Parrot owner with a full-time job?

[LyzGrace]

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[sidech]

Well, I think I'm in a good position to answer that question !

I got Jazz, my baby male Eclectus, 4 months ago. He is now 7 months. When I first got him, I was a bit worried, just like you, because I work full time. Also, it's only me and the kids, who are with me 1 week out of 2.

I leave early in the morning and come back around 5-6. The hardest part at first is managing the meals, because until they're about 6 months old, they will scream for it and will not tolerate any delays. So I was often worried about him not having his dinner on time. I found a babysitter that I used for these times I would be late. Now, at 7 months, he can tolerate a little delay.

Eclectus are quiet parrots, and they thrive in quiet home environments. They are quite happy to play by themselves, and have you sitting nearby or even further away. They don't need to be with you all the time, although they love interacting with people. Be careful not to destroy that by making him too needy, because he won't be when you get him. Eclectus are more independant than a lot of other parrots, which I love about them.

So, Jazz is alone in his cage, with toys and foods, all day. When I get home, he's out of the cage from about 6 to 10. On week-ends, he gets out all day. He's happy playing on top of his cage (playground), or going on his window perch, or going down on the floor to explore. He goes down and back up on his own. When he wants to be with me, he walks up to my office and I put him on his playground. At night, when I watch tv, he will fly down to the living room to cuddle with me (I'm letting his wings grow back, he was clipped when I got him). He'll sit or lay on my shoulder, wrapped under my hair, and make these little content sounds. He gets misted or into the shower at least 4-5 times a week, that is a must for Eclectus. In the morning, he doesn't make a sound until I take the cover off his cage. Even on week-ends when I sleep a little later.

So that's his routine, and he's a happy boy, chattering for hours every day.

My message to you is this : if you're read a lot about Ekkies, and think they are right for you, go ahead, your baby will be fine even if you work, because he will get good care when you don't.

If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Oh, and I should say some baby Eclectus have a loud phase, from about 3-4 months to 7 months. Jazz did this annoying squawking sound everytim he would see me. He was making me nuts, and hurting my ears ! But it went away when he was about 6 months old. There is nothing you can do about that. You just have to go through it.

[patdbunny]

Hi there,

I truly believe you'd be ok. I used to work full time and the entire house was devoid of humans for a good 8-10 hours a day on weekdays. I had an African grey, conure, a couple of cockatoos, and a couple of cockatiels at the time. I suppose they kept each other company throughout the day even though they weren't housed in the same cage, but they were all in the same room.

Here's my schedule on how I managed my birds while working full time:
http://staringatbirdsandgoats.blogspot. ... -your.html

I do believe that the more socialized and stimulated by new experience the less likely there will be neurotic behaviors like plucking and screaming. It seemed like my birds used the cage time for their own down time, kinda like us hanging in our rooms relaxing after a long day/long week.

Keeping only one bird you'd probably want to do a lot of foraging activities. I know people are big on a lot of toys, new toys, rotating toys, toys, toys, toys. But from my experience if the bird's neurotic or starts getting neurotic, they start not to care about all the toys even if they're new and interesting. There is such a thing as too much and then it just becomes background noise. Whereas foraging, there's a food payout and food is a universal need. One of our cockatoos I got to the point were she never had a bowl of food, she only ate by foraging. Did wonders for my sanity and I think hers, too.

Oh - welcome by the way. When are you getting your bird?

[LyzGrace]

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[zazanomore]

We're not anti-breeder, we're anti-mass production of birds.

[patdbunny]

Yeah, those toys they have to figure out to get the food/treat - that's foraging. A variety of foraging devices and opportunities will help keep the bird stimulated. No need to get crazy expensive with it. You can use hubby's old tube socks, sleeves off old shirts, coffee filters, etc. More foraging info on another thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5232&p=33891#p33891

BTW - I'm one of the evil breeders. Come to the Dark Side - we have cookies.

[LyzGrace]

Thanks again!! Duly noted... must forage...

And I surely hope there's not a parrot owner out there who ISN'T anti-mass production of birds, but I do know there are some who certainly are anti-breeder. Good to hear they have cookies, though...

Speaking of adoption, I went out to visit a boy who was listed on a few websites and I broke down and went to see him.



He was, obviously, adorable, but this was our encounter:

He and his lady were out on the front porch when I pulled up. I get out of the car and walk up to the porch, within his sight. As soon as I'm about 10 feet away : ear-piercing screech.

"Oh, don't worry - he's just warning us you're here."

Stepped right up to me, let me carry him around their house, I pet his belly a little with my thumb, but didn't offer to do any more because I didn't want to freak him out. They walked me to the room his cage was in (along with about 7 or 8 various bird, mostly conures and cockatiels) and he screeched again.

"He just thinks you're trying to put him away."

Showed me his food, which was a processed, colored pellet and said they feed him mostly that, but give him some fruits and veggies, along with animal crackers, chex mix, cheetos, etc. Walked him over to his perch and he offered a few more screeches. No explanations by that time. We went back out to the driveway and I sat down with him and just talked to him and tried to see if he would warm up anymore. THEN both owners lit up a cigarette . I will say the house didn't smell like smoke and they stayed in the driveway, not coming especially close to him, but STILL.

He didn't say anything while I was there, but they said he said he mostly talks just in his cage when it's quiet. He let me give him a kiss before I left and by the time I got home I had an email from them saying that they really felt I would be a good fit for him and that they would come down on the price for me if I decided I wanted him.

So obviously, my red flags were his yelling (possibly from being caged in a noisy room?), his diet, and the fact that he lives with smokers. He's only 4, but the possibility of health issues really scares me. Do you think that rehoming to a quiet house without other birds and handling him would make him forget about screaming? What are the possible health problems he could have and, even if I had him vet-checked, do you think a vet would be able to pick up on them? And... since I'm new at this... is there another board I should be putting these questions on?? Thanks everybody. I've spent hours on this forum since finding it, this is such a great resource!

[Saerphe]

You could try the Land of Vos forum. It's an all-Ekkie forum. The Land of Vos website is an excellent Ekkie resource site. I'm looking into getting an Ekkie myself when I'm done university and I'm settled and whatnot.

http://www.landofvos.com/phpBB2/index.p ... e21ddf8be0

What an adorable little guy. It's good you got to meet him ahead of time and see how he gets along at his current home.

[coral]

idk if this helps but im gone from 6am-3pm everyday then 6am-6pm 3 times a week. i go to school then i babysit 3 times a week. i let him out when i get up he stays out and my grandma checks on him periodically throughout the day while im gone. then i come home we go upstairs( my room and his cage are in the basement but i have really bright lights) and sit in the living room and he chirps out the window, sometimes i take him outside with his harness. ive had him for 6 months and hes very happy hes a blue headed pionus. im not really sure what he does during the day he has plenty of toys but i never really see him playing. he also has a radio on all day play soft music. then around 9 he goes in his cage to get ready for bed and i close the cage door. he seems content but i feel bad he doesnt really play or chew. :/

hope this helps! you can totally do it.

[sidech]

You can try this forum as well, from australia : http://eclectusparrots.net/forum/

There is also Laurella Desborough's mailing list (lots of Ekkie experts) and The Land of Vos also has a mailing list. You just subscribe to it, and everyday you receive a summary of all the posts sent to the list. You can also ask questions. Honestly, the most knowledgeable Eclectus people are on both these lists. They are just incredible with all the knowledge they have about this specie, and they love it !

There is also birdboard, which has an Ekkie section, but not too busy.

Good luck !