Cage bound Eclectus....help

Hi,

Elmo the Eclectus is supposed to be 10 months old, not sure about that though. We bought him 1 November. He was supposed to be hand raised and tamed, but came from a pet shop that had loads of birds.

He was terrified when we first brought him home and would bite if fingers were stuck through the bars. Fair enough. I told my son not to be disappointed by his birthday present and if Elmo bit he should not take his finger away as it re-enforced the behavior.

Inside the cage Elmo is very aggressive although I can get him to eat seeds and peas from my finger tips. He's not so keen on son or husband and lunges at them sending a handful of seeds flying.

He is better outside the cage, but we can't get him to come out. Sometimes he will come out on his own, but usually not. If we use a wooden perch he bites it and runs away.

I have managed to kind of train him to do a couple of things from behind the bars by verbally praising him and he does seem to enjoy it.

Any suggestions? I don't want to make him worse.

Gentle perseverance is the key to this.

If Elmo (great name!) responds better to you then you must continue to be the main trainer. It sounds as if like a lot of birds, he just prefers one sex. If this is the case then that can be perhaps be adjusted later on depending on Elmo, but he needs to trust YOU first. If your husband and son get scared of a potential bite and react then this will upset Elmo too.

Most birds bite the "step up" stick initially as it is a new thing being thrust into their territory. Speaking gently while introducing him to the stick with uplifting tones will help reasure him it is not the enemy. Even if he bites it, tell him he's good - he's interacting with it.

Being in a cage solidly in a pet shop for 10months will make him territorial to his cage and also afraid of going out.

If you bear both these things in mind, observe and listen to your bird, then a lot will come naturally.

I know that eclectus need very spe******t diets to function well due to an unusually long digestive tract and this may also be a reason he is not responding well. I mention this because you describe sending "a handful of seeds flying." Too many seeds are not good for our birds believe it or not(!) and eclectus in particular benefit from a varied diet.

I am no expert on these birds but I know Aussie Ben and Cowtown both have eclectus' and I am sure they will be able to advise you further.

In the meantime, here's a link for you to have a glance over

Birds n Ways - Eclectus Diet - Eclectus Forum September 1997 Pet Birds, Pet Parrots, Exotic Birds

Welcome to the forum! Asking for help has already put you on the right road. I dont have experience with an Eclectus or a parrot that is cage bound, sorry.

I do however know that a too small cage can cause aggression. What size is the cage?

Do you also feed him fruit and veggies?

Are you following a routine with him? What have you done so far to win his trust?

First of all welcome to the forum. I am glad you are seeking help and not giving up on Elmo.

Have you taken Elmo to a Avian Vet? I would do this as soon as you can especially since he was in a pet store around other birds and being handled by customers.
This will tell you how healthy Elmo is and if you need to address any issues with his needs.
Can you post a picture of Elmo. What color is his beak? Is it solid corn (yellow) yet or is it still off color.
Is this your 1st bird? I would recommend getting the book Parrots for Dummies.. I have mine next to the couch and I read it several times a week.

I have several questions:

1.Do you know how long the Elmo was at the pet store?
2.Has his wings been clipped and beak and nails?
3.What size cage do you have and where is located in your house?
4.How many humans and other pets are in the house.
5. Exactly how long have you had Elmo?
6. Does Elmo have toys in his cage?

Ok, 1st of all I am no way an expert on Eckkies. I have been Abby's guardian since August 2010 she was hatched on 5/12/10 so she just turned 6 mo old this month.
Abby did show some cage aggression and still does sometime.
I had to learn what she was saying to me by reading her body language.
It is like a dog you approach if they do not want you to pet them then they lower their ears and growl... Well Abby lowers her head and fluffs up her feathers on her back when she does not want me to touch her.

I just talk to her softly and tell her she is a pretty girl and slowly put my hand in the cage... NEVER NEVER put you hand in quickly.. even to change food bowls or water.. Elmo will be scared of the quick actions...
Remember he was at a pet store for a long time and I would bet a $100 that the people that took care of him and the other birds were not as compassionate as you are and they handled Elmo very roughly and yelled at him when he did not do what they wanted.

