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Eclectus doing the figure 8?


ajlinva

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In September we found a male Eclectus that needed a new home - his family realized that they did not have enough time for him anymore and he was plucking his feathers. We really love him and did from the first day we laid eyes on him, but he does the figure 8 with his head. Does anyone know if this is normal for this type of bird? We have taken him to the vet and everything is normal. I was worried that the plucking might be from something physically wrong, but that is not the case. He doesn't actually pull out his feathers, but rather bites them off in sections. I know he might never stop this, but any sugestions you guys have would be greatly appreciated. We will continue to love him, even if he keeps himself trimmed!

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  • 2 weeks later...

i have an ekkie. What diet is he on. i have a few friends with ekkies that pluck and it is usually a diet problem....not always but quite often. I dont feed any additives or vitiamins and my ekkie only has fruit and veg with a few seeds as a treat once a week. also i gave mine some pellets once and he started toe tapping! they can be such sensitive little souls! i have been told that they should be bathed every day and aloe vera in the spray bottle is good to soothe sore bits. aloe vera can be fed as well. also i was warned about giving mine water from the tap. I use a filter now before i give mine water. i hope some of this is helpfull, i dont know what you have tried x

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Thanks for the info! I don't give any vitamins or additives, I have Harrison pellets in one of his bowls(my vet suggested nothing else, - but I very seldom, if ever, see him eat them). He gets fresh fruits and veggies, plus muffins (recipe from land of vos),almonds, and some egg once a week. Dinner is a bean, pasta, and rice mix. The vet suggested I spray him with Aloe Vera one day and Avi Bird Soother the next. I did bathe him about twice a week - but now it is so cold here, not sure what to do. He really HATES a bath and I have to put him in a cage so I can get him wet! I worry about him getting cold (since he is half bald!) He also hates getting sprayed! Sorry this is so long, but it is so good to talk to someone who also has an ekkie. Oh, I do use filtered water, but leave seed in another bowl for him - should I take them out? Thanks again --

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You could always heat the aloe vera spray to a warm temperature. Mine didn't like the spray bottle much either so I tried taking him in the shower and he actually liked it! Now he gets a nice warm shower and seems to really like getting soaked. Have you tried this method at all? Just cuz they don't like the spray bottle doesn't mean they wont like showers. Just go slow and calm the first time. I know it might sound silly to take them in the shower with you but I know he gets a good soaking that way and the water is so nice and warm. Their body temperature (or so I've heard) is warmer than ours is so warm spray or a shower might feel really good to them. Today I gave Tigger my ekkie a shower again and it's getting cold here too and he doesn't act like he is cold afterwards but while he is drying the feathers do feel cool to the touch so I just sat with him for awhile with my hand on his back. He is quite a snuggler anyway so it makes it easy. I would try warming the spray or taking him in the shower. Sometimes I give Tigger a shower and then give him the aloe for the skin. Good luck. Keep us posted

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I will, would love to see this little sweetie fully feathered - they are so beautiful! I do put him in the shower, I have a perch which my Amazon just loves, but he will not stay on it, so I put a cage in the bottom of the shower and he just tolerates it. I have not tried taking a shower with him though, but I will.

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Forest loves a shower too. I leave him in the bathroom when its cold as the bathroom is quite warm so that he dries a bit.

 

I was told not to feed harrisons or any pellet type to an ekkie though i know there are lots of people that feed them without any problems. Seed....my guy never had seed from the last owners so i just kept it up.

He has freh fruit every morning. apple kiwi pear coconut passion fruit figs pomello guava. ( a few chunks of each) passion fruit is high in vit A. I dont give orange as i was told it makes you digest any other vitiamins in the fruit. Thats why your doctor tells you not to take orange with your vitiamin suppliments......a vet told me this strange but true bit of info!

 

Dinner consists of cooked various beans ( i soak and cook myself) raw radish runner beans sweetcorn baby tomato pak choi sweet potato whole grain rice leek galic ( 1 week) chcken on bone (1 wk) boiled egg in shell (1 wk) curly kale carrot pumpkin. Again it varies as to what i get at the shops each week but he has a mixture of any of the above. My grey has seed in his bowl at night so one a week forest gets a few seeds as a treat. He also has a couple of nuts every night too.

god sorry this is an essay:laugh:

 

A friend i know with a plucked ekkie puts socks on her like little jumpers.... she looks so cute and it keeps her warm. But also she spends her time picking at the thread on the jumper rather than herself. If your guy is harness trained he would probably tolerate this.

