is food really to play with or eat ?

My female ekkie is definitely a messy eater. She throws more food on the floor then what she eats. Does your bird do this?

Yesterday i gave her a bean mix with brown rice... All the beans were on the floor and the rice was all chewed up and crumbled and sticky mess. Then i tried giving her a small piece of corn on the cob. Guess what the corn is on the floor as well. Today i gave her cooked pumpkin with brown rice. All the pumpkin is on the floor and the rice is gone and some stuck to the bowl..... I am getting worried is she even eating anything or just playing with food. And the thing that bothers me is that she throws the food on the ground with a lot of power and vengeance LOL. As quite as she is that behavior seems weird to me. When i give her fruits she mushes them down to juice.

Another thing is i have recently stopped her stinky pellets that i was given from the breeder. They really stink and made her stink as well. I have changed her to lafeber's pellets and she seems to like them and eats those for dinner.

Other new change we have seen is that for about a hour in the morning she goes up and down and inside and out in her cage. then in the afternoon when i make her room dark for a nap she will start her vocalization. She is loud at times and most of the times soft noise. Rest of the day she will sit and not even touch any toys in the cage. I have got so many toys for her and she is not even curious to see them I have attached a few pictures of her.

Is there something i am doing wrong?

Chrisi

Parrots are nature's seed scatterers. I have yet to find a parrot who wasn't a messy eater, though some are worse than others. The wall behind a parrot cage needs an extra good paint job, because it's going to have to be wiped clean...a lot!

Don't even think about outsmarting your parrot's messiness either. If you put the food bowl in a well-protected area, they just grab the food, and carry it somewhere else to eat!

Lol....yep, they're ALL messy!

Some members combat this by feeding them in the sink which is great! I personally just do a lot of hoovering and wiping lol. With the aid of a handheld vac and a wipe clean plastic tablecloth, I'm good to go!

With regards to the shouting at nap time, I must confess, I think the problem may well be nap time! He probably thinks it's weird being covered in the day time, can hear you and wants to see what's going on! Parrots need between 12-13hrs sleep a night to be at their best. That's no noise, no tv, no people etc. Then in the day, you'll see him nap on his own. He'll probably fluff up, raise a foot and his eyes will close. He doesn't need a cover for this, only for the night time sleepy byes.

As for the climbing up down, in, out, round, about, that's just having a bit of fun and excercise. If your bird is young, she'll love to use her beak to get around and it's the best way for her to familiarise herself with all of her surroundings.

I watch Cal and she likes to pause to see how the rest of the room looks on THIS side of the cage

All normal, happy, healthy behaviour!

Thank you for the Quick reply guys.

I think i did not say it properly. I do not cover the cage but she sits near a bay window so i just shut the blinds down in the afternoon. Today i have left the blinds open and she is sitting in her cage making all sorts of noises.... We do not hear her all day long expect for in the afternoons. And its funny the sounds are so weired....my neice says she sounds like a baby goat....my hubby says she sounds like a small baby crying...... I dont know what she sounds like LOL.

I will try to record it. She is about 11 months old. She is a Solomon Island female eclectus.

I believe that is one of our birds wants to nap they will do so no matter what the enviornment. Let nature work here and the bird will do fine. You have a beautifiul bird. I would suggest that you do some research on what eckies are like in the wild and then you will gain a better understanding of your birds needs.

Willie throw his food on the floor too; those that he doesn't like. One time we left his food in his bowl overnight (yes, lazy) and was late feeding him, he picked up the old food from his bowl one by one, walked to the openned cage door, and drop them on the floor, then gave us this look...

I'd like to describe the Eclectus sound as drunk monkey sound...

Nap time can be a very rewarding time for a quiet owner.

When one foot comes up, the beak gets to grinding, and the eyelids start to droop, you often get a chance to hear your parrot quietly go through their whole repertoire of learned words. Sometimes it is distorted from their sleepiness (lazy beak!). It can be a real hoot to listen to from your chair across the room.

Each morning after Mishka has investigated each toy, she then sits on the side of her feeding bowl, places her claw inside, lifts it up, like a javelin and throws it. She actually picks them up, the same as when playing with her balls. Mishka has the time of her life.
Afterwards I pick them up from the floor (thank goodness it's tiles) and put them back into her bowl, THEN SHE EATS THEM

I think she is gorgeous! Birds are most vocal early morning and late afternoon - enjoy it!

Awsome! Thanks guys for the great responses.

Yea my ekkie is extremely messy. I give him rice/sweet potato/veggie mix on most days and half of it ends up on the wall. I put an acrylic board behind the cage to shield the wall and that works well. A good way to make sure she is eating enough is to monitor her weight each day. Chances are she is just filling up on pellets and not the F & V. Perhaps try serving the fresh food half an hour before the pellets in the morning. Also look at her crop a short while after serving, this will tell you that she has at least eaten something .

As for shutting the blinds during 'nap time' its really not necessary. I am guessing she is making loud noises because she thinks night is falling. If you walk around where I live in the afternoon, you will see all the wild parrots having naps in direct sunlight. They really don't need the darkness, it just confuses them.

My Ekkie isn't much for chew toys, but he does love 'shiny' toys with bells and foraging toys with nuts hidden inside. He likes to 'fiddle' with things rather than play with them.