Prospective Ekkie owner - MANY qs!

Hi all
Am a prospective Ekkie owner (not looking at getting one till march next year) and needs LOTS of advice because I have never owned a bird before.

I have been doing lots of reading about parrots and have settled on a baby male ekkie – bought from a breeder. I understand that these birds take a LOT of time, attention and care and that is why I have settled on one! I want a bird I can bond with and an interactive pet that challenges me and loves me. Have always had dogs (goldies and labs) and cannot at the moment as I rent a house and work full-time/study part-time so am rather busy.

Lots of questions – just going to throw them out here:

1. Where to buy a bird in australia? Specifically melbourne, victoria. Does anyone have a breeder to recommend? Happy to pay $$ for a well so******ed, hand reared baby!

2. Parrots and CATS. My housemate has a cat and I cannot stand the thing (cough – just had to get that out there). I am very keen to ensure mr ekkie is kept safe from the cat. I am thinking two cages for Mr ekkie – one large in my bedroom + another smaller one in the living area + perches. Supervised flying around the house and I will ensure the cat is outside before Mr Ek is allowed out. Is it practical to expect him to be happy in my bedroom? Or should I be looking to get a smaller cage in there so he can sleep in there and a large cage in the living room for him to be in while the cat is outside?

3. Cage placement – I understand they need large cages with playtops. What is the best location to place a cage in? Light? Sun? Do they need large quantities of sun and to be outdoors?

4. Wing clipping – I assume this is as contentious as tail docking (for certain dog breeds) but if I am able to get wings clipped does that mean I can take him walkabouts on my shoulder? Otherwise I can see myself carrying a bird cage everywhere sigh...

5. Attention – how much? I work 4 days a week and have study but am home a fair bit and happy to hang out with Mr Ek. Can give him 45 min or so in the am + hours at night – is that enough? What about during the day? I don’t want him to get bored or destructive!

I am sure I will think of more later – so excited!! Many thansk J
A

Hi & welcome. Here is a link with heaps of info about eclectus. Have a good read< I think it will answer most of your questions.

Index of /

Hi there,
Let me say first, welcome to the forum. It is good that you are trying to learn a lot before purchasing a bird, instead of waiting until after.

I am from the US so I can't help with where to buy your Ekky.
I have a cat and my ekky has no problem with the cat and the cat has no problem with the ekky. They are always supervised, but they get along quite nicely. I personally would have him in the living room more than in your bedroom, due to the fact that parrots in general are very social. I guess I would put the bigger cage in the living room, and the smaller in the bedroom for sleep.

The best place for your cage is going to be where you feel the bird will be able to get interaction, but also an escape if they are tired. I suggest against a wall, since birds can be stressed by too much stimulation. By having one wall of the cage against a wall, you are eliminating an area that they have to keep watch over. I would never place a cage in the sun, your bird can get overheated. If the cage is closed your bird has no escape. Try to stay away from drafty areas as well.

I clip my birds wings, but that is because she goes with us everywhere. I think she likes being in the sun with us when we are outside, and she has a playstand she is on when we are out there.

As much attention as you can provide is the key. Each bird is different. My Ekky is quite independent. he likes to be cuddled and all, but only on her terms. She will seek me out when she wants love. Don't get me wrong, she steps up and obeys commands, but she is not a really big cuddly bird. Most femals ekkys are not. My foster B&G Macaw on the other hand, is very needy. He wants to be on me and with me at all times. Every time I cook he wants to be up in the kitchen trying to eat all the food. He can be a screamer, my ekky is not. You must realize through that ekkys can be feather pluckers if stressed. So watch out for that.

I hope I helped a little. A lot of people here will have good information for you as well.

Thanks very much both -

Pawsfoot - I so appreciate you taking the time to reply in such depth I have been doing a lot more reading over the past few days and love the sound of ekky's the more I learn about them! Landlord is ok with me having a parrot.

Just another quick q - how noisy are Ekkies honestly?

