Male Eclectus - Good Talkers, Friendly, Easily Trained?

[Polarn]

have to agree with pajarita about rescues vs babies, a grown bird will not change that much, however I beleive the circumbstances around them may have a gret impact on them, for example I have two brown headed, both rehomes coming here due to biting, and flightattacks.. the male was like flipping a coin, he turned into the sweetest bid ever in just a few dys an two months after he moved in we participated in a bird event where he got to perch on people taking photos, in a harness, including the children in his former house that got to go home with a picture of him laying on his back in their hands. And that was their biggest problem, he would fly over and bite their kis as soon as he saw them. When at the event they did not recognize me but the bird and they walked right up to me and said "we used to have a bird looking exactly the same" wherea my reply was simply "This is your bird, you want to hold him" this made their dy and their mothers who was really sad that they had to rehome him because she felt that was a failue, but seeing how quick he had changed under other circumbstances she was happy they had given him to me. Nowdays he is a regular ambasador around here for smaller birds hanging upie down from my hand as we walk around shops.. so he is all good pat from him stil overpreening slightly tho, but it is regressing gradually.

The female hasn't been here as long, she is slightly less of an attackbird but she will occationally do it to me and i definitly have to lock her in when guests are here, but seeing the two of them bonding I do not feel that guilty of her not beeing handled as much since the best company she can have anyways is from a bird of the same species.

But to be fair only the ones with issues to begin with since it is harder to sell a bird with issues and therefor adoption is a better solution but even that is hard from time to time...

And truth be told an adoption and not a rescue is probbly not any more work thn a chick, I mean there are birds rehomes because of other reasons than behvioral problems or poor conditions. And a lot of these birds are just wonderful and if they are to be treated right in their new home their most likely to stay just that, wonerful.

And yes generallizations can be made of certain species but every bird is diffeent enough for it to be worth seeing the birds as indiviuals (no matter of species) than looking only into birds of certain species, especially given the fact that you may want to use your bird in shows etcetera, adopting a bird that has already gone through puberty has a couple of ups. for started she automtically i displayd and introduced witch could make him/her into a good ambassaor as to it being posible to find a good companion even if not bought as a handreared chick, plus the obvious, you are more likely to keep th same personality and temper of tht particular bird than seeing it change during puberty and have them change into their adult selfs.

As to biting issues, I have stated before on this forum and still beleives that parentraised birds if tmed with patience is less prone to biting as long as you keep on responding to their innitial warnings and bodylanguage, becuse hey will have all that inact from the get go, something handfed babies usually lacks, their bird social skills. however aqcuiring a parent raised chick puts more load on innitial taming but it could be well worth it in the end.

[KC Cameron]

I've been working with bird for 25 years . While I know every bird is an individual, some species are more prone to certain traits than others. What good is species research if it can't tell you general traits? I am not saying one species is better than another, just one may be better for me in my situation.

I appreciate you pushing adoption, and we certainly need it. Sad to say, I also understand with an adoption there is a real possibility of inheriting someone else's problems. Sure there are gems, and sure, sometimes bad diets and experiences can be corrected, but I work closely with children/public and want to keep the possibilities of a parrot "going rogue" as small as possible. I am also not a collector, and do not wish to gamble any more than I have too on a parrots temperament/training aptitude. If someone is adopting out an exceptional adult bird, I'll be the first in line... but I am not holding my breath.

As for an adoption, their is not much in my area Raleigh, NC. I am exploring that option for an adult bird, but the options seem sparse . . . I would think there would be more, but most are an hour + from me.

To me, it seems to be doing the parrot community a disservice to ignore behavioral tendencies of individual species. Some are flock orientated, some are more solitary. Some socialize with other species, others tend not too, the Eclectus is reported having a special diet, Parrots range from Budgies to Cockatoos to Greys to Macaws - how with a straight face can it be said "it is all up to the individual bird"???? Yes, individuals can vary widely, but raised with a good died in a good environment certain traits will dominate. Within the Eclectus itself there is a marked difference between the temperments of the sexes.

Please understand if we get another parrot, it will be the last. I don't want to spread my attention too thin, and I really want a bird for work and as a companion.

