Hi everyone

[shaenne]

Hi guys! I'm new to the forums. I've been searching for a new place to hang out and talk parrots and this place seems great!

I have three birds in total. Two cockatiels and an Eclectus parrot.

The cockatiels are Odie


And Zoe



And the Eclectus is 8 week old Sam



Can't wait to get to know everyone!

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

Bird people need to stick together. Others just don't understand us.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum, Shaenne, Odie, Zoe and Sam! Hope you have done A LOT of research on the eclectus diet because it's a very hard thing to do right... but, if you are in doubt, we will help as much as we can with it!

[shaenne]

Thanks guys We definitely do need to stick together! lol.

I have done a ton of research on Eclectus and their diet So far so good though. He's just under 11 weeks old now and is eating a ton on his own. He has dropped himself down from 2 formula feeds a day (morning/evening) to one feed a day (evening) which is great. I still offer him some formula in the morning if he seems particularly hungry, but if he does eat any of it he refuses after one or two small spoons and then goes for other things.

He looooves veggies and gets a little mad at me if i'm late giving him his dish of veggies in the afternoon. He will happily try anything I offer to him which has made it extremely easy to give him a range of different (but healthy) foods. At dinner time I usually make him his own little plate of whatever we're eating (minus anything non bird friendly) and he has a good pig out. He's been the easiest hand raise ever.

He fledged at just over 9 weeks. It was a little unexpected but at the same time not really. I could see him thinking about it a lot in the week or so prior, it was just a matter of when he took the plunge lol. He can fly extremely well now. I'm working on his recall and he has pretty much mastered landing on my hand.

So proud of my little green monster!

[Pajarita]

Good job! Be very vigilant about the amount of protein he consumes as I am convinced that the reason for their early death in captivity is an inadequate diet.

[shaenne]

I definitely agree. Since i've had him (and he feathered out and looked like an actual bird instead of a baby dinosaur), there has been 4 different people that I have actually talked out of getting an Eclectus purely by explaining how important it is to meet their dietary needs. They were surprised that it's that important not to feed an all-seed diet and then decided it's too much work.
They saw Sam and fall in love and ask me for the number of the breeder I got him from without doing a shred of research on the species (they didn't even know what species he was without asking me) and it's infuriating because I know exactly how the bird would end up, if they got one.

I hate it when people say "You shouldn't get this species or that species unless you're experienced with them" (and I had plenty of people tell me that before I got Sam) because EVERYONE was inexperienced at one point and you have to start somewhere. If I lived by that rule i'd never own any birds because I wasn't born an experienced bird owner. But I absolutely preach the importance of extensive research before making the commitment, especially if you ARE inexperienced. We are always learning no matter how experienced we are but I absolutely believe in being as knowledgeable as possible before you begin.

I feel like i'm rambling now LOL. Here's a picture of Sam for cute factor.

[Pajarita]

Yep, a cute factor of 10, no doubt about it! But you shouldn't feel that way about people telling you that you need experience. I am one of those that says that and there is a very good reason for it. The truth is that, although ALL parrots are extremely hard to keep healthy and happy for people with normal lifestyles, there are some that are more difficult than others - and that is an incontrovertible fact! Large parrots that can bite a lip off your face, parrots that require a super-duper specialized diet that needs fresh preparing every single day of their life, parrots that are naturally 'hormonal' so you have no leeway whatsoever in their light schedule, etc are much, much harder to care for than other species. For example, although cockatiels, budgies and lovies are highly opportunistic breeders, a person with a normal lifestyle (full time work outside the house, family, etc) can keep them very well if they keep them free-flighted and in a small flock BUT, on the other hand, a cockatoo which requires strict solar schedule (they have two breeding seasons a year) and constant company is not. Same as an ekkie, which not only requires a very specialized diet but also an EXTREMELY strict solar schedule so as not to become hormonal (they have the longest breeding seasons of all parrots: up to nine months out of the year!) and which is not easy to pair up (because of the very unusual 'arrangement' they have in the wild), it's impossible to keep from getting hormonal if you work full time, for example. African grays which are naturally high-strung need a quiet household (so no children!) and because they hardly ever bond to another bird, they require their chosen human company all the time, same as a cockatoo so, unless you can be there for them all the time, they get VERY anxious which makes them pluck and even self-mutilate. See what I mean? There are degrees of 'difficulty' in keeping parrots as pets and that's why one needs not only experience but also the right infrastructure, the right job, the right everything for the 'harder' ones

[Georges mom]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Your flock is beautiful!

[shaenne]

Yes, but, how is one to get the experience 'required' to care for different species of parrots without starting somewhere with them?
I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on that one

[Wolf]

I sort of have to take the middle road on this. I do agree that with Pajarita, in that there is no substitute for experience, especially when it comes to certain species of parrots. But, if there are no bird rescues, or other places for you to gain hands on experience with these birds in your area, all that is left is forums and your own research for you to learn about their needs. When I got Kookooloo, my Grey, I had no experience with Greys what so ever, but with the help of this forum and my own research and years of experience with working with other species of animals, I was able to pick through most of the conflicting information online and things have worked out pretty well.

I had not experienced the you must have experience first thing with parrots, possibly due to their being so few of them in my area, but I have encountered it far too often in employment arenas and found it to be a poor system to be caught up in. While research is not a substitute for experience, it is still very useful and you can gain enough insight into these birds to make it through while you learn about your bird. Given all that we do not yet know about these birds and their care even the most experienced of us must continually do our research if we hope to do right by them. All any of us can do is the best that we can and hope to stay out of our own way.

Regardless of our personal stance in regards to the research vs experience conundrum, we will all do our very best to help you and your bird in any manner that we can.