Toby the Eclectus + Fruit = HORMONAL!

[WingDing]

We've had a nasty round of hormonal behavior from our 4yo male Eclectus and I am convinced that it is due to the fruit I've been adding to Toby's chop. He is crazy for raspberries, blackberries and blueberries so I had been just a couple to his veggies everyday. I wanted him to be "happy", right?

The instant Toby would get up in the morning he would squawk at the windows and flap his wings like he is going fly right through one of them. He was hardly responsive to me. Would not train. Later in the day he would give up on trying to find a mate and start humping his toys. No foraging. Not much eating until evening when he'd finally gobble up his dinner. I was getting very worried how all this would effect his overall health.

After reading posts here about fruit and hormones, I decided to cut out the berries completely for 2 weeks. He is much, much better. It only took 3 or 4 days for his behavior to change. He eats his breakfast. He enjoys training. He plays with his toys appropriately. We spend quality time together training and just hanging out a few times a day.

So, just wanted to share our experience. One little package of frozen organic mixed berries was a big mistake.

 

[MayMaroa]

wow I never heard about a bird getting hormonal because of a fruit

 

[MayMaroa]

good thing you found your mistake and stopped it

 

[chris-md]

It’s one thing to see it, it’s a whole other ballpark to experience it. Now you see what we go in and on about. Ekkies are special!

It’s important to note that cutting fruits can only help hormonal controls to the extent they were making them worse to begin with. Cutting fruits won’t touch any base level hormonal rush you’re experiencing.

 

[chris-md]

wow I never heard about a bird getting hormonal because of a fruit

Eclectus are very different with their diets and breeding behaviors. Too much Sugar (which includes fructose in fruits) can make them hormonal.

In other parrots, it can make naturally occurring/already present breeding behaviors worse, but in ekkies it can bring them into breeding mode to begin with.

 

[MayMaroa]

MDChrisEclectus are very different with their diets and breeding behaviors. Too much sugar (which includes fructose in fruits) can make them hormonal.

In other parrots, it can make naturally occurring/already present breeding behaviors worse, but in Trekkies, it can bring them into a breeding mode, to begin with.

Well my birds don't eat fruit so i never dealt with hormonal parrot

 

[BirdyBee]

Eclectus are very different with their diets and breeding behaviors. Too much Sugar (which includes fructose in fruits) can make them hormonal.

In other parrots, it can make naturally occurring/already present breeding behaviors worse, but in ekkies it can bring them into breeding mode to begin with.

I didn't know that, thanks for this info! It's very interesting..