New Eclectus Aggressive

[pacoparrot]

I adopted a 2 year old male eclectus yesterday. He was friendly for the people I bought him from but he is being aggressive, biting and lunging with me. He will step up but then starts to attack your hand and fingers. He also lunges at you from inside the cage. He is eating well and talking too. How can I go about getting him to stop being aggressive? He will take treats from my hand. I want him to trust me so I can enjoy being around him. He doesn't seem the least bit afraid of anything or anyone. His wings are clipped.

 

[Mizzely]

I'd just give him some time. Give him treats if he will let you, otherwise just give him space for a few days so he can get used to your presence.

 

[pacoparrot]

He will take treats through the cage bars or even from me outside the cage. I can see him being such a great companion if he changes his attitude toward me. He seems very confident from they way he moves around and he doesn't seem afraid of much. I put some new thing in his cage and he and immediately went and interacted with with them. The first thing he did when I put him in his cage was go and eat. Usually new birds take a while to calm down before they will eat or drink. He was born in September 2012 so he's not even two yet. So you're saying I should just feed him for the next few days and not try to handle him? Will I still be able to sit near his cage and talk to him?

 

[artgeek09]

Just because he's being assertive doesn't necessarily mean that he is confident about the new change in environment and people. Give him some time to adjust so he doesn't feel like he's got to defend himself against you. Every time he sees you he needs to associate you with good things, so I'd continue leaving him treats and going about your day like normal, talking to him sweetly as you walk by. Soon enough he'll me more curious and you'll see a change in aggressive behavior

 

[RJ Noodle]

Congrats on your new bird You got him yesterday? I agree you need to relax and let him relax. He will come around but not in 24 hrs. I think you should just sit by his cage and read or sing to him until he gets used to you. Good luck!

 

[Birdiemarie]

Ekkies are sensitive and like to observe a lot, sizing up situations. Slow down your efforts to interact with him, he's still getting used to you and his new home. As has been suggested talk to him but don't invade his space. Ekkies love to be talked to and will often coo and cluck back when they are relaxed. He sure is a handsome fella!

 

[pacoparrot]

The cool thing is I can hand the treats right to him. I will try to spend a few days just talking to him and let him get used to me. The last time I had him out was when we were cleaning his cage. I used a perch to move him so he would not be tempted to bite me again. I had him on my bed while the cage was being cleaned. He was walking around looking and at everything. I gave him one of the treats he came with and he took it without grabbing my finger. Then I was on the phone and he decided to climb up on my lap. I was honestly a little scared to have him that close to all of my skin this early on. He walked around on my lap and was chewing on my shorts pocket and my belt loop. Then he was biting on my shirt and I realized he may not realize that there is skin under there yet so I had him step up onto a blanket and put him back on the bed. I just put him back now that the cage is a little cleaner. He talks beautifully and even whistles. He coos and clucks all the time when we are near him or asking him questions! He reminds me so much of my beloved Echo, my female Eclectus that passed away last fall. She got away from me outside and was hit by a car. I never thought I would have another eclectus because of how hard they are to find around me, but here I am. Also, look at the picture in the first post. There is a very tiny string of sisal rope caught in the tip of his beak since this morning. Is there any non-invasive way to get it off of him? The rescue I work for told me to towel him and pick it off but I don't want to make him afraid of me. I confirmed that it is not going down his thoat or anything. I don't know if this is a real issue or if I should just wait and see if he removes it himself.

 

[purl1]

goodness is he beautiful!

 

[rocky'smom]

give him some time to get use to his new home. try sitting and reading to him, any kind of books, little kids books work well. as for the sisal rope i have no idea sorry.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Also, look at the picture in the first post. There is a very tiny string of sisal rope caught in the tip of his beak since this morning. Is there any non-invasive way to get it off of him? The rescue I work for told me to towel him and pick it off but I don't want to make him afraid of me. I confirmed that it is not going down his thoat or anything. I don't know if this is a real issue or if I should just wait and see if he removes it himself.

Is it stuck in a tiny crack on the beak or loose? He probably will take it out himself. I wouldn't stress him by toweling. They are very good at not swallowing what they don't want to.

Ruby had a tiny strand of sisal stuck in a crack at the tip of her beak once. It bothered me more than it did her so I took it out but we were already bonded at that time and she was not stressed. I've since switched to skewers instead of rope to hang toys.

