Puberty is Official!

charmedbyekkie

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So I figured I should update on Cairo officially hitting puberty since there aren't many with young ekkie boys on this forum (jealous of y'all with mature adults).

The reason I say it's official is because Cairo tried rubbing himself on a blanket near my hand yesterday, then proceeded to try to position himself on my hands for the rest of the day.


A few things I've noticed:

Screaming
Oh my gawd, the screaming. He is demanding my presence. At first, I was really confused. We had trained this boy since we got him to call for us with whistles. Then earlier this year, we kinda got names from him (I'm "uh-oh" because when he would drop things, I would say "uh-oh" and go over to pick it up for him; my partner is "peek-a-boo" because of the hide-and-seek game they play).

Now, he is incessantly screaming if he is in his cage (even though we're all working at home, I'm trying to keep his schedule of cage time / separation from us normal, so he doesn't have a hard time transitioning when we go back to work in the office). There's only an hour here and an hour there where he isn't screaming. And when he is out of his cage, he has to know where I am and hates it when I give attention to even stuffed toys.

More than that, he is screaming at anyone who enters what he view his area - including the front yard. So he's screaming at birds, at people, at anything he sees. And no, he didn't used to do this before.

I've been trying my hardest to manage this. Ignore him when he screams, treat him when he says something nice, but it isn't really working at all. I've tried covering the window as well, but that doesn't satisfy either. I've given him 4-5 foraging toys, but he's figured them all out, so in total, they only last maybe 15 minutes or less. I keep giving him plants from the garden - he loves basil and amaranth, though he'll primarily go for their flowers, so that lasts max half an hour.


Aggression
He's a lot more mouthy than usual. Leading up to him trying to get it on with my hands, he was really territorial and my partner's hands were suffering for it. Now that he finds my hands particularly interesting, he's not biting as much, if at all. But when my hands aren't around, we've yet to see.

That being said, he views certain areas as his. We've an area that's about 4 inches deep and 2ft by 2ft, and he seems to view that as a nest. He lunges at my partner and throws a fit if he's inside his cage and sees us interacting with that area. I've had to cover the area completely because he would go to the center of that area and just defend it. If I interacted with him in that area (like sing to him), he would try to regurgitate for me almost immediately.



Touch
Cairo normally hates being touched - he'll tolerate it for specific reasons, but otherwise untouchable. Lately he's been more touchable. And yes, we only touch his head/neck. But lately, when I touch his head or neck area, he will sit and accept it before trying to regurgitate for me. Even my partner can touch his head. *sigh, so no more touching. Period.


Regurgitation
Yep, so as mentioned above, he's regurgitating whenever I touch his head or when he is in his self-designated 'nest' area and I talk to him. He hasn't figured out that he has to expel it from his beak - he just eats it back up, which I kinda am grateful for. I don't want to worry about him losing weight or nutrients from feeding a non-existent mate. I'm trying to stop everything and everywhere that potentially triggers him. And when he starts, I ask him to calm down and gently put him in his cage (he's fully-flighted, so he just flies back to me to try regurgitating again if I try to place him on his stand).


In his cage
Like Parker, Cairo is now hanging out at the bottom of his cage more. So I have gone ahead and added a few toys there to keep him occupied instead of screaming at us all day.


Sleep
He has decided his sleep is the most precious thing in the world. When we got him, he would sleep through anything if you just reduced the light a little. He would sleep through movies, people talking and laughing, anything. Just cover his cage, and he would sleep.

Now, the slightest amount of light or noise will trigger screaming. His cage is in the living room where we do cover it at night, but now we've had to set up his baby cage inside our bedroom. At night, he'll scream when he wants to go to sleep earlier than his bedtime, so I'll tuck him into the baby/sleep cage and cover that and turn off the bedroom lights. And heaven forbid you wake him up too early.

I used to make sure he had 12 hours of sleep, but now he's been demanding about 14+ hours of sleep... I'm making sure he has it.


Diet
BE ABSOLUTELY CAREFUL WITH DIET. Oh my. I feed him the tiniest sliver of fruit, and he goes full-blow raging afterwards for the next couple of days. 1 blueberry and he went bonkers. A tiny piece of fig, again crazy aggro. I used to only feed him fruits on the weekends when we would go flying to exercise it off. But I can't even feed him fruits on the weekends now unless my partner is ok with bloody hands. I've had to completely cut it from his diet in an effort to make him more manageable. I used to also give him freeze dried sprouts for his foraging toys. I'm having to reduce that and even cut it out too. I've honestly been trying to tinker with his diet for the past few months of hormones now (trying different combos for weeks at a time before switching to something new) and honestly cutting out fruits and reducing sprouts is the only thing working.



