African Grey Congo Vs Solmon Island Electus?

[makaveli]

Hello, ive done alot of reading, watched lots of video's, and im very torn between these 2 birds.

I was hoping for some insight. I had a Green cheek conure for 12 years, he recently passed away and we decided to get a new bird for chrismas, basically today were getting one.

What makes this more difficult is that i see very conflicting information on them. Some websites say greys are quieter and electus are loud, others have it reverse. Obviously it depends on how they are raised, but i assume when people are talking about them they are talking in generalizations.

Ive read greys are more prone to just biting you hard right away, whereas electus might give u a warning shot first?

Ive read greys have white powder, how much of an issue is this for people?

Ive also read greys are more prone to being 1 person birds, and electus family birds, how true is this in everyones experience?

Lastly, and one of the main factors, is the electus diet, for those who have, or had one, how hard was it keeping up with that diet, how did u manage it, what was your typical day like, did you just make big batches of food at a time? Its one thing to read about the diet, or to watch video's about the diet, its another to actually experience doing it, for years, decades, ect... part of me has confidence i can handle it, another feels i should ask more about it


there's just so many things i like about each bird, and a few stories ive read, ect that make me question which to get

if anyone can help me with this decision, and quickly. and yes i realize this isn't something to rush, but i wanted one 12 years ago, so im not exactly jumping in wet feet.

thanks.

 

[chris-md]

I got an Eclectus specifically because of the dust issue with greys and cockatoos. I have allergies, and they would have been exacerbated by the dust. But the mess the dust makes was a deciding factor. That stuff gets everywhere, and I've seen some bad pics of how the dust builds up. Since my partner never owned birds before I had to make it as easy as possible for him to swallow. That meant making cleaning as fuss free as possible. No dust birds.

Aside from that, my Ekkie will be handled by most people (he has a specific subset of people he doesn't like), but he still has his favorite person (my partner) he always prefers to be with.

He also has an amazing vocabulary. However, a sampling of Ekkies on this board shows they can often be closet talkers (talking only when no ones around).

The downside to Ekkies is the diet, needing primarily fruits and veggies rather than the pellets that are often fed to other parrots. Read up on this, it's very important if you're debating getting an Ekkie.

I will say if you have a bustling house, an Ekkie might not be for you. They need calm environments, and don't quite like hustle and bustle.

 

[Anansi]

Some of the things you've addressed are variable tendencies, and the others are facts. Let's look at the facts, first.

Greys generate powder. Generously so. If you are prone to allergies, or are particularly averse to frequent dusting, a grey is NOT for you. The sheer volume of dust can be reduced with frequent showers, but in a healthy grey it is never eliminated completely.

Ekkie fact. Those dietary requirements are real. Eclectus parrots as a species are FAR more prone to adverse effects from over-supplementation. These adverse effects include toe-tapping, wing-flipping and increased irritability and aggressiveness.

I avoid these issues by offering my ekkies a diet consisting largely of veggies, fruits, sprouts and legumes. I feed them neither supplements nor pellets. (There are some ekkie owners who argue that they have fed pellets to their ekkies for years with no ill effect. This may indeed be the case, but given how many ekkies have been shown to suffer from enriched diets, I choose not to chance it.)

As for the difficulties of preparation, I really don't think it's that big a deal once you commit to doing it. My method? I usually make batches of chop large enough to last for 2 days. That way I can mix up ingredients fairly often and keep Maya and Jolly from getting bored of the same foods every day. So maybe a half hour to forty minutes or so of food prep every other day? Hardly taxing.

Both greys and ekkies are highly intelligent birds that require significant mental stimulation to prevent boredom that could lead to plucking or screaming.

And now for tendencies.

Greys are pair bond birds, so they are more likely to become one person birds than ekkies are. (But try telling that to my Maya, who thinks she's a pair bond bird in an ekkie body. Haha!) *** EDIT: Upon reading a contradictory post, I did my research and learned that greys, too, are flock birds. I still maintain that it generally takes a little more effort to properly socialize a grey than an ekkie, but the fact remains I called this part wrong. Mea culpa.***

But all that really means is that you have to be a bit more diligent about socializing your grey. Though truth to tell, you should be socializing your bird as much as you can regardless of the species.

Neither greys or ekkies are known as big cuddlers. But again, this is just a general tendency. Most people will tell you eclectus don't like to be petted. Mine love it! Though they are highly selective in who is allowed to do said petting.

Either way, you'll have a great bird. Just a matter of which better fits your lifestyle. Good luck with your choice, and please keep us updated.

 

[makaveli]

so how loud can each one really get? I read one post on ekkies that said their neighbors 8 houses down could hear them screaming?

 

[Anansi]

Ekkies can be mind-numbingly loud if they choose to be. Especially their alarm screech.

Mine, however, rarely choose to be. Maya will make one loud contact call any time I enter or leave a room. Kinda cool, actually. She's like my own personal court crier. "Stephen has arrived!" "Stephen is departing!" "Here comes Stephen, again!" Hahaha!

It's the kind of thing that could be a trial if she did it non-stop, but she doesn't.

