First Parrot - Electus or African Grey

[GlassOnion]

Yep... Must read www.mytoos.com for Cockatoos.

[maillet]

Perhaps I should have rephrased. I HAVE lived with an African Grey in the past, and one of my old best friends during school had an Electus who I spent a considerable amount of time with over a number of summer vacations and during school. Neither of those two could answer these types of questions however for a few reasons which is why I decided to post the questions on this site.

As for talking ability, I apologise if I came off as "Show-Offy". I would like a parrot as more of a companion bird than anything, as I said I like the way they interact from what I have seen in the past as well as their intelligence which in my opinion is well above dogs or cats. I am also not a dog or cat lover (for various reasons) which is the other main reason I would like some parrot.

Speaking ability is important to me in the sense that if I am aquiring a parrot, I reasoned it would be ideal to choose a species that could learn easily and be more interactable. Since from what I have seen, read, and heard most parrots can do far more than mimic but do so appropriately. I would also much rather have one that CAN communicate in words rather than purely squaking as this would simply be easier to interact with in terms of having a companion bird over a "pet".

I understand some may never say a word which is fine, but I would rather prepaire ahead for one that could if given a good home. Therefore I found speech the easiest way to narrow down what began as a choice from over 800 eligable parrot species. As for Coocos, Amazons, Senegals, and the more comon Budgringer I noticed aspects in all of their 'common' personalities I disliked. On perhaps a vainer note I also disliked the coloring on Coocos and Senegals, with Amazons to large.

From what I have learned indirectly, the choice to speak is based on temperment (developed at an eariler age through its contact with handlers - if bred in captivity) and trust in those within a presence of the bird. Whereas Eclectus will "freeze-up" if uncomfortable to study the area, Greys may "Fight or Flight" which is more common among the parrot species. It is more of a time based situation than simply the bird will or will never talk, especially if they continue to lifelong learn.

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I did email the head of my local Rescue and they were wonderful in answering questions, as well as providing a few other insights into other areas I had not discussed. She gave me a couple ideas for the room I mentioned eariler. As I said, it has a picture window but due to it being toward the back of the house it recieves 4-6 hours of direct sunlight and I can control the temp manually. As for layout it would be live trees around the outside with an open area for play and flight center.

Based on my lengthly conversation with the local Rescue head, she recommended if I do get one of the birds to obtain a single male Eclectus to begin with. Then once I am comfortable with the birds to obtain a second female companion for the male. I will also be going to volunteer at their Rescue a couple of times to spend some time with their Eclectus (over 80 of these species).

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I think that about wraps up my research over the past week. I also read a considerable amount into the diet of Eclectus which I was surprised to find is almost identical to my own... So it will not be too difficult to provide them with the necessary foods from live grains primarily (sprouts and brown rice), dark greens (Broccoli, Califlower, Carrots, etc), and a healthy supply of fresher fruits like Necterines, Pomagranites, Berries, and other essentials. Hardboiled eggs monthly.

As for flowers, the room I am planning to use is currently insilated and used as a greenhouse that actually has a number of flowers an Eclectus would normally eat. These include Petunas, a couple of Marigolds, and Roses. I can add other essentials like Nasturtiums and Hibiscus without problem.

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So that about sums up everything I have planned for an initial. Converting the greenhouse into an Aviary setting appropriate for One Electus to begin with, and then down the road a second. Based on my conversation with the Local Recue, I will likely be obtaining one around 6-18 months old to ensure it is appropriately weened for a first-time owner but still young enough to bond easily.

Does anyone else have anything that they believe I should know? I am not in a hurry by any means, I was planning to begin contacting specific breeders over the next oouple of months to have a new one by ideally end of Septemper or October to give it time to adapt before the winter begins.

Thanks to everyone to contributed positively,

[GlassOnion]

Sounds like you put a lot of good thought into it!!

The only thing I could add is... remember to socialize, socialize, socialize! I also recommend harness training, and I would ask the breeder to start harness training the chick as he's weaning. A good breeder will always do this when asked. When choosing a breeder, go with a small breeder that specializes in Ekkies, not a large factory-like operation with 60 other species.

[maillet]

Thank you, the local Rescue head did suggest breeders she knew from the past who tended to be loving toward their birds. I will be trying those two first to see what would be available.

Socialization will not be a problem. I am shyer than most people so often stay at home reading or doing other stuff. I am usually at home for around 12 hours a day, also a large reason towards the parrot descision since I know I can spend the appropriate amount of time they need to be happy.

I know I can spend at least 2-3 solid hours a day (staggered throughout the day of course since I read with Eclectus especially they tend to only prefer 30 min sessions at a maximum but often).

[pennyandrocky]

socializing is when you introduce your bird to many different people so that in the future if you have a family, or the bird outlives you and has to go to a new person it will not just be a one person bird who will attack anyone who comes near you or the person who will care for the bird in case somthing happens to you.i love that you are volunteering i think everyone who's thinking about a parrot companion should do this.

[RedDragon1288]

I'm glad to hear that you are going on the right track, but when you consider add more parrots to your family be careful about breeding situation which Eclectus. You don't have to get a female later to keep you male company, you could get another male. Male Eclectus are more gentle and less temperamental than females.

*Remember there are five Eclectus sub-species available to us in America and you can only tell them apart by the females who have different color variation between them.

[GlassOnion]

pennyandrocky is right, socialization means taking him outside and showing him the world and all that it has to offer, not spending everyday together in a quiet room. That way, you don't have a bird who is scared of everything and everyone when he is mature. It's just like raising a child, you need to show as many new experiences/people as possible when the baby is still young and flexible.

It's unfortunate that many first time parrot owners overlook this, socialization is VERY important!

[maillet]

Socialization will not be a problem, my home is often the 'gathering point' for our small family get togethers with one or two people coming over for a few hours usually once a week. The house is by no means noisy, frequently with only adult-adult conversations and noone under 17 years. But given my entire family lives near by, the bird will be exposed to over 20 faces over a given year.

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As for the outdoors, what is the best approach to handle this sitution? Do most of you have all of your bird's feathers clipped entirely, or only partially to prevent long distance flights. The former seems cruel from my perspective, and my home is spacious enough to permit daily free flight.

As parrots are more 'wild' than domesticated animals, is it common to have to worry about if the bird escaped and does not return? I read you can have them microchiped, but same situation.

A parrot would not last long at all on its own in southern Alberta, especially an Eclectus with their unique dietary needs. Do they have some familiarity to return to the home if they get loose?

Any answers on this regard would be appreciated

[GlassOnion]

You need to harness train!! www.parrotplace.ca is a very good breeder in Manitoba and will probably harness train the Ekkie for you and ship him as well. You cannot take out a bird outside without a harness or a carrier even when clipped. A breeze or a sudden fear response will allow enough flight for the bird to get lost or even flutter in traffic or something. Always harness train.

[Michael]

I don't think it's important to have a breeder who harness trains. I found with Truman that he was super tame when I got him (breeder pretended to harness train him but didn't really). I was able to just stick the harness on him without any contradiction on his part. I didn't use training to get him to put it on, just stuck it on him. This was all fine for the first year but then he got a little older and began to refuse to put it on or even flew away. This is when I realized I'd have to apply the harness training method to him and problem solved. Point is, even if a baby parrot is harness trained, inevitably the owner has to retrain this frequently to maintain the behavior. So this shouldn't be a major selling point when choosing a breeder.