Eclectus Diet?

[Sunset_Chaser]

I am new to Eclectus and would like to hear what is a good diet for a breeding pair? I am currently feeding TOPS Pellets, vegetables and fruit. I would LOVE to hear what everyone else feeds their Eclectus. I've been having trouble just searching it online and haven't been able to get in touch with the breeder I bought them from to ask her. The female is in beautiful feather but the male is a bit rough looking. Willing to learn so bring on the info everyone!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Looky, I hope some of these will help.

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/44603-diet.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/28350-eclectus-diet-confused.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/38464-eclectus-diet-ok.html

 

[Sunset_Chaser]

Thanks Wendy! That's the kind of info I was looking for. Sure appreciate it!

 

[Delfin]

I suggest that you look for a book called "A guide to the Eclectus Parrot" It's has been written by Rob Marshall who is a world wide recognise avian vet that specialised in the Eclectus Parrot. The book covers everything from diet to behavior.

 

[Sdmiller05]

I have an Eclectus parrot. He was a rescue and has a great personality and few feathers. When I first got him he was on a pellets only diet. After consulting with other owners, it was recommended that he eat more fruits and vegetables than pellets. So that is what I feed him. His first vet check when I got him showed he was overweight and not in the best of health. His last check last week, his weight was great, his feathers are coming in and his activity level has really improved.

 

[Mango121913]

See if your vet would let you feed higher protein food like lean chicken, and beef. Maybe an egg, depending on his cholesterol levels. This would help with him, or her, with the feather production. That takes alot of protein.
And good luck!

 

[labell]

I will add that I have pretty much stopped feeding pellets. I still offer Goldn'obles because they are un-dyed, smell great and are a great shape for foraging and stringing as food toys but all the others that I tried I was not happy with including TOPS that looked and smelled like rabbit pellets!

Keep things fresh and varied and you are on the right track. Quinoa is a great source of protein as well.

I think the biggest over-looked food item with eclectus is dark leafy greens. I don't offer spinach but do always include one or two of the following everyday, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, arugula, Italian parsley, cilantro, basil, dandelion greens chopped fine so that they stick and coat the rest of the chop, then I know they are getting it.

Also the way I keep my greens fresh is I trim the ends once I get them home and put them in a glass container of water in the fridge (standing upright).

 

[Anansi]

Looky, I hope some of these will help.

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/44603-diet.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/28350-eclectus-diet-confused.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/38464-eclectus-diet-ok.html

Great job with the links, Wendy! I consider the second one the best of the three. And there are plenty more right here in this Eclectus sub-forum. Just hit that search function and click away!

I remember what it was like when I was researching ekkie diets just before getting Bixby. There isn't an overwhelming abundance of info, and what info there is often conflicts with info from other sources. Which is why I often post my ekkies' entire diets. My hope is always to make it a little easier for the next new ekkie owner.

Here is what I provide for Bixby and Maya, all fresh where applicable, and averaging 5-7 types per feeding: Carrots and pumpkin (One or both of these make it into at least one feeding every day since they are rich in beta carotene - the precursor to vitamin A and absolutely essential for eclectus health), asparagus, bell peppers (red, yellow, orange and green), jalapeno peppers, Jamaican hot peppers, chili peppers, squash (butternut, green and yellow), blueberries, pomegranates, snap peas, broccoli, cactus pears, starfruit, bananas, grapes, kale, turnips, radishes, brown rice, quinoa, cucumbers, endive, dandelion, chopped celery, sweet potato (cooked), red Swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya (with seeds), African horned melon, corn, hominy, oatmeal (sans sugar or flavoring) chocho beans and garbonzo beans, as well as Volkman's Fancy Soak and Simmer for the majority of their legumes and grains. (All legumes are cooked)

Twice a month, I'll also give some hard-boiled egg (with the crushed shell for calcium.) Slightly more frequently during a molt. And an assortment of unsalted nuts and the occasional millet spray for their treats.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sunset_Chaser]

Stephen, you're wonderful! I've been doing more research on Ekkie diets and your post just helped me add some more to the grocery list for them! Thank you!!!

 

[Anansi]

Aww! You're welcome! Just glad I could help.

 

[Dopey]

Can I ask...how much do you give your Ekkies at each feeding?
Do you feed both morning and evening?

I know I don't own an Ekkie but I look longingly at them.

 

[Anansi]

Hahahaha! I looked longingly at them as well... and now I have 2. Just saying. [emoji23]
I dole out their portions according to their individual appetites, with a little extra thrown in to cover the chunks that will inevitably be thrown clear of the cage.

And they get 2 healthy servings since I work during the day. Breakfast and dinner. Treats are given between meals while trick or behavior training.

 

[Anansi]

Here is a typical portion:

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[Anansi]

(Edit: Oops. This is the one I meant to post. The other pic was of both in the preparation stage. Otherwise my poor ekkies would be round!)

 

[Dopey]

Thanks! I could probably do that but I think I will stick with what I have until...one of my cats die or my dog dies.

 

[AsaiahMom43]

Thanks for the book tip. I plan on getting this. I have a 7 month old SI Ekkie. And I am giving organic veggies, trying fruit but he only likes apples. I rotate things for him as well so he doesnt get bored. But I want to make sure he is getting enough of what he has to have.

 

[AsaiahMom43]

(Edit: Oops. This is the one I meant to post. The other pic was of both in the preparation stage. Otherwise my poor ekkies would be round!)

