Thinking of getting an Ekkie

[GreenWing]

So, things are going great with my Grey. She gets a little phobic at times, but is generally a very happy bird and a great talker. I've been clicker-training her and she responds GREAT to the clicker, she is very intelligent and I think also likes the noise it makes.

My Grey is also VERY spoiled, so I have been thinking about getting a male Ekkie. I love them, they're beautiful, and I would be able to provide the diet they need as I grow a lot of my own food.

My question is, how would be Grey take to this? She is very loved, and nothing would change, only that she'd have a "brother" (lol) and a friend around when I am not home.

Thoughts and comments from the experienced would be appreciated.

[Michael]

You don't want an eclectus

[Pajarita]

Diet is not the only concern with ekkies, they are highly hormonal birds once they get to a certain age and very prone to plucking... Not that they cannot be kept healthy and happy because they can but it requires complete and utter dedication to just the one bird (in truth, breeders do them a huge disservice because they are the least adaptable of all parrots and hardly ever do well as pets -and the proof is that all captive bred ones which are not first generation from wild-caught all die VERY young) and the thing is that both species are high maintenance in terms of time spent on them, and neither are known for bonding with other birds. Quite the contrary, grays would ignore other birds but only as long as the get the lion's share of the attention while ekkies don't only also require most of the attention but also usually actively dislike other birds so one of them will have to be caged while the other one is out and you might end up with a big jealousy problem in your hands. Plus, it's way too soon to get a second one, you haven't had Chance for that long in parrot time and you are still working with her to achieve an even behavior so bringing another bird now would put you back on square one and you might get never get out of there with another needy bird demanding your attention.

If you want a second bird, wait a bit and get Chance completely settled and then get one that won't require as much attention - like an adult pionus or an older zon.

[GreenWing]

Thanks to you both in your replies. I think you're right in that Chance needs more time to settle before we take in another.

Thanks again

[sidech]

You don't want an eclectus

Why not ? Males especially are very good companions. They're just not the type of bird to treat as a child. But when treated as an animal, they do fine !

[Pajarita]

Males are good companions, nobody is arguing that. Females are too for that matter. But, for them to be happy you have to have only one bird, keep him to a strict solar schedule, be extremely careful about his diet, cook for him daily and spend A LOT of time with him -something that is completely impractical in the long term for most people. If you don't do this, they do well when young but they don't do well when older. It has nothing to do with treating them like babies or animals, it has to do with the fact that they have a very unusual and difficult to emulate social structure and breeding behaviors, as well as an extremely specialized diet. People think they can do it and it's not that they don't have the best of intentions, but, as the years go by, most of them can't because life gets in the way - and that's when the problems start. Mind you, this is true of all parrots but ekkies are three times as difficult.

[sidech]

I don't do solar schedule, I don't cook for him, I don't spend all my time with him. He is an only bird, and I do make sure he has a good diet.

This forum is the only one where Elkies are portrayed as being so difficult. I have no idea why. I'm a member of a few Ekkie forum and no one seems to think that way.

Anyways, I don't want to start a debate again. To each their own opinion.

[Michael]

When you visit a rescue, the opinion of eclectus you get is more like Pajarita says...

[Pajarita]

Besides, you can't go by an eclectus board members' opinions - it's like saying: "Well, I go to several churches and nobody argues the existence of God there!" LOL

[sidech]

What you're saying is certainly correct for most people. But I believe people like you and I would not make it look any better than it really is. The last thing I want is for someone to buy an Ekkie on an impulse and abandon it six months later.

We hear a lot of bad things about cockatoos, and even coockatoo owners will tell you how difficult they are. You can even see videos about their difficult behaviors. But Ekkies ? I just wish I knew where to look for the bad stuff and learn about it. Just for my own sake.