Help with my eclectus

Hi. I have a dilemma here. I bought a pair of red sided eclectus 5 months ago from a lady. They flew on a plane to me. I have a big macaw cage for them so they have plenty of room. The lady said they were starting to show signs of bonding such as feeding eachother. Since I have had them I haven't seen them show any intimate signs toward eachother. She suggested i put a nest in there about 3 months after I got them. The female is 7 years old and the male is almost 7. They are the most boring birds I have ever owned...they don't play with any of their toys and just sit around. She doesn't show any interest in the nest either. I have another male eclectus which is 9 months old. Would it be ok to put him in the cage with them? I have put him in there a few times and they are all pretty nice to eachother. Would it be crazy to think that maybe the baby male and female would pair up when he is older since I don't think the older couple are really a "couple"? Should I remove the nest? Maybe they arent comfortable with the new surroundings? Just curious

Hi! I think the first question to understanding the situation better would be:

What are your expectations for the ekkies?

In addition, a bit of cultural/country context might help too, so we can better direct you to sources of help

Hello. So let me make sure I'm understanding you correctly on this. Did you get these eclectus parrots as pets? Or as a breeding pair? It sounds as though you got them with the intent to breed, but are frustrated at this point that they were apparently misrepresented as a potential pair.

So assuming my take is correct, let me ask why you are looking to breed them? Given your questions, I'm fairly certain you aren't an experienced breeder. So that being the case, I suggest that you take the time to do extensive research on breeding and what it takes to do so successfully. You'd be surprised by how many people find themselves completely out of their depth once their birds breed and they find themselves with a clutch of feathered babies. Especially once something unexpected happens.

I suggest you take a good look at the thread in this link before going any further: http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/54987-before-i-start-breed.html Great read. Very informative and puts forth the questions that need to be asked before venturing into the world of breeding.

As for your question about whether you should put a 3rd ekkie into that same cage, that would be a definite no. There is actually a risk factor in having 2 in the same cage, much less 3. Sure, there are pairs of ekkies that get along in the same cage. But there have been cases of a disagreement between 2 ending in bloodshed and even death. Why? Simply because one ekkie has nowhere to which he/she can go to escape the wrath of the other, whereas in nature they would have all the outdoors at their disposal. A 3rd would exponentially increase this risk.

As for their lack of interest in toys, they might never have been exposed to them when they were younger. Some parrots have to be taught to play, believe it or not. And they learn by watching you. So if you make a big show of playing with their toys, it might eventually stimulate their own interest in seeing what's so great about them.

There is also the possibility that the toys you've provided don't necessarily call out to them. Eclectus, for instance, tend to prefer softer woods on their toys. They enjoy the feeling of carving through the softer woods over the harder ones.

And yes, I would remove the nest. Last thing you want is to induce hormonal behavior in a bird who has no outlet for said hormonal surge. If they are not showing interest at this point, there's a good chance that they never will.

And while it's possible that the female may find herself attracted to the younger eclectus a few years into the future, it's equally possible that she'll be just as uninterested in him as she is to her current cage-mate. But either way, as I said, don't house all three together.

Great response from Anansi, took the words right out of my mouth...

Please do not put your younger bird in that cage with the other two, that has disaster written all over it...

We do need a lot more information on your wants and intentions for these two birds before we can make any suggestions...Also, I'd be curious to know what you were told about this pair's history from their prior owner...Was the prior owner their breeder? Have either of them ever bred before with different birds (obviously they were not sold as a proven-breeding-pair to you)? Were these two housed together at the prior owner's home?

They are both around 7 years old, yet they don't sound like they were ever "pets", yet they also don't sound like they were breeders, so I'm a bit confused about their history...Has the female laid eggs before? Do you have them on the same diet that they had been on prior to them coming to you?

Something else you need to keep in-mind is that even if this pair were actually starting to closely-bond, feed each other, etc. at their prior home, you never know how they are going to act in a new environment. You would think after 5 months of them being there that they would pick-up where they left off at their prior home, but that's just not necessarily true.