Female ekki

[Aimee]

Hi my name's aimee I'm 22 old and have two birds ones a blue quacker charlie he's about a yr old now and I now have an ecalectus parrot ebbie she's about 10 weeks old. Shes my concern I havnt seen her drink any water and we have tried 2 different brands of baby food but she doesn't seem to like them se does not each much. We tried her with weetbix and she eats very well. She will have a very small amount of different fruits but not much and wants us to feed it to her. Is this normal. She's very effection it and loved to snuggle so I know she doesn't hate us and my other bird Charlie is not near her or in the same room

 

[oled]

Just for being sure I would let a vet check that she is OK

 

[mygirl]

hi there i have a female eclectus as well, they don't drink very much we rarely see her drink, they get a lot of there fluid out of there fruit and veg, have u tried making a mix of all fruit and veg and putting it in the blender? mylah likes this, i wouldn't give her weetbix, another thing they play on you if you know what i mean, mylah has a lot of behavioral issues shes just too spoilt basically, but if you parrot knows if it doesn't eat what you give it like fruit she knows you will give in a give weet bix to her.
they are very very smart i really wouldn't stress as long, just remember when you are intoducing new foods do it slowly, when mylah was a baby i made her sick because i didn't know this and she engorged on spinach and it blocked her crop, also i dont give her cuttlebone as she done the same with it just ate it like crazy until she made herself sick.if you need any help feel free to message me,

 

[Pedro]

Aimee, For what it's worth I doubt that your baby is fully weaned yet. At 10 weeks it should be on 3 feeds of formula a day. Are you sure of her age. I would be very concerned for her health.

If at all possible i would contact the breeder you got her from & get them to show you how to feed her from a spoon. There is a right & wrong way of doing it. Otherwise you will have to see a Vet for advice. You really do run the risk of malnutrition. Most eclectus chicks are not fully independent until they are 16 weeks old.

 

[Aimee]

Thanks for all your help, she is 10 weeks and still getting hand feed this morning she ate all her baby parrot formula which made my day she's also had some egg and biscuit mix and a bit of apple. I got her looked at and they say she's fine. Ekki's are so different from the quackers, sooo much bigger lol. Im soo new to her and just when I thought I done alot of researching about them it's so different to getting her.

 

[Pedro]

Thanks for all your help, she is 10 weeks and still getting hand feed this morning she ate all her baby parrot formula which made my day she's also had some egg and biscuit mix and a bit of apple. I got her looked at and they say she's fine. Ekki's are so different from the quackers, sooo much bigger lol. Im soo new to her and just when I thought I done alot of researching about them it's so different to getting her.

Aimee that is so true, it doesn't matter how much research you do nothing actually prepares you for the actual homecoming.

The reason your little girl isn't drinking, she is getting all she needs from her formula. Not until she starts to wean will she actually drink water. Once a chick i am rearing starts to fledge i put them in their weaning cage & offer a variety of foods for them to nibble on. By 12 weeks i drop a feed usually the lunch time one. That will encourage them to be a little bit more independent. Once they are not interested in the morning formula, around 14 weeks, I drop that feed & carry on with the evening feed of formula. Eclectus will let you know when the don't want to have the formula anymore.

But each baby is different & will wean at it's own pace. I think the males are a bit more sooky than the girls.

 

[Aimee]

Do the females talk, i know the males talk but hardly heard of the females talk.

 

[Pedro]

Do the females talk, i know the males talk but hardly heard of the females talk.

You better believe it. One of my hens never shuts up. You can even hear her talking from the depths of her nesting box. I would have to say that my girl talks way better than her mate. But i personally think they can equally talk as good as each other. I have had baby girls start to say hello at 3 months. You will be so excited when you hear her talk for the first time.

 

[Aimee]

Thank you. We thinking of getting a male but not sure it might be to soon or can they be in the same cage .

 

[Pedro]

If you are considering a male & maybe intending to breed when they mature i would get your male ASAP. They should grow together & be great mates. I always recommend getting a male before the hen, if you wait to long there is the possibility she may harm a new bird. Idealy the male should be at least 6 to 12 months older than the hen. But really i don't think it matters to much as long as they are compatible. I am intending to put a 12 month old male with an older hen for breeding purposes. She is a very timid bird so i am not expecting any trouble. She isn't tame but he is.

Talking ability is double the fun with 2 birds.