They're both startle trained and very much used to all of the bustling activity in my house, (I have a soon-to-be 8 year old and a 5 year old, both boys, so you know the activity is intense) hardly even batting an eye at clashing lightsabers or the rapid staccato of little feet, so we rarely ever hear the alarm call. (Thank God. It could truly peel the paint off a wall!)

And Jolly hardly screams at all. He mostly talks and does kissy noises. Haha!

As for greys, I'll leave it to someone who actually owns one to tell how loud they can get.

 

[makaveli]

anyone have thoughts on hand feeding a baby? All the people ive called, none of the babies are ready to ship, which means i either wait or get one early and hand feed it myself. Sounds like they are about 1-2 months of feeding left.

I don't have any issues with the time involved, im here all day. Would be fun even i think. ive done a little reading and seems like its mostly just like a baby human, make sure the formula is mixed right, heated right, everything washed and cleaned well. One of the babies is apparently being spoon fed right now, it sounded like that was a graduation from the syringe was the impression from the breeder. But apon some research myself, it appears its just a different method.

anyways just curious on peoples thoughts

 

[JerseyWendy]

Handfeeding a baby parrot comes with MANY risks. Unless you have experience doing it, I'd strongly recommend against it. Too many things could potentially go wrong.

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/19049-hazards-buying-unweaned-baby.html

 

[makaveli]

well guess that answers that question, bad idea then, thanks

 

[makaveli]

any red flags from a breeder that doesn't leg band? could it be to play tricks on the birds age or something?

 

[JerseyWendy]

If a breeder chooses not to band the baby, then no, it's not necessarily a bad thing, especially since SO many birds may end up having theirs removed. MY YN Amazon's was removed because she had actually developed a callus from it (at age 15), and my DYH Amazon's was removed because he got tangled in a toy. I will have my macaws' removed as well to avoid potential accidents, especially because they are super active birds.

If you have questions about specific breeders, please don't be afraid to ask here.

Forgot: None of my birds' bands were/are any indicator of age.

 

[makaveli]

well it looks like we switched and are about to go with parrotville. The band thing freaked me out, i wasn't sure the birds age could be varified otherwise. Plus it looks like were saving $100, and avoiding a 2 hour trip as the first person only used 1 airline.

so any thoughts on parrotville before we hit the launch button?

ive been trying to make sure they have lots of reviews on birdbreeder for my first 'check', then i look at their facebook reviews, then i check their website. in this case apparently she closed her shop, not sure why her website is down but not a big deal as not everyone has one, and they work from home now in florda

 

[JerseyWendy]

WOW!!! Truly AWESOME reviews! I am SO glad you did your 'homework' and checked them out thoroughly.

So....how excited are you, and which bird have you decided on? CAG, right?????

 

[makaveli]

lol yep i went congo, definitely excited. even got my choice of male/female, that through me for a little loop, but got a little worried about potential eggs and health risks with that so went male

 

[JerseyWendy]

SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!

I swear, I looked hard on YouTube, trying to find a video of a screaming CAG - I had NO luck at all.

 

[Chelsea304]

My CAG isn't super loud...just the normal morning and nighttime vocabulary lesson (as I call it lol) where she goes through her vocab of words and whistles. You can hear her outside of my single family home (sometimes at the mailbox that's at the end of my driveway). She does talk throughout the day as well but not for the length of first thing in the am/at night.

Congrats! I absolutely ADORE my grey!

Don't listen to people when they say African Greys are only one person birds! Echo prefers men but she allows me to pick her up and pet her beak! (We are still bonding) if the person wants a relationship with the bird it'll happen! They're smart and figure out that hands = treats fairly quickly!

 

[makaveli]

well this bird is crazy smart for being so young. He's already beating me at the "time to go to your cage game". He likes almonds but not even those will get him in. Doesn't seem to matter how long i keep him out. The cage isn't in the most lively place of the house so im sure thats a big part of it, but the only alternative is my room. My room poses the issue of him maybe not getting enough sleep as i like to stay up late watching movies, and i also worry it would encourage him to be louder. He's very very quiet right now, just makes little tiny whistle like noises, and "eh" sounds which ive kind of pegged as his "i want to do something but nervious about it".

Which comes back to how smart he is, ontop of him already knowing how to avoid going into his cage, he's also associated "stepping up" with going into his cage as well. I didn't really see that one coming, my last bird once he learned it he just did it everytime. which means he's basically avoiding the command 95% of the time now

i think im basically heading in the right direction tho, just need to keep practicing his "step up's" away from his cage followed by treats of course. I think the other issue is i was letting him eat his food on my bed, so he wasn't hungry so he didn't have a good reason to go to his cage then. I put him up just a minute ago he was out for an hour or so, think he had one almond during that time so he should have been hungry, same deal but the odd part is i put some in his bowl and came back about 10 minutes later and he didn't touch them yet.

im starting to ramble but the main reason im posting was just to double check on some things, he's scratching around his eyes ALOT and they are turning a slight pink color. I don't see any bruising, or redness, it just looks a slight pink color. To go along with this sometimes he scratches his ear as well, which seems normal enough with that, but then he opens his mouth real wide to yawn, again normal my old bird did this alot too. What has me slightly worried is at the very end of this yawn is a slight 'click', anyone else with a grey hear this sound and know what it is, if its normal? Its just 1 faint click at the very end of a yawn where his mouth is open as far as it can go, but i hear it every single time he does it.

