Question about Eclectus

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

Hi!
I am about to buy an eclectus. I found one on craigslist that looks very cute

. The only thing that concerns me is that he does not have a band on his foot. DOes it mean he was not hand-raised? Should i be worried?

Thank you!

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

Also, what would you recommend - i have 2 options - i can wait for a new baby that will be ready for a new home in 3 months, or i can get one from CL...He looks very cute but of course its hard to predict anything...

mtdoramike · Mar 24, 2013

Not in the least. Niether of my birds have bands on their legs and I know where both came from, which was fairly local to me. Breeders use leg bands for ID purposes, but a lot of breeders are getting away from using leg bands because they can cause injury to a bird.

If it were me and the money was not an issue, I would wait until the baby is weaned or in 3 months. It's always best to start out with a hand raised bird versus buying an adult bird that you have no idea how it was raised or problems it may have.

wenz2712 · Mar 24, 2013

Welcome to the forum

Can you go and visit the baby from Craigslist?

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

wenz2712 said:
Welcome to the forum

Can you go and visit the baby from Craigslist?

I can, i am just worried if i go there i will come home with a bird no matter what

Money is always an issue, and to buy one from CL will be 1/2 of the price (considering he is sold with the cage)

BUT if he is sick or something - it can get much more expensive, and heartbreaking....

What i was also thinking is that buying an adult bird would save me from "teenager tantrums"...am i right?

I could post a picture of the adult boy if it's ok...not sure about rules on the forum...

Thank you mtdoramike!

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

Oh, and one more advantage of the older bird is that he speaks a little bit...With little one - you never know if he will be willing to talk...

wenz2712 · Mar 24, 2013

You are welcome to post the pic of him, just not the CL Ad itself.

gemini84 · Mar 24, 2013

Talking should not be ur deciding factor. He may talk at his current home but there is no definate that he will talk for u. My dad has both a male and female ekkie at 12yrs old and they still chuck tantrums.
The older bird may also have behavioral issues, are u willing to take these on or have experience to? Im all for rehoming birds but ekkies can be quite sensitive to change and if you are not prepared fir this it could lead to him being rehomed again. fir an examplr, when my dads burds wetr about 2 my dad had to go to hospital for cancer treatment. Whilst he was gone.they screamed and screamef, stopped eatinh and started plucking. It got to a syage tnat me and my dads wife couldny.handle.it anymore and were so worried about the well being of the.birds each mirning we would take.the birds.to visit.my dad... Things improved but not completely till he came home. Just a.few things u should consider when making your decidion

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

Thank you so much! Yes, i am worried about that, too. I am also concerned that the 2 babies the breeder has are too little to say if they are boys or girls....So i might not buy the older bird and then the younger ones grow up to be female and i am left with no bird at all..

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

The ad says he is 8 months old but i think he is older (looking at his beak), am i right?

gemini84 · Mar 24, 2013

Have the babies got feathers yet? Ekkies.are good in the way of sexing as the males are green and the females red and blue. As soon as the.pins crack and feathers appear u should know. It seems odd tho that ur willing to take on an adult male but want a female baby, why not a male ir is it something to do with the breeder?

gemini84 · Mar 24, 2013

Sorry I just reread post... U want a male. My apologies

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

gemini84 said:
Sorry I just reread post... U want a male. My apologies

male, yes, sorry my english is not my strongest point

The babies are very little, no feathers yet.

Why i am considering an older parrot....One month ago we lost our beloved sun conure. My daughter has being crying non-stop...I am afraid to wait for 3 months for a baby...I want her to be happy...otherwise i would wait for a little one, i think...

gemini84 · Mar 24, 2013

Sorry for your loss. Would it be possible to spend time with the one on craiglist, to see if you mesh well and make maybe a few visits to him to try build ur bond and make the transition easier. If the current owner cares for him it shouldnt be a problem.

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

gemini84 said:
Sorry for your loss. Would it be possible to spend time with the one on craiglist, to see if you mesh well and make maybe a few visits to him to try build ur bond and make the transition easier. If the current owner cares for him it shouldnt be a problem.

If i go there...i am just going to lose my head and buy him...Even looking at the photo i am ready to go now! LOL i am not very patient....

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

Could somebody please take a look at those photos....Does he look old or young? Healthy?

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

Peeker · Mar 24, 2013

He looks gorgeous. If he is only 8 months old as the owner says, he is still a baby and looks good. I can't tell age from the photo. His beak no longer has brown streaks that many baby males have but he may have outgrown it. Do you know if his eyes are still baby brown?

I would go see him and if it goes well..I'd probably come home with him. Then make a vet appointment ASAP to have him checked over. Even if you get one of the babies you should still have them checked over by your vet.

ziza · Mar 24, 2013

Peeker said:
He looks gorgeous. If he is only 8 months old as the owner says, he is still a baby and looks good. I can't tell age from the photo. His beak no longer has brown streaks that many baby males have but he may have outgrown it. Do you know if his eyes are still baby brown?

I would go see him and if it goes well..I'd probably come home with him. Then make a vet appointment ASAP to have him checked over. Even if you get one of the babies you should still have them checked over by your vet.

Oh, i didn't know about the eyes! So if he is still little they should be brown? Do they change to black at some point? at what age?
Is it possible that he has yellow beak but still a baby?

What other signs i should look for?
Oh, and does his beak look ok? it seams it's a bit...shabby?

Parrotdise · Mar 24, 2013

Some breeders don't band their birds. I try to get a banded bird just because i know it was not wild caught, and also a band is good to have because then if your bird gets lost it is easier to track him and get him back. However, If i found a bird that i really connected with i would still get the bird anyway. He appears healthy from the picture, not sure if it is angle or not but it does look like he could stand to have a trip to the vet for some grooming on the nails and beak, a health check is a good idea anyway. One thing that i will say is that if you take on this bird be prepared that you could get a bird that likes to clean his crop out all the time. Jack, my Sister's Ekkie has messed up the bacteria's in his crop a couple of times and required vet assistance. Jack likes to play with the ball in the water bottle so we got him a flip top bottle without a ball, when we offered him a dish he would just spit all the water up until it was gone. Now that we know what to do for Jack it's not a problem. I am just mentioning this because i have come across a few people who experienced this with their Ekkie and i feel it is something to be aware of.

Question about Eclectus

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Had a horrible chilli moment!!

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