Health issues are rare in Eclectus parrots who are fed the correct diets & are healthy. Incorrect diets can bring on many health issues & one of the most common ones is Toe Tapping or Wing Flipping.
Toe Tapping is an involuntary movement of the toes opening & closing. When perched, their nails can hit the perch or cage causing the toe to make a tapping sound. Ekkies can stretch their feet out & clench their toes when getting comfortable & this can sometimes cause owners to panic into thinking they’re toe tapping.
Wing Flipping is an involuntary movement of the wings dropping & tightening against the body. Ekkies also ‘flick’ their wings on a regular basis to re-adjust their feathers. Sometimes when they’re about to take flight they can lower their bodies, extend their wings out 1/2 way & begin to ‘flutter’ their wings. These are often mistaken for wing flipping
If Toe Tapping or Wing Flipping syndrome has been caught through the early stages there are reports that owners have been able to stop it by removing fortified foods, pellets, or adding calcium to their diet. Some Eclectus are more sensitive to what they eat than others are.
An over supplement of vitamins has been said to be another cause for the syndrome. If your Eclectus is receiving a good amount of pellets or extra vit supplements are added to their diets it is said to cause the syndrome.
Other noted causes of Toe Tapping & Wing Flipping are fortified foods, preservatives, colours, additives, metal toxicity, pesticides, chemicals, calcium deficiency & food allergies.
Spirulina is a popular blue-green algae plant & is said to be a nutrient rich food source. It is often recommended for parrots diets. The nutrients in Spirulina are too rich for the Eclectus parrot & has been known to cause the syndrome. Spirulina is often found in many parrot pellets.
In the past high levels of Vitamin D3 was a main cause for toe tapping in Eclectus parrots. These were often found in pellets but to my understanding this has since been corrected.
Eclectus parrots thrive on a low nutrient diet in the wild & captive bred Eclectus parrots are no different. Adding any addition of nutrients to an Eclectus daily diet may do more harm than good. Eclectus parrots thrive on a natural diet of fresh fruit & veg & healthy human foods, so why mess with it? Any extra vit supplements should never be used unless advised by your avian vet & adding vit supplements should never be a permanent addition to an Eclectus diet.
Offer organic foods where you can. I understand it isn’t always possible. Some places don’t supply enough of a variety of organic fruit & veg, & Eclectus Parrot need a good variety & the prices can be quite high.
Organic or not, your fruit & veg needs to be thoroughly washed before offering it to your birds. All fruit & veg, including organic, has been touched by many pairs of hands by picking up the food & inspecting it long before you pick it up to buy. A thorough wash gets rid of all germs, pesticides, chemicals & waxes. This will reduce the risk of your bird being in touch with all of this.
Metal toxicity can be avoided by only using stainless steel for building or repairing gyms, cages, toys, perches etc...Avoid allowing your bird to chew anything that is metal throughout the home & on you. Most people let their birds play with their jewellery. They can get metal toxicity from this. Metal toxicity can cause toe tapping or wing flipping.
Food allergies do happen in Eclectus. Even if the food is a healthy food, offering too much of it can cause your bird to develop an allergic reaction. Always offer foods in moderation to avoid allergies. Toe tapping or wing flipping can be cause by allergies.
Calcium deficiency has been known to be a common cause in toe tapping or wing flipping. To avoid calcium deficiency offer fresh fruit & veg. Collard greens are extremely high in calcium as well as other leafy greens such as broccoli, kale, mustard, turnip greens & dandelion greens.
Wing Flipping is an involuntary movement of the wings dropping & tightening against the body. Ekkies also ‘flick’ their wings on a regular basis to re-adjust their feathers. Sometimes when they’re about to take flight they can lower their bodies, extend their wings out 1/2 way & begin to ‘flutter’ their wings. These are often mistaken for wing flipping
If Toe Tapping or Wing Flipping syndrome has been caught through the early stages there are reports that owners have been able to stop it by removing fortified foods, pellets, or adding calcium to their diet. Some Eclectus are more sensitive to what they eat than others are.
An over supplement of vitamins has been said to be another cause for the syndrome. If your Eclectus is receiving a good amount of pellets or extra vit supplements are added to their diets it is said to cause the syndrome.
Other noted causes of Toe Tapping & Wing Flipping are fortified foods, preservatives, colours, additives, metal toxicity, pesticides, chemicals, calcium deficiency & food allergies.
Spirulina is a popular blue-green algae plant & is said to be a nutrient rich food source. It is often recommended for parrots diets. The nutrients in Spirulina are too rich for the Eclectus parrot & has been known to cause the syndrome. Spirulina is often found in many parrot pellets.
In the past high levels of Vitamin D3 was a main cause for toe tapping in Eclectus parrots. These were often found in pellets but to my understanding this has since been corrected.
Eclectus parrots thrive on a low nutrient diet in the wild & captive bred Eclectus parrots are no different. Adding any addition of nutrients to an Eclectus daily diet may do more harm than good. Eclectus parrots thrive on a natural diet of fresh fruit & veg & healthy human foods, so why mess with it? Any extra vit supplements should never be used unless advised by your avian vet & adding vit supplements should never be a permanent addition to an Eclectus diet.
