hello, im new with a naughty eclectus :)

[Pedro]

Birdlady3 i totally disagree with your reasoning. I own, breed & hand rear eclectus & have taken great interrest in their behavior & why people are having so much trouble with biting & screaming when i don't have any problems like that at all with any of my parrots. You can't lable any bird by the experience you have had. Yes i have been bitten a few times, all my own fault I might add i just didn't read the body language. My 12 year old breeding male is a sweetie & will still to this day allow me to lay him on his back & tickle his tummy. My males will let me kiss & cuddle them....BUT....I also know when not to or if they are not in the mood.

I do everything that you have recommended not to do & my birds don't rule my house, the only problem i have is that they crap on the floor.

IMHO no 2 eclectus are alike, they all have their own individual little characteristics that make them so darn special. If you build trust with your bird & respect them you should have a long happy life together.

After doing a lot of research on parrot behavior i have come up with this link from the best in the business on companion parrot behavior. Bookmark it.

Companion Parrot Behavior

 

[suebee]

jasper is settling now

if he really really wants something he will try his hardest to get it without coming off the cage but twice now. once for a tiny tiny piece of pancake and a crips which chris dropped on the floor he has come down and onto the floor to get both of them. i think its great. he willl let chris touch him and give him a treat. but wont let me near him anymore.

he will lung and growl at me if i walk near his cage or try change his bowls of food/water etc. making it hard for me. but hes better with chris for sure. no lunging or angry noises.

also he is screaming. now ive google eclectus scream etc and none of them sound anything like him. he is proper shreiking, so loud it rattle in your head if you know what i mean. very high pitch and ear piercing. i have read they do it when they want something. but he does it when he is loose so can fly or walk where ever he likes and he has fresh fruit and al his favourite things in his cage. but still does it. any ideas as to what it is?? he doesnt want to be touched as chris tried that and got a warning bite.

any help will be great.

hows your little lady doing suebee?

we have not been to the vet yet no jew.

nut is doing fine her normal naughty self, she's currently trying to remove my hair band lol so it feels like a head massage with scratching lol not to mention the odd hairs she clips grrr

as for the screaming, nuts a quiet bird, so even her screams are not that loud, she will do it even if i'm in room with her, i tend to quietly whistle or chat back to her, but sometimes it works and others it won't, when she gets into a miffed mode i generally leave her to it, cos sometimes i wonder is she knows what she wants lol there have been times shes flapped about the room like something possessed!

don't take it personal that chris is jespers fav person nuts kinda warmed to me and there have been days she won't let me near her, and others she's stuck to me like glue, and i've been her main carer for 3months and i still kinda think she is settling

as for jesper being cage aggressive try to do it when he is passive or out of the room even, i say outta room, as his flighted he might fly over to you in a aggressive way! is way it won't feel like your being confrontational to him, nuts had me many a time near her cage, but i think ONLY YOU should give the treats etc that way, his got to come to you, so take it slow from there (as in days at a time)

don't be to dis-heartened by jespers behavior, and if you can get chris to work longer hours that'll be great as you will fine jesper will be less aggressive when he realises your the only one in the house sneaky but it works lol as phils been working 8 till 8 nearly this wk so she only see's him for about half a hour in morning, and is in bed by the time his home, an nuts been so good lol so on slack wks when phils at home more she is most nippy and distant towards me


don't do much with him, but be in same room, keep door closed if you go to leave room invite him to follow, if he does not want to leave room, close door do what you have to do and then return, but keep that door closed, not sure if this works for all birds, but works with nut, as i stopped asking her to step up in stead i asked her onto my shoulder, as she would bite my fingers just cos, even now its rare i ask her to step up, i'd rather offer my shoulder, but this is as she has never made a move for my face, so you need to feel comfortable with him there.


for me, these are the oddest animal to bond with, as they are not motivated with food as such and there needs are really complex, and react on a whim, but they are so worth the extra effort, even if nut was still constantly aggressive towards me, i think i would continue to work with her so at the very least co-exsist in the same home

hope all is going well and like i said don't see this behavior as personal, i see it as irrational toddler behavior

 

[MikeyTN]