I was trying to see what you had in this. Can you re post it or let me know?? It looks similar to what I feed my ekkie but I want to make sure.

 

[Anansi]

(Edit: Oops. This is the one I meant to post. The other pic was of both in the preparation stage. Otherwise my poor ekkies would be round!)

I was trying to see what you had in this. Can you re post it or let me know?? It looks similar to what I feed my ekkie but I want to make sure.

Actually, if you look at post #8 in this thread you'll see a list of quite a few of the foods that I rotate into my ekkies' meals. And there are also some good links there that you might find helpful.

As for chop pics, the meals look different from one day to the next. Here are 2 more:





Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[Brittany741]

Anansi gave me this link and it changed my entire view of Eclectus diets.

diets

If you find my thread about Ekkie diets, you'll see how I prep and store 6 months' worth of food at a time. Variety is important. Persie doesn't like fruit mash- only large chunks of fresh fruit hand fed by yours truly. That's fine by me ��

She LOVES banana and tonight learned about papaya. She was fed all junk before coming to me and went from 100% cruddy food to 100% fresh vegetables and fruits overnight. I won't allow junk in the house. She has gone from a potato bird to a very happy girl. She wasn't given any human contact or allowed out of her cage for five years. She now runs to her door and begs to be let out. We will snuggle in bed or play, and I hand feed her on her quarantine stand (other birds can't use that one until quarantine is done) once a day.

I've found putting effort and passion into learning the many facets of the Eclectus diet is what set me up for success with her. Allowing her to watch us prep her food also piqued her curiosity!

The close bond we have developed is undoubtedly due to her seeing me as the one who saved her from her horrid life before, but hand feeding, combined with a thoughtful diet has only increased that bond. Her skin condition has also greatly improved. Her skin was dirty and oily and after a bath, she had extremely dry skin covered in zits. A well-rounded low fat, high quality diet with a small drizzle of coconut oil even for just ONE week has made her scaly-looking dry skin turn into hydrated and soft skin (her body is nearly naked save for her wings and a few smaller feathers.) I guess the one benefit of having a plucker is seeing immediate results with such a drastic diet change.

After reading about high cholesterol and the Eclectus' predisposition to heart and artery issues, I have no doubt diet is incredibly vital to their health. While a pelleted diet isn't ideal for many other species, for our guys it can and will eventually prove dangerous to their health. Having said that, I researched pellets for many hours. Prettyparrot.com breeds Eclectus locally and they make their own pellet. I compared them to the major brands available today and they were similar to Tops and Golden'Obles. I bought both and the Tops were GROSS. The Golden'Obles were sweet and appealing. And yes, I tried both myself. Tops was also way more expensive. I give about 10-15 PIECES of Golden'Obles per day. Yes, that few. Eclectus do well to have as little as possible. Also, zero seed except fresh, sprouted seed. Sometimes I buy but I sprout them myself. It's super easy (and I have limited mobility) and very inexpensive for the amount of nutrition activated by sprouting.

 

[FloridaParrotLover]

Anansi gave me this link and it changed my entire view of Eclectus diets.

diets

If you find my thread about Ekkie diets, you'll see how I prep and store 6 months' worth of food at a time. Variety is important. Persie doesn't like fruit mash- only large chunks of fresh fruit hand fed by yours truly. That's fine by me ��

She LOVES banana and tonight learned about papaya. She was fed all junk before coming to me and went from 100% cruddy food to 100% fresh vegetables and fruits overnight. I won't allow junk in the house. She has gone from a potato bird to a very happy girl. She wasn't given any human contact or allowed out of her cage for five years. She now runs to her door and begs to be let out. We will snuggle in bed or play, and I hand feed her on her quarantine stand (other birds can't use that one until quarantine is done) once a day.

I've found putting effort and passion into learning the many facets of the Eclectus diet is what set me up for success with her. Allowing her to watch us prep her food also piqued her curiosity!

The close bond we have developed is undoubtedly due to her seeing me as the one who saved her from her horrid life before, but hand feeding, combined with a thoughtful diet has only increased that bond. Her skin condition has also greatly improved. Her skin was dirty and oily and after a bath, she had extremely dry skin covered in zits. A well-rounded low fat, high quality diet with a small drizzle of coconut oil even for just ONE week has made her scaly-looking dry skin turn into hydrated and soft skin (her body is nearly naked save for her wings and a few smaller feathers.) I guess the one benefit of having a plucker is seeing immediate results with such a drastic diet change.

After reading about high cholesterol and the Eclectus' predisposition to heart and artery issues, I have no doubt diet is incredibly vital to their health. While a pelleted diet isn't ideal for many other species, for our guys it can and will eventually prove dangerous to their health. Having said that, I researched pellets for many hours. Prettyparrot.com breeds Eclectus locally and they make their own pellet. I compared them to the major brands available today and they were similar to Tops and Golden'Obles. I bought both and the Tops were GROSS. The Golden'Obles were sweet and appealing. And yes, I tried both myself. Tops was also way more expensive. I give about 10-15 PIECES of Golden'Obles per day. Yes, that few. Eclectus do well to have as little as possible. Also, zero seed except fresh, sprouted seed. Sometimes I buy but I sprout them myself. It's super easy (and I have limited mobility) and very inexpensive for the amount of nutrition activated by sprouting.

Hi I was wondering how you save your food for six months? Vacuum seal? mason jars? etc?


I have a LARGE garden I plant every year, and would love to be able to grow all my parrots food.


Thanks
Sam