Offer organic foods where you can. I understand it isn’t always possible. Some places don’t supply enough of a variety of organic fruit & veg, & Eclectus Parrot need a good variety & the prices can be quite high.
Organic or not, your fruit & veg needs to be thoroughly washed before offering it to your birds. All fruit & veg, including organic, has been touched by many pairs of hands by picking up the food & inspecting it long before you pick it up to buy. A thorough wash gets rid of all germs, pesticides, chemicals & waxes. This will reduce the risk of your bird being in touch with all of this.
Metal toxicity can be avoided by only using stainless steel for building or repairing gyms, cages, toys, perches etc...Avoid allowing your bird to chew anything that is metal throughout the home & on you. Most people let their birds play with their jewellery. They can get metal toxicity from this. Metal toxicity can cause toe tapping or wing flipping.
Food allergies do happen in Eclectus. Even if the food is a healthy food, offering too much of it can cause your bird to develop an allergic reaction. Always offer foods in moderation to avoid allergies. Toe tapping or wing flipping can be cause by allergies.
Calcium deficiency has been known to be a common cause in toe tapping or wing flipping. To avoid calcium deficiency offer fresh fruit & veg. Collard greens are extremely high in calcium as well as other leafy greens such as broccoli, kale, mustard, turnip greens & dandelion greens.
I had always given Eddie a 100% natural soft food diet consisting of a sprout brekky, fruit & veg lunch, cooked dinner. In between would be the healthy snacks.
One time I decided to try 100% natural pellets & a Coles brand of mixed dried fruit to make Apricot balls. Over a couple of days he had a little of these with his usual foods. Dave & I noticed about 3 days later that Eddie appeared to have a very mild form of toe tapping so we completely removed the new foods from his diet & haven’t seen the toe tapping since. We don’t know which food had actually caused it. Both the foods were said to be capable of doing this. Although the pellets were 100% natural, they were a high potency. These were the only pellets I could get so settled for a small pack for all the birds. High potency may have been too high in vitamins for Eddie so it caused him to start toe tapping.
One time I decided to try 100% natural pellets & a Coles brand of mixed dried fruit to make Apricot balls. Over a couple of days he had a little of these with his usual foods. Dave & I noticed about 3 days later that Eddie appeared to have a very mild form of toe tapping so we completely removed the new foods from his diet & haven’t seen the toe tapping since. We don’t know which food had actually caused it. Both the foods were said to be capable of doing this. Although the pellets were 100% natural, they were a high potency. These were the only pellets I could get so settled for a small pack for all the birds. High potency may have been too high in vitamins for Eddie so it caused him to start toe tapping.
I read the ingredients & it was loaded with preservatives, additives, colours, everything you could possibly think of that was not natural. I was surprised to see so much rubbish in a pack of dried fruit, where did they fit the actual fruit in all this? After reading the ingredients I would not be surprised if this contributed to toe tapping.
About 1 month after this my Eddie had a slight Toe tap again. He wasn't on anything unnatural & his diet was back to the original. I then discovered someone who's Eclectus also has an occasional & only slight toe tapping issue & she said this happened when temperatures got very high & the fresh food would go off very quickly & the bird ate it. Although Eddie has been through higher temps than this, the heat was sudden after it being cool. It was also a lot more humid than usual.
What ever it was, Eddie’s toe tapping was mild when we noticed so we were able to remove all possibilities for the toe tapping. Eddie hasn't not toe tapped since.
Although Eclectus parrots require a higher vit A intake, this doesn’t mean you need to give them vit A supplements on top of their normal diets. They can obtain enough vit A in their diets by offering fruit & veg that are high in vit A, such as pumpkin & seeds, carrots, broccoli leaves, pepitas, dark green vegetables & dark orange or red fruit & veg can be high in vit A. The body is able to eliminate any excess vit A from these natural forms, but cannot eliminate vit A in the form of un natural supplements added to their diets. Vit A supplements have also been known to alter the ration of calcium.
About 1 month after this my Eddie had a slight Toe tap again. He wasn't on anything unnatural & his diet was back to the original. I then discovered someone who's Eclectus also has an occasional & only slight toe tapping issue & she said this happened when temperatures got very high & the fresh food would go off very quickly & the bird ate it. Although Eddie has been through higher temps than this, the heat was sudden after it being cool. It was also a lot more humid than usual.
What ever it was, Eddie’s toe tapping was mild when we noticed so we were able to remove all possibilities for the toe tapping. Eddie hasn't not toe tapped since.
Although Eclectus parrots require a higher vit A intake, this doesn’t mean you need to give them vit A supplements on top of their normal diets. They can obtain enough vit A in their diets by offering fruit & veg that are high in vit A, such as pumpkin & seeds, carrots, broccoli leaves, pepitas, dark green vegetables & dark orange or red fruit & veg can be high in vit A. The body is able to eliminate any excess vit A from these natural forms, but cannot eliminate vit A in the form of un natural supplements added to their diets. Vit A supplements have also been known to alter the ration of calcium.
Eddie
Toe Tapping &
Wing Flipping
Wing Flipping