Need help setting up a home for my 6 month old Eclectus

My eclectus baby is new to our home, and Im still setting up his cage and figuring things out. I made the mistake of buying manzanita perches which I have heard are too hard for eclectus beaks and also too smooth for their feet. What I wanted to do was set up four perches around his four bowls, then add another high perch above his main perch. I was also interested in getting a rope that he could climb from top to bottom of his cage. I really would love to know what type of wood to use, also a recommendation for the large rope. Also, do the perches diameter have to be a certain size that is most comfortable for the bird?



Also, I need to know if the hard pellet diet that my breeder told me to use is suitable. He gave me two bags of two different mixes. What im worried about is that it has colored pellets in it which could have harmful artificial colors. Also, why he gave me a conure seed mix that has a ton of sunflower seeds worries me. I thought eceltus were supposed to avoid seed? I will post pictures of the food mixes I have been given and I want to hear your opinions.

I use comfy perches around feed bowls. They work great. They come in different lengths and you can make a half circle with them. Also the Booda cross perches work good for getting to all 4 sides of the cage.
I use Intune pellets or TOPS (Totally organics) for a seed mix that is really good, the Higgins Sunburst Conure Gourmet food mix is what I use....has fruits and nuts in it. My babies love it. I have a Sun and Green Cheek, don't know too much about eclectus but they have other varieties for different birds.

I would give him very little of the seed pellet mixer and stick strictly with fruits, veggies, sprouts and lots of green leafy ruffage like collard greens, beat tops, carrot tops, brocali and such. I would also stay away from any colored pellets.

Read this site for diet information: http://www.eclectus-parrots.com/page05_housing.htm

another great site: http://eclectusparrots.net/

And of course the Eclectus food pyramid: http://eclectusparrots.net/foodpyramid.html

Here is a link to another kind of perch that would be good for the up down idea
Natural Sisal Rope Perch, Bird Perches | PetSolutions

The bendable perch would be a good one.

These are also great for climbing. They have the bendable ones also and free ship over $49
Natural Sisal Perches for Bird Cages

I plan to hang several of these in the room I am preparing for a playroom.

YOUr cage looks great. What size is it? Also the brand. I may be getting another cage for my Sun because he loves being in his cage more than out.

About the food, yes, Eccy's are not meant to have much seed, their diet should be mainly fruit and veg. Pay special attention to red and orange foods like chillie, carrot, orange etc as they have the best vitamins. I have also heard that you shouldn't get them coloured pellets. When I put my eccy to bed I give her a handful of seed and colourless pellets to get her through the night.

For the perches, near the food bowls I use calcium perches, they help keep the nails trim. For the perch that my eccy uses to sleep on I use "Cholla Cactus Wood" Which looks like this: I think the diameter should be 1 - 1.5 inch, but try using a few different sizes so their feet get stretched. Hope this helps!

Oh and for the rope, maybe look at getting a "Boing" Haha, my bird LOVES her boing. You can find them at all different sizes on ebay and in a lot of pet shops. They also have rope perches made out of the same thing.

Boings are great I made one for mine, although i prolly should have just bought one but it was fun to make LOL. I got the thick rope at home depot that was untreated and natural then I purchased stainless steel wire 1/8" from here http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/.

On the food i agree with the above, fruits veggies, eclectus also love almonds and walnuts that all the seed my girl gets 1 almond per day. hard boiled egg with shell crushed, black beans..I would keep far away from bagged bird food..I also use harrison pellet for her.

Colored pellets are not good for eclectus as they can side effects but if he is used to it, you can gradully mix what he is used to with new stuff, or you harrison sells a pellet for birds hooked on seeds so you can swap cold turkey.

The cage i purchased had a long manzanita perch all across, very pretty but i took it out and replaced it with a thick pine dowel at home depo. and i just purchased stainless steel bolts that where threaded on both ends ( one side was pointed to easy screw it in) then used a stainless steel washer with a wing nut. cost was about 10 bux and home depo cut the dowel for free to the exact length i needed.

I also ran another dowel that was a little thinner across where the food bowls are. you can get 2 perches out of one dowel on that one.

I would really like to use that manzanita perch i have goodness its nice but like you said its to smooth, I was gonna try to use a wood tool to rough it up for grip, to see if that would work, but my girl cant fly cause she is clipped to much and i dont want her to fall..

I also have a cactus wood perch as KC noted with her pics I also have a perch higher up that has rough grips around it of different colors and some scrubby thing coming out the end, she likes to clean her beak on the perch.

I would like to have more rope perches instead of wood but i am kinda scared since she cant even glide and i don't want risk her falling..I didn't know at first about the manzanita and she fell off the first night scared the mess out of me..

For toys If you are a DIY person, I used untreated sisal rope , home depot and lowes have it and u can buy wood toy parts and sting them I find this cheaper and the toys fun to make larger bird toys here are 20 bux a piece almost..you can color the wood to with food coloring. But i found a good ebay seller that sells bird safe wood already that they colored with food coloring and its so much easier and she charges a good price. I just got my pieces in today I can make about 8 -10 toys bulky toys and it was 24 bux for all the different wooden pieces and 4 bux for the rope.

Also another tip, I cant really tell how far your poop pan is from the cages floor grate I have about a foot from my cage bottom to the pan so there is no way she can even reach the pan. The birds poop bombs LOL and newspaper is messy and will stick to the pan. I use natural, non clumping , unscented cat litter from the pet stores. I put newspaper and a thin layer of litter and then take the pan out of the cage every morning to scoop her mess and completely change it every 3 days.