Meet Yoshi!!!

[Sterling1113]

Thanks you guys I don't remember the exact measurement but I'm pretty sure it's 3'Lx2'Dx5'6"T
It might be taller than me and I'm 5'7".. haha.
And yes Mikey I noticed he's sort of clumsy with perches, so thats why I took the other pipe out and got him the rope, something he can hold onto better. And we'll be getting him a nice sized concrete one today too.

 

[labell]

Just a suggestion on the cage, if you have another bowl for that third spot I would either keep it in there or remove the holder part if it can be removed if you don't plan on using it. I had a bird sit on the holder once and playing got his wing trapped through the holder. It all was fine and he wasn't hurt but it took 5 years off my life and the bird wasn't very happy for a while either.

 

[Sterling1113]

Just a suggestion on the cage, if you have another bowl for that third spot I would either keep it in there or remove the holder part if it can be removed if you don't plan on using it. I had a bird sit on the holder once and playing got his wing trapped through the holder. It all was fine and he wasn't hurt but it took 5 years off my life and the bird wasn't very happy for a while either.

Ooof, that sounds awful! I didn't even think about it. I think we're going to get him another bowl today to fill it, we were just on a time crunch last night as we didn't get home till around 8 and most pet stores here close at 9 What do you guys use for a pellet/seed mix? (Whatever stays in there all day along with the daily fresh fruits and veggies.) I know I could probably look it up on yahoo answers or something, but I figured you guys have reasons for using the brands you do haha.

 

[aether-drifter]

Ecletus are supposed to have something like 80% fresh food, 20% pellets and seed. This might help: diets

As far as pellet brands...I give Sakura a mix of Zupreem natural and TOPs in her cage (she will not eat Harrison's, I've tried). She gets fresh mash/chop in the morning (which she flings all over the kitchen), and in her cage a veggie and fruit kabob along with her pellets. Her evening snacks include Caitec oven fresh bites and these birdie crackers (I pretend they are my snacks which makes her want them. ) She also gets a Nutri-berry as a snack most days. Maybe ekkie owners can weigh in on whether or not these things would be good for Yoshi.

 

[Anansi]

I don't personally use pellets for Bixby at this point, and only a sprinkling of seeds. In my 3rd cup I usually keep a mixture of seeds, nuts, and trail mix type dried fruits and veggies. Also don't forget the oft overlooked grains and legumes.

As for pellets, I have heard good things about Harrison's. Just be careful with ekkys and pellets. With their overly efficient digestive systems, they extract more vitamins from their food than other parrots. So, with vitamin-enriched foods like pellets, you run the chance of them developing toe tapping, wing flipping, or feather plucking... as well as plain old grumpiness.

But, from what I've heard, Harrison's is supposed to be okay for them.... taken in moderation.

 

[Sterling1113]

Finally got him to eat.. he has NO idea what to do with fresh food. He had a few bites of grapes between last night and today but he didn't want anything else.. so I figured I'd give him some seed mix that my conures eat, since it's what he had before he moved, and I put some fresh apple slices (No seeds!) and dehydrated banana chips and some millet in there.

He's eating the seeds but I guess we'll find out when I go to clean out the bowl what all he did/didn't like. Odds are I'm going to be using a mix of ZuPreeme parrot mix that was recommended, along with dehydrated fruits and some nuts.. and slowly let him explore his food options, still presenting him with fresh fruit/veggies/grains/mash. Maybe now that he's eating he'll be less grumpy with us..

He's decided that when he's on his cage, he does NOT want hands to go near him. He fluffs up and lunges. But he steps up on a perch. Poor guy, finally showing that he did NOT like being grabbed and pulled out of his cage the way he was being handled by the last owner. He's getting better at stepping up outside of the cage though, I haven't been able to find something he'll eat from our hands so the clicker training will have to wait until we find something enticing enough for him.