It's an absolute challenge. Since everyone is working from home, it's even more challenging to prevent him disrupting everyone's conference calls. Our poor flatmate has been incredibly patient, and my partner steps in whenever I need handle client calls myself. Otherwise, I'm managing Cairo somewhat by myself.

I even juggle internal work calls with Cairo. Before yesterday, he would run around the room trying to eat everything. Then since yesterday, he has been aiming for my hands. So I guess, it makes it easier since I don't have to watch him to prevent him from chewing something that will kill him? Now he just runs around me, which means typing is a pain, but my colleagues are very understanding.

So yeah, before Cairo, I wanted an adult bird to avoid all of this puberty stuff, but hey, Cairo flew into our lives, so we'll just take it in stride as best we can. Our breeder friend warned us this will likely keep up until he's about 7yo, in which case his hormones will be environmentally triggered.

For those looking for cute babies, I do miss his baby face and cute moments, but 5 years of raging hormones is insane. I'm tanking this because I'm looking forward to the next few decades of our lives together when hormones aren't so constant.
 

SailBoat

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I wonder if there is a 'Badge of Courage' for those who have survived Parrot Puberty? If not, there should be a rather large one! I understand that with smaller Parrots it tends to be easier than with the larger Parrots.

Great point by point review of the experience, and thanks for placing the suffering into words that others can read and make choices regarding a younger or older Parrot.

The most important thing to remember is: This Too Shall Pass!

FYI #1: Gold Star on working to maintain a Work Schedule! There is going to be so many people that will be faced with screaming Parrots when life changes again.

FYI #2: Check the amount of salt in his diet. It does not have as wild effect as sugar, but we have found that with Amazons, salt tends to also stimulate them a bit. They need some, but not much.
 

Anansi

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Aw, my heart goes out to you. Tis indeed a rough time! I'll tell you this, though. While you may indeed be looking at behavior like this until he reaches 7, there are two things to keep in mind.

First, there are peaks and valleys. It's a little tough with ekkies, as they can get hormonal spikes throughout the year. But on the other hand, said spikes don't last anywhere near so long as with other parrots. So, you won't be looking at months of hormonal behavior without respite. It'll be more like a week or two at a time. (In my experience, anyway.)

And second, (again, in my experience) the first hormonal spike tends to be the absolute worst. Because this is the one where they're completely caught off guard by what they're feeling. Like everything is copacetic, and then a switch gets flipped and every feeling gets heightened for no reason they can understand. They just find themselves bouncing back and forth between feeling angry and amorous. Zero to sixty, no warning.

The only time Maya ever drew blood from me was during her first bout with hormones. And the expression on her face was priceless. She looked every bit as surprised as I did! Hahahahaha! But since that first time, she's handled it so much better. Nowadays, I often don't even notice when she's feeling hormonal. She's seven, now, but this has been the case since she was around three. (The bite was when she was around 2 and a half.)

We were lucky with Jolly, in that he just became an extremely amorous fellow. The extent of aggression has been one very loud scream when his advances are politely declined.

You may already have noticed this little tidbit, but just in case... There are more subtle signs than the aggro behavior that a male Ekkie is feeling hormonal. The beak is a big indicator. When it gets more vibrant in its coloring, turning brighter shades of yellow and orange, he's ready to get it on. Also, the beak gets significantly warmer to the touch. You notice either of these two signs, it's time to reduce petting and handling to a minimum.

Oh, and flight drills help. A lot! A tired bird is less likely to be an amorous bird. Let him get that energy out another way. Lol!

But you seem to be handling this all beautifully! I'm hoping his hormonal reaction does indeed calm down after this first major bout.

Stay strong!
 

Laurasea

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All my birds are so hormonal right now! All the above you stated happening here times 4! Ugh
 

chris-md

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Yikes, Charmed. And here I thought Cairo was actually a bit beyond puberty. Welcome to the club!

You're doing everything you can, clearly. Keep it up! But now you'll understand what I've been saying: everyone always recommends the standard hormone controls, but even if you implement those, it won't make it go away - they aren't miracles. They may just take the edge off, or keep it from getting worse. But theres no getting rid of hormones.

