Fostering an Eclectus, need some advice

SO there was an emergency situation and a nearby shelter needs a foster home for an eclectus. I volunteered and now I am doing all of my intense research on their diets as I know they far differ from the average parrot.

Now I am turning to you all for some help! I am reading forum posts and articles but if you guys could give me some ideas by telling me what a day in your eclectus's food dish looks like, it would be INSANELY helpful! And any other tips you have. He is a HEAVY plucker. From my understandings he only has his head feathers left, poor bug.

Luckily I just finished my parrot play room, so he will have lots to do. I am also going to be making some extra toys, so let me know what your fids like!

Thank you all so much, I always get the best help here!

I'd spend a lot of time between now and when they come to yours talking to the rescue. See what they feed him and what his likes/dislikes are. It'll make life a lot easier for you

Thank you so much!
So the little birb is being returned to the shelter from the family he was living with for 6 years and the family apparently wasn't feeding him super well, hence the increase in plucking. But, since I am meeting that family when they bring him I'll be able to ask more about his likes and dislikes, very good point!
The shelter said they are going to switch him back to roudybush. I just want to know more about the meal plans you guys choose.
Like for Joey I do some birdie bread made with a pellet base and some fruit for breakfast, some veggies for lunch, and a grain veggie chop mixture for dinner.

no pellets, i would not even test to see if he can eat them without toe tapping and wing flipping just not worth it. i do a fresh bowl of chop use the safe food list there are plenty of items in that list to serve different every time you do your chop, and a bowl of eclectus, or hook bill feed. my chop is made of veggies,and i throw some fruit in along with it 80% veggies and 20%fruit. my birds seem to love the green seedless grapes,cantalope, honeydew. are all favs. oh yea pizza crust they just love being able to share some of your dinner too.lol
i keep seeing people worrying so much about the diet, just read the forums and you will quickly get it figured out,a system figured and walla time to enjoy your new family member

Duke gets chop for breakfast, mixed with a tsp of seed. This week it's butternut squash, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, a little cantaloupe, and raw steel cut oats. For dinner he gets fresh veggies or fruit mixed with banana chips. I've been lazy with sprouts lately or they'd go in both meals. Sometimes he gets a little cheese with dinner, or sliced almonds. Sometimes an egg with shell.

When we brought Duke here, he was on seeds only. He lost most of his face feathers in what I think was a mojo molt, and that might be due to the change in diet.

For toys, he only really likes chewing paper and popsicle sticks. Other than that, he just wants to be where the people are.

Give lots of showers is my only other advice.

Thank you for taking him in!

Thank you guys so much! This is super helpful, you have no idea. And I agree, I tend to overthink things when it comes to their diet.. I'm making Joey a big chop this weekend so I'll just make sure it's more veggies than fruit for the ekkie.

I'm going to sprout this weekend too, does this seem like a good mix? and I'll just add the sprout mix to all of the chops.
chick peas, red lentils, black beans, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, wheat
barely
millet
quinoa
buckwheat groats
short grain brown rice
sesame seeds
amaranth
pumpkin seeds

do you freeze the chops with the sprouts in there? Or do you add the sprouts after reheating or thawing? This is my first go at sprouting, Joey will be a happy boy as well!

I have a built in shower perch. I got off easy with Joey, he came to me loving the water, hopefully this bug does too.

i don't freeze i only make up chop in 4/5 day lots.
got a small kitchen aid chopper and it takes about 10 minutes
to chop, longer to clean up the mess.

as for the showering Max hates the water at the sink and shower
but just loves the spray bottle. kinda cool the way he tells me when it is time he will stomp across a ladder i have in his cage
and walk off right into the water dish look at me and make some noise if im not looking his way. 3 to 4 times a week these guys like to be clean.

tashawithanekkie said:

Duke gets chop for breakfast, mixed with a tsp of seed. This week it's butternut squash, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, a little cantaloupe, and raw steel cut oats. For dinner he gets fresh veggies or fruit mixed with banana chips. I've been lazy with sprouts lately or they'd go in both meals. Sometimes he gets a little cheese with dinner, or sliced almonds. Sometimes an egg with shell.

When we brought Duke here, he was on seeds only. He lost most of his face feathers in what I think was a mojo molt, and that might be due to the change in diet.

For toys, he only really likes chewing paper and popsicle sticks. Other than that, he just wants to be where the people are.

Give lots of showers is my only other advice.

Thank you for taking him in!

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Hi, have been reading that this should be a very rare occurance. BTW my AV said Cottage Cheese was OK

Here is a great article someone posted in the eclectus forum recently that has been very helpful in regard to their diet. Thank you for taking this ekkie in!

Amazing responses guys!! I wouldn't be able to do it without all of this help. I'll read that article right now, Itzjbean.

