Ekkietiel
New member
Here's my story, seeking any information you guys can provide.
Beginning last July our eclectus, Charlie (hatch date 12/26/15), has been having behavioral issues (mainly feather destruction and screaming). Within the span of a few days he had gone from a beautiful green belly to tattered strands of green and a completely exposed stomach of down feathers. We took him to the exotic vet near us within a week of this starting. It was explained this was likely hormonal changes mixed with how we had been handling his lifestyle. He was given a hormone injection and over the next year a series of hormone implants (most recently placed late April) that seemed to only work for 3-4 months before the behaviors became overwhelming again. Within that time we have made many changes to his daily life.
Instead of food bowls he works for his Zupreem pellets/Oven Fresh bites from Featherland Paradise food tumblers. We placed large wooden balls in the tumblers along with food so it takes a long time for him to get all the food out from around the balls. He is given daily fruit and veggies outside of his cage that are coated with UnRuffledRx (only since late 8/2020 - hopefully in lue of more hormone injections) calming AND FeatheredUp. He now sleeps in a carrier in a completely separate part of our house to ensure a proper/uninterrupted sleep. While bedtime for him is between 7-8pm, wake ups can vary due to our work as nurses. When we work a shift (12 hours) we wake him up at 515am, on our days off he sleeps in until about 830am. Whenever he wakes up, he gets a morning shower and if we work, he gets an evening shower with us before bed (we make sure he is dry before bedtime). When we are at work we leave the TV on (which is in full view of his cage) to give him something to watch/listen to. With our work days being so long we often feel guilty about leaving him and do whatever possible to leave work early, to be back with him. This may be causing him some frustration as our return time is not predictable, this is a new thought I've been having but unsure if it is valid.
Recently we upgraded his cage in a huge way (from 56” H x 30” W x 22” D to 76” H x 48” W x 36” D) in the hopes that the extra space would be utilized during our long work days. His version of "best behavior" occurs when both my wife and I are home together, if only one of us is home he is very upset and screams frequently. This has been known to bring both my wife and I to tears as we honestly don't know what we're doing wrong anymore. We have tried curbing this by leaving the room and returning when appropriate noises are made, but he'll start screaming quickly after we re-enter. When we're not in the room with him (which is our main living area) he can be heard happily chatting endlessly, again, until we re-enter the room. With Charlie's cage being in the main living area we often find ourselves sequestered in our bedroom to stop him from screaming. We can hear him happily chatting, but whenever we re-enter the area with his cage he'll be screaming within 5 minutes again. This behavior has gotten so bad we have trouble moving around the house without tripping over our dogs (who cower between our legs with every step we take). He's even taken to growling at us and the dogs if he's not satisfied with our behavior. With it being Fall, I am hesitant to get Charlie another hormone implant as his natural hormones should be calming down for the winter and I don't want to upset his natural rhythm more than necessary. Which is why we started using the UnRuffledRx calming formula, with mixed/fleeting results.
I have had my cockatiel for 15 years, fostered many other birds, and during my 6 years working for a major pet store enjoyed working with large parrots. I'd like to think I know a good bit of how to handle birds, but this last year has been truly disheartening and depressing.
I've lurked these forums for answers in the past, but this seemed to require some backstory. Thank you all in advance.
Beginning last July our eclectus, Charlie (hatch date 12/26/15), has been having behavioral issues (mainly feather destruction and screaming). Within the span of a few days he had gone from a beautiful green belly to tattered strands of green and a completely exposed stomach of down feathers. We took him to the exotic vet near us within a week of this starting. It was explained this was likely hormonal changes mixed with how we had been handling his lifestyle. He was given a hormone injection and over the next year a series of hormone implants (most recently placed late April) that seemed to only work for 3-4 months before the behaviors became overwhelming again. Within that time we have made many changes to his daily life.
Instead of food bowls he works for his Zupreem pellets/Oven Fresh bites from Featherland Paradise food tumblers. We placed large wooden balls in the tumblers along with food so it takes a long time for him to get all the food out from around the balls. He is given daily fruit and veggies outside of his cage that are coated with UnRuffledRx (only since late 8/2020 - hopefully in lue of more hormone injections) calming AND FeatheredUp. He now sleeps in a carrier in a completely separate part of our house to ensure a proper/uninterrupted sleep. While bedtime for him is between 7-8pm, wake ups can vary due to our work as nurses. When we work a shift (12 hours) we wake him up at 515am, on our days off he sleeps in until about 830am. Whenever he wakes up, he gets a morning shower and if we work, he gets an evening shower with us before bed (we make sure he is dry before bedtime). When we are at work we leave the TV on (which is in full view of his cage) to give him something to watch/listen to. With our work days being so long we often feel guilty about leaving him and do whatever possible to leave work early, to be back with him. This may be causing him some frustration as our return time is not predictable, this is a new thought I've been having but unsure if it is valid.
Recently we upgraded his cage in a huge way (from 56” H x 30” W x 22” D to 76” H x 48” W x 36” D) in the hopes that the extra space would be utilized during our long work days. His version of "best behavior" occurs when both my wife and I are home together, if only one of us is home he is very upset and screams frequently. This has been known to bring both my wife and I to tears as we honestly don't know what we're doing wrong anymore. We have tried curbing this by leaving the room and returning when appropriate noises are made, but he'll start screaming quickly after we re-enter. When we're not in the room with him (which is our main living area) he can be heard happily chatting endlessly, again, until we re-enter the room. With Charlie's cage being in the main living area we often find ourselves sequestered in our bedroom to stop him from screaming. We can hear him happily chatting, but whenever we re-enter the area with his cage he'll be screaming within 5 minutes again. This behavior has gotten so bad we have trouble moving around the house without tripping over our dogs (who cower between our legs with every step we take). He's even taken to growling at us and the dogs if he's not satisfied with our behavior. With it being Fall, I am hesitant to get Charlie another hormone implant as his natural hormones should be calming down for the winter and I don't want to upset his natural rhythm more than necessary. Which is why we started using the UnRuffledRx calming formula, with mixed/fleeting results.
I have had my cockatiel for 15 years, fostered many other birds, and during my 6 years working for a major pet store enjoyed working with large parrots. I'd like to think I know a good bit of how to handle birds, but this last year has been truly disheartening and depressing.
I've lurked these forums for answers in the past, but this seemed to require some backstory. Thank you all in advance.