Basil and Paprika

Alembic772

New member
May 13, 2020
239
52
Spring Hill, FL
Parrots
Basil - 22yr male SI Eclectus
River - male GCC
Nemo - female BCC - handicapped
Summer - female pineapple gcc
Rainbow - male yellow side gcc
Lando - male black headed caique
Paprika - female SI eclectu
Hello Ekkie fam. It’s been a bit since I shared some photos and news. Paprika is doing great. She’s flying around when supervised and has moved into her cage now. She is still not that sure footed but she’s only 15 weeks old after all. She gets around on her perches and boing without problems. She had trouble at first finding the water bowl but now she figured it out. She is an amazingly diverse eater. Can’t think of anything that she hasn’t tried. I am trying to wean her to fresh food and chop, which seems to be going well. She found some of the TOPS pellets that Basil won’t eat, and she loves them. So I give her some as a treat on top of her other foods. She also likes nutriberries and avicakes a lot, which are only given time to time. She does good with all different birdie breads too.
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With this being said, she still wants two hand feedings a day. I am not trying to rush her off them, so we will go at her pace until she doesn’t beg for them anymore.

Basil is still problematic with feedings. He throws most the stuff she will eat out of his cage. I’ve got him on Lafebers pellets and some tops mixed in but he still isn’t that huge on fresh food. He likes his apples, pomegranates, cactus fruit and sometimes sweet potatoes. I gave him peach and he never touched it. Same thing with Dragonfruit, even though Pappers loved it. It’s gonna take a while I know to convert him back over to fresher foods. His molt is still on going. Mostly all of the new feathers look great. I’ve seen a small black mark on a couple of them, but it is a huge improvement. He still hasn’t even lost half his flight or tail feathers so I am thinking this molt is going to take a while. He did start eating more brown rice, but still isn’t a fan of beans. Any suggestions for how to get him extra protein? He does like a small piece of hamburger or steak (home cooked, safely) from time to time.

So, when it comes to the two of them. They are not kept together, and I allow them to be near each other if they choose. Most times Basil ignores her or just flies away. She will, though, sometimes flap her wings and chase him. If she gets close she will grab onto his toes with her beak, which he voices his disapproval of and flies away. I’m wondering if this is because she is still a baby and not wanting to be social, or signs she and him won’t even be friends? I don’t force them together, and I always supervise them if they are both out. I work from home, so they are pretty much out and around me all day. What are the groups thoughts on her behavior? She always is the more “aggressive” of the two of them. He won’t even try to put his beak on her or anything that could be seen as vicious. He just flies or runs away.

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Thanks for reading !


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dhraiden

Member
Jul 14, 2015
603
23
Queens NY
Parrots
Green Cheek Conure (Mochi)
Gold Capped Conure (Mango)
I don't have ekkies (maybe one day), but those are some gorgeous birds, wow! It sounds like you're providing great care. Fortunately there's more than a few wisened elders on Ekkie care you can consult through the forums, Anansi and chris-md being two of the best on the subject.
 

chris-md

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

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
You’re far too kind, dhraiden. I’ve got plenty of blind spots, and intergender prepubescent social structure and interaction would definitely be one of those :) anything I’d say here is pure speculation; something I personally have little respect for in situations like this. Always beware of advice from someone who has no experience in the topic. In drives me crazy when I see people here advising new posters on raising baby birds having never done it themselves.

That said...:)

It’s very hard to say without video. However I’ll say I’m not THAT upset with what’s been described. Females as a rule are very pushy little beasts who make their feelings known - males are serious push overs. That a female is pushing a male around, in and of itself, isn’t too alarming to me. But again, that’ without observing the behavior.

Continue to supervise all interactions, but also maybe try to put some distance to be safe. I really hope Anansi sees this and pipes up as he is one of the only people (if not the only other person, if I recall correctly) that has experience was a multi gendered household on this particular forum.
 
Last edited:
OP
Alembic772

Alembic772

New member
May 13, 2020
239
52
Spring Hill, FL
Parrots
Basil - 22yr male SI Eclectus
River - male GCC
Nemo - female BCC - handicapped
Summer - female pineapple gcc
Rainbow - male yellow side gcc
Lando - male black headed caique
Paprika - female SI eclectu
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
also if any of you out there could give advice on how you got your Ellie’s to chew and play with toys. I don’t want to make some of the same mistakes as I did with Basil. He barely chews or plays with anything. I would like to see if I can get Paprika to be better about this.


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chris-md

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

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
Easier question with easier answer: Stuff them with food in any way you can. That’s how I got Parker To start playing with shreddables and foraging. Stuff things with nuts or other favorite food to get them engaged with the toy.
 
OP
Alembic772

Alembic772

New member
May 13, 2020
239
52
Spring Hill, FL
Parrots
Basil - 22yr male SI Eclectus
River - male GCC
Nemo - female BCC - handicapped
Summer - female pineapple gcc
Rainbow - male yellow side gcc
Lando - male black headed caique
Paprika - female SI eclectu
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
I’ve tried making a video of what she does to him, but he just flies away before she can even get near him.

She does seem like she is vicious. But when she did grab his feet with her beak, he did the eclectus HONK and flew away.


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Moxie

New member
Sep 25, 2020
51
4
Texoma
Parrots
macaws
Your birds are beautiful!

I don't have any eclectus experience as I have only owned new world parrots. As for the male/female interactions you described is very familiar to me. My male mini macaw has always been afraid of my female mini macaws' aggression. He will fight back if he can't fly away but if he can he is gone! I think it is more of a game now than anything else.
 

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