There's a lot to describe about this situation, and it's a bit long to provide necessary details. Please bear with me.
The situation is 3 Eclectus parrots kept in the same room, 3 cages side-by-side situated between a large glass patio door (with large curtain) and the kitchen. I'm not the owner--I live with a housemate and these are her birds. But I'm very friendly with them and often care for them when she has other obligations.
There's 2 adults, a male (14 yrs)) & female (15 yrs) who are a mated pair, and a juvenile male that was their offspring (5 years). The problem is the juvenile (let's call him "2D") is self-plucking... and badly. Most of his green feathers are missing from his belly and upper back, leaving just the down. He had this self-plucking problem a couple of years ago and has been given medicine to address it... which seemed to work... eventually to the point of discontinuing it. But then he was taken to the vet for beak shortening (it had gotten way too long, interfering with his ability to easily eat--this is partly because he has a soft rope perch he sleeps on, but there are abrasive perches elsewhere in his cage), and it freaked him out. He started plucking again, and then the medicine was resumed... but is not helping this time.
Side note: 2D is a joy. He's the only one of the flock who really talks. The two adults used to say "hello" and "love you", but they've stopped. 2D has a pretty good vocabulary and loves to greet us. "Hello love bug" is his most common phrase. He says "hello" alone in about 8 different intonations. He's very expressive. He's an amazing little guy...
But the major thing to note is the living environment. The difference now is that 2D has matured and is pubescent. He got infatuated with his mother nearby, so we have taken to draping a towel over the side of her cage so he can't see her, but of course he can hear and smell her. He'll often go to the bottom of his cage and try peering from his cage into hers, often dodging around as if trying to show off. He had started to regurgitate to his mirror last year, so we took that away. Now 2D has started to regurgitate to the side of his metal water bowl (he sees the reflection of himself) and also to a little metal bell on the end of a toy attached to one side. The bell got so encrusted with dried regurgitation, you couldn't even see the metal any longer.
The two adults are not only a mated pair, but they want to be a baby factory. She's on a perpetual egg laying cycle. There are phases where they cavort and copulate. She'll get very "nesty" and we have to be careful or else she'll try to get under furniture. They have a carrier sitting on the other side of the living room we've nicknamed "the love hut," and at times we've let them go inside it. The female LOVES it. It's dark, small, and like a "hollow." But we don't want her laying eggs in there. So we limit their time in the love hut, and keep a towel over it. But the male knows what it is and will frequently fly to it when he's out, checking it out... and wondering why it's not open. We've got some rectangular plastic aerated baskets that are lined with paper towel strips and pieces, which becomes a makeshift nest. And the birds have so recognized it now that when it's brought out they squawk in excitement. We put the nest in the female's cage and most of the time we get lucky -- she lays eggs within it. She'll lay two over the span of a few days. If one breaks, she'll usually lay another to have two. During that time the male is adamant about wanting to be with her. He's the feeder of the flock. Generally he's good about being out. He normally stays within certain limits and will feed his mate and his son through the top or sides of their cages. There's also a "play gym" about 10 feet away that has food and water, with ladders, perches, and a large hoop. He enjoys hanging out on that.
Side note: After about a week, we fake out the female while she's out and swap in a new nest, containing two fake eggs. They're extremely realistic and she falls for it every time. But more on this later.
There is some difficulty between the two adults. While they get along, they've taken to often fighting after being out for a while. The female gets protective of the food on the gym, and the male will be deferential at first, but then start attacking her when she tries to prevent his access. They can get VERY intensely mad at each other. The good thing is the female knows we're here to help her and she'll step up onto our hands using her peripheral vision. And then we put her back in her cage.
As I said, the adult male is a free spirit and when he hears or sees us nearby, he starts chirping to be let out. And there's plenty of times when it's not conducive so we ignore him. And after some time, if he really wants out, he escalates. The friendly whistles/chirps become groans (very human like), then growls, next discordant squawks, loud squawks, and eventually ear piercing screeches. He knows what he wants and he gets mad when we don't comply. Generally, he wants to be out guarding his female nesting on the eggs.
