Eclecus experiece...??

[Bobbie]

Hi,

Is there anybody with good experience and also willing to be my "go to" for answers special to the eclectus? As i understand...there are a few things to know thats important for them, and i don't want my new baby to suffer because i missed some important (or even not that important) things...even though i read and watch videos most of the day to be prepared when the day comes to bring him home.

I would be sooo gratful...

Bobbies MoM to be

[Pajarita]

I've had both a male and a female, the male was a Red Sided while the female was a Solomon Island. There are three main things that are different in ekkies from any other parrot:
1. They require a VERY specialized diet, low in protein and nutrients and very high in fiber and moisture so you can feed pellets, you need to cook for them.
2. They are EXTREMELY hormonal birds because they have a 9 month breeding season in the wild
3. They don't display before they bite and, when they bite, they don't give warning nips, they go for the kill.

[Bobbie]

Do you mean you can't "read the bird" before he bites..in any ways...? Is the African Grey a easier bird to hanel, in your opinion?

[Wolf]

Greys are not an easy bird. They are very intelligent and very emotional, and they can be very demanding of you and your time. and in captivity they are prone to feather plucking and self mutilation. They also don't always give a warning before biting. They are most definitely not a bird for just anybody, also they are very jealous.

[Bobbie]

...spelling isn't always easy...spesially if it is the name of the bird you want...

Well it is really a ECLECTUS that I was asking about...that is what i really want, and i heard about the Afrcan Gray, so it became uninterresting... and then i read about the Eclectus male and I was sure what i wanted...then i read alot, still reading...but very little personal experience to find, then I read the answer from Pajarita, and that was totally drifferent from what i heard,read or seen...but all i really want is to know all i can about the eclectus... special things, the tings an owner can tell...things i might not have read on the net...

[Wolf]

First , I would like to commend you for researching about the bird that you want, many people fail to do this and end up with things being more difficult than they need to be. I didn't have the opportunity to do this before my first bird arrived. As it was, she had to live in a small budgie cage while I scrambled for information and a larger, appropriate cage for her and she started with a prepackaged cockatiel seed mix while I researched what her diet should be. She arrived at my house and the temperature dropped to below freezing that night with snow showers, I just couldn't leave her to that so I gave her a home.
None of this has much bearing on your situation or does it? I think so. There is no telling what you will find on the internet as there is as much misinformation there as good solid, useful information and it can be difficult to sort it out. I wish you well with that.
Regardless of what you find about the nature of your chosen species, the thing to bear in mind is that each and every individual bird of that species is just that an individual. While their are broad parameters that will fit the bird that you finally receive, there is much information of the nature you appear to be looking for that is individual and will not fit with the broad descriptions that you are finding. Owners of any parrot species can share with you information, stories about their parrot, but that is what it is. Stories about their parrot, and these stories may or may not have useful information about your bird, due to their highly individual natures.
I hope that this will help you.

[Pajarita]

:lol: ...spelling isn't always easy...spesially if it is the name of the bird you want...

Well it is really a ECLECTUS that I was asking about...that is what i really want, and i heard about the Afrcan Gray, so it became uninterresting... and then i read about the Eclectus male and I was sure what i wanted...then i read alot, still reading...but very little personal experience to find, then I read the answer from Pajarita, and that was totally drifferent from what i heard,read or seen...but all i really want is to know all i can about the eclectus... special things, the tings an owner can tell...things i might not have read on the net...

I don't know what you read or from where but what I told you are facts that can be verified from many online reputable sources (by the way, I meant to say 'you CAN'T feed pellets':

- About their special diet: http://www.eclectusparrots.net/diets.html - http://www.parrotparrot.com/species-gui ... s-parrots/
(ekkies are prone to something called toe tapping and wing flicking, neurological conditions brought on by an inadequate diet - see this: http://www.avesint.com/toetap.html)

- About their breeding season: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/E ... lectus.php

- About their 'freeze' when upset: http://www.landofvos.com/articles/myths.html

[LisaB]

I agree with both Pajarita and Wolf. In general Eclectus are very challenging birds. We had a Solomon Island Eclectus for about 5 years. She was around 5 when we got her from a friend who was moving. I had read on the internet that Eclectus are mellow, quiet birds, gentle and easy to care for. Well... nothing could have been further from the truth! She adored my youngest daughter and didn't much care for anyone else. She would allow other family members to handle her, but you had to be extremely careful because she could turn on a dime--one second she' be sitting there sweet as can be and the next she'd be shredding your hands. Yet, my little daughter could literally reach over if Ginger was biting and the second that bird felt my daughter's touch she'd let go, step onto my daughter and begin gently preening her fingers. Even one of our avian vets, who has a female Ekkie herself, said she'd never seen anything like it.