I so commiserate with you - you've described parker about 1/3 of the year in almost every way from the screaming, to the cage floor, neediness (parker gets BONKERS over fleece blankets, they are such a trigger for him!). It can really be an emotional challenge for any parront! Hang in there and lean on us for support!

One thing you might keep in mind: free flight. I'll tread lightly, as I don't free flight so have have very little room to speak here (i generally follow the rule of if you haven't experienced it, you really shouldn't be advising on it) but eclectus as a species - broadly speaking - aren't great free flight candidates (though varies from individual to individual) due to lack of roosting site fidelity and lack of pair bonding <-- both tied to sexuality, and both linked to the concept of "COME BACK". Not quite an issue as a juvenile, however with those hormones racing, these two issues become a factor.

I bring this only up to highlight that with these two factors in play, it adds a layer of risk to your free flight activities, making fly-offs far more of a reality than they were before. Just something to be vigilant about as you take him out.
 
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chris-md

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Oh, and double yikes on the fruit! Jeez louise your experience really is a testimonial to just how influential even just a fraction of the diet can be!
 
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charmedbyekkie

charmedbyekkie

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Check the amount of salt in his diet

As far as I can tell, there's no salt in his diet - he only gets chop which I make from fresh produce (nothing canned or frozen). But it's good to know if we ever need to look for other alternatives.



First, there are peaks and valleys. It's a little tough with ekkies, as they can get hormonal spikes throughout the year. But on the other hand, said spikes don't last anywhere near so long as with other parrots. So, you won't be looking at months of hormonal behavior without respite. It'll be more like a week or two at a time. (In my experience, anyway.)

And second, (again, in my experience) the first hormonal spike tends to be the absolute worst. Because this is the one where they're completely caught off guard by what they're feeling. Like everything is copacetic, and then a switch gets flipped and every feeling gets heightened for no reason they can understand. They just find themselves bouncing back and forth between feeling angry and amorous. Zero to sixty, no warning.

We're trying to figure this out ourselves. I just found out that one of his brothers was given up for adoption. The two brothers that we know about are both known to be unusually aggressive for ekkies, but one was so much so that his owner (who raised him from a hand-fed chick) couldn't take the fly-attacks anymore. It felt like a betrayal to her :( so we're bracing ourselves in case the family genetics prove too strong. It's a large part of why I feel like I need to be extremely proactive.

It did get so bad at one point that my partner absolutely refused to be alone with Cairo because it wasn't safe for him, and even if I was around, there was still a risk. So we've had to strike a deal with the devil - Cairo gets his beak blunted slightly every couple of months to make my partner feel safer.



One thing you might keep in mind: free flight. I'll tread lightly, as I don't free flight so have have very little room to speak here (i generally follow the rule of if you haven't experienced it, you really shouldn't be advising on it) but eclectus as a species - broadly speaking - aren't great free flight candidates (though varies from individual to individual) due to lack of roosting site fidelity and lack of pair bonding <-- both tied to sexuality, and both linked to the concept of "COME BACK". Not quite an issue as a juvenile, however with those hormones racing, these two issues become a factor.

I bring this only up to highlight that with these two factors in play, it adds a layer of risk to your free flight activities, making fly-offs far more of a reality than they were before. Just something to be vigilant about as you take him out.

Yep yep, we don't free-fly him. Just fly him on his kite line. I've read too much about ekkies being poly and not flying back - I know the Aussie free-flyers often experience this issue with their ekkies. And I know Cairo has quite a history as well (he'd fly off from his previous family when he wanted more flight time), so I've never trusted him to free-fly :p he's too naughty. He only ever goes out on his harness, which I check for integrity every time, and I do scold my partner when he doesn't slip the wrist strap on properly.


At this point, we might try to increase his flight time actually. He's been zooming around the house like mad. Can't get enough, even when we play hide-and-seek, tag, or recall. He constantly wants more. I can't figure out enough ways to let him vent his energy. Even foraging toys and foraging veggies don't satisfy for long. He just wants to go, go, go.
 

Anansi

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At this point, we might try to increase his flight time actually. He's been zooming around the house like mad. Can't get enough, even when we play hide-and-seek, tag, or recall. He constantly wants more. I can't figure out enough ways to let him vent his energy. Even foraging toys and foraging veggies don't satisfy for long. He just wants to go, go, go.

