goodie57

[goodie57]

hi, i have a eclectus parrot who is 4 months old and is screaming a lot .He was hand reared and i got him at 14 wks , i have had him for 4 wks, he was a beautiful placid quiet and loving little fellow, i had him on the same diet as the breeders had him on and he was perfect , then a trip to vets to get his toes trimmed changed everything , i was told he was on wrong diet. he was getting parrot blue which is a mixture of seed , fruit and nuts , i was also giving him veggies and fruit as well , vet said they are not seed eaters so i should'nt be giving him the parrot blue .so i took him off the seed and the bad behaviour started , maybe i should have weaned him off it instead of going cold turkey , cause i can't stop him screaming ,can anyone please help me. thanks

 

[BirdyBee]

hi, i have a eclectus parrot who is 4 months old and is screaming a lot .He was hand reared and i got him at 14 wks , i have had him for 4 wks, he was a beautiful placid quiet and loving little fellow, i had him on the same diet as the breeders had him on and he was perfect , then a trip to vets to get his toes trimmed changed everything , i was told he was on wrong diet. he was getting parrot blue which is a mixture of seed , fruit and nuts , i was also giving him veggies and fruit as well , vet said they are not seed eaters so i should'nt be giving him the parrot blue .so i took him off the seed and the bad behaviour started , maybe i should have weaned him off it instead of going cold turkey , cause i can't stop him screaming ,can anyone please help me. thanks

@chris-md, @kme3388, @saxguy64?

 

[BirdyBee]

hi, i have a eclectus parrot who is 4 months old and is screaming a lot .He was hand reared and i got him at 14 wks , i have had him for 4 wks, he was a beautiful placid quiet and loving little fellow, i had him on the same diet as the breeders had him on and he was perfect , then a trip to vets to get his toes trimmed changed everything , i was told he was on wrong diet.

he was getting parrot blue which is a mixture of seed , fruit and nuts , i was also giving him veggies and fruit as well , vet said they are not seed eaters so i should'nt be giving him the parrot blue .so i took him off the seed and the bad behaviour started , maybe i should have weaned him off it instead of going cold turkey , cause i can't stop him screaming ,can anyone please help me. thanks

I suggest you read this thread on diet

The Eclectus Diet: The Do's, the Don'ts, and Everything You Need to Know But Were Too Afraid to Ask

The eclectus diet; much talked-about, always poorly understood. This post will have three objectives: Explain the dos and don’ts of feeding your eclectus Relate it to wild eclectus feeding behavior Examine the discussion surrounding their physiology, and what makes them unique among parrot...

www.parrotforums.com

 

[saxguy64]

Okay, sounds like first and foremost, your bird is screaming for food. You are correct, transitioning needs to be gradual. Cold turkey can actually be dangerous. The old addage, "he'll eat it when he gets hungry enough" does not apply here. Parrots being given nothing but unfamiliar food can and do in fact starve themselves to death. So, give him his old food, now, and transition gradually to a better diet. Healthy diet is of zero value if he won't eat it.

Now, your bird has likely been force weaned, rather than abundance weaned. Sadly, that's a common practice by less than scrupulous breeders because they can push out more birds faster, meaning more profit. Force weaning does NOT equal FULLY weaned. Ekkies commonly take a little longer than some others to fully wean to solid diet. Please consider getting some baby bird formula and offering it until he refuses it, following instructions, of course. I have no experience in hand feeding, so I'll leave that to folks with first hand knowledge. An avian vet is your best resource, or at least different breeder (as this one doesn't seem to know or care about proper diet for ekkies) who can help instruct you. It's very easy to make mistakes in hand feeding that can turn out to be deadly, so again, ask someone with experience for help. If you ever feel that something isn't right with your bird, ASK. Much better to know than not, right? Here's a link that may help.

So you bought an unweaned baby...

Today I spent several hours trying to help someone save a baby bird they had purchased unweaned. The baby died; they are usually almost dead by the time the new owner realizes something is wrong, not because the owner doesn't care but because they are not educated about what to look for or...

www.parrotforums.com

Please keep us posted!

 

[kme3388]

Hi there, and welcome!

