Eclectus raising a chicken?

Verymarried

New member
May 8, 2017
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West Tx
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Female Eclectus
I have a 12 year old female Eclectus that laid the first egg (this year) and it got broken, the second my grand daughter found and it was toast, the third my daughter's dog broke. That's usually all she'll lay but she was being especially bull headed about abandoning the shower where she had made a "nest" on my night gown. Now she's laid a fourth. She's never done this before but she's also never been this determined about staying with an egg. In the past she would lay an egg and get so involved with life that she'd forget about it. This time she only leaves it for a drink of water and to eat and then it's straight back to the egg. It's not a viable egg, since we don't have a male and I'm not sure about taking it away from her this time. She's being more "responsible" and was more upset when these eggs were broken. I thought about switching it for a fertile bantam chicken egg (there are no parrot breeders close to buy an egg from). Any suggestions? Is this a totally stupid idea?
 

SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,646
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Western, Michigan
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DYH Amazon
There are any number of reason to see this as a bad idea! The are a couple of reason on the plus side for your girl.

If you elect to do this and she is successful, what are you going to do with the chick? She has zero experience, so you are going to have to step-in and feed the chick. Can you do that? Yes, the chick can quickly feed itself. But there are lots of stuff that can go wrong. Can she handle that any better than another loss of an egg?
 

SilverSage

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Sep 14, 2013
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Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
Please do not. This is soooo dangerous to the poor chick.

Parrots are Altricial; they are born blind, naked, helpless, and needing to be brooded constantly and fed partially digested food by the parents.

Here is an image from google of a day old eclectus
1af9897908dd837b2c7a9033f036f3d2.jpg



Chickens are precocial; they are born with fuzz, eyes open, ready to eat and run around. Here is a day old chicken
115d07b68201b795e9d1ff6b6631a463.jpg



When a parrot chick doesn't respond correctly to beg for food, parents will nip them to make them open their mouths. Inexperienced parents have been known to violently rip their own babies apart if they don't beg properly (something a chicken won't know how to do) or if there is ANYTHING out of the ordinary with the chick (which obviously there will be since it's a chicken).

Of course all that is assuming that she manages to hatch him in the first place, which isn't likely.


It's far better for everyone involved if instead of trying to give her a chick to raise, you prevent her from nesting in the first place. Here is my article on hormone control in pet parrots.

http://www.silversageaviaries.com/handlinghormones/


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Verymarried

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May 8, 2017
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West Tx
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Female Eclectus
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I'm the idiot that asked about letting my Eclectus hatch a chicken egg. My husband came home with this $1500 bird (that I didn't want) 12 years ago "for me". I don't mind birds, I love and have always had a smart little budgie or canary, but I've never had a parrot this serious. Only serious bird people spend this kind of $$$$ on a bird. I'm more of a dog person. I rescued and fostered Great Danes for almost twenty years until my first husband passed away. My second husband spoils me to the extent that I've had to return items that I didn't want because he "thought" I'd like it or saw me looking at it. So that's how Katie joined us. Shortly after she came to live with us, the pet store (I know) went out of business. So for the past 12 years she's been a conundrum for me. She's happy, she's sad, she's screaming (thank god that stopped), she pulling her feathers out, she's a sweetheart, she's cursing my husband because he changed the channel off Sponge Bob. It's a freaking Eclectus roller coaster. So my first question is this: is it better to keep her caged or let her run (she doesn't fly)? We live in a "tiny house" that's 320 Sq ft. (No, I'm not kidding.) I have two cages for her, one in the house that's a small cage like would house a budgie, that she typically sleeps in I leave the door open (when she's not sitting on an egg in the shower) and the other is five feet tall and three feet by three feet outside that she spends nice weather days in. It's possible to bring the big cage inside if that would be best for her. She also has a perch that she hangs out on when she watches TV. So what would be the ideal daily ritual here? She usually has breakfast with my husband at 5am (oatmeal - read your article and that's over) and then she climbs back into her cage and sleeps (or into the shower) until noon or so when I bring her fresh veggies. After that if the weather is nice she goes into the big outdoor cage until it gets to hot or to dark, which ever comes first. When she's in the house she has the run of the place and doesn't tend to be too destructive. I guess I noticed her laying eggs after she had spent every day outside for a week. She comes in when it gets dark and puts herself to bed when she's ready. She's on a colored pellet diet with added veggies. You said "some veggies and fruits" - what is she not supposed to have? I scoured your Web site but couldn't find any suggestions. If you can suggest a good site for that info I would appreciate it. I understand you aren't in the teaching business, but any help would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions for a professional dog groomer feel free to ask, as that's my specialty.
 

SilverSage

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Sep 14, 2013
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Columbus, GA
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Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
First off, you are NOT an idiot :) you are learning, just like the rest of us!



eckies have a weird digestive system, super unique. There is a lot of controversy over whether or not they should EVER have pellets but I think people pretty consistently agree they need at least 70% of their food to be veggies and fruits. Because of their extra long digestive track they absorb more of the nutrients but the artificial vitamins and minerals and colors etc in pellets can cause hypervitaminosis, essentially they can't pass the artificial nutrients and it can lead to major medical issues and even death. You might want to look into conditions called "toe tapping" and "wing flipping" which are usually signs of this. I would also mention that with my two rescue Eckies who were severely plucked when I got them, both almost completely re-feathered right away and their moods evened out significantly when switched from a pellet based diet to a fresh and sprout based diet with added baths and sunshine.

2) it's FANTASTIC that she gets so much direct sunlight!!! Being outside is SOOOOOO important for their immune systems and most pet parrots don't get enough, so GOOD JOB!!


It's not possible for me to tell you an ideal daily ritual because I don't know you or her. But out of cage time is really important, just block her from places she likes to nest. It sounds like her routine is pretty good, but I would make sure she is getting that solid 12+ hours of dark and quiet. The longer days of spring trigger the nesting.


As far as fruits and veggies you are right, there isn't a list in my web page because there are so many lists out there, I would just suggest you google "safe fruits and veggies for parrots" or even check out the diet section here :)



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coopedup

New member
Apr 8, 2016
383
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CA
Parrots
7y/o eclectus Wrangler
welcome to the forum! Lots of experience and knowledge here so feel free to ask. Just a few extra notes for you...I dont feed pellets at all, it gives my boy wingflips so he's on fresh (i make a batch and freeze it in ice cubes for easy serving). If she persists in laying, try replacing the egg with a plastic egg to let her go through the cycle (about 28 days) but not letting her nest in the first place is usually better. We have one forum member who has been really been struggling with her bird on this issue, you can learn a lot from her posts.
 

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