This can be tough, as the fitter they get, the longer they can go. In the wild, male ekkies routinely fly up to 40 miles in a day looking fr food. So, they've got the potential for a lot of endurance. And seeing as Cairo gets so much flight time, he's probably a beast on that flying strength! Lol! But increasing the flight time is definitely a good idea.
 

SailBoat

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At this point, we might try to increase his flight time actually. He's been zooming around the house like mad. Can't get enough, even when we play hide-and-seek, tag, or recall. He constantly wants more. I can't figure out enough ways to let him vent his energy. Even foraging toys and foraging veggies don't satisfy for long. He just wants to go, go, go.

This can be tough, as the fitter they get, the longer they can go. In the wild, male ekkies routinely fly up to 40 miles in a day looking fr food. So, they've got the potential for a lot of endurance. And seeing as Cairo gets so much flight time, he's probably a beast on that flying strength! Lol! But increasing the flight time is definitely a good idea.

And, just because I'm an Amazon snob, Amazons can flight like distances. Makes Avian Care visits interesting and demanding as our Julio's muscle mass required three just to hols him!!! Strength and will power makes a strong combination...
 
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charmedbyekkie

charmedbyekkie

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Aaaaand, he has started biting me. My hand was just resting on a surface he was standing on - first a table, then a bed. He went from trying to hump my hand and strutting around to lunging and biting me. The next time Cairo bit my hand, he then lunged at my partner who was standing next to me. That's two times yesterday, and several attempts today.

I've instructed my partner to not handle Cairo or be near Cairo at all. If he's attacking even me (he knows not to), then I worry for my partner's safety.

I'm at my wits end with him.


He screams and there are 4 of us working remotely in the house. 3/4 have to handle client calls. I have to handle remote interviews/tests as well. I can't have a screaming bird, and even letting him chill outside in the front yard area he'll shriek up a storm, disturbing the neighbours who are also all working from home.

We've switched his sleep hours as of a couple of days ago, keeping him up later at night when we've time to distract him and letting him sleep through most of the work day (14+ hours of sleep, undisturbed in our dark bedroom). Which of course does wonders for my own sleep hours - a bit sleep deprived tbh with juggling his sleep hours and my work hours.


The humping and biting is a bit crazy. He's trying to hump everything and anything, pillows, blankets, cups, laptops, etc. Then when he can't get the right angle, he gets frustrated and lashes out at us humans.

The biting is tricky - our groomer can't visit nor can we visit him due to COVID-19 regulations. So his beak is getting sharp, and my hands are getting nicked. We literally went from a bird who would never bite me (except when I fed him pellets) to a bird that is biting me several times a day.

Now I'm the only person who can handle him, so anytime he is out of his cage, I have to be constantly watching/following him. And he will scream nonstop if he's in his cage. And outside of his cage, if I'm not interacting with him, he will be screaming.

I wish I could do ignore his screaming and reward the nice sounds like we first did when we adopted him. But this is a whole new level. And nice sounds aren't common anymore. Screaming is his default. He's not even screaming to get out of his cage. It's just a punctuation and the go-to word for everything, regardless of where he is in the house.



The only thing that seems to calm him down is putting him in his baby cage (which we're using as his sleep cage; not his Hacienda cage) and me sitting in front of it, then he'll start talking and acting normally.
 
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chris-md

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Oh I'm sorry Charmed. When things go wrong, it can absolutely smack you upside the head if you aren't prepared. I'll admit to you, some of these times when Parker is just being the wild parrot that he is, I've been reduced to almost tears with rehoming on my mind. I KNEW what I was getting into, I just wasn't prepared for the EMOTIONAL toll it takes.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel for you! At least you're the preferred parront, so it will end for you! My partner is Parkers favorite, and Parker is putting me through my paces lately. In his hormonal state, he refuses to step up for me 80% of the time. Imagine, the TRAINER having the hardest time getting a step up. Hes been back to training basics - clicker training step up - and is even refusing treats from me altogether.

My partner? IMMEDIATE step up, no questions asked.

My hormonal problems extend beyond step up, but that's the most relatable one at the moment. There are other challenges. Hes being frustratingly obstinate all around, at the moment.

I point this out not to compare stories, only to show you are definitely no alone right now. My relationship with Parker is pretty strained at the moment with the hormones, and while he's not biting, his unrelenting obstinance is putting real pressure and on me at times, bringing me to my own wits end. I also know a DYH Amazon owner whos sweet 9 year old just hit puberty this year as well, and things have changed. In so many ways, 2020 can suck it. Between the abnormally intense hormone season most parrots are experiencing this year - for some it never ended with the fall and continued straight through now! - worse than normal, to the obvious virus crisis. This year sucks.