Patience is the #1 thing to remember.
Remember Elmo's world has been changed he was in the pet store for almost all of his short life and now.. wham... here he is in a new place with strange people. Eckkies are not snugglers they are loving but by nature they do snuggle like some other species.

I did the following with Abby:
I would sit by his cage with the door open (just you no other family members for now) and talk gently to him. if you can dim the lights that would be even better.
After a while (this may take days or weeks) Elmo will know that you are not going to hurt him. Each member of you family should do the same thing and every time you or them walk by Elmo say sweet kind things... Hello Elmo.. I love you Elmo... pretty boy... just be kind and loving to him and I know he will come around.

What type of cage do you have... can you clean it without taking Elmo out?
Post a picture if you can of the entire cage and especially the bottom area.

Second of all please read about the Eckkies diet... they are not seed eaters... fresh (not cooked) veggies and fruits are their may stay. Also a good pellet I use Zupreen wild and spicy.. Abby loves it.
If you will search the Eclectus forum you will find where I posted Abby's diet for another new Eckkie owner.
I hope this helps...

Mike

Welcome Bigbungie make yourself at home
FANTASTIC info from members above, especially cowtown, going into such great detail.

Here's my little contribution

Top on your list, a visit to an avian vet is a must. Let the bird be checked over, peace of mind for a healthy bird.
Elmo must have time to settle down and adjust. Just imagine how many new things the bird has encountered, in these few months, taking his age into consideration.

So many new faces and voices, it must be so scary.
To gain your trust could take days, weeks, months even years. Each and every bird is so different.
Sit near the cage, talking and singing to the bird. Let him become familiar with your voice. Leaving the cage door open, offer him treats through the bars at first. When he willingly accepts them, try placing a treat near the open door. Eventually he will starts taking the treats from the door, make no attempt to touch him. When he does come out, he will probably climb around on the cage. Let him explore in his own time. To get him back in, place a treat inside the cage, making sure it's visible.
When out the cage, he is jumpy. He might not be used to children, let your son sit quietly, (which is difficult for any child) in the same room, for him to to become familiar with them as well. Please always be present, when your son is in the same room as him, especially if he is outside the cage. Birds can be extremely unpredictable, he could make a loud noise, and startled the bird, resulting in the bird biting him.
Please keep us updated with Elmo's progress

Thanks everyone. We are using sunflower seeds as a treat only. He rarely gets seeds during the day. His diet is widely varied and full of fruit & veg. It took him a couple of weeks to get used to the variety he now gets and boy can he eat. My fruit & veggie bill is frightening! Thankfully the passionfruit vine will start getting fruit soon and our apples are just around the corner. Daily rations consist of at least 7-10 different things, most days will have at least 3 or 4 things different to the previous day.

He is an absolute pig. His full name is Elmo P Feather Pig.

He had been responding well until I was out for dinner one night. He had been eating out of our fingertips in his cage and coming to the bottom of the cage to sit in the doorway or hop out. The boys had let him out and he climbed onto my sons head and started pulling his hair. Husband rescued child and put Elmo back in his cage, he didn't want to be there so.....they decided to get him back out. It ended up with bad pet store memories being revived and he ran away from them. Since then he has refused to come out. I sit next to him every night as he is in the lounge and leave the door open for him. The dogs are banished to the dining room to make sure no one gets hurt.

I did have a bit of a breakthrough last night when after 4 hours of sitting next to his cage in the beanbag he climbed down to the bottom of the door frame and just sat there and started to doze off. Thank goodness for iPhone apps!

Once he is out of the cage he is happy to step onto anyones hand. It's just getting him out. His initial response to your hand in the cage is to lunge at it and then run away.

The pet shop clipped his wing for us before he came home, we figured it would be safer until he had some training and we plan to let him have flight when we can.

His cage is large and has several branches for perches and toys that are changed every 2 weeks or so. He also gets fresh eucalyptus branches to pull flowers and leaves from.