So that's a whole lot to take in... but that's what 2D (juvenile male) witnesses day after day. He's a very nervous bird and the slightest unfamiliar or loud sound can freak him out. When the two adults are cavorting he will show nervous excitement... even when he can't see them (we have things blocking his line of sight, mostly). And sometimes he gets so agitated, he loses his footing and falls to the bottom of the cage.
It's MY suspicion that with his entry into a pubescent phase, that this environment is becoming difficult for him. He probably wants to have a female companion and all he sees is this older bird that's clearly mated to the adult male.... his father who he generally has an OK relationship, in that dad will come visit and feed him. He'll even do it when they're both out together. But we cannot have the adult female and 2D out together. Earlier on she'd actually fly over to attack him. But lately at times when she's out on the play gym, sometimes she flies to 2D's cage and sits on top, staring down at him. 2D used to get really badly freaked out by this, but now he's more tolerant.
So... the self-plucking...
The medicine is not abating it. And now the poor bugger looks almost comical with his "green helmet" over his gray down "vest." But I worry about what will become of him if things continue as they are.
The home is a 2 bedroom apartment that is a bit modest in space. And there's not much flexibility in how the cages can be managed. It's very convenient having them 3 in a row on one wall... as the maintenance is frequent (like changing water, which often needs to be done several times a day), food serving, and cage cleaning.
My thought is, if the juvenile male can't really be relocated to another part of the apartment that works for him while "hiding" the other birds, the only other real choice would be to give up the male and female for adoption. If someone wants to raise eclectus parrots from hatchlings, they'd be ideal. They are very fixated on procreation. But... their owner has bonded with all of them, the juvenile being the strongest. She doesn't want to let any of them go. And without a larger place to manage the birds, I don't know what can be done.
Sorry... it's a lot of information! IF you've read this far... please leave any advice you might think of. Thank you!
The situation is 3 Eclectus parrots kept in the same room, 3 cages side-by-side situated between a large glass patio door (with large curtain) and the kitchen. I'm not the owner--I live with a housemate and these are her birds. But I'm very friendly with them and often care for them when she has other obligations.
There's 2 adults, a male (14 yrs)) & female (15 yrs) who are a mated pair, and a juvenile male that was their offspring (5 years). The problem is the juvenile (let's call him "2D") is self-plucking... and badly. Most of his green feathers are missing from his belly and upper back, leaving just the down. He had this self-plucking problem a couple of years ago and has been given medicine to address it... which seemed to work... eventually to the point of discontinuing it. But then he was taken to the vet for beak shortening (it had gotten way too long, interfering with his ability to easily eat--this is partly because he has a soft rope perch he sleeps on, but there are abrasive perches elsewhere in his cage), and it freaked him out. He started plucking again, and then the medicine was resumed... but is not helping this time.
Side note: 2D is a joy. He's the only one of the flock who really talks. The two adults used to say "hello" and "love you", but they've stopped. 2D has a pretty good vocabulary and loves to greet us. "Hello love bug" is his most common phrase. He says "hello" alone in about 8 different intonations. He's very expressive. He's an amazing little guy...
But the major thing to note is the living environment. The difference now is that 2D has matured and is pubescent. He got infatuated with his mother nearby, so we have taken to draping a towel over the side of her cage so he can't see her, but of course he can hear and smell her. He'll often go to the bottom of his cage and try peering from his cage into hers, often dodging around as if trying to show off. He had started to regurgitate to his mirror last year, so we took that away. Now 2D has started to regurgitate to the side of his metal water bowl (he sees the reflection of himself) and also to a little metal bell on the end of a toy attached to one side. The bell got so encrusted with dried regurgitation, you couldn't even see the metal any longer.
