Just reading about Eclectus.....

[knpjdad]

I have got the "I want to own a bird" bug.... But I'm also the type of person that has to read the whole manual on a VCR before I even take it out of the box.. So that's why I'm here!! I'm trying to read the whole manual!! LOL!

I really think I would like to own a Male Solimon Island Eclectus but the only experience I have at raising/caring for birds is a Cockatiel I used to own. (I loved that little girl!) But thinking of jumping into a large bird has some concerns/questions for me.

1. I have kids/cats/dogs/fish/hamster - Will owning a bird even be an option?
2. How to get a good one (No breeder close to me (Findlay, OH)
3. Assimilation of a bird into a home?. - Hold it and play with it, or just let it be for while?
4. Feeding - Found all sorts of information on this one!!
5. Do you cover the cage at night? (My Cockatiel would let you know when she wanted to go to sleep!)
6. I have called my vet, and they have a vet on staff that does avian care. (This is good)
But do they need yearly check ups (like dogs/cats) Shots, Tests? I don’t know?

So these are just some of the questions that I’m here to answer.. I hope you don’t mind a lot of newbie questions.

So for now it’s back to studying!!

Take Care
Roger

Knpjdad: Kaitie, Noah, Paige, Jonah, Dad

[Vankarhi]

Hello I own a female redsided eclectus. I have had her since September 2004 when she was 4 months old and she is now 20 months old.

I did a lot of research before deciding on getting one. I decided I did not care whether it be a boy or a girl. I liked what I read about the boys and loved the colour of the girls and decided I had enough experience to be able to handle a female. (I have owned sulfer crested 'toos and a galah, as well as other parrots over a long long period of time). So far my girl is lovely. She is not a cuddle bug, but does enjoy my company and is now allowing me to pat her under her wings and to put her on her back in my lap. I have taught her some tricks like retrieve a ball, put a leggo into a container, hi five, turn around, fly to me on command (although I have since given her a light clip) and shake hands. she is by far the best talker I have ever owned sometimes putting things in context too. She is probably the most intelligent bird i have owned so far. I have actually read they are rivalling the African Greys in talkability and intelligence also.

My girl is not affraid of noise because we have a large family of 6 children living with us when we first bought her home (the eldest 2 have left home since........they are 25 and almost 22 years old). I still have 3 teenagers and a 3 year old at home. My house can be very loud with the tv, radio and cd players making noise almost all day..................I think my birds love it when we are out.....they get some peace and quiet We have a large population of wild cockatoos (white, black and rosebreasted) around my house and Skye has learned to imitate them and she can give them a run for their money with her loudness at times One day she decided to ring like a telephone for about 2 hours straight. She was on the front verandah and she was extremely loud..........I expected the neighbours to yell abuse or scream at her to "answer the #$%^@ phone" but no one did She greets all visitors to our house with a loud "Heeellloooo" which thrills all visitors She quite often wolf whistles at them also and then tries to join in conversations.............laughing when we laugh too.

She is very good with my youngest little man who is only 3 years old. She rushes down to see him when he comes to her cage and she clucks and whistles and gets very excited. she will play with him through the cage bars and when she is on the floor with her toys. I always closely supervise them though.

I have two dogs................she does not bother the border collie because he is not interested in her, but she dislikes the staffy because the staffy always comes over the cage and annoys her. Skye has even bitten the staffy on the tongue and ears but the dog still bothers her...............I do not trust that dog one bit when my birds are out because she is so movement orientated, she is the only dog I have ever owned I have not been able to teach not to touch my birds (she is not the first staffy I have owned either, but definetly the hardest to train at times). So that dog is not allowed inside (unless in her crate) when the birds are roaming around.