Now again i know im rambling but last thing i promise, on greys, when they turn their head to the side, does the crop move to one side and kind of look funny?

im just trying to look him over really well and mention every little thing i can that might be related or connected. Ive already done a few searches and it sounds like the scratching could be related to a molt, or low humidity? but the clicking made me think there could be something in his crop, and then it does look sorta funny when he turns his head, and maybe all of this was why he was scratching so much?

ramble ramble ramble sorry

 

[Bandespresso]

Has he been to a vet yet? It is always important to take a new bird to the vet for a well bird exam. The itching could be mites or the weather or even just a nervous tick. Greys are notoriously stubborn so everything they do has to be their idea. In the beginning, make sure stepping up leads to going to a super fun place 80% of the time and is rewarded with a favorite treat 100% of the time (my grey loves Honey Nut Cheerios). Even if he isn't hungry, a treat that he really likes would still be a motivator so maybe try some other treats or a different reward like a Popsicle stick or a kiss and a "good boy!" Find ways to make his cage more interesting like foraging activities, boxes, or a SUPER DUPER special treat and you'll have him running to his cage in no time

As far as loudness goes; this is as loud as my grey gets and I don't think I have heard any greys that are much louder:

https://instagram.com/p/9MGECUGHhm/

 

[makaveli]

he had his vet visit and we couldn't get him into the dog carrier that he came in, so i had a little bird cage that he went in but pretty sure he regretted it. vet basically said everything was fine, i mentioned the scratching but forgot to ask if it could be mites, they didn't mention anything about mites they really didn't say much about it. They opened his mouth but didn't hear the click that i was hearing so that as well i didn't get a real answer about. I still hear it everytime he yawns, and i forgot to ask about the weird looking crop, it almost looks like he's turning his head to force food down, also seems as if he does the yawning alot more after just eating.

so then they did all the bloodwork as well, someone else took the call but i also got it emailed to me, i guess the only thing off was the cholesterol which seems odd since he's basically been on full pellet/vegi's since he got here with maybe 1 almond a day but maybe thats still too much?

ive picked up some pine nuts as they are smaller, going to switch to those for treats for now, anyone have a good number on max per day for those? right now ive been going through about 4 or 5 per training session, and 1 session per day that lasts a couple minutes. I would do more but that would take more treats, so not sure how to work around that. i don't want him to get addicted either and then stop eating regular food.

As for his cage, he still hates it, he really hated me after the vet visit so i havn't even bothered trying to get him in his cage anymore. He's finally stopped hating me been a week or 2. I had trouble getting him to 'step up' prior to the vet visit, but after it, he stepped up every time, but also stopped letting me head scratch him. he's just now starting to let me do that again, he doesn't bite or anything i just know he didn't like it. Every time my mom comes in the room he starts his little chirp sounds, and 'eh' sounds, with his beak just slightly open and wants her to scratch him, then trys to feed her (i tell her to just slowly back away when that happens) so i think he's really bonded to her.

anyways for the cage, Ive just left the door open hoping he would go in eventually but he just won't do it. I have him point/stick trained already and have managed to get him on his perch in his cage doing it but soon as he gets his treats he is trying to jump off the perch. If the door closes he jumps around, then goes to the bottom and just sits there looking all sad, he won't even eat treats from me through the bars so i can't make it enjoyable for him. That was the last time i caged him, decided he would just hate me forever if i kept that up. But not being able to cage him is a serious problem and puts him at risk, just hoping he'll go in eventually on his own. even having the door open poses a risk itself, as i fear he might fall and land right on the edge of the bottom.

I was considering buying a new cage but im afraid he'll just hate the new one too. I think maybe the plane trip made him very scared of being locked up.

for cage bar width, does anyone know, when they mention the spacing, are they describing the gap 'between' the bars, or is it the space from the 'left' of one bar to the 'right' of the next one?

oh he also got his band cut at the vet, i thought that was supposed to be super easy but apparently it can be hard on them, those bands on the big birds are some seriously thick metal, glad it came off tho, i heard it smacking around everytime he walked, must have been annoying for him.

As for loudness, so far he's been super quiet, just his little chirps, coo's, and since the vet visit he's gained a tiny little 'grrr' that he does for half a second, im hoping thats just him trying to talk or a new sound, and not the famed african grey growl. He was kind of lunging at me after the vet visit for about a week, the lunge seemed aggressive but once he got ahold of my finger he would do the feeding motion. So i basically viewed that as aggression from a baby,which is another reason ive basically let him do whatever he wants, i don't want him to get it imprinted in his head that i constantly do bad things to him.

he's came back around tho like i said, he'll let me scratch him once in a while, and when my moms in the room he doesn't care who scratches him but its all he wants is more and more of them so i take advantage of that.

anyways lots going on, just wanted to give a progress report and ask about the cage bar width to see if maybe thats why he hates his cage so much