get scared? There are so many horror stories out there about Ecelecus that sometimes its over whelming. Hormonal hens are vicious, if ya don't stick your tongue out sideways and stand on your head they will pluck.......

When I sit and think about it sometimes it really worries me. Sophie has bit me hard enough already that it felt like my finger got shut in a car door. My skin is tough so unless she gets the tip of her beak I rarely bleed. Not out of spite or being mean, just being her little ol' bird self. As a kid I used to get bloody arms and ankles from playing with my dog. I played with her like a dog. And sometimes my skin would cut or break. No big deal to me. Same with Sophie. My wife and step son on the other hand, their skin is a little softer then mine. I also know that it is normal to hear the horror stories and not the positive tales that happen.

An example. Yesterday will be the last time Sophie and Benji will get to play. Too many private responses about Benji getting his head ripped off. I mean if Ekkies get that bad would Pamprin or Mydol help? :ywink: I don't know, I just wanted to hear others take on this.
Jim

Jim-

Probably a very valid concern. I have heard a from a lot of people about ekkies that start out as cute, cuddly, playful babies, and then 'turn' on their owners later, not wanting to be touched or handled, and often biting. I think that is perhaps why you see a lot of 1-2 year olds up for sale!

My Ekkie is a hormonal little brat sometimes. I don't feel the 'brunt' of it, usually- She no longer bites or even attempts to bite me, but I can't say the same for the other female members of the house. She really doesn't like it when I go into her cage for any reason, though I have not been 'attacked' for some time.

I don't know how old she is- I know that she is probably about 2, But I don't have any background info on her other than what a less-than-honest breeder told me about her.All I know is that she bit the tar out of her first owner once, and he was scared of her, so she spent a year in her cage without ever being interacted with. She was a WILD CHILD when she came to me!

Last time I was out of town, she went through a really bad hormonal cycle- In fact, we thought that she was going to lay an egg! She started nesting behaviors, attacked her caretaker more than normal, and just was a general pain in the behind for a few weeks. She got better when I returned, but I don't know if that is because I was back or if she just got over it by then.

I suppose all you can do is wait and see- they all turn out differently!

-Andrew

I figure as long as I am pretty sure I can still whip her in a fight we'll be ok. Although I would take a pounding as her beak is a lot harder then mine.

Hopefully Lara can give some input to this thread, she has a female ekkie, I want to say 6 or 8 yrs. old..

I've never lived with Eclectus but I've read alot of stories on other sites. The best thing, imo, is to be proactive before any problems start. I would read up on anything written by Laurella Desborough and other experts like the Land of Vos site.

First with vet care I'd establish a good relationship with an avian vet and get yearly tests and check all the basic levels.

Then nail down diet with your vet and other experts on Ekkies. They are different and their diet in the wild is different not nearly the amount of protein that others eat. I understand diet to be absolutely critical to Ekkies.

I'd only use distilled water.

I'd tweak the full spectrum lighting and read about it specific to Ekkies if there is anything online.

I'd enforce a strict, dependable schedule that they can learn to look forward to and enjoy. And I'd never keep them up adhering to our human schedules with late nights and short overnight sleeping schedules in an active room.

I'd try to follow a strict natural daylight schedule including dawn and dusk following the seasons....providing the same amount of daylight hours that is going on outside where you live. If necessary I'd use a dimmer on a lamp placed on the floor simulating the dawn and dusk and angle of the sun.

They have a sensor in the brain (pituitary gland) that controls all hormones and metabolism telling the body what time of year it is. They shouldn't be hormonal unless its breeding season and that's only spring/summer. People always say they adapt but they don't. They just dont have any choice but to adhere the best they can so you get alot of behavioral and health problems and once it starts everyone is focusing on the symptoms not the root cause, imo.

I wouldnt encourage any breeding type behavior by stroking beaks, feet, backs or butts, or allowing regurgitation or nesting in my clothes or other dark or private spaces.

I'd also do alot of enrichment and fun activities where they can learn things that they seem to enjoy.