I am well known in my area for having exceptionally tame and friendly parrots. Outside of taking the best care of them I can, I also research the species for the highest chances of success. When I choose our Umbrella, it was because of their reputation as "love sponges". We visited a number and made our choice, and she is! When I choose our Greenwing, sight unseen it was because of Greenwings are known to be pretty relaxed birds. I got her from a reputable aviary sight unseen, and she is!

By not recommending a species when asked, if you can, I believe is doing a disservice to the parrot community. It is a goal of mine to have fewer mis-homed parrots, and information is the main way to do that. While there are wide exceptions within a species, especially due to breeding, feeding and environment, some intelligent generalizations can be made. If the person getting the parrot (say a Grey) doesn't realize that "while Greys in general are good at talking, some don't speak a word" - and accepts that possibility, they shouldn't be getting a parrot.

By talking to each other about or experiences with different species we help create a knowledge base so we can make more informed decisions. The difference in information available today as opposed to 20 years ago is amazing, and it shows how much more we really know about our feathered friends.

[Polarn]

Yes there are certain generalizations to be made about certain species but I think alot of these generalizations comes from personal experiences, for me with Poi's for example I've only really spent time with brownheadeds that would work out well as meet n greet birds while I know of senegals that would work for the same purpouse, just that I have not met any, except for younger ones that yet has not matured. so overall I'd say the brownheaded parrots are generally calmer and easy going than senegals, meyers or redbellies... But I am totally aware that someone else here may have another opinion about Pois.

As to greys, from all the generalizations out there and from the wide mass they would not do good as showbirds due to their nervous nature, yet still some are doing it really well. and part of it is that they are a product of their enviorment, but by generalizing I wouldn't go for a grey.

As for macaws they range from the hahns to hyacinth, the hahns are generally hyperactive, pretty good talkers tbh but with a small little voice, but they tend to be quite social but a bit quick in their movements, something that sometimes scare children more than a large slower macaw, and all the ones I know are generally theivs (they remove earrings in a heartbeat) as for the larger ones the blue and gold is generally more on the go and active and somewhat of a clown compared to the others. The scarlet macaws I've met is generally more tempered than others and is prone to lunge as people walk by them or gets to close, but then again I know for a fact there are plenty of scarlets in parks etcetera that works as a meet n greet take a picture birds... But I actually do not know a single scarlet that isnt more prone to biting than the other ones. And Illigers generally seems more shy than the others but calmer and more relaxed in their movement, wich means that one that is social and outgoing makes for a great bird to introduce to children because their not intimidating by quick movement or size.

But since your wanting to use the bird in the shows, I am guessing your looking more into birds ranging from the size of a grey and up.

And this is only based on my personal experience from freeflight events/ conventions / rehomes.

And were not speaking of 100's of birds of each kind just a handful. And most of them comes from homes with different oppinions on birdcare and different nurtures. Personally I love zons, but they tend to be moody overall but I have met quite a few and I consider them easy to read and their kind of exadurated in their bodylanguage, however their known to bite when they get too excited so when we have zons present at our meet n greet thingies we always have to watch them so that they do not get too excited when greeting people and just remove them and settle them down before their allowed to fly and greet someone else. But in zons I have met quite a few that are handfed and quite a few that are parentraised, and the parentraised ones seems to ahve more of the instinct to fly off if something bugs them than latching down and their bodylanguage overall seems more distinct. But then a bite from zons isn't fun at all so that alone may rule em out as meet n greet, their beaks are on the larger side but still almost always punctures the skin, compared to a large macaw that even if biting they generally create a more crushing sensation...

[KC Cameron]

Thanks Polarn!

I would love to hear of your Brown Heads!

A few other species I will be looking into include Brown Heads, Red Bellies, and the Bare Eyed 'Too. Talking ability is at the bottom of my wish list... but near the top of my wife's . . . I would actually prefer a smaller bird due to cage restrictions since we already have 2 x 506 Kings cages in our dinning room . . . .

The main issue I have with BH is I've heard they can be very jealous. The problem I have with the Bare Eyed is I am not thrilled with their look or bring more dander into the house. BE are decent at talking and great at trick training, so they are probably next after an Ekkie.

Anyway, I am not getting anything immediately. I want to put a lot of thought and research into this first.