I do have an adult male Ekkie. I adopted him a year ago. The same thing happened to me when I brought him to the vet for the very first time. I was overwhelmed as well. I was not educated that I was adopting a parrot with a very complex diet, and a well known bird with hormone issues. I had no idea what I was getting into with my Ekkie. I still love him, and I wouldn't change adopting him. I do not regret it at all. I just wasn't prepared in the least bit.

Baby Ekkies do have different needs then an adult Ekkie. I will fully admit I have NO experience with a baby parrot. Sense you are working with a vet I would continue to follow up with questions.

I do have to add that I hide Nico's almond slivers from him. They cannot be in his eye sight, or he will scream until he gets one. I only offer these as a treat if he exercises, or does a trick. I don't think a seed/nut diet is really recommended for any bird. Not to mention its hard to get them to do anything you want them to if you are feeding them a treat for food. When I converted my conure from a seed/nut diet to a pellet diet she screamed a lot. She also was very cranky.

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome to the forum.
Everybody has given you such excellent advice already!

A good idea when doing a diet change is to have a digital kitchen scale and weight check them each morning, and keep a log. Plus its good to keep track of weight for life , usually once a week or so ( when nit duet changes). Young birds usually keep bulking up slowly till they reach about 2 years.

With diet changes yiu don't want them to lose, or keep it under 3% body mass . Tge aim would to be to not have loss but my vet is OK with 1-2% loss during transition, and following to Make sure they gain that back.

I think all the good Eddie duets have already been shared. And the importance of going slow. Seeds have more calories and fats , so quickly removing them, if they aren't eating enough of the new diet is a huge drop in calories.

Seeds aren't considered to be good for electus that's true. But its ok to have some as you work towards a good diet. You will have to read up and put a lot if effort into getting the diet right. But we have lots of excellent eckectus owners to guide you.

Cooked sweet potatoes mashed up are liked by many parrots especially if served warm and a good source of vitamin A. Cooked quinoa, lentils and soaked and cooked legume are food for protein. Plus lots if leafy greens and veggies as mentioned. Many fo a chop to get

 

[kme3388]

Okay, sounds like first and foremost, your bird is screaming for food. You are correct, transitioning needs to be gradual. Cold turkey can actually be dangerous. The old addage, "he'll eat it when he gets hungry enough" does not apply here. Parrots being given nothing but unfamiliar food can and do in fact starve themselves to death. So, give him his old food, now, and transition gradually to a better diet. Healthy diet is of zero value if he won't eat it.

Now, your bird has likely been force weaned, rather than abundance weaned. Sadly, that's a common practice by less than scrupulous breeders because they can push out more birds faster, meaning more profit. Force weaning does NOT equal FULLY weaned. Ekkies commonly take a little longer than some others to fully wean to solid diet. Please consider getting some baby bird formula and offering it until he refuses it, following instructions, of course. I have no experience in hand feeding, so I'll leave that to folks with first hand knowledge. An avian vet is your best resource, or at least different breeder (as this one doesn't seem to know or care about proper diet for ekkies) who can help instruct you. It's very easy to make mistakes in hand feeding that can turn out to be deadly, so again, ask someone with experience for help. If you ever feel that something isn't right with your bird, ASK. Much better to know than not, right? Here's a link that may help.

So you bought an unweaned baby...

Today I spent several hours trying to help someone save a baby bird they had purchased unweaned. The baby died; they are usually almost dead by the time the new owner realizes something is wrong, not because the owner doesn't care but because they are not educated about what to look for or...

www.parrotforums.com

Please keep us posted!

I am beginning to see this on here a lot. It's rather sad You begin to wonder how many parrots have been hurt in the process of being weaned too soon, or being beefed up (fed things high in calories) for sales.

I'm happy to help anyone but I have no experience with baby parrots. I wouldn't know the first thing about hand feeding, or how to handle these situations.

 

[BirdyBee]

I'm happy to help anyone but I have no experience with baby parrots. I wouldn't know the first thing about hand feeding, or how to handle these situations.

This is why I'd rather tag people who may have experience than replying about something I have no knowledge on.