Here I go, I'm trying to put this in the nicest possible way without offending someone....IMHO IF you get bit in your face by your parrot, it is your own doing!!!! I've owned birds for 15 years and the only time I seriously gotten bit by a macaw and a cockatoo, both times was my own fault. That was when I was pretty new to the large parrots. BUT I NEVER hold them up against my face. IF I give them kisses, I hold on to the beak first. Or I watch their reaction before attempting. The birds I own now only 2 are mean from the beginning but they free flight in the aviary so I don't really mind. Unless it's nail clipping time or their health checkup, I do not attempt to grab them. It's a Male Cockatiel and a Female Parakeet. Rest of them are good with me and either never bite or just a nibble. But those two draw blood every time. My macaw bit me once, it was my fault cause I scared him, I did not know he hates going outside, but I learned quickly not to ever take him outside. He let me know real quick. The Cockatoo was at a pet shop, she did not like me and came to attack me and I was too stupid back then to retrieve my hand away from her. I was 18 back then and new to birds, what can I say...lol....Over the years I breed them and learn about them. Watch their behavior and learn from it. IF you have owned a parrot for so many years and can't read their behavior, you've got issues....

 

[mygirl]

it just takes a lot of time and patience, our female eclectus was not hand reared and we were told by a vet we wouldn't be able to tame her. but with a lot of love shes nicer than some hand reared birds that i know, just remember don't make fast movements or come from behind them

 

[MikeyTN]

I guess I'm just soooo used to my birds I don't even remember what they were like from the beginning...lol....BUT these two new Eclectus is reminding me. Sudden movement is a no no!!! Gracie don't care though, BUT JoJo does care! JoJo likes me better so any sudden movement from my partner freaks him out big time. He's very jumpy!!! He gets scared and huddle close to me. I need to put them to bed now. We put them to bed already, but I got in here a bit ago and Gracie knows I'm in here She wants out! She was carrying on in the cage until I went to get her. I think she's the most spoiled rotten one I have right now....lol She's very clingy!

 

[Bobbie]

thanks to all replies you have all been helpful.

Jasper got spooked at some lights outside last night and jumped off his cage and flew about and let me pick him up off of the floor.

birdlady: we let him sit on top of his cage for a couple hours a day. he doesnt seem to want to leave it. is this ging to encourage him to take over the hole room? the fact he could if he wanted to go anywhere in the living room?

he came down onto the floor again last night, only because i dropped a tiny piece of bread. he was happy to sit on the floor and make a nice pile of crumbs and then decided my feet were too close to his pile and warned me away. only when he climbed back onto his cage was i able to clean up after him.

he is much easier to get inside his cage now. as coconut is his favourite at the moment. he gets dried flakes in his food bowl and when hes good like going back into his cage on his own we put fresh coconut in as a treat. and i think hes getting used to this idea

he has never bitten and broken the skin. only snapped and bruised my hand. i leave him be now as he really does not want me near him. he is christophers bird and jasper is a lot more accepting of him. i will give him his time and i am patient and hope one day he will take a liking to me again

thanks again to comments

 

[MikeyTN]

Some birds are like that. You may or may not be able to get him to accept. Just like my JoJo who is more accepting of me. On the opposite end Gracie who does not care, she's free spirited....lol

 

[JJones1719]

I agree Mike, If you are the owner of any Parrot that likes to bite, lung, feather raised, growl, eyes pinning, lower their body when your around, these are sure signs that your Eclectus or any parrot is ready to stand their ground and fight, so look out. Never ever hold a parrot close enough to your face or you will pay for it. Always approach your Parrot in a normal fashion, never try to sneak up on it or move slow towards them. If your Parrot is calm offer your hand or arm. You can even make a fist so they cannot get a hold of your fingers. If they step up and no issues, reward, reward, reward, if not, try try again. You can even get their favorite toy and keep it between your hand and parrot so if they bite, the toy gets it and not you.
Eclectus males are known to be very sweet and normally get along well and don't normally select one person. This is why it is very important to have all family members handle the Eclectus.
I belong to the Baltimore Bird Fanciers where I pass my SI 4 year old Male Eclectus Guapo around to all members, it keeps them social, they learn to trust people and not be afraid of them.
Learn their body language beause I bet you by now, he has already learned yours. Keep us posted. Best of luck Joe

 

[MikeyTN]

Joe, my boy wouldn't do that yet. He would only come to me. Its not bad since he was never taught to step up. Im teaching him on a daily basis, showing improvement big time. He likes to sit on my shoulders now like Gracie does, she's not too happy about it cause he's taken her spot. But this morning I had one on each side of my shoulders....lol

 

[Bobbie]

hi, thank you for your comment joe

how are your two doing mikey?

we had a break through today, i had some pom seeds, and he wanted them i was stood near his cage and he came down level with my arm so i moved closer and he stepped up off his own accord, while on my arm he had several seeds(these are his favourite) he then went to chris back to me and i put him back on his cage.

it was lovely

 

[MikeyTN]

My babies are doing wonderful!!!! I sat on the floor with them to play. JoJo wasn't too sure about it and Gracie wants to climb back on my arm. So both came back up on my arm. They prefer to either playon top of their cage or on me.