You'll have your good days too. Puberty and hormones won't be 100% on all the time. Hopefully Cairo relents soon a bit and gives you a day off. Just read him. You'll find that a quick visit to the cage intending to bring him out reveals that sometimes its best to just come back later and give him his alone time.
 
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Anansi

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Ouch. Sorry, Charmed. And sorry, Chris. You're both going through it, right now. Chris is right, though. The hormonal season seems a bit... extra for some reason this time around. So you're definitely not alone. Jolly is insanely hormonal right now. He's still not biting right now, but he does call out more than usual. And he goes from zero to sixty in no time at all! Just stays trying to get it on, all day long! Lol!

My wife's co-workers wanted to see him during a conference call, yesterday, and he spent the whole call trying to proposition her. Lol! Fortunately, she's used to his lascivious ways and handled him well enough that the people on the call only thought he was a very active bird. With a very colorful beak. But he's on another level, right now.

Even Maya, who handles hormones like a champ, is being extra clingy the past few days. Not a problem, as she doesn't get out of hand, but she sometimes tries to remain with me rather than go eat. After about an hour of ignoring her food, I'm usually forced to make her go eat. Not a big deal, but unusual for her.

I'm hoping this particularly amped season passes, soon.
 

SailBoat

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An Amped season for certain!

The number of emails, texts and phone calls from friends and individuals I have working with in the past regarding the over the top Hormonal Season this year has me amazed.

The huge cross-section of species and ages also amaze me. The full range of gentle sweethearts that have turned into blood-sucking monsters is scarier than a well developed horror movie.

I'm left to wonder if the emotional load from and long hours stuck with Humans stressing out regarding this Worldwide Virus may have something to to do with it. Plus the slamming transitions of the Weather this Spring. The combination maybe at the base!?!?
 

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1) Luna is in the puberty phase also. She has done some screaming, but usually it is a reaction to a vacuum cleaner which she hates or other birds outside. I think she is starting to replace screaming with whistling, which she is trying to mimic my whistles. Her whistling is a lot easier on the ears! Try simple whistling from other rooms when you think he is trying to get your attention. But trust me, some days I just have to put the noise cancelling headsets on when Luna gets into a screaming fit.

2) Aggression is something I deal with when Luna is on top of her cage in the playtop. She LOVES the playtop all will do anything to stay there, and is really the only place she is aggressive with me. I'm hoping it is just a phase.

3) Touch- well, no surprise here. Eclectus are not known for wanting to be touched or petted. Luna will only allow me to be affectionate with her for the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes of her day. It probably has more to do with her being the most tired during these parts of the day.

4) Cage- It is not wise to let birds hang out at the very bottom of the cage. Try to keep food and toys towards the middle and top parts of the cage.
 
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charmedbyekkie

charmedbyekkie

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Ok, so we've been doing our best given the situation. Just a small update for folks who might be in a similar situation.


In Singapore, we are in a semi-lockdown - you're only supposed to leave your house for exercise (cycling or jogging) or food or groceries or if you're an essential worker. So we took a half-day of cycling with Cairo and he was so, so, so happy to be out. We used to spend hours every weekend outside with him, then bring him for walks every other day. But his outside time had decreased so much since the new laws came into effect. Just going outside for those 3 hours did wonders for him. Even though we couldn't do a proper "fly-fly" (tbh, this would help tremendously), just that time outside exploring new places as we cycled helped him a lot. He started off chatting away, then calmed down to the typical silent ekkie observation, then chatting again. Afterwards he just wanted to hang out on the sofa with us.

We also have been changing our interactions with him. I don't really do much 1-on-1 time with him anymore. I make sure my partner is in the room when I'm with Cairo. And vice versa with my partner. I make sure majority of my interactions with Cairo include my partner interacting with him at the same time. Since removing any chance of 1-on-1 with Cairo, I've noticed he's not acting as hormonal (aggressive or attempting to hump everything). We've been trying to make all interactions with him joint interactions and, if not joint, then solo training sessions. No 1-on-1 singing time, no 1-on-1 playing time, no 1-on-1 anything but training. It has helped tremendously in reducing biting, regurgitating, and overall territorial behavior.

