Some Eclectus Questions

[Johelian]

Heya,
I have a couple of questions for you ekkie owners...the post is a little long, so please forgive me. On the plus side though, you can talk about your birds in as much nit-picky detail as you want and you are guaranteed to have an avid listener! ;)

- A lot of accounts I have read have mentioned that the eclectus is relatively quiet compared to other parrots of a similar size. Would you say this is true? In your own experience, how noisy is the eclectus in itself or in comparison to your other birds in general? I have been looking to get a Yellow Collared Macaw prior to considering the eclectus, but the higher volume and frequency (or is this a myth?) and higher feather dust production are proving to be concerns. While I dont expect a bird to be silent, a booming voice like that of a cockatoo is unfeasibly loud for my living circumstances.

- What do you feed your birds daily? Please where possible include brand names and any specific processes that you go through to prepare food. While Im not looking for a carbon copy of someones regime, I would like to see exactly what you guys do :)

- In your experience, would you say that the male eclectus is mellower and in general friendlier than the female, or are they about the same? Would you say the opposite is true?

- Several accounts have mentioned that these birds are easily affected by stress; do your birds have problems with change at all, be it new toys or visitors? How do they react to these situations? Do you stick to a schedule each day?

- Have you had any experiences with plucking/screaming/toe tapping, and how were they resolved?

- Finally, have your birds accepted the whole family, or would you say they are one-person birds? Would you go so far as to say they are aggressive towards other family members?

Many thanks to anyone patient enough to read, let alone answer, all these questions :)

A last thing to mention I think; I have been to Land of Vos, so please dont just direct me there :) The info there was great, but I always like to hear many individuals experiences in addition.

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by Johelian

- A lot of accounts I have read have mentioned that the eclectus is relatively quiet compared to other parrots of a similar size.

Scarlett doesn't scream unless it is around sunset--and she only does that about once a week, I'd say. When she is in her cage, she loves to talk to herself and the cats but it's just talking--not yelling or screaming. The noise she makes is just like a continual conversation. My neighbors across the street say that they can hear her during the day when I'm at work. The windows have been opened all summer so they hear her talking to herself b/c they are always sitting outside on their front porch. Even if I lived in a condo or apartment, I don't think anyone would know Scarlett was here except for her occasional sunset sessions.

What do you feed your birds daily?

She gets 2 fresh meals a day and I try to make them somewhat balanced. She gets veggies, fruits, protein, and carbs. This week her meals are: mustard greens, carrots, red cabbage, celery, yellow squash, kiwi, pomegranate, orange, hardboiled egg, fresh sprouts and plain yogurt with cayenne sprinkled on top. Last week it was green peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, green apple, pomegranate, cottage cheese, cooked 16 bean/rice mix, canned salmon, and plumped corn. It varies each week depending on what's in season and on sale. She, basically, eats better than I do.

She also has a dry mix available at all times in its own bowl. I made it myself based on the information provided at Land of Vos. Most of the ingredients I got from either the natural foods store or Trader Joe's.

In your experience, would you say that the male eclectus is mellower and in general friendlier than the female, or are they about the same? Would you say the opposite is true?

Can't answer that one as Scarlett is my first and only bird. She is pretty friendly, though. She takes a bit of time to warm up to talking to people but she loves to climb up their arms and share their dinner with them.

Several accounts have mentioned that these birds are easily affected by stress; do your birds have problems with change at all, be it new toys or visitors? How do they react to these situations? Do you stick to a schedule each day?

I do keep Scarlett on a strict bedtime/wakeup schedule. She's in bed at 8:00pm and up in the morning at 5:30am. Even on weekends, my body wakes me up at 5 and I get out of bed to uncover and feed her.

As for stress--she doesn't seem to notice it. She is totally fine with new foods, toys, visitors, etc. The only thing that has ever freaked her out was a bird-shaped pinata wearing a sombrero. She flew around her cage and smashed into the bars because she was trying to get away from it. Once I removed it, though, she was quiet, calm, and back to normal.

The only thing she's ever done was show empathy to me when I was freaking out on my cat. When I yell at him, she likes to join me.

Have you had any experiences with plucking/screaming/toe tapping, and how were they resolved?

None yet, *knock on wood*. I am not too worried about toe tapping/wing flipping because she eats mostly fresh foods that I give her. I vary her foods each week to help incorporate new nutrients and also to avoid any kind of buildup in her system.