The two adults are not only a mated pair, but they want to be a baby factory. She's on a perpetual egg laying cycle. There are phases where they cavort and copulate. She'll get very "nesty" and we have to be careful or else she'll try to get under furniture. They have a carrier sitting on the other side of the living room we've nicknamed "the love hut," and at times we've let them go inside it. The female LOVES it. It's dark, small, and like a "hollow." But we don't want her laying eggs in there. So we limit their time in the love hut, and keep a towel over it. But the male knows what it is and will frequently fly to it when he's out, checking it out... and wondering why it's not open. We've got some rectangular plastic aerated baskets that are lined with paper towel strips and pieces, which becomes a makeshift nest. And the birds have so recognized it now that when it's brought out they squawk in excitement. We put the nest in the female's cage and most of the time we get lucky -- she lays eggs within it. She'll lay two over the span of a few days. If one breaks, she'll usually lay another to have two. During that time the male is adamant about wanting to be with her. He's the feeder of the flock. Generally he's good about being out. He normally stays within certain limits and will feed his mate and his son through the top or sides of their cages. There's also a "play gym" about 10 feet away that has food and water, with ladders, perches, and a large hoop. He enjoys hanging out on that.
Side note: After about a week, we fake out the female while she's out and swap in a new nest, containing two fake eggs. They're extremely realistic and she falls for it every time. But more on this later.
There is some difficulty between the two adults. While they get along, they've taken to often fighting after being out for a while. The female gets protective of the food on the gym, and the male will be deferential at first, but then start attacking her when she tries to prevent his access. They can get VERY intensely mad at each other. The good thing is the female knows we're here to help her and she'll step up onto our hands using her peripheral vision. And then we put her back in her cage.
As I said, the adult male is a free spirit and when he hears or sees us nearby, he starts chirping to be let out. And there's plenty of times when it's not conducive so we ignore him. And after some time, if he really wants out, he escalates. The friendly whistles/chirps become groans (very human like), then growls, next discordant squawks, loud squawks, and eventually ear piercing screeches. He knows what he wants and he gets mad when we don't comply. Generally, he wants to be out guarding his female nesting on the eggs.
So that's a whole lot to take in... but that's what 2D (juvenile male) witnesses day after day. He's a very nervous bird and the slightest unfamiliar or loud sound can freak him out. When the two adults are cavorting he will show nervous excitement... even when he can't see them (we have things blocking his line of sight, mostly). And sometimes he gets so agitated, he loses his footing and falls to the bottom of the cage.
It's MY suspicion that with his entry into a pubescent phase, that this environment is becoming difficult for him. He probably wants to have a female companion and all he sees is this older bird that's clearly mated to the adult male.... his father who he generally has an OK relationship, in that dad will come visit and feed him. He'll even do it when they're both out together. But we cannot have the adult female and 2D out together. Earlier on she'd actually fly over to attack him. But lately at times when she's out on the play gym, sometimes she flies to 2D's cage and sits on top, staring down at him. 2D used to get really badly freaked out by this, but now he's more tolerant.
So... the self-plucking...
The medicine is not abating it. And now the poor bugger looks almost comical with his "green helmet" over his gray down "vest." But I worry about what will become of him if things continue as they are.
The home is a 2 bedroom apartment that is a bit modest in space. And there's not much flexibility in how the cages can be managed. It's very convenient having them 3 in a row on one wall... as the maintenance is frequent (like changing water, which often needs to be done several times a day), food serving, and cage cleaning.
My thought is, if the juvenile male can't really be relocated to another part of the apartment that works for him while "hiding" the other birds, the only other real choice would be to give up the male and female for adoption. If someone wants to raise eclectus parrots from hatchlings, they'd be ideal. They are very fixated on procreation. But... their owner has bonded with all of them, the juvenile being the strongest. She doesn't want to let any of them go. And without a larger place to manage the birds, I don't know what can be done.
Sorry... it's a lot of information! IF you've read this far... please leave any advice you might think of. Thank you!
