So there are many points of view on this, and a lot are discouraging of it, but I thought I would ask everyone here anyways, especially if there is anyone who has a pair of eclectus that they aren't breeding.

There is someone near me who needs to rehome their 12yr old SI male, and from the sounds of it, he's a very sweet and healthy bird. I'm quite tempted, but I also want to be careful and consider the ramifications.

Is Chikoo, my female, going to become a monster if I bring this bird home? Obviously, they would have separate cages, and I would gradually introduce them to one another. I was thinking that between my wife and myself, we could really give the birds equal attention, and trade off hanging out with them and such.

I have no intention to breed them, by the way. So am I being super-naive and should absolutely not do this? Or is it possible to have a companion pair? I would really enjoy the company of the male. I'm having a hard time deciding what to do! I wish I had never seen that the bird needs a home!

Unfortunately, there is no right answer here.

Yes, it's possible to have a non-breeding companion pair, caged together or separately, however no one can tell you how two birds will react to each other. They may completely hate each other, they may be indifferent to each other or they may even love each other. You might even get into a situation where one bird craves the attention and companionship of the other, but the feeling is not mutual.


I know one owner of eclectus and at first, she had two. The two bred and reproduced in two different clutches. She found homes for some but kept the rest. Since then, she has taken in second hand ekkies from other people. She houses them in a large room that's sectioned off from the rest of the house by a wire mesh wall. Inside, she has cages for the birds, but they mostly live cage-free. The cages are more for support of branches and food dishes, so the ekkies have plenty of room to move about and even fly. Most of her flock is made up of females, but she does have at least two males? She has bonds with every single bird, but each bond is different. The birds born under her care have mostly been parent raised, not hand raised, and she even has a bond with them!

So yes, it can work, but we can't give one correct answer for you. The only way to know is to go through with getting that male. Decide for yourself then if you have the time, space, money and resources for him! If the answer is yes, talk to the owners and let them know that you'd love to add him to the flock. Maybe if things don't work out, they could take him back? Or you could try yourself in finding a home more appropriate for him.

This is what was told to me by a Eclectus breeder in Atlanta, and i have heard great reviews on her.. I was thinking to get another female an SI , but the breeder discouraged another female.

She stated it was more likely for a male to get along with my female. As two females have a higher chance not to like one another and get into tiffs.

I was worried about this breeding as i want no part of infant birdies. The woman said it was highly unlikely because it takes much work to get a pair to breed.

She also noted that i should get an eclectus male either the same age or older than my girl. She also said that eclectus in the wild hang in groups and the males watch over the females as well as they are entertained by their companion.

She said if i got an eclectus close to my girls age I have a high chance to cage them together since my cage is very big and has more than enough room. However she said she has a divider that will split my cage in half. This will allow them to see one another but they cant touch or enter the other parrots space. Over time I can very slowly introduce them to one another.

However, there is a risk of them not liking one another so i have to be prepared to house them seperatly if that happens or if they for some reason fall madly in love with each other...

I dont have a male yet i would love one...but i cannot find a rehomer with a reasonable fee. They are about 200 less than a baby and most of them require a new cage plus vetting. One will come my way one day

Trina, thanks so much for sharing what that breeder said. Very informative! I am looking at an older male, so it sounds like it could be a good scenario. The person rehoming is looking for $900, and is including the cage. I'm going to try to get his price down though. I'll just have to see how it goes. If they don't like each other, then I will consider some other options. But I'm hoping they will provide some good company for one another, even if they don't fall madly in love

LOL u dont want them to fall madly deeply in loveeeeee. You want the girl to say hey lets be friends ! This is the worst phrase a male can hear LOL

Hopefully Pedro will jump in on this conversation, they are very knowledgable about this and especially Eclectus parrots.

I have a female SI Eclectus and 9 other parrots. Ruby lives in our den with the family and all the others live in the bird room. She does at times interact with them, as someone will bring somebody out of the bird room or she will go into the bird room with us. Ruby has quite a tendancy to get jealous, so she goes into their space more than they come into hers. She has never been aggressive to anyone else, and she does talk to them but not really plays with them. We have set up cameras to spy when we will leave for the store sometimes, and have found that they all will chat from room to room. Buddy willl call out " Ruby hello pretty girl " and Ruby will say " good morning Buddy ", then the Zons and conures get into the convo also. You can make it work, but I would take it very slowly. Keep the stranger in a separate room and gradually over time introduce them more and more. It all depends on your bird and how jealous she is. If Ruby feels jealous she will not step down for anything, she will be extremely clingy and not want to be away from whoever she is with at the time. Those are the times she winds up going into the bird room with us, or to the store or where ever. Ruby can sense the moment a newbie comes on the property.

Just an update, I went to meet the potential flock addition today. I took Chikoo with me. They were both rather indifferent to one another. They did not scream at one another, or become aggressive. They just remained as they are, and didn't really look at one another much either.

I personally didn't feel much of a connection to the bird, in the sense that when I was there, I didn't feel too much of a desire to take him home with me or anything. Obviously, hard to judge, I barely know the bird at all. But I know when I saw Chikoo, I didn't have any hesitation that I wanted to bring her home. And I hardly knew anything about her or taking care of an eclectus! So when my wife gets back from her trip, we'll see what she thinks. She hasn't met this bird yet.

Also wonder if this bird has any health issues that have gone unnoticed. The guy seems to really love and take care of the bird, but seems not well-informed about the bird's diet. He feeds him half a bowl of seeds, twice a day. And fruit on top of that. Not sure how much fruit the bird really gets. But that made my alarm bells go off: an eclectus on mostly seeds?? When he saw my bird poop, he said he's never seen anything like that come out of his guy, and that he just sees drops. That didn't sound good to me. The bird is quite active, vocal, and fully-feathered with no odd discolorations or anything, but I don't know, I'm a bit surprised there is nothing funny going on with him. The owner even feeds him pretzels that have all kinds of things in them that I wouldn't dream of giving my bird!

All of the above are helpful. But like humans, an Eclectus will be happier with a member of the opposite sex than one of the same for a friend. No competitions required. However, if both have been raised around humans, there is less chance either will be interested in breeding with each other rather than only company.

In that sense, IF you are selecting a second Eclectus I definately support a boy to keep her company. It also sounds like male is far older, so again less likely pair.

I love birdies and i know how you feel I saw 5 birds before Gitana and once i layed my eyes on the girl, I fell for the girl..

For nutritional you can check his tail feathers..If you look in my album at the newer picture of Gitana you can see her nutritional bands on her tail that she still has. For each band that is were they had issues their nutritional. I dont know how well these bands stand out on males but as u can see on the female hens its very noticable.

If an eclectus is fed a poor diet for a long time they will have nutritional bands Gitana has a bunch all up and down her tail she was fed badly for a long time, as her tail tells me that with all those bands. A parrot on a poor diet for a short perod of time is not going to have those bands until their new feathers start showing and devolping..Gitana was a seed, trisket and peanut junkie..So that guy IMO because i do not own a male so this is my opinion with dealing with my girl, if he has been fed seed for a long long time will have feather bands on his tail. If he doesnt this would lead me to ask questions like how long they have had them because then i am thinking poor diet no bands hmmm maybe they bought and flipping the bird..this might not be the case its just a thought that went through my head when thinking about why a bird on a seed diet for a long time wouldnt have nutritional bands..

I cannot wait until she does a good molt and those feather fall out I want to see her new feathers LOL