Toe Tapping and Wing Flipping

[Birdiemarie]

Will Your Eclectus Be Effected?

What is it?
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
Toe Tapping & Wing Flipping
"toe-tapping" in Eclectus Parrot
Eclectus parrot - Page 2 - Parrotchatter Forums

Spirulina Dangers and your ekkie:
BirDeBlog: The Spiraling Effects of Spirulina And The ParrotWhat Is Spirulina
Land of Vos - General Care and Information Articles/Talk/Weaning/Aloe/General/Entertainment:

What is Spirulina:
The food supplement that has caused the most cases of toe tapping and wing flipping appears to be spirulina. It is a microscopic, spiral-shaped blue-green algae which is a single celled plant. It is often touted as the most nutrient-rich food in the world, which just might be the problem for some Eclectus parrots. Many people swear by the health-giving properties of spirulina for themselves and their pets. One of the manufactured bird diets most popular with Avian veterinarians is fortified with spirulina. However, since Eclectus thrive on a nutrient-sparse diet in the wild, it is possible that this nutrient-dense food is simply too rich for the system of some sensitive individuals and therefore causes the toe tapping and wing-flipping syndrome. Another fact worth consideration is that "all spirulinais not created equal". Because it is grown on water, quality control is an important issue.

 

[WenM]

Example: Here is a video of Fiona's toe tapping and wing flipping caused by fortified foods along with colored pellets. She ended up having seizures and pathologic chewing. She chewed her toe right off.

 

[thebirdnerds]

I have never seen my Ekkie Toe Tap but I have seen her do the wing flapping thing.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Wendy, I have a memory problem so cannot recall. Has Fiona improved at all?

 

[Birdiemarie]

Jennifer, how bad is Reba's wing flipping? Have you been able to monitor it to see when it lessons and worsens in relationship to the amount of protein she eats?

 

[WenM]

Fiona has gotten somewhat better but as Dr Dill said, she will probably chew herself for life. We tried supplements and even the hormone therapy (Lupron) but the bathing and good food seemed to make the most progress. She still wing flips a bit. She does not have open "hamburger" meat on her leg/foot at this time and most of her feathers all grew back. She will always be challenged because the toe is off that foot and the rest of the foot stiffened so she can't use it. Love her no matter what the issues are.

 

[rancol]

our 3 year old male eclectus, Icarus, started extreme toe-tapping one day out of the blue, and I remembered reading that calcium deficiency could be one possible cause. All I had was one of those calcium mineral blocks that you hang inside the cage that he ignored, so I used a cheese grater and ground some into his food. After a day he stopped toe-tapping! Not absolutely proven that this is what did the trick, but I give him a bit with his food every day now.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Welcome! Glad you were able to resolve the problem. Also be aware that too much protein can cause a sensitivity and result in toe tapping as well. Keep aware of how much overall protein is in the diet...beans, nuts, eggs, etc. Pellets (even those designed for ekkies) may have too much protein for your particular ekkie. Stay away from Spirulina which is also rich in protein. Since Icarus had a bout with toe tapping extra care is needed now in regards to his diet because he may have a propensity for it or may have developed a sensitivity because of it.

 

[Lilyrat]

I have a toe tapper again and this time she is wing flipping. The last time she toe tapped was in January. There has been no diet change. Makes me wonder about seasonal change or the fact that she is molting.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Some are finding that to be the case, the change of season and/or molting. I try to be extra careful what I feed Ruby during those times.

 

[Lilyrat]

Penelope had episodes of toe tapping from late last October through January. I thought I had it figured out that it was her diet...too many sunflower seeds. But maybe it is the season change and/or molting. I started using a full spectrum light - perhaps this will help.

 

[Lilyrat]

Today (along with toe tapping/wing flipping) she started jerking her right leg like it was caught on something - it wasn't. I can't find anything about this.
Perhaps a cramp? Penelope is eating well. I am cutting back on protein and pushing orange and dark green veggies and cranberries. She looks haggard.
I so don't want to take her to the vet - it is very stressful and takes almost a week for her to come out of her cage.

