Would an ekkie be right for us?

We lost our Amazon parrot recently, but have decided we are now ready to add to our family again. I'm very intrigued by the Eclectus, but am concerned our house may be too busy? I have a 3 year old son that is great with pets, was great with our Amazon... But he is all boy, loud and rambunctious. A lot that I read say that the Ekkies are not good for busy loud homes. I would love to hear opinions. I want to pick the right bird for us...

KalJ said:

We lost our Amazon parrot recently, but have decided we are now ready to add to our family again. I'm very intrigued by the Eclectus, but am concerned our house may be too busy? I have a 3 year old son that is great with pets, was great with our Amazon... But he is all boy, loud and rambunctious. A lot that I read say that the Ekkies are not good for busy loud homes. I would love to hear opinions. I want to pick the right bird for us...

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I think an eclectus would be perfect. Don't believe everything you read. IMO an eclectus will fit into any house hold, loud or quiet. I have sold many males & female eclectus to families & have never had any problems.

On occasion they may not take to one family member but i think that is because of the vibes the bird picks up from people.

They are amazing companions.

Hello and welcome.
Female eclectus are better suited to busy households! My girl lives fine in my loud house with my VERY loud and hyper 5 year old lol. If anything, Audrey is a little hyper herself haha! I have heard that the males can be a little more stressed in such a busy house, but it really does come down to the individual bird.

Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm very excited about the possibility of adding an eclectus to our family soon!

I agree with Pedro, except I think if you get a male Eclectus and you have an average house hold, which most can get a little crazy at times, you should consider a baby bird that will grow with your family. Getting an adult rescue or an older bird may have issues especially if the bird came from a fairly quiet house.

Also, Eclectus are known to be pluckers and overpreeners especially if their surroundings change dramatically.

Also great advice. I was thinking along the same lines.... I have been looking for breeders but am having a difficult time.. any advice there? I'm in Nebraska, but willing to travel..

If you only have the one son (who is loud) it should be less of an issue as long as he knows not to be really loud right around the Eclectus. These are timid birds who prefer quiet environments, uninvolved from direct activity but to rather sit back and watch.

If you had an Amazon and are looking for a smaller sized parrot, I would suggust a Congo African Grey as these do better in louder households. Not to rule out Eclectus but these birds are pretty much the opposite of an Amazon so if Amazon worked well than there is a good chance an Eclectus might not. An African Grey is a great between.

If you do choose an Eclectus, I would select a female of the two. These birds are far more "vocal" and less concerned about noise as they generate lots themselves. The males are far more passive of the two and by extention prefer more quiet environments which they equally help to create (most of time).

You just have one kid. I think you could go male or female. However i chose a female mainly because I have 3 teenagers. Teenagers are not quiet they have friends over, play guitar hero, dance dance revolution on the Xbox and Zumba and some other loud games on the wii..

My Gitana loves guitar hero she will climb to the top of her cage and sway and turn her head to watch the TV. She has even learn to say Player 2 rocks, player 2 is in the lead...

My youngest girl is always player 2 so my oldest will tell gitana no no i am winning and gitana will tell her NO. Its funny cause my girl will then say gitana did u tell me NO and gitana will say no

At times I have 5-8 teens in my house on weekends, none of the teens bother her, but she likes watching them play video games on dance mats

Now on the downside my girl is in my living area which she likes she screeched when i had her in the quieter part of the house. But no one can be watching tv or lights on in my living area past 9pm as she needs 10-12 hours of sleep. Its not a big issue for me as all my kids are 12 -17 and they have tv in their room.

I highly recommend an eclectus parrot for you. My female does really well with all kinds of sounds. These parrots adapt really well. But my house is generally rather quiet. But when there is noise, she seems like she could care less. In many ways, these birds are in their own world when they feel safe and secure. A male or female would work for you, I think.

i have a male eccie and he is the least timid creature i have ever met. our house is quiet half the time (we have shared custody of our kids so its either just us two or us and 3 very loud, happy rambunctious kids) and he LOVES it.
same with anything, depends on the bird, i have met timid males but my boy is about as gregarious as they come. loves noise, laughing, singing music and falls over himself to meet new people!
good luck with your choice, they are amazing companions, male or female

I have 3 teenage sons at home. When they wrestle or get rowdy Ruby will sound off at them. It is a semi loud ( not ear piercing ) sound to let them know she doesnt approve. She doesnt get upset by the rowdiness but lets them know when she's had enough. The rowdy behaviour is few and far between as they are teens. I would say if you see the Ekkie becoming upset by chaos, simply send your son outside to get the energy out of his system. It will be good excersize and fresh air for him and the bird can get some peace. It is also a good way to teach your child indoor and outdoor behaviour. I always taught my boys that they could be as loud and raucous as they wanted outdoors but that proper people behaved more reserved indoors. It sure makes for better public and restaurant outings with small children.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I am so excited to add one of these amazing birds to our home, now we ate just looking for the right breeder

I agree with Pedro, dont believe everything you read, every parrot has a diff personaliy and we have a semi loud house...3 dogs and one barks all the time and my parrot is fine. Hes more interested in the noise than dissturbed if you ask me. These parrots are the most gentle in my opinion just make sure if you get one hes fully weaned, these parrots seem to take a longer time weaning than most other parrots, good luck!