eclectuses as pets

I really have wondered lately how are eclectus parrots as pets...I've read up about it but I always like to hear from people that actually have experience.What I would like to know is things like how much attention do they need?,Are they prone to feather plucking and aggression? and also any thing interesting (good or bad) about them.

oh and also I'm not really planning to get one any time soon so I only read up a bit but I also heard that they should have a special diet or no ???
thanks for all the help

I LOVE my Ekkie! Yes they are prone to feather problems, more feather chewing than anything, that can progress to plucking (Rocco is a chewer, my vet recommended not to clip his wings because it could encourage the problem). Rocco's personality is so even keel and laid back. He is not a bird that gets into the middle of the action but he likes to be present and observe whatever is going on (from what I hear the females like to be in the middle of the action/directing it). He isn't physically needy, in fact he prefers not to be touched much at all. He likes to investigate new things. He is very vocal, all day he talks up a storm and has a ton of different whistle variations. Rocco as it turns out is a mix, if you ever come across an Ekkie with a/or more than one yellow feather that means that they are a mix to two different types. I was told he was an SI but he is larger than an SI but smaller than a Red sided, with a yellow feather - so he is probably a mix of both. I bring that up because I think Ekkies are a good sized bird. They are not so big that they will take a finger off but they are large enough where you still get the feel of having a good sized parrot.

I have only had Rocco for a few months, he is 4yrs old and I am his 3rd home. The only issue I have with him is that he is food aggressive. He is not aggressive with Rome but if it is dinner time and I put my hand in the bowel he will bite. This may come from having to defend himself a lot in his first home (was taunted by 8 young children). He is also sometimes protective of his physical space but I think that is due to his first home and hes been getting a lot better about it. Since being at my house he hasn't been chewing on his feathers. Those are the only draw backs to him, and really compared to Rome they are nothing.

As far as time goes. I get them up around 7-8am and they go outside where they are loose all day on stands. I bring them in around 5-6pm and they go to bed around 8-9pm right now. He seems to be fine with that.

Rocco does require more baths than normal. He doesn't eat his food by picking it up, he dives into it and wears it. From talking to other Ekkie owners, this seems to be a typical trait.

I think that the females are often overlooked to much. In the wild the females are the dominant ones and call the shots. The males are by nature submissive. Females can be a little more bossy and have some 'mood swings.' If you are an experienced bird handler a female would be a nice addition. They seem to have a more outgoing forward personality but need someone who can handle the 'I'm the boss' attitude when it presents itself.

As far as diet. There is soooo much controversy surrounding their diet. We ran into problems when we first got Rocco. He was wing flipping and he would only eat two or three different kinds of fruit. No matter what we tried nothing seemed to work. So he is on an eclectus specific pelleted diet that is offered freely all day and for his evening meal he gets fruit (80% pellet, 20% fruit). We also stock his foraging toys with almonds for extra calcium. Since doing that his feather flipping went away. As far as diet goes, I wouldn't always trust the internet - definitely have your vets input in your diet plans.

Good luck, hope this helped shed some light.

just curious but as a minimum how much out of cage time is needed. I know that the more the better but just curious how much is needed for them to actually be happy?
thanks for the help the reply was really great

I don't think that there is a magic number per say. I personally don't like them caged unless they are sleeping and thats the only time mine are caged. I guess the question is more: what is your schedule like? How much time a day would you be able to have an Ekkie out of the cage should you get one? There is such a thing as to little time out of the cage.

molcan 2 I noticed you live in fla as do I and you said your birds are outside on stands during the day. do you put them out on a screened lani or do you have an aviary outside

I keep them on a screened in back porch ( I guess lani would be the proper term). We have plans made for an aviary but we haven't broken ground on it yet. When the aviary is finished it will also be enclosed with screen. My birds are divas and get horribly irritated by gnats, plus the mosquitos are awful to. I have pics of their outdoor set up in my fids album (just click on the box next to my name and go to public profile). Because of the nature of the porch, it doesn't get a good breeze, so I do put an osculating fan out there, as well as extra water bowels.

basia said:

just curious but as a minimum how much out of cage time is needed. I know that the more the better but just curious how much is needed for them to actually be happy?
thanks for the help the reply was really great

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My girl is just like my old cat....When she wanted attention, well, she got it. When she didnt, she told you to go screw yourself. There are times when she wants to talk and play and there are times when she wants to pretend she is the only thing that exists. Unless of course your making food in the kitchen which she has full view of from the living room. She is a feathered stomach who WILL nip you on your ear if you dont give her some fast enough because she is hungry NOW! Lol.

Even still, my Scarlet dosent really "want" to be out of her cage. If I put my hand in there she jumps on it in a heartbeat unless she dosent want attention but shes not one of those screaming jumping on the door type birds who are just dying to get out haha.

I LOVE my Eclectus. He is wonderful boy.Very passive natured & patient.
They are a pretty quiet species.My boy prefers to chatter above anything.He only screams when I do LoL Which clearly shows me that he is unhappy when I am lol. He has never been locked up in his cage. His cage door is never closed.Dont know if I would recommed that to any1 lol. Ive never had a problem with him.I brought him from a breeder that handfeeds their parrots which I believe its critical for families with children.I take showers with my boy,we go 4 car rides,shopping & walks often.Im very surprised how bird friendly ppl are.Most ppl are just amazed that they can pet him with out being bitten lol.I highy suggest that whatever species u get to socialize,socialize as MUCH as possible to avoid having a 1 person bird that no1 can touch.Having Seaweed in my life has made me realize that Im a bird person as much as I am a dog person lol

love the name Seaweed.

aliray said:

love the name Seaweed.

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THank u my friend
It took me months to come up with a unique name b4 I came up with Seaweed.Every1 seems to get a kick outta his name.Even the breeder thought it was fitting lol. Seaweed has opened my eyes 2 see that I am just as big of a bird person as I am a dog person ha!

Moulacan2 thank you for the pictures showing the outside back porch area for the birds very neat setup. I am going to look into doing something similar for my three.

Barkley is our male Eclectus and he's very passive and laid back. He "screams" once in a while when he demands some of the fruit and nut mix I made. My poor dad got him into that habit. He chatters away happily and talks. Now he's having more of conversations like. He will ask where "mama" (he thinks of her as his g/f) is and I say, she's in New Orleans, then he'll say what. You repeat and he says "Okay". He asks our poor guests who use the front bathroom "Whatcha doin?" lol. He has a huge appetite to boot. And he loves new toys and new cage acessories. He's not timid about his toys. He wants them right when you take them out the bag. The only thing we're having problems with right now, well not problems, but he keeps trying to "mate" with my mom when she's here, and he gets a little "friendly" with females that hold him. But he's such a wonderful bird. He also loves to "converse" with one of our dogs. Now he's started "barking" occasionally. lol I thought it was the dog only to realize it was our bird!