Eckie diet

[shellbeme]

Hi all! I have been trying to read a bit on eclectus, the troubles I am having are that all the articles I find seem to be a bit dated, 8 years or so. I have looked at land of vos but it seems difficult to navigate for me and doesn't look like its been updated since I browsed close to 10 or so years ago. Do you have any good suggestions for reading up on eckie behavior? I had thought they had special food needs too (yea, I know most species do) but the articles I find on feeding are all kinda older too. Can I ask how you all choose to feed yours? I would actually love to hear what, in their personalities drew you to them as well :) if you don't mind sharing.

[sodakat]

The thing that neccesitates a special Eclectus diet is their extra long digestive tract and larger upper stomache chamber which are geared to extracting nutrients from the large amount of vegetables and fruit they consume in native habitats. This efficient system has the downside of making them sensitive to processed or additive laden food including colored pellets.

Here are three web sites with good ekkie food info:

Laurella Desborough's (long time Eclectus breeder and expert) basic Eclectus diet: Laurella Desborough's Eclectus Center

The recipes on this LOV page are all relevant: Land of Vos - Carolyn's Recipes

Susie Christian's (semi-retired Eclectus breeder and expert) diet: Out Bird Diet - Eclectus, Gallahs

LoyalRoyal will provide you with additional links, especially for foraging foods, when she reads this post.

As far as the nature of Eclectus, the word I would use to describe them is balanced. When we lost our CAG, we knew we wanted another bird, and although we had adored her (especially her enormous vocabulary) we wanted to explore other species that might be less inclined to become one person birds. This is how we first discovered Eclectus.

Overall, I like the description of Eclectus found on this web site Solomon Island Eclectus Parrots from Avalon Aviary but do think they have made some generalizations about activity level, noise, commotion that are incorrect.

The introspective aspect of ekkies cannot be emphasized enough in my opinion. The males pay attention to everything that's going on; maybe because by nature they are wired to be watchful of the females.

The strong drive to nest has given mature, female Eclectus a bad reputation in my opinion. I think it's evidence that keeping them as companion parrots has not stopped their instinctual behavior, and really, that is a good thing.

Thanks for asking! I could go on and on (maybe I did!).

Kathy

[loyallyroyal]

oops, it posted twice.

[loyallyroyal]

What drew me was the fact they arent overly clingy, Dewey loves to hang out and sit on my shoulder but he can go do his own thing to. He doesnt constantly have to be on someone. I also adore the fact that he is dust free and the males little elmo voice is just so echanting. Plus they arent overly loud all the time.

LoyallyRoyal will provide you with additional links, especially for foraging foods, when she reads this post.

hehe, here they come:
Here is a great article and website on diet, they have lots of great stuff:
HolisticBird and HolisticBirds

THe main part of Dewey's diet is fruits and veggies, I try to do mostly fresh but I always have frozen on hand just in case. He gets that whatever number bean soup mix cooked with the 7 grain kashi pilaf once a day normally at dinner time.

Then the dry food is a mix of:
avian naturals sammys/allergy blend Your*Parrot*Place*-*Food,...
the unpellet Phoenix Foraging Rolls
Roudybush pellets (keeps my vet happy and Dewey LOVES them)
Go raw live granola: Goraw Simple Granola
He gets about a tablespoon of tops seed mix a week, along with several nuts in his foraging toys.

I think Im going to start adding this stuff too: Your*Parrot*Place*-*Food,...

Since a lot of the foods are kind of pricey I take whats left at the bottom of the bag that settled during shipping and freeze it to use to make birdie bread.

I dont really think their diet is hard, I think all parrots should get fresh fruits and veggies. Then as far as all the dry stuff, I really dont think it would of mattered what kind of parrot I got, I always thought the 90% pelleted diet that the pellet companies push was a bit extreme.

Hope that helps!

[sodakat]

Forgot to add, and now cannot edit: I try to remember the two to one ratio of grains to beans for optimum protien delivery. I cook beans as well as sprout beans, grains and seeds and feed along with a mess of vegs/fruits that change as money and seasons allow.

Kathy

[jimpierce7]

I use Mike's manna mash Mike's manna mash for the general veggie mix. Platinum Parrot blend from the Platinum Parrot for a dry mix. I also make a "cookie" or bread for her.
LOV is updated quite regularly and if you are into it they have an e-mail list TEC which is quite active.

[shellbeme]

You guys are awesome thank you so much! And please feel free to share any more info that you would like :)

[loyallyroyal]

I have a question for the other ekkie owners, does anyone notice that their bird doesnt tend to eat the same thing two days a a row?
Some days Dewey just loves grean beans and the next day he wont touch them, then the next day he just cant get enough carrots, ect. The only thing he seems to eat consistently is apple and almonds.

[swanwillow]

My ekkie does the same thing. Some days she'll do anything for a strawberry. Gave her one yesterday, she wouldn't touch it.



On another note-Sodakat, I just found the male!

[debbielabella]

Does anyone feed their Eckies birdy bread? Do they like it? Is it good for them? Most of my other birds like sprouted beans and grains better than cooked. Do Eckies appreciate cooked food along with their fresh?