 

I hope theres stuff in there you can try. Its all about trial and error i think with these problems. What works for one doesnt for another. If ive helped in any way i will be happy. x<br><br>Post edited by: cocom, at: 2008/11/24 11:07

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You can be happy! You know I just started trying a little orange, since they are coming in season here and are really good, but will stop that! Also, will try taking out the seed - he loves it so much though. I also have a DLH Amazon, African Grey, and Cockateil - when they are all out of the cage, Rainbow (the ekkie), will climb down and go into the Amazons cage to get to her seed, it must be better in someone elses house! So funny to watch him and he won't come out until he is good and ready - will tell me NO when I try to get him to step up! Would love to see a pic of the sock p.j.'s! I have not tried a harness on him, I doubt if he has ever had one on. Will start today with the daily bathes.

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I first tried to give my grey a shower and I went about it all wrong on him it seems. I had the water spraying and set him down in the tub but it scared him. So what I did was get in the shower and sit down in the tub with him. Ahhh the things we do for our birds:laugh: That seemed to work better. Now I take my shower, have him on a perch outside, when I'm done, it's his turn but I stand in there with him and he seems pretty comfortable with that. I wish I could just put them in the tubs and let the water spray on them but they just wont have it:silly:

 

As for the pellets and ekkies....I have read many places that colored pellets are no good for ekkies, their digestive track is different, longer I think, but for some reason, not sure why it can cause them to get a twitch or toe tapping which results from some kind of defiency? They usually don't have symptons for awhile though. a year or two from what I read. They do make a special brand for ekkies only but it smells like vitamins:sick: and Tigger won't eat it. I asked at the pet store I get the food from and they told me not to worry about it too much:huh: I do trust them cuz they are a mom and pop store that only deals in exotic birds since the 50's. So everything I have heard is conflicting:S I give my ekkie the same pellets as my other flock members. He still doesn't eat much pellets, I do give him seeds but have cut back. He loves home cooking though so I get to give him all the veggies and potatoes at night that we eat.

 

BTW, I have a grey, a conure, an ekkie and now an yellow head amazon!

 

Keep us posted. I am really interested in your ekkie. Any chance we can see a photo?:whistle:

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ajlinva i think orange is fine to give as long as its not mixed with other fruits and veg at the same time. Mine like orange but i give it to them later on in the day as a treat rather than with their main food. I also stopped taking orange juice with my vitamin tablets :P

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Yep, it is Pretty Bird brand for ekkies. It has more vitamin A in it. He refuses to eat them. I got it because I was paranoid about the ekkies sensitivities. I am currently feeding him regular pellets which he doesn't care too much for anyway. He picks at them. I tried the Zupreem fruity blend and he seemed to really enjoy them. I'm still not sure if I'm doing right by him and the pellets though. The man I got him from didn't even give him any pellets at all and he seems just fine anyway. I do give him alot of veggies, some fruits, seeds and egg once a week. So far so good. His feathers are beautiful, no toe tapping and he acts healthy and happy. Hope it stays this way.

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The pellets I am giving Rainbow are the Harrisons High Potency - but like I said, I don't think he ever eats any. My vet wanted me to leave him with her and convert him just to those pellets. I said I would try myself first. Came home from the vet that day and took out the seeds and didn't give him dinner with the rest of the birds. He looked so sad and I just couldn't let him go to bed hungry, so I gave in! That was the end of that!:( He seems happy and I know he is healthy, by his bloodwork and gram stain. I am going to try the bath thing everyday and see if that helps, plus the sprays. I posted a pic on my profile.

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Hi,

Forest started tapping after eating the zupreem fruity blend. I also wondered if it was the beak appetite that i had been giving him 2 a week as well. It says its natural but when i read the ingredients on the back it had added vits and minerals in it! So its all natural fresh stuff for him now. Yes the ekkie with sock looks very cute. you can get jumpers as well called feather sweaters....its just if he would wear one without being stressed by it. Im still not sure about harrisons......i would feed tem if i thought it would be ok......it would make feed time a bit easier especially if i have to go away for a night. I always have to leave a big bag of fresh food with a list!

im not moaning really......i love my green guy:laugh:

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I just seen Rainbows picture. He's beautiful!

 

It's good news his bloodwork came back good so you must be doing something right. Sometimes I think I over analize the diets too...He loves fresh fruits and veggies (and of course the seeds/nuts) so I am hoping with all the fresh stuff he gets he will stay healthy.