I'm still waiting for his first sound hah.. so far we've only heard the beak grinding sound he makes when he's on his cage or going to sleep(Or sometimes he does it when he's sitting on Brad's arm.) I read it means he's content or at peace, so I guess that's a better sound than none, right?
ANYWAY! Sorry to ramble.. Just giving an update. Open to any advice/questions!
Still all and all happy with Yoshi, even though it might take a while to really earn his trust. He's just a young'in though, so we have all the time in the world!! Haha.

 

[Tate]

He sounds alot like my Yoshi when he first came home. would lunge at me anytime my hands went close or wanted him to step-up, wouldnt take any food from my hands, and didnt make a sound!
It took a week or 2 for him to stop lunging at me, you'll probably find he's just afraid of you and the new situation, i'm sure once he settles in he'll ease up on lunging.

The first time i got mine to accept a treat was after a week or so and he'd settled in a bit and was sitting on my stomach when i was lying on the couch. He was really relaxed and letting me pet him all over and offered a sliver of almond and he took it! he was on and off about accepting things from then but now usually takes anything, greedy guts he is

With sounds too it was well over a week before he made so much as a squeak, which after having seen pretty much everyone elses birds be chatting away to themselves after a day or 2 i began to wonder.. but i guess they all have their little quirks. Mine is still very quiet, makes the most adorable sounds playing with his toys and his foot (weirdo) and thats pretty much it. He has some epic learning to talk sessions of an arfternoon sometimes but im generally not home to hear it, and he doesnt like learning in front of me He is currently downstairs making all sorts of kissy sounds.

So the main thing is to just give everything time. it can takes weeks, even months to start seeing changes but dont worry they will happen. I thought my boy hated me that first month but now he's just a giant green cuddlebug. I've only had my boy for 3 months but the changes in that short time (that feels like forever) are amazing. So just persist with what you're doing, and he'll come around pretty fast

His story really got me so i look forward to hearing about his progress, he is a beautiful boy

 

[Sterling1113]

Thank you, tate! It's nice hearing a familiar story. He won't even let me get close to petting him so I'm not gonna try until he's comfortably and confidently stepping up at the very least. I have hopes for him being a good bird though.

And yes, I agree he is a very pretty boy I can't wait for him to molt and grow out some nice healthy feathers.

 

[rbreck]

How exciting! Beautiful.

I only feed Maui fresh fruit and veggies. He gets a little egg, chicken or fish too, whatever I am making for dinner. Electus seed mix- maybe a tablespoon a week total. When I feed him pellets his attidtude changes within 24 hrs - crankie and wing filpping.

Can't wait to hear about him in a week or so after he settles into his new mansion.

 

[Sterling1113]

Morning update!!

This morning after Brad got up and went to work me being lazy slept for another hour.. the birds didn't seem to mind though, they rarely let me sleep past 10!
Got up, greeted all the birdies and opened up Yoshi's cage and talked to him for a bit, got on the computer then started making some scrambled eggs for everyone. (Special treat courtesy of Yoshi.. trying to get him to eat something other than seeds, and if he has something, EVERYONE has to have it too!) And while I was cooking I heard the cling-clank of cage bars and was pleased to see Yoshi coming out of his cage all by himself! Great progress, leaving the cage all on his own So I praised him with good, soft words for a minute then returned to cooking, and then I heard a sound I had not heard before... yup! Yoshi started being vocal!
He wasn't trying to say words from what I could hear, but it's definitely adorable and almost made me cry tears just from pure cute-ness. Hehe.
So I finished letting his breakfast cool and mixed in some banana slices and pine nuts and apparently he likes scrambled eggs! Now there's a new problem.. I don't want to/can't hold his bowl up to the top of his arch-top cage for him to eat, and he doesn't want to stay in his cage long enough to check it out and eat more.. heh. If it's not one thing it's another, eh?
Oh well! I got him down and although he didn't want to take anything from me away from the cage I still got him to step up a couple times for me, which makes me happy for the morning.
Can't wait to see/hear him come out of his shell.. I'm sure he has all sorts of things to say! Hehe

 

[aether-drifter]

So he likes to hang out on top of the cage? You could put a perch up there and attach a bowl to the outside.