She doesn't scream or pluck. Again, *knock on wood*. Actually, she does pluck a teeny tiny part of her chest, I believe, right where her beak hits when she looks straight down. She came here 5 months ago with those red feathers missing and they still are--even though I saw pin feathers there a few weeks ago. The down is still there, though, so I'm not sure why she does it.

Finally, have your birds accepted the whole family, or would you say they are one-person birds? Would you go so far as to say they are aggressive towards other family members?

Scarlett loves me and tolerates my boyfriend. She allows him to take her out of her cage, pick her up, pet her, etc. She also has recently begun taking the initiative to climb onto strangers and up their arms. The whole being-handled thing is somewhat new to her but she's been very outgoing and friendly to people she meets.

Good luck in your decision!

[peeker]

Hello! Well, I don't know if you'll find the answers you want to hear from me but....I have four eclectus. They are all pets....two females and two males and they aren't paired. I really wouldn't call them quiet birds, any one of them would easily get me kicked out of an apartment but Jax who of course is the absolute cutest and funnest of the crew is also incredibly noisy even beyond the others! I hope you don't live in an apartment.

I feed my birds a base mix of rice and beans with added veggies and fruits. I use no pelllet because it causes toe-tapping in my birds. I rarely offer seed to them. I make up three bags of the 16 bean soup beans but without the seasonings and then mix them with brown rice and freeze in smaller portions. Thank goodness for my foodsaver! Each day I add to this with various veggies and fruits. Also I offer sweet potatoe, or oatmeal, pasta, etc!

I would agree with most owners that the male is a little more easygoing. Most of the crew here enjoys new toys and are ok with new people...except Ruby. Ruby may take up to a month to approach a new toy and will loudly say "no--no--nooooo" if a guest is here longer than 15-20 minutes. By then she's had enough of them! I don't think my home is very stressful, but I have noticed the birds scream if kids are rough-housing--of course I scream then too! **OK I don't scream, but I do tell them to stop!

I don't have a rigid schedule..some days I work some days I don't...but for the most part I am a creature of habit. I'm up at 6:30, the birds are fed by 8:00. They get out of there cages everyday although it may be at different times and in different groupings. I've not had trouble with any plucking with any of them, I've had toe-tapping due to pellets and also with vitamin enriched foods. Mojo will even toe-tap with polenta. Some eclectus have problems with grains. Screaming seems to happen when one bird wants to be with another and when one wants to be with me.

Hmmmm friendly with family--Ruby is good with me but in a regal, not cuddly way, I really don't trust anyone else to handle her and come away with all ten fingers , Jax is mister socialable and will go to anyone and everyone. I hand him off to two year olds without concern. Tina is very sedate and will usually go to anyone who is calm. Mojo is blind and trusts mama. Because he has special needs I don't pass him around, but I do hold him and allow others to pet him. **Mo HATES my 19 year old daughter and even snaps at the air when he hears her voice.**

I don't know if it comes across, but just for the record...I LOVE MY EKKIES! They are really great birds!!

[Lindy1724]

I have only had Miss Scarlett for about 5 weeks now, but I will try to answer most of your questions as thoroughly as I can!

I have a cockatiel, a dog (sheltie) and my ekkie...of those three, Miss Scarlett is by far the quietest! The only time that she can get somewhat loud is when I do not get her dinner to her fast enough, and it is only her dinner, she is pretty quiet in the morning! The rest of the time she makes little clucking sounds or mumbles jibberish to herself. My cockatiel is soooooo much louder than Miss Scarlett! I live in an apartment and have had no problems thus far, knock on wood!

I have also had problems with wing/toe tapping or plucking, again, knock on wood!

I also only have one ekkie and have never been owned by a male ekkie so I don't know first hand which would be better, but the overrall idea that I have gotten from many others is that males tend to be less, well, moody let's say!

Miss Scarlett definitely prefers me to my boyfriend. However, I am her primary caregiver for everything. I am almost always the one who feeds her, I bathe her, I clean her cage, and I handle her. He tries, but she lunges at him so he has some fear, with right, of her so we are working on that but we shall see!

I feed her a 16 bean soup mix with mixed veggies and rice, in addition to some pasta, green peppers, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, kiwi, and whatever else is in season at the time. She does not get any pellets, and has only had maybe 4 or 5 sunflower seeds and those were as treats for when she went to the vets office!

I hope that this has helped! I do love my little girl even though she can get a little sassy from time to time, who doesn't right?

Let us know what you decide!

[Johelian]

Many thanks for your replies :) I will have to wait until I can spend some time with them in the Spring before I can make a decision I guess! But this has given me much to think about. Thanks again!