Petting our Ecky

[azflcowboy]

Hello I was told that eckies produce a fine oil in their feathers that is also responsible for there shiny green feathers.
I was told not to hold them close or pet them as the oil can rub off and that was not good.
Any advice or suggestions concerning this thought
Thank you and God Bless
Larry azflacowboy

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hello I was told that eckies produce a fine oil in their feathers that is also responsible for there shiny green feathers.
I was told not to hold them close or pet them as the oil can rub off and that was not good.
Any advice or suggestions concerning this thought
Thank you and God Bless
Larry azflacowboy

I seriously doubt his oil could rub off if you pet him. But this got me thinking- make sure your hands are very clean before you pet him. If there's any dust or dirt on them it could stick to the oils and make Moses look dirty. Which may be the cause of the feathers on his upper back looking kinda blackish. They may just be a bit dirty from you petting him.

 

[azflcowboy]

I seriously doubt his oil could rub off if you pet him. But this got me thinking- make sure your hands are very clean before you pet him. If there's any dust or dirt on them it could stick to the oils and make Moses look dirty. Which may be the cause of the feathers on his upper back looking kinda blackish. They may just be a bit dirty from you petting him.

Hello
Thank you for your opinion
I agree about having clean hands before touching your bird buddy.
I just recently shared with my wife that if visitors wish to hold Moses they need to wash their hands Learned that over 40 years ago when I got interested in owning a parrot
Our Moses loves visitors and if he likes them (particularly ladies) he goes to their shoulder and asks them for a "Kiss" and sometimes says "I Luv U"
also kissing your birds also can be sharing bacteria
In closing i do not pet its more like just holding him close to my chest, he did not like it at first but nows loves being held

 

[wrench13]

You have an unusual ekkie! Most do not like to be petted, scratched other otherwise touched!

 

[chris-md]

You have an unusual ekkie! Most do not like to be petted, scratched other otherwise touched!

Honestly that’s only partially true, buddy. They aren’t cuddly at all, in the snuggling sense. So infer from that what kind of dog-like petting might be involved, getting all up in there with the fingers…and know thatll get you bit.

A gentle wing pat/stroke for a bird sitting at a distance? They’ll take that no problem (within individuality/personal preference)

Boundaries.

And because it’s boundaries, it can be conditioned. Parker never liked me touching his head but in the last maybe 2 years he’s acquiesced a bit to accept gentle head scratches. Does he beg for them or seek them out? Absolutely not. But he enthusiastically tolerates them with I pull him from his bedroom in the morning. It started seeing if I can just stroke his head with a finger or two. Once he tolerated that, Eventually he let me very gently, very slowly, scratch his head.

 

[azflcowboy]

You have an unusual ekkie! Most do not like to be petted, scratched other otherwise touched!

Hello
Yes Moses is very different he flew away 2 years ago and came home the next day. I climbed up a tree with a ladder to rescue him and I think he never forgot that day.
He does not even like to go in the screened in pool area at night. I think he is now afraid of the dark.
He would not go to sleep in his night time cage until his buddy our dog Duchess was in the same room. Duchess passed away two weeks ago and moses is obviously missing her very much Now especially at bed times he snuggles close to me before going to bed. I do not pet though as I was told that may take his natural oit off his feathers. What do you think about the oil on ecky feathers?
thank you and God Bless
Larry azflacowboy