Anyone ever heard of this????

[slic102]

I was at a local pet shop this week....don't normally go to any but one particular bird shop in the Dallas area, but happened to be next door to one so I went in. They actually had the few bigger parrots they had in one plexiglass playpen with a pvc gym inside, which was sorta cool. Anyway....one of the birds in there was a baby female ekkie and it was unlike any other I've ever seen. It looked like my solomon island ekkie, BUT it's wings also had areas of bright green on them (on the top). It was the most awesome ekkie I've ever seen, but I cannot find a pic at all online of one with green on it like this one had. I did inquire as to what sub species she was, but the employee I spoke with really did not know much about birds (so typical) and all he knew about this one was that it belonged to the owner who brings it up there everyday so it won't be home alone, and that the bird was still a baby and getting a few hand feedings a day. He actually did say something to the effect that this one had male and female genes which made no sense to me....said that was what made this bird extra special any why the owner was not selling it. Anyone else heard of anything like this?

[xafsmom]

He's talking about a Chimera Eclectus. They're exceedingly rare. Google that term.

[slic102]

Wow, thank you for that answer! I did google it and only found 2 pics of them, and those really do not look like the one I saw, but then I'm assuming they probably all look a bit different. The one I saw only had the green patches on their wings and it was one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen. I assume it was a Chimera.

[tvymola]

My male ekkie has red feathers down his neck and chest. I was thinking this was just because he is still very young, only 4 months old.

I tried getting a good color shot by not using a flash, but it ended up blurry. You can really see the red in this photo, sorry for the poor quality.

[becca623]

Feather discoloration can also be caused by poor diet, genes, or health problems. My eclectus was only fed zupreem fruity pellets along with formula before I got him. His parents were only fed zupreem fruity pellets. He had a red area on his neck. It took two full molts to remove these feathers. The female ekkie I fostered had wing feathers that were a yellowish-orange and green color when she arrived. I don't know what her past diet was but I put her on a more natural diet with no artificial colors. She molted out those feathers. They were replaced by normal healthy looking feathers.
I have seen pictures of birds who are healthy but have interesting feathers. I wish I still had the link I used to have. It showed very interesting colored eclectus. Interestingly, it's usually females who have strong feather discolorations except for the turquoise eclectus. The ones I saw were males.

[tvymola]

Originally Posted by becca623

Feather discoloration can also be caused by poor diet, genes, or health problems. My eclectus was only fed zupreem fruity pellets along with formula before I got him. His parents were only fed zupreem fruity pellets. He had a red area on his neck. It took two full molts to remove these feathers. The female ekkie I fostered had wing feathers that were a yellowish-orange and green color when she arrived. I don't know what her past diet was but I put her on a more natural diet with no artificial colors. She molted out those feathers. They were replaced by normal healthy looking feathers.
I have seen pictures of birds who are healthy but have interesting feathers. I wish I still had the link I used to have. It showed very interesting colored eclectus. Interestingly, it's usually females who have strong feather discolorations except for the turquoise eclectus. The ones I saw were males.

Jet's couldn't be due to poor diet. This bird eats better than I do.

[becca623]

It could have been from the diet he was on at the breeders' or something his parents ate. Jet's coloring would have developed before he ever came home with you. Echo's was from his parents poor diet. When I asked what type of diet his parents were on since I knew ekkies had specific dietary needs I was told that was why they were given the zupreem fruity pellets. He grew out of his. It looked a lot like Jet's. My birds eat much, much better than we do too. I switched everyone's diet to meet his needs since he liked to go into their cages to steal their food. I wasn't accusing anyone of anything. I thought it was important to note that it can be caused by health or diet issues also.

[tvymola]

So with several molts and his continued good diet the feathers will return all green? He has never had colored pellets since he has been home with me. The only pellets he gets are organic and I only offer him 1/4 cup a day. He doesn't eat many of them. He still gets one hand feeding a day but the majority of his diet is fresh veggies and daily mashes.

[Monica]

If he's not a true chimera, then yes, on a healthy diet, he will molt out the red coloration.

In regards to chimeras though, try doing a search on the forum! This site is most commonly referenced in regards to chimeras, or eclectus with different colored feathers...
Land of Vos - Birds of a Different Feather - Main Page


As far as color mutations, well you can search for blue eclectus here on the forum, as well! As far as I know, the blue male eclectus photos that have been seen in roaming the web are actually one bird - however due to flash and lighting, he appears to be different shades of blue. There are, I'm guessing, at least two photos of blue female eclectus that are actually separate birds.
blue eclectus - Google Images

[xafsmom]

You also have to pretty much expect baby feathers having unique colorations at times. For example; 'red' Congo greys, or the red feathering on some pionus babies. They will usually molt out of their juvenile coloring and be normative colored adults. If they don't, then either you have some sport color or mutation going on, or health related stuff.