The romance has ended

[pinkdevil]

Well our 2 Eckies, Bella & Wacca, were getting along great a few weeks ago. But the last week things have gone back to before of Wacca chasing and, what looks like to me, lunging at Bella. So much so that Bella sits on the floor so I put another perch lower for her to use. Not sure if this is normal or not, from what I have read it's the girls who put the boys in their place. She was the boss till he got the better of her and she dropped to the bottom of the cage as she still can't fly from clipped wings.
He also chases her away from the food so I have put a few containers around so she can get some. I don't think she is at happy as she has stopped talking now . No more "hello Bellas", or "good girl"

She does not look like she has lost condition. Her feathers are still bright and shiney looking.

When she is at one end of the cage, he flys over to her and she squarks and runs off. Even if he doesn't touch her.
Wacca has bred before according to the previous owner and Bella has not yet.

Is Wacca trying to get his wicked way with Bella and she doesn't want a part of it or does anybody think he is being mean to her?

Can anyone help me or give advice as I am not sure if this is how Eckies behave or if I should seperate them


Tasha

[just4birds]

How old is Bella

I'm not a pro at eckies ... but my passion for them has grown huge over the last 6 months ....

I do know eckies arent just single partner birds ... they dont pair for life etc ... and i know alot of people that have to change there pairs around ... as they dont always suit each other ...

By the sounds of this ... Wacca is ready to breed and bella isnt ... soo yeah he'll chase her etc ...

I probably wouldnt wanna house them together if fhe is being really nasty to her ... she may start to stress and pluck etc ... maybe house them side by side to let them start again ... but they may just not be suited to each other ...

I'm sure breeding age for eckies is around 3 or 4 years old .....

[pinkdevil]

Bella is just over 3 years old. Wacca is about 4.5 - 5 years old according to the previous owners.

I was thinking that maybe Bella is more timid than she would be if her wings weren't clipped as she knows she can't get away so easily from Wacca?

Looks like I am going to need another aviary built as I don't have any cages large enough to house an Eckie anymore

We were talking about puting a nest box in for Bella when they were getting along well, but I guess at the moment it might make things worse?

I had read that Eckies liked a bit of "rough" play and wasn't sure if this was what was meant lol

Anyway thanks for your reply


Tasha

[just4birds]

Ohhh its a bit odd that she isnt really keen seeing shes 3ish etc .... and maybe you are right ... with her wings being clipped ... she may think of it as a weakness ...

Not 100% sure on the liking it rough ... but she may just not like him Eclectus Hens dont just pick one mate in the while ... they like to try out a few at the same time ... thats why people have ssome trouble breeeding ...

[pinkdevil]

Hmmmmm....maybe I have a fussy girl who knows what she wants!! Just like a woman huh.

Hey I could turn this into a positive...........what better reason to buy another bird? Gotta keep my girl happy lol

[just4birds]

hehehehe true true .. I'd probably still try them apart ... and see how things go once her wings grow back ...

I know my two adopted eckies ... Loki (male) ... Layla (female) ... love each other through there cages ... but when i did have them out together ... she just chased loki .. it was rather scary ..

[vankarhi]

I am not an experienced ekkie person either but I have read alot and was on a mailing list for just ekkies in which Carolyn Swicegood is the "owner". She is considered an ekkie expert in the States.......at least that is my understanding anyway.

Well in the wild the female ekkies are the boss and yes they do normally have more than one male pandering to them. The females are considered to be very bossy and the males are considered to be "placid".

If you girl is 3 to 4 years old then she is the same age as my Skye (actually Skye will be 4 around May sometime) and Gunny her mate is around 3 years old. Skye can be "bitchy" towards me and others at times, but she can also be lovely.....not that I trust her much anymore after being attacked twice and bitten many times since she was around 2 years of age. Gunny on the other hand was handraised by always an aviary bird never a pet. He on the other hand is so cool calm and collected........and we are hoping for a little boy just like him one day as a pet for us. I have had Gunny and Skye together for a couple of months now and they seem to love each other. Skye tries to be bossy to Gunny but he holds his own.......but we have never seen them fight seriously. Now they are sitting on 3 eggs (3 last time I looked) and Gunny goes in the nest and checks things out for himself. They really do seem to be quite happy together.

I did get Gunny from a guy who breeds ekkies but in a colony. He had 2 females and 4 males but the males were bickering so he decided to sell one and see if they got on better with 2 females and 3 males.

Yes she could feel intimidated because she cannot fly.......if it were me I would separate them until she can fly. Give them some time apart and then see how they go. But if he continues to bully her.......i would probably sell him and try for another male or maybe just get another male and see what happens.

[pinkdevil]

ok Thanks for that

Might try the seperation thing (gonna have to get off his butt and do a bit of building ) and put them together again at a later date. If that don't work then selling him might be the only other option as we really don't have the room to have any more eckies unfortunately And I don't think the neighbours will tolerate any more either

Thanks for your imput guys


Tasha

[vankarhi]

no worries I just hope you can sort it out.