 

[pacoparrot]

That's what I was thinking. It seems like it's stuck in a tiny crack but I'm sure he will chew it off. And if not, he doesn't really notice it at all so I will just leave it until he is more comfortable with me. I'm terrified that he's not going to bond with me and I'm going to have another bird that I can't handle. I just want him to be my friend.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Remember there is no rush. What you do now in the beginning will help build your relationship with him and the main thing you want to build is trust. Let him set the pace. In the meantime keep doing research on ekkie personality, their body language, what they like, don't like, etc. It will help you gain confidence and you'll gain respect for your green guy.

 

[pacoparrot]

I had a female SI Eclectus for 5 years but she passed away. What I gathered from her is that they don't like being touched for the most part. I know everything about their diet and what to watch out for as far as food allergies. I guess I don't know a whole lot about their body language because Echo was so friendly and predictable that I never worried about getting bit. Echo really liked food rewards and that is how I started teaching her tricks. This guy also seems very food motivated. Echo was hard to handle up until I started clicker training and positive reinforcement. Jeeter will go out of his way to come over at take a treat from me so I think he might be a good candidate for clicker training if I can get him to be a little more comfortable around me. I also don't know much about their typical personality. Echo was a special case. She was great with absolutely anyone, even kids. She was very aggressive toward smaller birds and animals so I'm not even taking my chances with Jeeter. The previous owners were selling him because he bit them one time. However when they were interacting with him when I went to visit he was very well behaved for them and even allowed their daughter to pet his back. I'm not expecting anything from him but I just want a buddy that I can spend my free time with. I don't care if he doesn't want to be touched or cuddled and I'm not expecting him to be friendly with everyone. I want to be able to have him step up and go with me without being upset or displaying aggressive. I want him to be comfortable around me. And I want to be able to hand him his foot toys and treats and just watch him. I am getting good with clicker training animals so maybe it could help us bond.

 

[birdle]

with patience and time I bet he'll be your best friend. And I can definitely see his confidence shining through in that picture. he's a handsome guy

 

[petiteoiseau]

Give him more than 'a few days'. They often take one to two months to start feeling more comfortable in their new surroundings -they are not dogs that bond to any human who is nice to them almost instantly, they take their time to decide.

 

[pacoparrot]

I'm just scared that he's never going to be trustable. He doesn't play around when he bites. He was out briefly today on our kitchen table while I installed some shreddable toys to his cage. I got him out of the cage with a dowel. I got him to step up to get put down on the table. But later I had him step up again to move to a t stand and he bit my arm pretty hard. I did a micro training course where I taught him to touch the end of a stick for a treat. He did excellent with that. If I can work with him more on this I will be able to lure him to places without touching him.

 

[Begone]

If it was my bird I will not have doing more with him then to talk to him and give him treats if he come to you. He bite you for a reason! Listen to him!
Birds are very sensitive, you most give him time, at least a month, or you can ruin this friendship forever. He will come to you when he is ready. Trust me, he will!
"He was friendly for the people I bought him from"
Yes, because he trusted them, but he don't trust you until you can prove that to him.

 

[pacoparrot]

So how will I know when he is ready? The cage he is in is quiet large but shouldn't he have free time during this period?

 

[Milo]

Not if your free time is going to present the opportunity to damage your relationship. If you have a playstand that he can sit on and he'll willingly step up onto a dowel/perch that's great. Otherwise take it slow. To me the "aggressive" behavior shows that he's nervous at the very least. He feels the need to defend himself from you. In his situation I'd be the same way! He was just uprooted from his previous life and came home with you. He doesn't know you and certainly doesn't think of you as part of his flock.

At this point don't ask him to step up onto your hand, it's going to result in your getting bitten and more frustrated, which he's going to pick up on.

You'll know when he's ready to interact with you, it sounds ludicrous now but with my current and past eclectus it was clear as day when they crossed the line between tolerating me and wanting to spend time with me.

 

[miss maggi]

I agree with everyone here. Don't try to force the relationship.

If you think he needs out of cage time why not just leave the door open when you're home and let him decide if he wants to come out? He may just want to stay in his room and catch his breath.

Training can surely wait. Good he's taking food from your hands but you sound pretty stressed about the relationship working or not. It's a two way street. He feels your stress and as others have said until he feels he can trust you there is no relationship. Don't push it. Enjoy that handsome face and listen to his coos and clucks and whistles. The more you relax the more he'll feel able to relax.