Naughty bites & overweight

[Talaya]

Hi,
I weigh Solo every few days, his weight has been going up and I think it is now too much ?. He is 420 grams.
he can fly around the room a couple of times. But when he lands it’s not a gracious alighting, it’s a definite plonk on your shoulder.
he is hugely food oriented and we have to put him away when we eat because he gets aggressive and tries to steal our food and bite us. (He’s never been fed from our plates) the only food Ive shared is a couple of bits of fruit for breakfast when he is calm. He doesn’t stop eating.
Anyway this week he has become very grumbly and growls at most things I do. He bit my hand quite hard on Tuesday because he didn’t want to get off my shoulder. unfortunately I did a knee jerk response and said ow quite loudly, managed to shake him off and he flew away high pitch shrieking.
He also defended the towel I use on my lap sometime.
He knows what No and ow means. He often refuses to step up, by freezing and just stares at me, then when I walk away he flies & clings to my shoulder blade So I can’t reach him very well. He is 8 months old.
I just wanted to know does this all seem normal ? I keep working on the step up.. but it’s more food, which is partially why I think he has put on weight. I’m not sure what to do.

 

[saxguy64]

I can't remember if you said, but what sub species is Solo? My guy is a red sided, and came to me at about 405g, badly clipped and completely unable to fly, on mostly a pellet diet. He adapted to fresh food diet quickly, and I weaned him off the pellets slowly just to be sure he wasn't going to starve himself. He definitely wasn't starving lol. In my limited experience with male ekkies, they're total pigs! It's amazing how much food they put away!

Fast forward a little, my Tucker is a very active, extremely skilled flier, and definitely loves his groceries. The thing is, muscle mass is heavier than flab. So, he's now a solid 420-425g, and hasn't changed more than a couple grams up or down in 2 years. For Solo, your avian vet can do a physical exam and feel around his keel to help determine what's a good weight for him. Where that number is compared to "average" is not really important. He's an individual.

Now, the behavior stuff... I'm no expert, and in fact have always adopted adult birds because I've always felt the baby behaviors are not part of my skill set. It does sound like there's a lot of testing boundaries going on. Think like a human toddler. Stick to your limits, reward the good things, and try your best to ignore him when he does things you don't want. Hard sometimes, I know, but shunning is an effective tool. If he's refusing to leave your shoulder, he needs to not be there. It's a privilege that he has to earn, and you both have to completely trust each other. Biting isn't trust. At all. It's an attempt to control the situation. Respect the beak, watch the body language, and remove the situations where you see a bite coming. He'll get there.

I'll add this link as a refresher, though you've probably seen it already.

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

 

[Talaya]

I can't remember if you said, but what sub species is Solo? My guy is a red sided, and came to me at about 405g, badly clipped and completely unable to fly, on mostly a pellet diet. He adapted to fresh food diet quickly, and I weaned him off the pellets slowly just to be sure he wasn't going to starve himself. He definitely wasn't starving lol. In my limited experience with male ekkies, they're total pigs! It's amazing how much food they put away!

Fast forward a little, my Tucker is a very active, extremely skilled flier, and definitely loves his groceries. The thing is, muscle mass is heavier than flab. So, he's now a solid 420-425g, and hasn't changed more than a couple grams up or down in 2 years. For Solo, your avian vet can do a physical exam and feel around his keel to help determine what's a good weight for him. Where that number is compared to "average" is not really important. He's an individual.

Now, the behavior stuff... I'm no expert, and in fact have always adopted adult birds because I've always felt the baby behaviors are not part of my skill set. It does sound like there's a lot of testing boundaries going on. Think like a human toddler. Stick to your limits, reward the good things, and try your best to ignore him when he does things you don't want. Hard sometimes, I know, but shunning is an effective tool. If he's refusing to leave your shoulder, he needs to not be there. It's a privilege that he has to earn, and you both have to completely trust each other. Biting isn't trust. At all. It's an attempt to control the situation. Respect the beak, watch the body language, and remove the situations where you see a bite coming. He'll get there.

I'll add this link as a refresher, though you've probably seen it already.

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

Thank you Saxguy, he is a SI Eclectus. he arrived at 385 grams. The problem with the shoulder is he flies at me from behind and latches on to my clothes; at my shoulder blade, so all that pops up is his head..
.(I can’t see him to read the language or get a proper step up).
It’s always as I go to the kitchen.. it’s where the food is lol.. At first he was quite easy to read, now he is more subtle with his feathers.
But..today ..every time he has done it, I’ve turned around away from the kitchen and stood by one of his stands instead. Then he has got off ok. So I’m going to keep this up.
I was cleaning his cage and there was a few more of the larger body feathers on the floor than usual. So I think he may be moulting a bit again.
on the plus side, he is gradually getting better with me cleaning his cage and actually let me play with a toy for 10 seconds. So there is improvement elsewhere. Before he has chased me off with open beak, hunchback and piercing eyes.