Ginger had to have a specialized diet and we constantly struggled with egg laying, though we were careful not to let her have any dark hidey places and taught our daughter not to pet and cuddle her. Eventually she became egg bound and the condition resulted in scarring. That in turn led to softshelled eggs that Ginger could never pass. After numerous vet visits and a couple surgeries we made the decision to have her undergo a birdie hysterectomy. The surgery went really well and at her 10 day check up she was doing great. That night we came home and she was wheezing and struggling to breathe. I rushed her to the vet, but she died that night from a pulmomary embolism: a clot that broke off and went to her lungs. It was heartbreaking.

I've heard the egg-laying stories from many female Eclectus owners. Like Pajarita said, these birds are hormonal most of the year. The males tend to be more laidback, but they are often sensitive birds, prone to feather destructive behaviors. Yet, like Wolf said, each is an individual and often doing your homework makes all the difference. I have a good friend with a female Ekkie that will go to anyone and is just the most gentle, good-natured bird you ever met. She doesn't lay eggs often and has none of the issues Ginger did. However, this bird was acquired as a baby and my friend has done everything right. Talk to avian vets. Talk to good breeders. Very often they have valuable information that they've acquired over years and years of breeding a specific species.

[Bobbie]

Wolf, Pajarita and LisaB...

First of all...thank you for your stories/info and links
This is exsactly what i am looking for..."the everyday life with a (male) eclectus

I spend most of my days reading and waching videos online about this bird...i totally want to know what is "normal behavior" and needs for it. I know that the personality is VERY individual as for all other animals...personally one of my dogs thinking he is a cat and my cat is absolutly sure she is a dog so no dout the personality is individual and that is what makes each and everyone so special...i don't know but my friensds often say that my animals tends to be different from anything they seen before...i don't know why...i just love them an enjoy their company..but it makes me feel real good and proud of them though... my point is that i want to know all about their needs, behavior and instincts...so i know enough before i get it to make less mistakes give him all the best i can...so again thank's alot, it helped

if anybody has more info/stories...i will really apriciate if you will shere it with me

[Pajarita]

Not much more to add, the male I had had been abandoned at a grooming salon. They brought him in for nail trimming and never came back to pick him up (the name and phone number they had left turned out to be fake) so, after a few weeks, the lady owner asked me to take him in because he screamed so much all day long that he was upsetting her macaws, plus he barbered and plucked something awful and was real mean (he was the only bird I ever hear growling when coming after me - I had to work in the birdroom wearing towels hanging down my front and back so he would not attack me). He stopped screaming and attacking and his plucking got better but he never actually stopped and continued barbering so he always looked a real mess, the poor thing.

The female was in perfect plumage and loved my husband but hated me with a passion. I tried for two years to get her to bond with me (she hated and feared the other birds so I couldn't put her in the birdroom) to no avail (my husband worked full time and commuted plus he doesn't like parrots). Once and completely out of the blue, she bit the little fleshy web between my index and middle finger in my right hand severing a nerve which caused half my finger to be completely numb. I regain part of the feeling but not all. She was also the only bird I've had that killed another one. When I was trying to get her used to the birdroom, I would put her there for a little while during noon (they rest at this time so it's the calmest time of the day for them) and, while she was perching on a branch, a love bird flew over and perched near her, she reached out and killed her without batting an eyelash.

I sent the male to an ekkie sanctuary (I drove him across three states myself) and rehomed the female to a Pennsylvania guy, a HUGE stonemason with a bushy beard, it was love at first sight for both of them -LOL- and she is now the queen of the house no longer living in a cage and with perches in every single room of the house. I no longer take in ekkies. They are too difficult to feed and keep and they usually do not get along with other birds.