 

[djkeithbrooks]

I dont know if this will help, except to let you know your not alone. And since I have NO idea how to post a NEW post, maybe someone will read this and help me.

My Eclectus HATES me. He'll come out of his cage, even pace the bottom if he wants out for treats, but after he's out he wants nothing to do with me. He only is civil when Im giving him treats and he's hungry. Otherwise he's an angry irritated bird. He was hand fed and raised, good breeder, he's about 6 months old. Just when I think I've made headway with him he turns on me and draws blood. I feed him a high quality pellet diet, fresh fruits and veggies, and for treats during training he gets seeds and nuts. He'll target train well, I have him picking up a little ball for treats etc. But he wont do ANYTHING else. And once he is done playing he turns on me. I guess since he's full he wants me to leave. I had a parrot before and he was a great bird. This one is mean as hell. Im losing my patience...Along with quarts of blood.

 

[mtdoramike]

How long have you owned your Eclectus? Did you purchase him from the breeder? If so, try contacting them for assistance as well. You have to realize, it's a very traumatic experience for a bird to be uprooted from where they had been previously and with their old owners.

You have to form your own bond with him. First off, lose the clicker and stop worrying about training. You first need to work on forming a bond with this bird before you can accomplish anything else. Have you had your bird to the vet for a checkup? Sometimes aggression can be caused by illness. So this needs to be eliminated first off.

Once Illness is eliminated as a cause, then look at his sleeping arrangements, does he have his own room, away from everyone and everything that can keep him up at night. They require a minimum of 10-12 hours of uninterupted sleep each night. I put mine to bed at sun down and get them up around 7:00am.

Next, check to see what you are doing that could be causing stresswith your bird. This could be perfume, deodurant, hairspray, jewelry (mine hates it when I wear a watch or bracelet) cloths (mine hates the color yellow or orange, but LOVES black).

This bird is very young and should be easy to overcome these issues if you spend a lot of time with them and make him realize that YOU are the flock leader. This means that you may have to be a little forceful with him. If you want him to step up, don't ask, TELL HIM by shouting (STEP UP), if he still refuses, try using a stick to get him to step up without nipping. Once he see's the stick, he will much rather step up on your arm than the stick.

But try spending a lot of quality time with him and knock off the training for a while. Training isn't anymore fun for the bird than it would be for you. But once you have gained his confidence, then you can continue with the training.

 

[mtdoramike]

I would also like to add here that one of the easiest ways that I have found to help with forming a bond with your bird is by taking them to the vet or bird groomers. We they are finished your bird will come looking for you for comfort and protection as their flock leader. Also, immediately following the grooming, you have like an hour or two window which makes the bird quite passive. This also helps in the bonding process.

I also take a shower with my birds. I get in the shower with them on my arm and I get wet first to show them how it is and then I get them wet. They love it, especially my male Eclectus.

 

[lene1949]

I thought pellets were bad for eclectus...

 

[MikeyTN]

I thought pellets were bad for eclectus...

They are but I've seen places start selling Eclectus formulated pellets....I haven't looked into it yet since I don't give them pellets....

 

[GiosMom]

I dont know if this will help, except to let you know your not alone. And since I have NO idea how to post a NEW post, maybe someone will read this and help me.

My Eclectus HATES me. He'll come out of his cage, even pace the bottom if he wants out for treats, but after he's out he wants nothing to do with me. He only is civil when Im giving him treats and he's hungry. Otherwise he's an angry irritated bird. He was hand fed and raised, good breeder, he's about 6 months old. Just when I think I've made headway with him he turns on me and draws blood. I feed him a high quality pellet diet, fresh fruits and veggies, and for treats during training he gets seeds and nuts. He'll target train well, I have him picking up a little ball for treats etc. But he wont do ANYTHING else. And once he is done playing he turns on me. I guess since he's full he wants me to leave. I had a parrot before and he was a great bird. This one is mean as hell. Im losing my patience...Along with quarts of blood.

On the parrot forum dashboard click on forums then select the forum your thread best suits I.e. Something about a cage under cages, something about a cockatoo under cockatoo....then click on the pull down for forum tools and click on post a new thread...good luck! And don't get frustrated...takes patience and he needs to get comfy with you. mtDoraMike's advice is excellent!