Ladybug Update

Francie Mae · Apr 9, 2026

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all well.

It has been about two months since we brought ladybug home. She is now around six months old!

We took her to the vet, though, and were informed she has klebsiella, and likely had it before we brought her home. She’s on antibiotics twice a day, and also received a shot with a different kind of antibiotic. She has some liver damage as well, but the vet expects her to make a full recovery, as her liver should repair itself. My dad plans on contacting the pet store we got her from to let them know that their birds have been exposed to the bacteria. The vet also let us know that the diet we give her is perfect for Ekkies, and any high fatty liver readings could not have been from the food we have given her.

That’s the serious stuff out of the way. Socially, she’s doing quite well. She loves my dad and being on his shoulder. We were worried about her shaking when approached, but the vet said he believes it’s a form of positive excitement. She didn’t shake at the vet’s office, and seems to only tremble when approached by specific people (namely my dad and I). The behavior is also paired with her fluffing her feathers and sometimes beak-clicking, so the vet believes she does it when she’s happy/ready to be engaged with.

She’s still quite nippy, though. This is, of course, to be expected, but we’re trying to find ways to redirect her. Like I mentioned, she loves being on my dad’s shoulder, but it’s a problem because of how much she tries to nibble on his ear. She’s not gentle. If needed, we simply won’t allow her on shoulders, but if we could find a way to mitigate this behavior, that would be good. If not, that’s okay, too. We don’t blame her for nipping. Most of her biting seems to be for show, though—if she doesn’t want to be pet, she’ll lunge forward and snap, but the bite is usually very weak and leaves no mark. We don’t press her if she doesn’t want to be touched; we want to respect her boundaries.

She’s also becoming quite chatty. Originally, it was just at night, but now she has babbling sprees throughout the day. She’s overall much quieter in volume than Grim and Mischief, but she has a lot to say. She’s fond of saying ‘MWAH!’ and ‘Woooww..’

Overall, it’s been lovely having her in our house. She’s a major sweetheart and a cutie. We’ll continue keeping a close eye on her health and diet.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!

DonnaBudgie · Apr 10, 2026

Hi Francie! It sounds like your new Ekkie is doing well. About the face/ear nipping- that can quickly result in a pretty bad injury to your dad's face so I would advise against shoulder surfing. If he's not willing to protect himself this way, at least wear a hoodie to protect his skin. Ekkie's bites can easily result in a trip to the ER. Another member, Amna, has a young female Ekkie named Rudi they raised by hand that has begun to bite hard enough to leave jagged bloody wounds.

Vampiric_Conure · Apr 10, 2026

DonnaBudgie said:
Hi Francie! It sounds like your new Ekkie is doing well. About the face/ear nipping- that can quickly result in a pretty bad injury to your dad's face so I would advise against shoulder surfing. If he's not willing to protect himself this way, at least wear a hoodie to protect his skin. Ekkie's bites can easily result in a trip to the ER. Another member, Amna, has a young female Ekkie named Rudi they raised by hand that has begun to bite hard enough to leave jagged bloody wounds.

Ouch! This is why I dislike Yvons on my shoulder. The potential for damage is high :O

But glad to hear about Ladybug!

rheashard2 · Apr 10, 2026

Glad to hear your friend is doing well. I would also discourage your parrot being on shoulders. Nippy can lead to bitting. It's easier to train for arm or wrist. You can watch body language for potential panic. This leads to better control. Prevention is best.

Francie Mae · Apr 15, 2026

DonnaBudgie said:
Hi Francie! It sounds like your new Ekkie is doing well. About the face/ear nipping- that can quickly result in a pretty bad injury to your dad's face so I would advise against shoulder surfing. If he's not willing to protect himself this way, at least wear a hoodie to protect his skin. Ekkie's bites can easily result in a trip to the ER. Another member, Amna, has a young female Ekkie named Rudi they raised by hand that has begun to bite hard enough to leave jagged bloody wounds.

I didn’t clarify in my post very well, but I think her nipping is aggressive grooming. She does it to his hair, too, and rubs her beak roughly against his scalp. On women, she doesn’t go for their ears, but instead their hair. I don’t think she means for it to hurt, she’s just not good at grooming…But you are right, I can see how it could very easily go badly.

The actual biting is different—she pretty much only does it if she’s near her food bowl.

Francie Mae · Apr 15, 2026

rheashard2 said:
Glad to hear your friend is doing well. I would also discourage your parrot being on shoulders. Nippy can lead to bitting. It's easier to train for arm or wrist. You can watch body language for potential panic. This leads to better control. Prevention is best.

I agree, but we think it’s that she’s trying to groom us and it’s just done very inelegantly. We’re wondering if because she’s so young she just doesn’t have experience grooming things.

The actual biting only occurs if we encroach on her ‘space,’ like her food bowl. But I think it’s better to just not risk it with the shoulder.

TiredOldMan · Apr 16, 2026

Francie Mae said:
I didn’t clarify in my post very well, but I think her nipping is aggressive grooming. She does it to his hair, too, and rubs her beak roughly against his scalp. On women, she doesn’t go for their ears, but instead their hair. I don’t think she means for it to hurt, she’s just not good at grooming…But you are right, I can see how it could very easily go badly.

The actual biting is different—she pretty much only does it if she’s near her food bowl.

My BBF(Best Bird Friend) M2 Anakin(RIP) Would groom my beard like he was grooming feathers. He was grooming me like I groomed him. I usually only had a beard during the cold months, however it seemed to mean so much to him to be able to return the "favor" that I kept a beard year round.
I may be wrong but this sounds like reciprocal grooming behavior.

If this is the case I envy you.