Eclectus parrot behaviour?

Question

hi everyone, i am a proud owner of a baby female eclectus, her name is sweety i got her about a week ago. i have not really gotten to know her heaps yetand so i have not got used to her signals and i dont really know what she wants me to know.

when we first got her ahe was so gentle and sweet but now i think that was just cause she was scared, but now that she is abit more settled, she loves her cage and her new toys, loves her food but problem is that she doesnt want to be taken out of her cage, she is so defensive in her cage, when we used to say "step up and put our hand out she would just do it no worries now we have to use our sleeves or jackets as protection when wanting her to come out of her cage as she bites us and its not a very little bite either, she drew blood once from my fiance.

its so annoying as once you have her out of her cage she is heaps nice i dont know how to overcome this or what is making her be so nippy.

any ideas will be greatly appreciated, also what does it mean that every morning she squeaks and mumbles and chatters heaps? and same at night, at night she is even more chatty she actually get more louder at night does anyone know what she is trying to get or say?

should i be doing something or just respond to that? thanks i would love to get to know my bird better

Answer 1

Birds chatter alot in the morning and at night. There is nothing wrong with that type of behavior. Wild birds do it as well it is in their nature. Take the advice of the other person and have her wings clipped. This helps in having a bird have to depend on you and not try to bite. Some birds are cage territorial and that might be the problem.  Any reaction to her trying to bite anyone will make her continue to do this.  Just have patience while you get to know each other.

Answer 2

Most all birds are territorial around 'their' space. After all, it IS their 'room' right? You can deter this behavior by rotating toys and changing around perches every week.

This eclectus sound similar to a macaw my friend has. She can be very unpredictable, some days she won't mind you next to her cage. Other days she wants to rip out flesh. Once away from the cage she can be a sweetheart. Thankfully, this bird is stick trained.

I think you should start training your bird to step up on a stick as well. Are you familiar with clicker training and positive reinforcement? We have clicker groups on yahoo, you should join. There are also wonderful books like "don't shoot the dog" by Karen Pryor. She talks all about how to train anything from parrots to spouses! (I even trained my new teacher the other day, without him realizing!)

About her chatter, yes this is normal behavior. Birds greet the day with noise and also say 'good night' this way. You can respond or join in her chatter, it won't harm anything.

Lastly, keep on learning! This will help with preventing behavior and medical problems. LandOfVos.com is all about eclectus and their special needs. There are also podcasts about parrots you can listen to, just search the iTunes store.

Good luck caring for your lifetime companion!

Answer 3

your bird has found a reason to stay in his cage. you could try tempting him with food or treats from outside his cage. or let him crawl on your hand to get him used to you. he may be afraid, don't punish him for biting or squealing, he is just scared. (don't punish fear)  are his wings clipped? if not you might want to get them clipped (it helps the attitude of the bird to have to depend on you)