Eclectus bonding

[Don0803]

Hello all,

We get a baby male eclectus, he is 3 months old. My girlfriend works from home, and she's spending all day with him. He bonded with her very very good.. actually he's flying all the time to her, sleeps on her and everything, fly to her on call ..

Problem is he doesen't pay attention to me.. when i spoke something to him, he replies, but he refuse to fly to me, when i give him a hand, he jumped to hand, but stay couple of seconds, and then flies away.. Even when we are alone, he doesen't want to hang with me..

Is there anything i can do to create bond with him?

His name is Tiki

 

[saxguy64]

Welcome to you and Tiki! He's adorable! Few things cuter than a baby ekkie face. (Not that I'm biased or anything...)

Here's a thread to check out that may help:

Tips for Bonding and Building Trust

Parrots rarely bite each other, because they convey their feelings beforehand or fly off to avoid physical contact. If it feels cornered and frighten then need to bite will be from the natural instinct of self -preservation. The cage is the Parrot safe haven and any attempt to enter, add or...

www.parrotforums.com

The biggest thing to consider, is that our parrots have no natural reason to trust us. We have to earn that. He does come to you, so clearly there's some trust there. So take advantage of that and build on it. ALWAYS be a source of only good things. Treats are super helpful. I can speak from experience, ekkie boys LOVE to eat. So, reward him whenever he does something good, like coming to you, or staying with you. Basically, give him a reason.

Much more in moving forward, but this is a very basic place to start. Hope it helps! Best of luck to you on your new journey with Tiki!

BTW, we'd love to see more pictures if you'd like to share

 

[Don0803]

Unfortunately he's not eating independently, for now he's just crushing food. Anyway i tried yesterday giving him banana while he was sitting on girlfriends shoulder and that was good, but then i make few steps away and tried to call him but he wasn't interested 😔

 

[saxguy64]

Okay, so hand feeding? Baby bird formula? You can do some of the feedings. Food is life, food is good, and food is bribery! That's a great way to help him understand that good things come from you.

It takes time, and it's about his schedule, not your expectations. Patience is the most important thing. You'll get there.

 

[Don0803]

Yes.. it's hand feeding with formula.. but with the tube.. hopefully will not last for long...

Here is some more Tikis pictures

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations on your handsome boy!

Its just me and my buddies
But I want them to be good with visitors and they are. So I think your girlfriend can be the bridge for you and Tiki.

I would get the bird in a good calm mood, then have it step from me to my guest then back to me for a treat. We both tell the birdie how great and fabulous they are. When the burd was comfortable with that. I had them step from me to the guest and the guest gave the treat and ofcourse again we both bragged. Then back to me. As at first the burds weren't comfortable staying for long.
Then we would sit on the couch together and pass the birdie back and forth. I can't remember if it wast Sailboat or Wrench that call this the Pass The Birdie game! But the birds do have fun and succumb to all our flattery about how smart brave and fabulous they are. Soon they were willing to hang out on guest shoulders.
Maybe this can help you.

Also birds like routines and rituals. All who enter including myself go immediately to say hi to the parrots and give treats. We also always say goodbye when leaving and give a treat.

Flocks eat together . So all 3 of you can share a plate of veggies and fruits together. Hopefully also helps him learn from his flock that this is yummy food. Birds learn so much from each other and are braver trying new stuff if they see their flock doing it.