We're still working on the screaming. Some times he'll do the contact calls we trained him to do, and I always reward him for his nice contact calls (really going for positive reinforcement here). Other times, he just does his hormonal screech, and I suppose that's just a side effect of crazy hormones because he does know what to say if he wants attention. What has helped tremendously with the noise is the fact that I've been aggressively trying to put more textural variety of toys. I have put everything that is relatively safe for him to play with inside his cage - I even restructured the inside to be more conducive to hanging a variety of toys and making it more tricky for him to get to his favorite ones, enabling him to hang upside down. He will be distracted for a period of time before he throws another fit, but at least there's a bit more peace in the house.


I suppose I'm also in a slightly better mental space now as well (work life is potentially improving), which no doubt helps our relationship with Cairo.
 
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charmedbyekkie

charmedbyekkie

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We tried a 1-1 session with me and Cairo, chilling in another room to avoid disturbing my partner and flatmates. Unfortunately, just a minute or so of that, and he immediately went hormonal again - regurgitating, humping, biting, etc. So yeah, I guess if you're 'the chosen one', perhaps avoid being alone with the bird? haha, my poor partner suffered so much after that little moment.

One thing that's helping a ton is giving toys that he's obsessed with (and of course there's that struggle of finding what he's obsessed with for that day).

I know y'all might scold me for introducing something not safe, but I gave him an IKEA baggie clip
bevara-sealing-clip-set-of-30__0711631_PE728360_S5.JPG

He had found it on the table and fixated on it. So I got him a brand new one, tied a string around the joint, clipped it closed, and hung it in his cage. He was so focused on opening and closing it, on the inner textures of the ridges being varying heights and widths. So that kept him occupied for a few days until it became so mangled (nothing bitten off, just misshapen) that it fell off.

Another toy is his hoop rings:
3d32c3a819f55c88133c914ab78f1ea1.jpg

Something like this ^
He loved it when he was younger and we were living in our old place. I had tossed it away because the rope actually slowly wound itself off from the metal frame. He just loves hanging upside down there and climbing around, in and out, as the rings turn. Sometimes he'll swing himself quite hard as well. So that's occupying him.


I've been making sure to reward him for these positive behaviours. Of course, rewards aren't going to solve hormones. But at least we've a WIP game plan.



But we're having the same issue as before (outside of this puberty issue) - he's demanding baby food again. I spoke with our breeder friend, who also suspects that he might have been force weaned. She said that I should look into re-weaning him before things get worse and advised me to reach out to Laurella for more info on how this might work. I guess we might as well try now that we're all working from home.
 
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charmedbyekkie

charmedbyekkie

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  • #17
Y'all, dead serious about the fruit thing.

I had cut out fruit for weeks, then I recently bought a lot of oranges (on sale, can't resist). Last night I gave him just 1 small slice, and he only took a couple of nibbles from it. Then BAM! Today, the moment he woke up, he was trying to romance me.

We're now firmly on a NO FRUIT diet until we can go outside and fly it off. I've literally been racing around the house (it's a game that consists of me saying "1-2-3-GO!" then we both race from one end of the house to the other) to try to get him to work off his normal energy. There's no way I can work off this craziness brought on by fruits.

This is insanity.

If you've an ekkie going through puberty and you're having a hard time - trying eliminating fruit. Not even just 'reducing' is enough. 0 fruit. His only sugar source now is butternut squash.
 

chris-md

Well-known member
Feb 6, 2010
4,349
2,119
Maryland - USA
Parrots
Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
Talk about putting you through your paces! LITERALLY!:smiley5:

Question: how much starch is he getting? Carbs in general - not just sugars - such as rice can make matters worse.
 

chris-md

Well-known member
Feb 6, 2010
4,349
2,119
Maryland - USA
Parrots
Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
Ugh, sorry, small vent here - parkers hormones are back. Hes literally rubbed himself bare and raw underneath! :headwall: Never seen anything like it with him!
 
OP
charmedbyekkie

charmedbyekkie

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May 24, 2018
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US/SG
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Cairo the Ekkie!
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  • #20
It's literally a pure veg diet for him now. Brown rice was sold out for a while, and I didn't want to give him white rice. So no rice at all. I was considering adding cooked quinoa as a grain, but he'll be the only one in the family eating it so I need to find a way to make it in reasonably sized batches that won't go bad. Now I'm wondering if I should hold off on the quinoa..


I'm so sorry to hear that about Parker!! I hope he doesn't hurt his skin :( I'm wondering if it's the weather - some of my friends in the US were saying it snowed recently. All these climate fluctuations can't be helping the situation at all..
 

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