 

[HeatherG]

Open beak, hunchback, and piercing eyes…

 

[chris-md]

Parker is definitely acting up lately. No bites thank god (I’m certain it’s coming), but he’s growling and screaming like never before.

And he’s SO dang clingy. Much more than usual.

It’s normal, but only if you know it’s for sure just a phase. To know that, examine the diet. If he’s overweight, you might be which can triggers hormones. Caloric overabundance is an ingrained, hardwired signal that it’s breeding season.

That said, a “thudding” shoulder landing might be weight related, depends on what his historical flight performance has been. It could simply be that he lacks landing skills, which is what prompted me to begin recall flight training with my own Ekkie. He had the worst, most dangerous landings and it terrified me.

If you haven’t already get him to a vet for a wellness check. The vet can feel the breast for the keel bone to determine if he’s actually overweight or landing at a good weight becuase of an improved diet.

Clear as mud?

 

[Talaya]

Parker is definitely acting up lately. No bites thank god (I’m certain it’s coming), but he’s growling and screaming like never before.

And he’s SO dang clingy. Much more than usual.

It’s normal, but only if you know it’s for sure just a phase. To know that, examine the diet. If he’s overweight, you might be which can triggers hormones. Caloric overabundance is an ingrained, hardwired signal that it’s breeding season.

That said, a “thudding” shoulder landing might be weight related, depends on what his historical flight performance has been. It could simply be that he lacks landing skills, which is what prompted me to begin recall flight training with my own Ekkie. He had the worst, most dangerous landings and it terrified me.

If you haven’t already get him to a vet for a wellness check. The vet can feel the breast for the keel bone to determine if he’s actually overweight or landing at a good weight becuase of an improved diet.

Clear as mud?

Thanks Chris 👍
I’m pretty sure he is not actually too much overweight. He flies quite well, and can turn in the air on the spot like a hummingbird if he wants to. Ive noticed now it’s seems to be only ‘flat’ surfaces he really thumps on to. He lands on fingers and perches fine. He recalls sometimes; when he fancies it.. Though his tail feathers are looking a bit worn and scruffy, I did see one pin feather in his tail in his last shower. (& I can feel his keel bone most of the way down)
He‘s still only a baby but he was really clingy too on Monday and Tuesday but he’s been ok the rest of the week. He is also getting slightly better at biting less. He’s quite a ‘do not touch me bird’ Though I can get away with more than hubby.
I’m very grateful for your advice, thank you so much it’s really helpful.

 

[Talaya]

Just an update, he is definitely moulting theres quite a few feathers on the floor every day. We are also having a heat wave here so it’s about 32/34 degrees. he pulled a few of the fluffy grey ones out, and stands with his wings slightly open trying to get some air under them.
I’ve weighed him and he seems to have stabilised around 415g ish For the last few weeks.
biting - he did get me in the shower the other day, but he does play quite aggressive in the shower, so I wasn’t careful enough. We frown at him when he nibbles our fingers, he deliberately turns his head away to chew harder on them at a different angle and to not see us frowning.. naughty boy. But he is slowly getting better With that. There is still a long way to go as he will bite hard if he can.
He definitely likes the ladies more and was bewitched by my Dutch friend when she sang nursery rhymes to him but when introduced to her husband , he took an small almond piece then leant over and bit his thumb for no apparent reason, still with almond in beak.

 

[saxguy64]

Just an update, he is definitely moulting theres quite a few feathers on the floor every day. We are also having a heat wave here so it’s about 32/34 degrees. he pulled a few of the fluffy grey ones out, and stands with his wings slightly open trying to get some air under them.
I’ve weighed him and he seems to have stabilised around 415g ish For the last few weeks.
biting - he did get me in the shower the other day, but he does play quite aggressive in the shower, so I wasn’t careful enough. We frown at him when he nibbles our fingers, he deliberately turns his head away to chew harder on them at a different angle and to not see us frowning.. naughty boy. But he is slowly getting better With that. There is still a long way to go as he will bite hard if he can.
He definitely likes the ladies more and was bewitched by my Dutch friend when she sang nursery rhymes to him but when introduced to her husband , he took an small almond piece then leant over and bit his thumb for no apparent reason, still with almond in beak.

Little stinker! 🤣 He'll get there.