10 Week old parent reared female Ekkie

[jumparound80]

Hi Guys,

Just wanting to know is it possible for a female ekkie that has been parent reared to trust humans? I have a 10 week old one and she wont let anyone near her or her cage. If so how can I go by it? How should I handle her or feed her etc. I know I have to take it extremely slow & she probably wont ever allow anyone to touch her, but as long as she doesn't lunge or growl as soon as you look at her that would be great.

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Thanks,

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi there, and welcome to the forums.

Yes, it's entirely possible for this baby to gain your trust. How long has she been with you? She most likely will need lots of time to get used to her new environment. New place, new faces, new sounds, new everything - enough to scare her and make her feel weary.

Once she no longer freaks out when you do regular cage maintenance and change foods, try offering her tidbits via hand, the whole while talking to her softly and sweetly. Avoid direct eye contact if possible until she feels more comfortable.

Always tell her what you are doing. IMO the more you talk to her, the more she'll understand.

There's the blinking game that some Ekkie parronts play with their fids. (Don't attempt to put her on your hand for this just yet )
http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/41104-normal-new-eclectus-2.html

 

[jumparound80]

Hey Wendy,

Thanks so much for your reply. I've only had her for afew days so I will definitely take it slow

When I come close to her cage I can see her breathing heavily so she must be very frightened. Do you think it is a good idea to cover the cage with a cloth at night or always keep it open?

Im also monitoring her food and water supply, another worry for me is if she stops eating or drinking due to fear.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Only you can be the judge of whether you think covering her at night will give her a better night's rest. How does she react when you cover her? If she goes thrashing about wildly, I'd refrain from doing it. Or only cover 3 sides, so she can still see out of one side, know what I mean?

 

[labell]

At only 10 weeks she should either still be being fed by her parents or fed formula by you. Are you not hand feeding her?

 

[jumparound80]

She started eating on her own about a week ago. She is very snappy when trying to feed her with your hand, she will literally lunge and growl.

She doesn't move much when I cover the cage, just sits still at the top on her swing.

Heres a photo of her:

 

[labell]

I am going to say this as nice as I can but there are NO toys in the cage, the swing thing she is on is rusted which could KILL her. The rope thing is all frayed and filthy which could KILL her. I see empty bowls. She is in terrible feather condition...when was her last bath??

NO WAY at 10 weeks she is ready to eat on her own completely, she is crabby and lunging because she is hungry! Did you get her from a breeder? Have you ever hand fed before? I have had eclectus babies that go through a hissing lunging stage, they are babies they are not going to maim you, wrap her in a towel talk to her, pet her but above all FEED her.

 

[jumparound80]

Thats because everything is on the floor of the cage, toys, all her food, she is messy but is eating. I will try hand feeding her but its hard. And yes I bought it from a breeder who said to me she is ready to be picked up as she is eating on her own.

 

[SilverSage]

What Lebell said! And having all the toys on the floor is no good unless you want her to get a bacterial infection from playing with poop covered toys.

Yes, any bird can learn to trust humans no matter who raises it but even baby cockatiels need to be fed by their parents for WEEKS after they "start eating on their own." How much more a large bird like an Eclectus? The breeder who sold you this bird should be punished. This bird IS NOT READY TO BE AT HOME!

For the record, "hand feeding" means feeding formula with a syringe, not just handing a bird food. This bird may die if she doesnt get the feedings she needs as in FORMULA, and even if she survives she will be severely emotionally and mentally damaged by the severe abuse of this situation (even though I am SURE you didnt intend to, this baby is starving, literally starving, no matter if she is trying some things on her own).

I wish returning her to the breeder would help but they likely would just turn around and sell her rather than giving her back to her parents. Please try to find a local breeder or hand feeder who is willing to try to help you properly wean a wild baby who has been removed too old to hand feed and too young to wean.

 

[jumparound80]

Thank you all for your comments/criticisms, rather than taking them negatively, I will use them as a learning guide.

No I have no experience with birds, hence why I am here in the first place. A breeder, who is a friend of a friend of a friend, offered me an ekkie. I told him I want it when it is ready, he said ok I will call you, he called me and said the bird is ready she is feeding on her own. I picked it up and now this is my situation. Yes I do need some help and guidance and so I am asking you kind people for some help.

So since the bird has not been hand reared before, she was parent fed, she will not let anyone go near her or touch her or she will bite, lunge and growl. As she is barely eating, do you suggest I should try hand rearing her? Possibly with a towel to avoid being bitten. Also you suggested I should get formula and feed her with a syringe, how will she accept it if she has never been hand reared in her life, or do I force her to take it?
I have had birds in the past, just never ever babies. I've always had them mature and hand reared & tame.

Any positive advice to help my birds situation would be appreciated.

THANKS

 

[jumparound80]

Also one more question, if I get the breeder to put the bird back in with her parents, what are the chances of the parents accepting the bird again? I heard that some parents will kill the bird if it has been removed from the breeding box and returned later???

 

[Kiwibird]

This here is a very difficult situation you have been put in. I am sure you had no idea about any of these issues prior to bringing this baby home. If I were you, I would call an avian specialized vet ASAP and setup an emergency appointment. At minimum, an AV can guide you on proper hand feeding techniques, what formula to use and possibly put you in contact with a professional breeder who may be able to take over hand feeding for you until the baby is old enough to come home. Hand feeding is a very delicate and difficult task that takes years to perfect, but your about to get a crash course. It is for the benefit of this beautiful bird, and I am sure you will be able to do it I just want to slap this irresponsible, non professional breeder for doing this to this baby. It isn't your fault at all for trusting that they knew what they were talking about telling you the baby was eating on it's own. Right now though, you just need to get in to see a professional before the baby deteriorates and keep that precious baby away from that breeder at all costs because they clearly have no idea what they're doing and/or do not have the babies best interest at heart.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Please don't think we are being overly critical. We are all bird lovers, and truly only have your baby's best interest at heart. Sometimes feelings get hurt, but I assure you, it's not intentional.

Laura (labell) pointed out some very important issues.

Also one more question, if I get the breeder to put the bird back in with her parents, what are the chances of the parents accepting the bird again? I heard that some parents will kill the bird if it has been removed from the breeding box and returned later???

No, you can't put baby back with the parents at this point, it wouldn't have a happy outcome.