 

[Birdiemarie]

I've found in Ruby's case since she is extremely food sensitive that any other variables that come into play (season change, hormones, etc) play havoc with the toe tapping/wing flipping during those times so I have to re-evaluate her protein and carb levels during those times even if they were working well. Does she get 'good fats' which are essential in the ekkie diet? Vitamin A and D are fat soluble vitamins and both are vital for calcium metabolism. Both omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are important too.

 

[Lilyrat]

Her normal diet is

AM - bean mix (cooked beans, brown rice, mixed frozen veg with sweet potatoes)

Lunch - fruit (kiwi or pomagranit or watermelon or cranberries. She will eat a few grapes or apple)

Snack - a teaspoon of Volkmans Eclectus seed with 1-2 sunflower seeds.

PM - raw veggies ( always peppers, carrots, snap peas. I usually add Sweet potatoes, spinach, celery and tomatoes too)

Treat - 1 almond & 1 walnut or pecan. She chooses a nut before she falls asleep and I give her an extra.

She gets a cuttle bone weekly. And I forgot to give egg shells for about 2 months. She is having some now with her fruit.

She did eat banana the day before this episode.

Such a complex little dinosaur.

 

[AvianLover80]

I'm wondering if any of these birds are having allergic reactions to salicylates... This apparently is the new discovery. A lot of the fresh foods we give them contain this and we need to be sparing with the moderate to high content items. I have a list of foods if ya'll want me to post it (the link).

 

[clawnz]

Question!
How many who have reported seeing these behaviors feed PELLETS?

From what I have researched there does seem to be a connection.
Eclectus have a long digestive track and will absorb more from pellets than other birds may.
But wing Flipping and toe tapping has also been noted in other parrots!
Over supply of vitamins and man made supplements are a very real danger, add to that birds in the wild do not eat dry foods.
I avoid any pellets for my birds and they are all doing very well. And stick to a good varied natural diet that is adjusted to the seasons.

 

[Lilyrat]

Please post the list. Penelope has really not improved. Last year her episodes only lasted 4 days and were mild.

She has never had a pellet and processed foods are a no no.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Her normal diet is...

I would suggest stopping the beans and sweet potatoes for a little while (perhaps a week or more?) to see if it makes a difference. She may have an overload of carbs and/or protein especially if she eats this every day. Experiment with the diet to see if something she is eating is a trigger food. If you do have a trigger food then after the symptoms are completely gone introduce the food again (one at a time) in small amounts for a week to verify if it is the trigger. You may have to eliminate that food from her diet altogether or you may be able to continue to feed it but in smaller amounts and not every day. Sprouts is an excellent protein alternative without a lot of the bad effects.
Also be careful with the nuts...try alternating either the almond or 1/4 of a walnut but not both.

 

[Lilyrat]

Thank you Marie for all of your help and listening to me go on and on.

Toe Tapping must be a combination of Diet and stress. When I let Penelope sit on my shoulder her tapping and flipping slows down. It's not much but she is slowly showing improvement.

We had company for 5 days and the house routine was not normal before this episode. There has always been some incident around a week before her tapping...vet visit, moving cage location, pet sitter during vacation, sitting in the basement during a tornado warning...

I have added egg shells and am working on a fresh batch of sprouts. I am going to wait on removing the bean mix, but I am avoiding sweet potato and pomegranate. Pomegranate is her favorite food but she has been having it too often. After skipping it for a few days, I gave her pomegranate on Sunday. That night her symptoms were very bad.

A whole lot of guessing and frustration.

 

[AvianLover80]

Hey you guys, sorry I didn't post this sooner...
Here is the list!
Food-Info.net : What is Salicylic acid and in which foods does it occur?
There are other lists online, but this one is the easiest to understand for a brief knowledge