They can be VERY NOISY. They have a scream or screech that can pierce your ears. Go onto you tube and type in noisy or screaming eclectus parrots and then turn your speakers all the way up to get the full effect. The bad thing about apartments and landlords is that the landlord may approve now, but after a complaint or three, they will quickly change their minds. Rescue selters are full of birds because the owners under estimated just how noisy birds can be.

My male SI Eclectus Joaquin was quite the character. Before he got ill he talked in complete sentences and in context. Also one day while I had the windows open he complained when I would not take him out of his cage (I was doing laundry and told him he had to wait) and he started yelling "I WANT OUT....I WANT OUT ....OUT OUT OUT...I WANT OUT NOW....HELP ME. HELP ME!." With that said 30 mins later the police were at my door investigating a child abuse complaint. Needless to say after I let them in and Joaquin looked at them and said "Your WEIRD" they understood I actually did not have children but that the parrot got me in trouble.

After he became ill and lost his ability to speak he screamed. That was what he was reduced to communicate with me. These screams were very very loud that could be heard outside with windows closed and could be heard from my driveway which is on the opposite side of the house where Joaquin was. I had to learn to anticipate his needs so he would not feel the need to scream. I made a sling and use to carry him around in it while I was doing my chores.

I miss him very much. Joaquin was very good with helping people feel better and I use to take him to hospital to help the mentally ill feel better. Joaquin was like an old soul very wise and willing to help but at home he was part macaw and played hard and was very silly.

I hope this helps with some of your questions and concerns.

Noblemacaw

I brought my eccy from Savada Parrots. Although she is in Sydney, she has freighted many birds all over Australia, and she is SO helpful with after sales help too. If you feel comfortable with the freighting, you should check her out. I highly recommend her.

I clip my birds wings, I feel that is down to the owner and the environment the bird will be in. You can always get a bird leash for outside

That seems like a good amount of attention if you can play with him for hours at night. just make sure he has lots of toys so he doesn't get bored during the day.

As for the noise, they can get quite loud. I've heard that males are louder then females in the sense that they cry out more then the females, but I don't know I only have a female. She can get VERY loud, but usually she just sits and mumbles lol

Thank you all

I live in a house with a housemate, so the landlord isn't an issue and I doubt if the neighbours would be able to hear. I am aware that when I move though I will need to take noise levels into account (+ my housemate is already asking me why I won't just get some 'nice canaries')...!

The noise level does concern me, BUT I have my heart set on an ekkie, so might just have to wait a few years till I own my own place!

Thinking it through carefully, thanks for the assistance, I appreciate it!

Actually another q - noise isn't a problem so much as noise late at night or super early in the am. I hear Ekkies sleep 10 -12 hours a day, is that mostly at night?

they are more likely to be loud in the morning (when they want their breakfast) and at night around dusk. you can influence this pattern with covering/uncovering - and yes they are big sleepers.

Every bird is different - my eccie is capable of emmiting an ear piercing scream, but he doesnt use it, unless the vacuum cleaner is going.

To be honest he is waaay quieter than any of my other birds - he is very talkative but my cockateil out noisyed him by a country mile!! My house is very small so i am pretty much always in his line of sight which makes a difference. When they cant see you, they tend to call for you.

My eclectus is the absolute love of my life lol. He is just so sweet natured and bonded deeply to me that i could never even imagine having another bird.

He is also indeoendent - not needy like a cokateil or a cokatoo, but still loves a cuddle when he feels like it.

Good luck with ur decision. Do u need a license for them in some parts of australia?

I agree that they can be VERY noisy. However, I just started to foster a macaw and I must say they Ekky level of noise no longer even registers in my brain. HAHA. But in al honsety, they can be quite loud when they want someone or something. Be strong from the start and set boundaries and you should not have a problem with screaming.

Hi Ahona, now that you have hopefully read through the link i posted, I can give you the rundown on these beautiful parrots. At this point in time i have 8 female & 10 males aged from young to breeders & i have to say all my eclectus are not the noisy birds some people make them out to be. You can actually train a parrot not to be so vocal & if i can do it anyone can. Yes they do have their alarm call but that is usually only when there is something they are not used to seeing like a strange dog or a cat. But usually once they learn to talk they will talk rather than scream.

