Hi all! After months of research, my family and I have decided to adopt a male Eclectus from a lady fairly local to us. When we get him in a month, he will of course be weaned. Like I said, we have done our research, but I'm curious if you ekkie owners can give me any info I may have missed! I want to make sure I'm prepared for everything. Would love to hear any and all info you have as this will be our first bird. Let me have it! Thanks in advance!
Soon to be ekkie mom!
- Thread starter Dunnmama
- Start date
- Dec 18, 2013
- 22,301
- 4,211
- Parrots
- Maya (Female Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Jolly (Male Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Bixby (Male, red-sided eclectus. RIP), Suzie (Male cockatiel. RIP)
Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!
I'm sorry I'm just seeing this thread now, but let's see about helping you get prepped for the arrival of your ekkie boy.
First, eclectus parrots are notorious for their dietary sensitivity. Many brands of pellets have proven deleterious to their health, causing issues such as toe-tapping and wing-flipping. Enriched pellets that are so beneficial to other parrots often prove far too rich for eclectus parrots. Now, in all fairness, there are pellet brands out there that purport to have developed ingredients specifically designed with ekkies in mind. But I personally prefer to meet their dietary requirements with a varied fresh food diet rather than risk a diet of pellets.
In the interests of sharing information, here is what I currently feed Maya and Jolly: I tend to provide between 8 and 12 types of food per feeding for Maya and Jolly, weighted heavily toward the veggie side as only 1-2 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 - which is essential for eclectus parrots), 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 when available), sweet potato (cooked), red swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya, African horned melon, 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.
Remember, variety is key.
Here are a few links that may prove informative reading:
The ekkie dietary bible - fruitandveg Literally every sub-section on this site is a treasure trove of valuable information. I'd recommend exploring it in its entirety.
A good introductory thread to keeping eclectus parrots - http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/52737-so-you-think-you-want-eclectus.html
And here are a few just to share my experience of what wonderful companion parrots they make -
http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/57168-you-get-out-what-you-put.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/64364-jolly-s-progress-color-identification.html
If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. And please keep in mind, if ever a post of yours goes unanswered it may just be that it fell through the cracks so to speak. When the period is particularly active, sometimes threads can fall rather swiftly from the active/new topics list. When this happens, just bump it by making another post.
Congratulations again on your soon-to-arrive new family member!
I'm sorry I'm just seeing this thread now, but let's see about helping you get prepped for the arrival of your ekkie boy.
First, eclectus parrots are notorious for their dietary sensitivity. Many brands of pellets have proven deleterious to their health, causing issues such as toe-tapping and wing-flipping. Enriched pellets that are so beneficial to other parrots often prove far too rich for eclectus parrots. Now, in all fairness, there are pellet brands out there that purport to have developed ingredients specifically designed with ekkies in mind. But I personally prefer to meet their dietary requirements with a varied fresh food diet rather than risk a diet of pellets.
In the interests of sharing information, here is what I currently feed Maya and Jolly: I tend to provide between 8 and 12 types of food per feeding for Maya and Jolly, weighted heavily toward the veggie side as only 1-2 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 - which is essential for eclectus parrots), 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 when available), sweet potato (cooked), red swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya, African horned melon, 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.
Remember, variety is key.
Here are a few links that may prove informative reading:
The ekkie dietary bible - fruitandveg Literally every sub-section on this site is a treasure trove of valuable information. I'd recommend exploring it in its entirety.
A good introductory thread to keeping eclectus parrots - http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/52737-so-you-think-you-want-eclectus.html
And here are a few just to share my experience of what wonderful companion parrots they make -
http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/57168-you-get-out-what-you-put.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/64364-jolly-s-progress-color-identification.html
If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. And please keep in mind, if ever a post of yours goes unanswered it may just be that it fell through the cracks so to speak. When the period is particularly active, sometimes threads can fall rather swiftly from the active/new topics list. When this happens, just bump it by making another post.
Congratulations again on your soon-to-arrive new family member!
Congratulations on your new addition! Eclectus can be a tricky species to care for as their dietary requirements are very important but they can be just excellent companions. All the advice given above is WONDERFUL! I don't know much about eclectus but that is a great breakdown of diet and all the links provided above are great material for those not very well versed with the species.
Keep researching and reading, soon your new one will be home!
Keep researching and reading, soon your new one will be home!
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