He seems to be making GREAT progress in a short amount of time!

 

[Sterling1113]

So he likes to hang out on top of the cage? You could put a perch up there and attach a bowl to the outside.

He seems to be making GREAT progress in a short amount of time!

Problem is it's a dome-top, and he likes the back of the cage rather than the front. I'm not very knowledgeable about attaching perches/bowls in a secure way, so maybe I'm just thinking it's more complicated than it actually is haha.
Not to mention the cage is already as tall as me, and isn't height-dominance an issue with parrots? I don't want him to feel like he can be nippy or "in charge" cause we have to reach above our heads to get him down..

 

[Anansi]

There's a lot of debate about whether or not height dominance exists in parrots. I tend to think it exists to some extent, (they do always seek the highest ground and the most dominant always gets the very highest point) though I'm not convinced yet as to the degree or consistency with which it affects their behavior toward us. Neither Suzie (my deceased cockatiel) nor Bixby have seemed particularly influenced by it. (Save for a maddeningly persistent desire to try to make it to my shoulder. Lol)

 

[Sterling1113]

Yeah, I can't seem to find anything more than it being just a theory after some research online.. oh well. I'm sure his deal is more of a cage-thing than a height-thing anyway. I'll bring up a perch and bowl later on this evening and see what we can do. We also plan on building him a perch/play stand out of safe, bird-approved wood so we have a whole list of things for him! Haha.
Caught him exploring a little bit more rather than hiding in the corner on top of his cage.. which makes me happy, that he feels comfortable to go from point A to point B by himself. You can't see much when he's in his cage but he's digging into some grapes for a late, pre-dinner snack. They're the only fresh thing he's enjoyed so far so I let him have them whenever I'm munching on them. Also note that he chose the fresh bowl of grapes over the bowl behind him which has seed, what he's been used to eating.. he didn't even touch the seed before going back on top. Whee!

 

[aether-drifter]

Here is what I was thinking...excuse the crude "diagram" lol. But if he always go to the back of the cage it may not work.

Regarding height dominance, I think it is a myth. Sure, birds feel safe up high and covet the highest spots...and if they like to be in a particular spot and you try to move them, they might get mad and throw a little fit. That goes for any spot they like, though. Being up high does not give them some kind of "alpha" complex. They just don't have that kind of social structure.

 

[Sterling1113]

Ahh okay I see what you mean.
Yeah when where he sits I feel like he would go right past it.. or go to the front for food, then right back, as right now he occasionally pops inside his cage for food then goes back up top. You can kinda see what I mean here, me standing in front of the cage this is what I see

 

[Sterling1113]

Being a pretty boy exploring more of his cage..
He started eating pellets, so he's getting more vitamins with them than he was with the seed mix. Whoo!
He's not a fan of being misted with a water bottle, so I have to find some new ways to introduce him to water for bathing. He's a dirty birdie

 

[aether-drifter]

He's so gorgeous. :heart:

I think he could use a lot more perches, though.

 

[Sterling1113]

He's so gorgeous. :heart:

I think he could use a lot more perches, though.

I agree on the perches/toys. Trouble is finding toys that hang low enough! Hah.
We're just waiting till payday (Tuesday) once rent clears then we'll be able to do some more perch shopping and toy shopping for him.

 

[Sterling1113]

He's decided he doesn't want to step up on the perch anymore from the top of his cage. Once he sees me coming with a perch in my hand he turns around and goes behind his cage, where I'd have to roll the cage to get to him and I don't want to stress him by doing so.
He retreated to the inside of his cage for some pellets and I'd rather not try to get him out while he's eating, so I guess I'm just gonna sort of leave him be for the day and keep talking to him/playing music.