And of course (being me lol) I would never clip their wings. Not just to prevent Feather Destructive Behavior and psychological problems but to provide the right cardiovascular and muscle development key in fighting Artherosclerosis and other problems they are prone to.

(actually all this stuff is really basic to all parrots but I think it seems really important to Eclectus. Especially diet)

No pressure on anything, though

that is a very good out line indeed. Other then I do clip Sophie's wings I pretty much follow what you have written. Laurella Desborough in my primary source of information about Ekkies. Reading a lot on TEC is where most of my scaryness comes from. But also many good ideas. I have cut back a bunch on the full spectrum lighting, as suggested, and it makes a difference.

I have also from time to time seen conflicting ideas as well. For example I've seen to have a strict by the numbers daily schedule helps keep the behavior at bay followed by a post that mixing up the day and not having a regular schedule keeps them from "settling" in to nesting behavior.

So being a self thinking man........... I compromise. lol They get fed at the same times. Pretty much go to bed and get up at the same times. FSL on for a couple hours but not the same time daily. When they come out to play varies day to day as well as how long.

The petting thing is the hardest for me NOT to do. I try to keep it to under the wings and her chest. But her back is the only place she might let me pet her. lol But I don't often. The beak on the other hand almost seems impossible not to pet (?) as she puts it every where!!!

Jim, when you mentioned petting - isn't under the wings considered another "turn on" spot? I think I recall reading this somewhere, but I could be wrong..

Hi guys. I don't know if I can be of much help. Molly just turned 5. Sarah, I think I told you before I thought she was going to be 6. Molly was a surrender about a year and a half ago and then was given to me as a gift from my avian vet since I used to baby sit her all the time for her.

Now I'm just talking about my bird, but Molly has been known to be a bit nippy but only when in her cage. With female ekkies, I have heard they can get very cage aggressive due to them considering it their nesting site. I definately can't get near her food dish if she's trying to eat. No matter what, if she sees me near her water dish she will seek and destroy if she has the opportunity.

I have taken the precautionary measures I was told with her cage. She's rarely in it. If she goes in or comes out, I try and make sure it's always by way of my hand. I have removed all shredding toys. She rises and sets with the sun. I never make her do what she doesn't want to if it doesn't need to be done, but when it's necessary, I give her no option and she almost always complies. It's as though she realizes when I give her no option, she knows it's serious business. If I know she's going to bite, I offer the back of my closed fist so she can't grab ahold. Today is the first time Molly has ever given me a hard bite. In the past she gives me her warning bites, which is just an open mouth, a growl and a light grab. When she does this I will respect the fact of what she's trying to tell me and will back away if what I'm trying to do is not necessary. That is the most important interaction I have followed in living happily with Molly.

Jim, I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but that last fact in living with Molly is my most important I have to share with you. Beyond appropriate vet care and diet, that last fact is what has made our relationship extremely strong. She's my most social parrot and I also keep her clipped due to what I have been told about their hormones. She's a big couch potato but I make sure I give her the exercise daily.

I tell ya so far I feel so fortunate. Sophie has no problem with me in her cage at all. We have a game we play in the evening with her sprouts which may be helping with that. She gets two small hand scoops of sprouts. She watches intently as I put the first one in her bowl waiting for me to get her and take her to the bowl (a little spoiled ya think?) before I put the second one in.


The truth be told the worst stories I have heard still aren't as bad as my second wife was..........




Svolk, I too have heard that. If I add it all up there is no place to pet a female bird that doesn't turn them on?? The breeder I got Sophie from said that was the safe place but hell I have no idea. lol

I went through a long hormonal period with Lucy when she turned 3. Ruby, on the other hand, is now about 15. She's the sweetest little girl in the world. She DOES get hormonal, and during that time, I allow her to be a bird and give her the space she needs. It only lasts a few weeks and she snaps out of it. CLeo, on the other hand, is a rehome. She came with Caesar and I did not want to separate them. Cleo blows up like a football if I try to get near her. I've tried for years, but am not sure what her background is.

Hope this helps. I think the fact that I have males probably makes it worse for the gals. People I have questioned who have only females seem to do better.