When it comes to training and taming a bird, I have always given them a couple of days to adjust to their surroundings etc, then I start training/taming them. I know a lot of people let the bird take the initiative and that can take quite some time. I am never cruel or hurt the bird, but "I" believe in training sooner rather than later. JMHO

I always start with step ups. I have a baby alexandrine at the moment who I am trying to teach not to bite. She loves to growl (which does not bother me) but she also loves to bite.............a little bit toooooo hard for my liking. She steps up beautifully now and loves to sit on my shoulder etc, but this biting is not a good thing it does hurt

When buying my ekkie I was very worried that I was going to do something wrong and my bird would end up sick (or worse), but I have treated her no different to any other parrot I have owned (I have owned a few in 33 years) and she is a lovely pet, and my friends think she is just the best (they think I am crazy though). She gets a lot of fresh fruit and veges, I keep frozen stuff in the freezer too, she eats nuts, popcorn and other treats. She loves lasagne, pasta, spagetti, fried rice, mashed veges and pizza................she just loves food.

She has had toe tap on two occassions but it was mild and I gave her heaps of cuttlefish bones and a couple of cooked chicken legs and boiled egges with shells on them (over a period of a couple of days) and it was gone. She does not get pellets (I do not agree with pellets so non of my birds get them anyway) she gets a bit of seed a couple of times a week. apparently food that goes sour can also cause toe tap, so I have to make sure her fresh food is changed twice daily because where I live is extemely hot getting into the low 40's (celcius) during summer.

I hope I have answered everything for you. I cannot answer about a breeder as I live in Queensland Australia..........I could recommend the breeder of my ekkie, but that is pointless for you

Oh I cover the cage at night when they are babies, but not normally when adults unless we are having a late night watching tv.

Good luck and congratulations.............good choice of bird

Oh I forgot to say that we take skye with us almost everywhere and she is very well socialised. She goes away with us for days at a time, to watch volleyball competitions and dog obedience trials. I even take her to some training sessions where she is in her travel cage and she can see and hear us training our dogs. she loves the outings.

[The Outlaw]

Tracey:

That was an excellent post. I think you covered it very, very well. In fact, it makes me miss my Ekkie. I think the Eclectus parrot is the easiest parrot of all to live with. JMHO

[Vankarhi]

Originally Posted by The Outlaw

Tracey:

That was an excellent post. I think you covered it very, very well. In fact, it makes me miss my Ekkie. I think the Eclectus parrot is the easiest parrot of all to live with. JMHO

Thankyou Nancy, that was very nice of you

[knpjdad]

Wow!! What a great post!!! Now I'm even more sold! Thank you thank you thank you!!

[Vankarhi]

Originally Posted by knpjdad

Wow!! What a great post!!! Now I'm even more sold! Thank you thank you thank you!!

Not a problem ................ when it comes to ekkies I love to tell people about my own experience with my red head They really do not seem to be as fragile or shy as what I had read...........maybe I am lucky. Sometimes the girls get a bad rap also but also they have not been pet birds for as long as others and not as much info was available about them, but there is more and more people buying them and testifying to their intelligence and pet quality. I do love my girl very much.................as I do my alexandrine too. But they do need a lot of fruit and veges and less seed, than most other birds because their intestinal tract (I hope that is the correct wording) is longer than most other birds, so they need the extra fibre

[knpjdad]

I’m grateful for the time you took to explain your experience! Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of experience with the avian world YET!! (Ask me anything about saltwater fish though!! ) But I feel a little behind the curve on these little guys/girs, But I really think I’ve found the right place to come for information!!

Thanks again!!

[svolk]

knpjdad,

This site has been great for me, I am new to the world of birds as well. Everyone has been very informative and kind when answering my newbie questions and concerns. I cannot give you any info about ekkies as I own a Budgie as my very first bird, but people are wonderful around here.

Welcome to the board, and maybe you can give me some advice on saltwater tanks when I am ready to start one - I currently have 3 freshwater but I have not ventured into saltwater yet - but someday I want to

Sarah

[knpjdad]

Anytime you want to start just ask.... I would also recommend www.reefcentral.com also a great board!!

:)

[Vankarhi]

I just sold two of my fishtanks, my house is just too hot during summer and we go away a lot for one of our kids sports and myself for dog obedience trials. For now it is easier if we do not have any fishtanks. I love oscars.