Feeding Eclectus

[ShreddedOakAviary]

The varying recipes and premade eclectus diets have been irritating me. None seem to address the recurring problems we see in older eclectus. I have consulted with 2 different zoos and toured their facilities and looked closely at their eclectus.... i see tge same things over and over... plucking, over grown beaks, and yellow feathers. I have spoken to one of the leading Eclectus keepers in this country to be told thar one out of every 2two birds there are plucked to some degree... I did notice that when treated for giardia Eclectus did improve to some degree. But in the end I feel I need yo experiment and find some type of dietary regime for our Eclectus that will address tge above recurring problems. A handful of years ago we set out to solve cockatoo behavoiral problems by means of diet, and after a loy of trial and error we came up with a way to feed our cockatoos thar curbed aggression and lowered the occurrence of ahredding and plucking. Now I admit that all problems are not solved by diet, but I do believe diet to be the first and most important building block in having a healthy well adjusted bird. So, I have gotten my ingredients, my plan, and my before data and photos and I am hoping that somedat we will find a good diet fir our Eclectus here. We started with a nutritional breakdown of plants and fruits available in the varying areas of Australia that they hail from and will be working to use eithet only those foods or ones with similar nutritional content. Trace minerals will be added individually to isolate the effects and see if we can find a comfortable level of additives. I am only posting this so you can offer suggestions, what works for you, and any problems or questiins you may also have. The first step is we will use no processed feeds of any kind. No corn, soy, etc... No vegatables with the exception of greens. So.... here goes nothing I guess.

 

[Pookamama]

I'd be very interested in hearing your progress. I have considered getting an Ekkie as a second bird at some point in our lives because they sound like they are very likely to be friendly with multiple people in the home, and I think they are just gorgeous! I have read about their special dietary needs and find it very interesting.

 

[Molcan2]

Hmmm, Shred that way of thinking just makes too much sense. I did read an article once that Ekkies should be considered to be a large lory, what are your thoughts on providing nectar to the diet?

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I have considered the Lory diet extensively and have not ruled out nectar as an addition. I am planning on adding pomegranite juice to either the food or the water (my ekkies won't touch pomegranite, although I will continue to try. I have a miniature pomegranite tree house plant which gives me golf ball sized pomegranites. Like I said this is a work in progress, and I don't own Lorikeets but I have been talking with a Lori breeder about the diet they use. Thank you for the info and suggestion.... all are welcome. I just desperately want to have healthier happier ekkies.

 

[Molcan2]

Ooooo, Roc LOVES pomegranate! Unfortunately not only does he wear it but so does every wall in the house when he eats it.

 

[MikeyTN]

Both of mine loves pomegranate!!!! Just don't find them in the stores until we reach that season....I'll be following this thread as we're always looking to improve their diet. Wd do not feed any processed food to our ekkies! We did semi-gloss on walls and hang shower curtains behind their cage to keep the mess down....lol.....

 

[mtdoramike]

Yeah, Mac loves Pomegranite also. When I can find them they are like $5.00 each. I think Mac's overpreening isn't diet as much as it is habit. About the time his tail fethers start to feather out and look like tail feathers, he bobs them off again. His chest is looking quite straggly with grey down peaking through.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

According to researchers eclectus eat termite mound material.... not sure I'll be able to simulate that....

 

[Molcan2]

Lol, i believe it. When i was out gardening i let them eat some of my hybiscus flowers, I soon realized that Roc was shredding the flower and eating every snail that he came across. Im convienced that an Ekkie will eat anything.

 

[danzo22]

Hey wondering how your getting on with your new diet ect i googled if its ok to give my ecelectus lori nectar and key words must of landed me on here so i myt aswell register sinse y eccy will prob outlive me ha!, anyhoo.. my eccy is 10 year old he was handed onto my work because his owner passed away 18months ago and his wife was scared of it because it only likes men so there was 18months when it was not allowed put the cage so the stress of not being allowed out to fly or missing his owner caused him to pluck his chest back neck and top of his wings so i took him home to try and nurse back to health, also he had been on a seed diet without suplements so you should of seen him when i gave him a big bowl of fruit veg and pulsed with all his suplements he has grown his pin feathers have started to come through on his chest and a couple of bigger feathers so hes coming on well considering ive only had him for a couple of months, as im wrighting this just asked my boss who has mafe thousands breeding birds about feeding my eccy nectar n basicalltold my dont be stupid it would turn it diabetic so lori nectar is out the question!

 

[Boysmom]

Why would nectar make an Ekkie diabetic ? Ive read that alot of their natural diet is fruits. Should I reconsider the amount of fruit I am feeding my girl ? I feed prettyparrot pellets in cage at all times, with fruit in the morning and veggie mash in the evening. I also add to the mash sometimes boiled egg with shell, poached chicken or fish. Ruby also likes to eat bugs from the garden when she is outdoors with me.

I will be following this thread, as I believe your study can help us all ! Thanks for taking the time to do this study.