Proper Diet Questions

tlouiselle

New member
Mar 9, 2011
136
0
Florida
Parrots
Stewie- Eclectus

Oscar-Black capped Conure-RIP my baby
Stewie is only 8 weeks old so he is not ready to eat the "big boy" diet yet. However, I still want to be prepared and know what foods will give him the proper nutrition that his body needs. I have been reading and reading AND READING all over the internet about proper nutrition for an eclectus. There are so many different opinions out there. Some people say to give some pellets with mostly veggies, fruit, egg, rice...

While other opinions say that they should not have pellets.

Are pellets a do or a don't? How much of what different foods should he be fed daily?

Right now he is still on formula 3x a day and picking/munching on soft veggies and sweet potato mash.

Any input would be greatly appreciated :)

Thank you!!!!

Tara and Stewie;)
 

YNAMomma

New member
Sep 18, 2011
213
0
Minnesota, USA
Parrots
Ianto-10yr old M. YN-Amazon,
Toshiko - 10yr old F. YN-Amazon (Mated pair)
I also did alot of research before i got my ammies and wasnt convinced until i asked my Vet. They said Pellets were defiantly the way to go. because no matter how intricate the seed diets were they never covered all the basis for the right amount of vits and minerals the birds need. They said as long as i get a good quality pellet like Zupreem and make sure u add in a good healthy searving a day of veggies and fruit that that would be a wonderful diet for any bird. They also told me to make sure i didnt offer any fresh foods for more then a few hours at a time because they said in bird cages bacteria grows at an alarmingly fast rate. In the end I went through a few flavors from Zupreem before my birdies picked a favorite. Which was the wild and spicy flavor. I figured they liked this so much since one of their favorite veggies was peppers of all kinds the spicier the better. I hoped this helped. =) and good luck with the lil one.
 

Pedro

New member
Dec 15, 2010
1,583
3
Australia
Parrots
2 Budgies, 3 Cockatiels, 6 GCC'S, 2 Crimson Bellie Conures, 9 Sun Conures, 2 Major Mitchells, 12 Eclectus parrots of various ages, 2 BF Amazons, 2 Hahn's Macaw's, 1 Red Tail Black Too
Hi Tara, I have opted out for a fresh veggie, fruit & sprouted seed diet for my eclectus. They do have some pellets & dry small parrot seed. But only a small amount. I never cook meals for them everything is raw. However i do also see others give warm mash, this however concerns me as far as when the birds mature i feel it will encourage these birds to be kept in breeding condition & along with that breeding behavior. An eclectus when matured & not kept for breeding should have a balanced maintenance diet.

I have been working on the possibility that the reason we have so many problems with plucking & screaming when these bird reach maturity is because they are very well fed. In the wild parrots usually breed when there is abundant food, when food is scarce they don't breed. So it stands to reason that our companion parrots only need a maintenance to keep them happy & healthy.

Whatever diet you choose for your bird will be OK. Everything in moderation. Eclectus love variety so just about any healthy food you eat will be fine for Stewie.
 

Pedro

New member
Dec 15, 2010
1,583
3
Australia
Parrots
2 Budgies, 3 Cockatiels, 6 GCC'S, 2 Crimson Bellie Conures, 9 Sun Conures, 2 Major Mitchells, 12 Eclectus parrots of various ages, 2 BF Amazons, 2 Hahn's Macaw's, 1 Red Tail Black Too
The thing with pellets & eclectus they have proven some birds have a reaction to pellets, they can cause toe tapping & wing flipping. Certain Pellets are not good for ecki's although they say to only use organic pellets.

I have posted this link before & i use it as a guide to what i feed all my parrots. It may also help you to decide what you would like to feed Stewie as he grows.

diets
 

mrob

New member
Mar 22, 2011
207
0
New Zealand
Parrots
Gizmo:Male RS Eclectus
R.I.P Merv Hughes: Cockateil
Booger: Alexandrine
Good advice from pedro! Pellets are very high in nutrition, which is great for birds other than the eclectus who have a short digestive tract. Eclectus however have evolved a longer digestive tract which makes them particularly efficient at extracting nutrient and mineral content from food, so high nutrition pellets can cause toe tapping, plucking etc as its almost an 'overdose'. In saying that, you can buy a specific low nutirent eclectus pellet (sorry the brand escapes me and i know you cant source them here in NZ).

Because of this long Digestive system they need a diet high in fibre - thats where your fresh veg/fruit comes in. Not just stuff like apples and peas but leafy greens like silverbeet, kale, etc are v important. They also need a good intake of vitamin A - so carrots, yellow squash etc are all good. Seeds are good if sprouted - normal seed is not so great for eccies but ok in small doses ( they are tree canopy dwellers so seeds dont form a natural part of their diet in the wild). Nuts are also great (not too many fatty types like cashews, but almonds etc are great in moderation).

My system is as follows: Once every 3 months i make up a big batch of a soft food mix (boiled brown rice, chickpeas, barley, lentils etc), whihc i bag up into 2 day lots and freeze. I feed this in the morning with some defrosted (fresh if in season) peas, corn kernels and edamame (soybeans), fava beans etc.

Midday he gets sprouts (sprouted seed - once seeds are sprouted they become ok for eccies), a couple of grapes and a bit of apple or other fruit

Evening he gets brocolli, peas, anything else vege and a few more sprouts, a couple of almonds
Throughout the day bunches of spinach, silverbeet etc are available to eat/shred/etc.

Treats - sunflower seed for training only, sweet potato mash mixed with a tsp of seed (high in vitamin A), almonds, a bit of boiled potato ( as pedro says, they love warm mashes!)

And remember, they eat A LOT and are very very messy!!! But they really are fantastic birds - mine is an absolute joy!
 

mrob

New member
Mar 22, 2011
207
0
New Zealand
Parrots
Gizmo:Male RS Eclectus
R.I.P Merv Hughes: Cockateil
Booger: Alexandrine
Thanks for the excellent link Pedro!
 
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tlouiselle

tlouiselle

New member
Mar 9, 2011
136
0
Florida
Parrots
Stewie- Eclectus

Oscar-Black capped Conure-RIP my baby
  • Thread Starter
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  • #7
Thank you so much both of you :) I am writing all of this down and keeping it in my note folder for him!!!! I will definately do pretty much exactly what you guys are telling me :)
 

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