I must stress here that it is usually the owners that create a screaming or biting bird. They....DO NOT....need your undivided attention especially when young & your trying to teach better manners. Eclectus are very capable of entertaining themselves for hours if given a enriched environment with lots to keep their busy little minds active. They are a very forgiving parrot in as much as if you are busy & don't get time to spend with him don't worry these parrots don't get stressed (thats if they haven't been turned into a neurotic parrot) I feel an eclectus is more like a best bud rather than a cuddle bug, don't get a parrot if you want something cute & culldy. They are to intelligent for that.

Some days i am just so busy my eclectus only get a quick cuddle for about 5 minutes then back in the cage. I actually have a male about 14 months old that flew away into some trees at my place. Because i had recalled trained him as a baby i was able to call him back when he had spent about 6 or 7 hours out having such a fine time. That bird does not get handled from one day to the next because he is going to be a future breeder. He shows no aggression what so ever & if i choose to have him inside on a playstand he will chill out there all day if i let him. One of the reasons i want him as a breeder because of his placid nature.

I guess what i am trying to get at is you are in control of your parrots behavior, it's up to you to teach your parrot what is acceptable behavior & what isn't.

For what it's worth I don't have my parrots live in my house they all live in aviaries or large cages out doors (mainly because of our tropical climate) but i also feel that they are better behaved when they have more to look at than the 4 walls of inside. But i also understand that is not always possible for a lot of parrot owners.

There are some very reliable & honest breeders in OZ if you are willing to freight.

Hi and welcome. I am new to the forum and a new Ekkie owner. I adopted a two year old male Ekkie from rescue three months ago. I had a flighted cockatiel for fourteen years, he passed away September 3rd from heart failure. I did a lot of research on parrots and joined a parrot education group many years ago. I always contemplated adding a second bird but was worried he would not get along with my cockatiel. I liked a few of the conures, Pionus and Eclectus. When my cockatiel died I called a rescue group and asked if they had a parrot that did not bite and would not be destructive, basically not chew up my furniture. The rescue lady introduced me to Rio, my Ekki and it was love at first site.
When we first brought him home he bit my eleven year old daughter pretty hard and bit me a couple times. However, he has not bitten since the first couple weeks in our home. He is extremely loud in the morning after he eats breakfast, ear piercing screams. I wanted to keep him flighted, I do not agree with wing clipping, parrots should fly, just as dogs should be able to wag their tails and should not have them cut off. Of course, this is just my opinion. However, he pulls out his wing feathers and had done so prior to my adopting him and he continues to do so to the point that he is unable to fly. This saddens me and I hope with time he will stop doing this. I did take him to a vet and he ran fecal and blood tests, he came back healthy, so it appears to be behavioral.
He is very needy, much needier than my cockatiel. I am home all day and I have a play gym in every room so he goes from room to room with me all day. He talks alot and it's really funny to listen to him. At night he sleeps in a huge cage and in the morning when I walk in the room he hops up and down when he sees me, it is really cute. He goes to bed at 8:00pm and wakes up when I get him up 7:00am during the week and 9:00am on weekends. He is quiet all night. We already love eachother very much.

I am a huge dog lover and right now I have a sixteen year old Lab and a one year old Havanese. Please know Ekkies are much needier than even a dog, at least mine is. They are also prone to feather plucking if they get stressed or when life changes; moves, petsitters, etc., so know that. One last thing make sure you read about their diet, their diet is slightly different than other parrots. Plan on your bird living at least forty years, so make sure you can keep him for his lifetime.
He is a lot more work than my cockatiel, messier, more demanding, louder but I love him to peices and I am so grateful to the rescue that she picked out this wonderful bird for me and I am so excited about our many years together.
As long as you go into this realizing parrots are messy, parrots are loud, parrots can bite, parrots may not talk, parrots take up a lot of space with big cages and play gyms, parrots are expensive, they need lots of toys and expensive vet care and they live a long time. If you are okay with all of that and still want a parrot than you are about to enjoy a very long and special relationship.
Best of luck to you.

Blkdog