Dave, I'm actually also thinking about not freezing my chops anymore. Joey wont touch it once it's reheated... picky boys. So I think I'll follow your lead on that one

I'm really looking forward to meeting this guy. I've been thinking about ekkies for a long time, and I'm always for adopting over shopping (No judgment to those that shop, just my preference!) so it's really a great opportunity. Much sooner than I would've expected to take one of these guys in, but still feels pretty kismet.

Dont forget a 30 day quarantine from your Joey. In order to be effective, you will need strict separation from Joey and his cage and the new bird and his digs. Wash your hands when going from the newbie to Joey, and some would even suggest changing clothes.

Cheese is a very rare treat, I promise.

The link Itzjbean provided is like gold. My suggestion is to read every sub-section of that site. Great stuff!

Personally, I don't feed pellets to my ekkies. Many brands have been known to cause toe-tapping and wing-flipping in eclectus parrots, so I just stick with fresh foods. Here is the list of foods I currently feed to Jolly and Maya that I post every so often in the interests of sharing information: I tend to provide between 8 and 12 types of food per feeding, weighted heavily toward the veggie side as only 2 of the food selections in a given meal are fruits.
Various sprouts, carrots (a part of every meal due to the high content of beta carotene - precursor to Vitamin A), bell peppers (red, yellow, orange and green), jalapeno peppers, Jamaican Scotch bonnet peppers, chili peppers, squash (butternut, green and yellow), pumpkin (also high in Vitamin A), blueberries and pomegranates (both among the most nutritious of fruits), snap peas, broccoli (high in calcium), cactus pears, persimmon, starfruit, bananas, grapes, kale, turnips, radishes, brown rice, quinoa, cucumbers, endives, dandelion (nutritional powerhouse offered at every meal), sweet potato (cooked), red swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya, African horned melon, dragonfruit, hominy, oatmeal (sans sugar or flavoring), kiwi, barley, calendula flowers, fennel, chocho beans and garbanzo beans, as well as Volkman's Fancy Soak and Simmer for the majority of their legumes and grains.

For food accents I'll add one or two types of the following as well: star anise, milk thistle, elder berries, rose hips, hibiscus, bee pollen and chamomile flowers.

Twice a month, I'll give some hard-boiled egg (with the crushed shell for calcium). Slightly more frequently during a molt.

For their training treats they get an assortment of unsalted nuts (one or two per bird in a given day, broken into small pieces and fed as rewards through the training sessions). And for their "goodnight treat", up to a teaspoon or two of seeds.

hnb said:

Amazing responses guys!! I wouldn't be able to do it without all of this help. I'll read that article right now, Itzjbean.

Dave, I'm actually also thinking about not freezing my chops anymore. Joey wont touch it once it's reheated... picky boys. So I think I'll follow your lead on that one

I'm really looking forward to meeting this guy. I've been thinking about ekkies for a long time, and I'm always for adopting over shopping (No judgment to those that shop, just my preference!) so it's really a great opportunity. Much sooner than I would've expected to take one of these guys in, but still feels pretty kismet.

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Just to mention re chop prep that I cook what needs cooking then and then just defrost and serve and do not heat it and fortunately Plum finds that OK. You could just try doing the same if all the ingredients are safe to serve like this?

tashawithanekkie said:

Cheese is a very rare treat, I promise.

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Don’t feel bad, Parker gets it as a starter training treat. SMALL amounts otherwise he’ll play with it. It’s his kryptonite. So if I’m introducing him to something new that I REALLY need him to like, or starting a new training trick and need him to make big progress leaps right away, I’ll use cheese the first session or two before reverting to his regular pistachio training treats.

pistachio great treat, never given max any cheese however
there is times i have to use a chunk of cheese to get the U2 into
his house coming to us as a 15 yr rescue he still tries to get me every now and again
not sure if he thinks it is play or what, but im not letting him get that beak on me.lol
now the wife can put him up fine most of the time hence the cheese.

Plums mom, that's a great idea! thank you!


i have lots of updates, the baby has arrived! he's sitting on my hand atm so i cant really type, but will update soon

You've gotten great advice from the pros! Good luck, and keep us updated. Do you know the age of the bird? Sorry if I skimmed over it.

He's around 25 I think, bringing him to the vet today. His toe nails are starting to curl, poor guy. He's been signing "you are my sunshine" and talking up a storm! He's a funny guy.

So I've been feeding him veggie mixes including: Kale, dandeloin, broccoli, sweet potato, carrots, red and orange bell pepper, and different fruits (like blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, and pomegranate) and with breakfast cooked oatmeal and dinner cooked quinoa. Waiting for the seeds to sprout, then I'll add that. Does that sound okay? I overthink the food aspect, but he is such a plucker I want to help him out.

I think his food sounds great. Maybe an occasional egg with ground shell for extra calcium? Keep a food journal if you can, in case of wing flip/toe tap. I'm sure other more knowledgeable folks will be along to give more advice. Enjoy your sweet guy!