BOGO Ekkie

Wrangler, Ruby's flock mate, has come to live with us. Wrangler came with Pinto. I had a spare cage and room to quarantine since Ruby and The baby are done with it now. Needless to say, we are AT OUR LIMIT!

Forgot to mention, we may only be keeping one and adopting the other out. The person who had them was not a bird person at all and did not know how to continuing care for them when their primary caretaker left the birds with him for good when he moved out.

Forgot their first pic. They are both pluckers but I suspect it's also diet related with them as they were on the same food Ruby was on. One of the birds was bred by Jane & Scott so I can check that off my ultimate bird wish list.

ohhh...im jealous! I want a green boy!

Home waiting for Daddy to bring the extra cages inside for them! They LOVE my mash! Both eating like little piggies. No bites yet either.

Brittany, you are just so wonderful. I've followed your threads and really appreciate all of your posts. These birds are so lucky to have landed with you!

It's unreal how they came to us in such a short span of time. This has never happened before!

I literally paid the deposit on my first non-rescue baby Ekkie bird and found Ruby the very next week.

Three weeks after he came home and we now have FOUR Ekkies.

I've had 6-7 birds at a time in the past but a majority were fosters who came to us with months in between, many staying from 4-6 mos. and longer.

We went from adopting out Paco, getting Molly as our "last and final" Foster (yeah, RIGHT!) to having FOUR Ekkies in under four months. This is just nuts. Change doesn't overwhelm me but this is honestly almost overwhelming.

I can't turn away a plucker. I just can't. We have a large house I can't even enjoy due to my health and we had the spare cages and plenty of frozen mash to go around. We have room to quarantine and endless amounts of love to give.

At first I was only allowing myself to email a few questions to find out the situation. When we discovered Wrangler was the flock mate for Ruby, we all decided it was the right thing to do by Ruby. But then, I didn't want to risk Pinto going to a home of an impulse buyer who doesn't understand the demanding needs of a parrot, let alone Eclectus with their dietary requirements. So the decision was made.

Right now I'm feeling kind of numb, in a WTH was I thinking, way. But I know if he hadn't found a home in two months for these guys, there's a good chance he would adopt them to the next person to come along regardless of experience. He wasn't a parrot guy and worked very long hours. When his significant other moved out, he didn't want to take them with him and just left them there. That's a huge responsibility and I hate when animals pay the price for humans life choices.

I digress. Wrangler has already said Hello in Ruby's voice and is making the very same honking noises. My heart melted immediately. Pinto has made some noises. They both have ear-piercing calls that rival every screamer I've ever met. Luckily it's just a call and not a scream.


One concern: pinto is missing feathers in front of his eyes. I'm testing for disease as usual, but what's the treatment for hormonal imbalance?

This is quite remarkable Brittany! I can tell you're over the moon. Thank you for taking these wonderful birds into your care!

Regarding the plucking, what do you mean by hormonal imbalance? Simply sexual hormonal plucking? If the plucking is hormonal in this manner there's not much they can do. You can try Luperon injections, but on males Luperon often Isn't very effective.

If a true hormonal imbalance outside of sex hormones - such as overactive thyroid, not that this causes plucking but an example of hormone imbalance as I read your question - you would need to determine what is causing the imbalance.

The feathers missing are around his eyes. That's why I'm concerned they are actually feather loss instead of plucking. He has full blood feathers on his primary flights right now.

I'm just concerned but I JUST realized he could be molting. Duh. I'll keep an eye on it.

When you hear hooves, think HORSES, NOT ZEBRAS!

I have to remind myself of this way too often. Maybe I need more drugs for my OCD.

Welcome, Wrangler and Pinto!

Brittany, you are a treasure, thank you for adopting these new kids. Lots of people shy away from Ekkies because of their special diet needs and shy away from pluckers just because.

Looking forward to seeing this success story unfold.

Still laughing at the BOGO thread title

Well things are off to a positive start. They are both total pigs for my Ekkie mash. Wrangler has the same exact voice as Ruby, which is not surprising considering how long they lived together. It just melts my heart.

I am giving them plenty of time and space to settle in and taking it slowly.

Looking at those pics of Wrangler and Pinto, I'm so glad that you decided to take them in. Especially considering that they were on the same diet as poor Ruby. You're doing a wonderful thing for these birds, and their lives have been deeply enriched for your having found them.

Are they both as hand tame and gentle as Ruby? And did they also go 5 years without a bath?

Wrangler was with those same people so same living conditions. He is very bitey and with zero warning. He is by far the most curious and active bird I've ever had.

Pinto is not bitey but so far, neither are hand tame to the degree Ruby is. I'm sure with lots of patience and time, we can gain some ground. They are also both extremely loud birds compared to Ruby.

Its great that they are with you. I'm sure that as they get used to you and their new environment that their volume will reduce dramatically. hows that saying go again? Happy birds, happy life!

Congratulations Two Beautiful fids you have got in Wrangler and Pinto and from reading the posts and their story two very lucky Ekkies....I wish I lived near you and I would offer a home to Pinto for you but I have a sneaking suspicion that after a few days that you and Pinto will be inseperable too Well done Brittany you are making two Gorgeous Ekkies very happy not to mention how happy Ruby will be when Wranhler announces his presence I cant wait to hear more about them

I hope you're keeping a diary of your recent events. You can't make this stuff up. Can't believe these guys are reunited and under such great care. Love the look the one on the right is giving you. I'm looking forward seeing and reading more about these guys.

Everything is going very well. No more bites from Wrangler and Pinto is sweet as sugar. He's almost a duplicate of Ruby.

It will be at least a few months before I decide what I'm doing but at this point it seems like they're here to stay. I just hope once we are done with quarantine they all get along. That would be a dream come true.