 

Hey, is Rainbow a good talker? My ekkie is the best talker out of all my birds which I was quite surprised by but he talks all day long. I love it. Just wondering if yours talks alot, too. Tigger will out talk my grey & amazon any day of the week.

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Thanks, he is a sweetie too! I am afraid I can't take the credit for his bloodwork, because we had only had him a few weeks before we took him to the vet. He needed to go anyway and we wanted to make sure that his plucking wasn't from anything physically wrong.

Rainbow is not a great talker - he will say "Hi Bow", Hi Rainbow, Step up, and NOOOOOOOOOOO! Thats about all I have heard him say, but I hope he will learn new things as time goes on. He has just got the best personality, sweet as can be (unless he gets in someone elses cage and doesn't want to come out!)But even then he just tells you no and makes a lame attempt at a bite - more like a lunge at you, he has never bit down hard. I am thankful for that;)

 

Shoot, I have had Bingo (CAG) since March and the only new thing he has learned is Nighty, Nite! I too, love to hear all of the sounds that they make - so funny! I love to compare notes with others and read this forum - it is a great asset to any parrot owner!:cheer:

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Raibow & Tigger sound alot alike personality wise. Tigger is a real sweetie, too. I will hold him and he will just look up at me with those cute beady eyes:laugh: When I talk to him he looks right at me like he is hanging on every word I say. Tigger does the lunges too:laugh: and sometimes a small growl goes along with it and he attempts his little bites too but never presses down hard. This is mainly over food. He loves his food!!! The home cooking that is;) He is probably the sweetest parrot I have. He is just a snuggle bug and will sit with us for hours if we'd let him. Such a mellow, sweet personality. (except when food is involved)

 

Baxter my CAG is hilarious, he has more of the grumpy old man attitude. He says the normal hello, whats that, come on, come ere, and few other normal things but he has added Knock it off and Shut up too. (Got that from me telling my dog to quit barking) When ever Tigger talks Baxter will tell him to Shut up or knock it off.:laugh: (which is alot of the day) When Bonkers (conure) flies past his cage he will say Come ere Come ere. He doesn't talk alot but when he does it's usually in context. He makes big yawn sounds before his afternoon naps and near bedtime:laugh: And now he does this "old man" whistle all the time. Just like an old man on a porch or out on a walk just whistling no particular tune for long amounts of time. He is so funny. He'd rather do sound effects or whistle than talk which is ok with me. And when I sing to Baxter he does the head bob thing all the time. He only does that for me so I feel very special:)

 

The conure Bonkers is like the little neighborhood kid who wont go home:laugh: Our neighbor found him and brought him over to us. We tried to find the owner for a good month but no luck so we gave him a home. He flies freely through out the house and he is into everything. He robs the food out of the others cages except for Tigger. Tigger won't allow it and Bonkers knows better now. He picked a fight :evil: with Cooper our Amazon who is about 10 times the size of him and was winning the fight. Scared poor Cooper real bad.

 

Cooper the amazon is still in training and we've only had him about 3 weeks but I think he is going to be a real comedian. He has learned to step up real good but we can only pet his beak and now a little bit on the top of his head.

 

I love all of them. I'm so amazed how each one is so different from the others.

 

Sorry I rambled on so long..oops:blink: :pinch:

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Don't be sorry - I love it! Baxter sounds like Bingo, my CAG! He is a grumpy old man too - only likes ME! We have a Jack Russell named Casey and one day Bingo was climbing down the outside of his cage and I heard him say "Come Here", she trotts right on over and he bit her nose! It was so funny - only because he didn't break skin or anything! She has not fallen for that trick anymore:silly: I never knew birds could be so much enjoyment (or so much work), but well worth it!

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Ha Ha i love hearing stories about everyones pets. My ekkie forest talks really well. His vocab isnt huge probably 40-50 words but he uses them in the right context. His voice is also very clear and so sweet like a little dolls voice. I love the mmmmms and ahhhhhs that the ekkies all make as well.so cute

 

My CAG is only 18 months but has allready caught up and over taken forest in the talking stakes....he talks non stop all day and learns a new word nearly every week. His funniest thing is he LOVES hanging upside down......from anywhere. He will try it from the tops of doors corner of the sofa even from the lap top. His latest words are Mr T,s "crazy fool" and he said it the other day while hanging off my hand....i did laugh alot....bless him

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