Age difference for pairs

Hi guys,

I have a 7 year old female eclectus and have been interested in getting a male for a while. She only started laying eggs this year (which I think is quite late after reading into it) and I started wondering whether she'd be happier if she had a male companion. Would it be okay to introduce another parrot at her age? If so what would be an appropriate age difference between the two? And what would be the youngest I could get for them to get along? It seems difficult to find eclectuses that are around her age as most that are for sale are babies/quite young.

Thanks

I don't think getting her a male companion to make her happier is a good idea. Just because she lays eggs doesn't mean that she needs to be bred in order to be happy.

Honestly, unless breeding is something that you extremely interested in, dedicated to and knowledgeable in, then getting her a mate is a very bad idea.

Not only will it almost certainly change the relationship that you have with her, but it is also a huge commitment for you in terms of TIME, money, heartache (soooo many things can go wrong), responsibility..

I think your best bet would be to look into methods to discourage her from egg laying. Things like removing all nesting type materials / hidey holes from her cage and areas where she is allowed to roam. Increasing her night time hours to at least 12 a night (covering her / turning off lights), not feeding warm/soft/fatty foods, discouraging her from sexual displays like vent rubbing, regurgitating, etc..

If breeding is something that you really, honestly do think that you want to pursue I would start by finding a local mentor. Even if they aren't an eclectus breeder, but someone who would be willing to let you assist them in their aviary so that you could learn first hand about hand feeding and how to handle all of the problems that can arise and what the proper solution is to them.

Thank you so much! I've been trying to find this info online but couldn't find anything on the topic. This is really helpful, definitely not going to get another eclectus now I know. Would have loved to but this would be way too much responsibility and knowing that she's content without a partner is enough for me.

Thanks again!