Lonely Ekkie may need friend?

[Amie]

Scarlett, my vos hen, is 10 years old and has had a plucking problem for about 5 years now. We're pretty sure it's because she's rather lonely. We bought a special needs Congo Grey, and they were best friends until he died 5 years ago. We have had everything checked out, we've tried all of the vitamins and special diets, and we've even begun letting her shower with us on an almost daily basis, and even though her color is gorgeous, she's still plucking at the front of her neck and breaking the edges of her tail feathers. She has also refused to sit on her perch since the Grey died, and will fly/run around the house if she's out of her cage and not in your hand. We think she may be looking for the Grey, as before he died, she stayed with him on the perch all day long.

We are considering getting her another friend, and have pretty much ruled out a mate for her since she's so "settled" as a bachelorette and has never even been around a male eclectus as she was hand fed from day 1 and had a sister. We would love to have a male vos as they are beautiful and we are very happy with Scarlett, but we're a little leery of spending the money on a male vos (they are hard to come by in our area of the world) just to have Scarlett attack him on sight.

My question has several parts. First, will Scarlett welcome a friend after being the only bird for the last 5 years? Second, should we forget about getting a male vos and look for other birds? And lastly, if we shouldn't get the male vos, is the African Grey our best bet, or should we consider other parrots for their compatibility with our ekkie? We'd like to stay within the medium hookbill range as macaws are a little too athletic for our household and would probably terrify our mini schnauzer. We've had bad experiences with cockatoos in the past as well, as they tend to love one person in the house and attack all others.

Thanks!!

[Nazir's]

Originally Posted by amiestgermain

My question has several parts. First, will Scarlett welcome a friend after being the only bird for the last 5 years? Second, should we forget about getting a male vos and look for other birds? And lastly, if we shouldn't get the male vos, is the African Grey our best bet, or should we consider other parrots for their compatibility with our ekkie? We'd like to stay within the medium hookbill range as macaws are a little too athletic for our household and would probably terrify our mini schnauzer. We've had bad experiences with cockatoos in the past as well, as they tend to love one person in the house and attack all others.

Thanks!!

Did Scarlett start plucking after your CAG pasted? BTW, you have my condolences.

There is no guarantee that Scarlett will accept the new bird that you accept in. What's wrong with a male? I've heard of several eclectus owners who have both sexes who have not had to worry about breeding, just as long as there where no encouraging of the act and they were housed separately. Personally, I probably would go with another CAG but then again I could be bias as I am owned by one of each species. I would recommend that if you were to decide on adding a new addition, stay within the same size range. Well, I did because I didn't want to have to worry about different sizes of everything for each one of them.

I've always heard of most cockatoos being really lovable and accepting others. Everyone that I've ever came in contact with have come to me willingly. However, I have also heard that some species are better and more adoptable to some more than others.

I am sure that some other will add to what has been stated. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Alibluemoon]

As long as you've ruled out all medical conditions for plucking, I see no reason to not give it a go.

But I'd get a bird YOU would love to have in the house. If you want a male ekkie, go for it. If you want another grey, go for it. If you want an amazon, a macaw, a pionus, a cockatoo, or whatever...just make sure that it will be an animal YOU love.

Scarlett will get used to having another bird around. Besides, she'll have a feathered friend to chat with while you are gone from the house.

I wish you the best of luck in your search.

If you don't want a macaw or a cockatoo, and you're looking for something roughly the same size as your ekkie: try an amazon. There are quite a few to choose from--YNA, DYH, BF, Lilac, Mealy, Mexican Red Head, etc. Some are mild mannered and some are crazy. You could definitely find one to fit your style.

[birdsnreps]

i have to agree with the above posts. whatever bird you choose, just know that if they dont like each other right away, it can take quite some time, sometimes over a year, before two birds learn to accept each other, so just give the two birds a chance before you decide that scarlett hates the new bird.

[Amie]

The only reason I didn't want to get a male is because I know someone who introduced a male to her settled hen, and the hen would attack the male on sight. But had no problem with her Amazon.

My brother's fiancee works at a pet store, and I think Amazons (at least the Mexican Red Heads and DYHs) are a little too. . . crazy?. . . for Scarlett. I'm actually torn between getting another CAG or a vos male, I love both species very much. The intelligence of the CAG and the beauty of the ekkies with the perfect temperament for my family make it a hard choice.

And our cockatoo growing up attached to my mom and hated EVERYONE else. Our avian vet said it's about 50/50 with a cockatoo either being extremely lovable to everyone or just one person. Made it an even bigger problem since I was the one who took care of the birds and had to stick my hand in that cage every day.

Thanks for your advice. I think I'll end up going to one of the bird fairs here with the mindset that I will get the bird that seems sweetest and most loving out of CAG and the vos male. And then just hope that Scarlett learns to love him, too.

[Nazir's]

I've heard many times that the Solomon Island is the most laid back and gentlest of the three main sub-species (i.e. Vos, SI, and RS) and the females of all sub-species tend to become aggressive around maturity. But then again, that’s just what I've heard. Good luck with whatever you decide.