Cage size

Overall (roof closed): 175h x 112 x 96 cm
Cage (roof closed): 130 x 93 x 77 cm

Over summer he will be getting an outdoor flight avairy. For now he has to settle for being wheeled out onto the back deck each morning.

Right now he has a boing which he loves and a rope loop swing as well as those crazy toys with leather, rawhide, rope and bells.

His beak still has black down the middle but the yellow color is much better than when we first got him. His feathers are bright and clean, he has discovered the joys of a spray bottle.

I am sure a lot of his issues are related to pointing and staring and fingers poking through bars and hands grabbing to show people. He drew blood on my husband in the shop after he escaped and had to be re-captured. He just caught his finger akwardly with his beak. I am convinced he is not a nasty bird, just one that needs time. Husband had birds years ago so has some idea of handling, I'm working on getting Elmo to come to me because he wants to. I am used to working with horses so am used to the fight or flight responses and looking for body language.

My biggest struggles have been the books and articles that tell you how to do the handling and training once they are out of the cage.

My brain may pop if I read another book on Eclectus or problem birds! I now know more about Eclectus nutrition than I thought possible.

Back to sit by the cage again....

I am glad you have read so much and do have an understanding of the fight or flight issue with Elmo...
I love His full name... that is cute.

As you have read over and over it will take time and with Elmo it may take more than normal. I would suggest that until Elmo is comfortable with you getting him out of the cage then I would not have his door open unless you are there.

Elmo was probably preening your son and did not intend to hurt him.
How old is your son?

I am glad you are not allowing the dogs in when you have the cage door open.

Given time the dogs will adjust.
here is a picture of me Abby, Harley (silver schnauzer) and Lucy schnauzer and ? mix)

Abby was on the porch of her cage and she flew down on to my are. This is the first time she has done this.. This happened last week (do not pay attention to the date stamp my son was messing with the camera and messed the date up).
Like I said I have had Abby since Aug and this is the 1st time she has flown to me. As you can see from crumbs on my arm and stomach she liked the vanilla wafers.

I keep her porch open and talk to her all the time when I am at home.

Keep up the work and it will pay off.

Welcome to the forum. You've gotten great advice above and sounds like you're well on your way to having a happy Eclectus home. The most important thing to remember is to be patient . It 's going to seem like you're making no progress sometimes, then, bam! All of the sudden, a break-through.

Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions.

The door is only open when we are around. Too many hazards. Funnily enough, when he is out of the cage he is fine and will step up, perhaps with a small nip but no lunging. He isn't jumpy at all.

It is just getting him to come out. patience patience.

It is really my son's bird. His 10th birthday present. He originally wanted a cockatoo until he met a well mannered 10yo ecky.

I am sure Elmo will be fine, I have explained to Jack that this will take the time it takes and if we muck it up now it will take even longer.

Elmo is quick to catch on. He will turn and face me when asked and step across to his water from his perch on command. He gets all excited with the verbal praise and will deliberately turn away from me to start the process again. All with no food!

He is very good with Elmo. Very quiet and gentle. One of our dogs was very nervous as a puppy so he learned to go quietly. Having said that he knows that Elmo can only come out when either his father or I am home.



I hope he doesn't think I am tying to fatten him for Christmas.

If he's clipped, then take him out for a walk. Gently pet him and scratch him as you are walking. Be sure to let him hang on to you with his beak b/c mine both do that for balance when they are moving. He will see your hands are safe this way.

Don't use the stick for him to step up until he is used to seeing it. Leave it around his cage. Get it as close to him as possible. He will receive it more willing at his beak then his feet so let him beak it, but not bite it. As you gently pull it away from him - graze his chest and his feet with it so he learns it will not hurt him.

Say step up when you put him on the stick. Roll him off the stick onto your arm, which should be slightly higher than the stick. Have him practice stepping up from a perch that is not in sight of his cage - he probably doesn't know how to step up. Make these sessions short and sweet - end on a positive note.

I don't let my birds out of their cage unless they step up. They learn this very quick, too.