the meantime here's a link for toe tapping etc which will get you started.

Dont forget to have a look at the Ekkie section too

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/

toetapping

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/58849-toe-tapping-wingflipping.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/60500-stressing-food-not-anymore-chop-convert.html

Happy reading! LOL

Welcome to Parrot Forums and congratulations on the newest member of your household, Hope!

Harrison's pellets could very well be the cause of the toe-tapping and wing-flipping, as some pellets that are just fine for other species of birds simply prove too rich for eclectic parrots. But what's the other half of her diet? Something there could be a contributing factor as well.

Personally, I offer a fresh diet rich with variety.

Here is what I currently feed Maya and Jolly: (6-8 types per feeding, heaviest on the greens, sprouts, and veggies rich in vitamin A) various sprouts, carrots, bell peppers (red, yellow, orange and green), jalapeno peppers, Jamaican peppers, chili peppers, squash (butternut, green and yellow),pumpkin, blueberries, pomegranates, snap peas, broccoli, cactus pears, starfruit, bananas, grapes, kale, turnips, radishes, brown rice, quinoa, cucumbers, endive, dandelion, sweet potato (cooked), red swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya, African horned melon, corn, hominy, oatmeal (sans sugar or flavoring), kiwi, barley, calendula flowers, anise, star anise, chamomile flowers, milk thistle, elder berries, rose hips, hibiscus, bee pollen, chocho beans and garbanzo beans, as well as Volkman's Fancy Soak and Simmer for the majority of their legumes and grains.

Once or twice a month, I'll give some hard-boiled egg (with the crushed shell for calcium). Slightly more frequently during a molt. And an assortment of unsalted nuts or even millet spray for their treats.

In the past, I've topped off their fresh food diets with a small serving of Harrison's Adult Coarse pellets, (seriously small. As in 5 pellets in the morning and 5 at night) to no ill-effect, but since cut the pellets entirely as I was able to provide a complete diet without them.

But such a heavy proportion of Harrison's as 50% is likely an issue. There are reportedly organic pellets that have been formulated specifically for ekkies, but Harrison's is definitely not among them.

Here is another link that may prove helpful: http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/28350-eclectus-diet-confused.html

Oh, and a great introductory article to eclectus parrots: http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/52737-so-you-think-you-want-eclectus.html

I have read the forum's sticky articles -- glad they're there! Thanks.

She's not eating much of anything right now, frankly. I'm giving her plenty of chop in the morning: vegetables, pulses, and whole grains with high nutrient density, plus a small amount of fruit. She doesn't get Harrison's until late in the day, but she sure looks forward to it!

For instance, in her bowl this morning, I put broccoli, orange pepper, sweet potato, a grape tomato, brown rice, cooked kidney beans, a little banana, and a few pieces of raw almond. Yesterday was collard greens, corn, edamame, red pepper, carrots, wheat berries, red grape, and some frozen wild blueberries (thawed, of course).

Problem is, Miss Picky goes straight for the botanical seeds first -- grains, pulses, nuts -- and tends to ignore everything else. Sigh. She was supposedly a good eater at the rescue; I've seen the chop they prepare for all their birds, and it was really good stuff.

Also, her vet advised me to start with 50% pellets, just to cover the nutritional bases. The vet seemed okay with Harrison's (which is what my Hahn's eats, and he's the healthiest bird ever). But maybe I should switch that out and try an Ekkie-specific brand instead.

I hesitate to change much until the course of antibiotics is done, though. Surely those are affecting her health in a lot of ways, temporarily.

I should start with that I'm no expert. and I've had my boy for less than a year.
Thank you for rescuing her. She sounds awesome.

Harrison's washes its hands of toe tapping with this write up. which is really weird and defensive.
Eclectus, commercial bird food diets and ?toe-tapping? | Harrison's Bird Foods
whereas a lot of folks who actually live with these birds will attest that once the highly enriched pellets are removed the toe tapping will usually stop. Now it could be something else in their diet or a specific unique allergy in your baby but I would work on reducing the amount of harrisons and then maybe eliminate it. Haven't seen many complaints with fresh food. Could it also be possible that the infection itself is causing the toe tapping? Did you vet have anything to say about it?

I've been struggling to get Uglow to increase his desire for fresh food which is about 50/50 fresh and pellets. I use Goldenfeast Goldn' obles I. They're non GMO, no synthetic vitamins, no corn syrup and no artificial flavors or colors. He hasn't tapped ever or done the wing flipping thing. I start with sprouts first thing which he'll eat for bit. wait til he's bored. then add his fresh veggies and fruits which he'll eat for a bit. wait til he get's bored again. he'll usually go back for a bit more. then add pellets.

He's been spending a little longer on his fresh foods every week and I've been delaying his pellets more and more. eventually, I would like to use them as treats only.

I also feed Golden'Obles to my rescue Ekkie, as they have similar ingredients to Top's but way less expensive.

No more than about 10 pieces a day (yes, that little!)

As for food, this link changed my view on the Eclectus diet compared to every other article I read! I highly suggest it!

http://www.eclectusparrots.net/diets.html

Uglow said:

Harrison's washes its hands of toe tapping with this write up. which is really weird and defensive.
Eclectus, commercial bird food diets and ?toe-tapping? | Harrison's Bird Foods
whereas a lot of folks who actually live with these birds will attest that once the highly enriched pellets are removed the toe tapping will usually stop.

Click to expand...

Wow, that post is weird. How brave of them to ignore the clearly problematic, reflexive behaviors that have nothing to do with male signalling. Like when a female taps every three seconds at 10 PM, for instance.

Uglow said:

Could it also be possible that the infection itself is causing the toe tapping? Did you vet have anything to say about it?

Click to expand...

I've got a call in to her, and I'll certainly ask her about it when she returns my call! Also, the link below mentions antibiotics as a possible factor. I wouldn't be at all surprised if, for instance, the abx somehow interferes with calcium absorption in the gut. Or something.

http://www.companionbirdworld.com/CONTRIBUTORS/CAROLYN%20SWICEGOOD_FILES/CAROLYN%20SWICEGOOD%20ARTICLES%20-%20USING/TOE%20TAPPING%201.pdf