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Rubytheekkie

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Oct 31, 2019
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Hi,

I'm new to this forum. I've had a few cockatiels and a lorikeet (and of course numerous budgies) growing up and we finally moved into a house large enough for pets. I just got a female Eclectus, her name is Ruby last night. I'm not sure her exact age but I think she's between 3 and 5 years old. She's really pretty. So far she seems attentive, she like my 3 year daughters voice. She makes some cooing noises, said hello a few times to my wife, and if I or my son walk out of the room she'll sometimes make one loud screech, I haven't seen her do this when my wife walks out of the room, might be because her previous owner was a male about my height/build?? I'm presuming she does that for attention but I think I need to do some positive reinforcement to have her be a little quieter, it can be a bit startling.

When I first got her home she was a bit shy and not really defensive but after about a 2 hours of her getting comfortable on top of her cage (I bought her with the cage from the previous owner so she was familiar with it and took to it immediately) she got a little nippy.

My main question is regarding feeding. The previous owner was feeding her mostly a mix called "forti-diet parrot". I gave her 2 slices of apple but she only ate one and threw the other on the floor of her cage, but that was after she already ate some of the mix so she may have just not been hungry.


Thanks in advance for all the help I'm sure I'll get from everyone here!!
 

chris-md

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Feb 6, 2010
4,349
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Maryland - USA
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Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
Hello and welcome to you and ruby! We love pictures around here *hint hint*

I’m not really clear what your diet question is, as you didn’t actually pose one, but make sure you educate yourself quickly the the eclectus diet - the old owner was ver much not giving her the correct diet.

The diet is not optional. What you often see is a “fruit and veg” diet. This is misleading. You need to minimize sugars in your girls diet, even from fruit, as this WILL trigger hormones and make your life a nightmare.

The diet really is vegetables and grains, with an occasional fruit sprinkled in. High fiber is the key.

Emphasize beta carotene rich foods (vitamin a), which are foods heavy in red and orange coloring - sweet potatoes? peppers, carrots, even some sustainably sourced red palm oil, to name a few.
 
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Rubytheekkie

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Hello and welcome to you and ruby! We love pictures around here *hint hint*

I’m not really clear what your diet question is, as you didn’t actually pose one, but make sure you educate yourself quickly the the eclectus diet - the old owner was ver much not giving her the correct diet.

The diet is not optional. What you often see is a “fruit and veg” diet. This is misleading. You need to minimize sugars in your girls diet, even from fruit, as this WILL trigger hormones and make your life a nightmare.

The diet really is vegetables and grains, with an occasional fruit sprinkled in. High fiber is the key.

Emphasize beta carotene rich foods (vitamin a), which are foods heavy in red and orange coloring - sweet potatoes? peppers, carrots, even some sustainably sourced red palm oil, to name a few.
Thanks for such a quick response!

My question was basically if the particular mix that Ruby was being fed until now is ok as a supplement to the rest of the food she should be eating. It makes sense now why she got nippy after having some apple. I have done a lot of reading on their diets but I see so many options that I'm looking for a more of a day to day diet/plan. 95415_PT1._AC_SL1500_V1519919685_.jpg

Being that we just got her last night I haven't had a chance to get some good photos of Ruby yet, I'll definitely post when I do.

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GaleriaGila

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May 14, 2016
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. We have a devoted bunch of Eclectus lovers whom you're already meeting. :)
I'm glad you found us.
9lhIlM0.jpg
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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USA
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Full house
Congratulations and welcome! No advice but glad you joined!
 
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Rubytheekkie

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Here's a photo I just took. She was happy to see me when I got home but she's still a bit nippy. I gave her a sunflower seed every time she let me pet her beak twice in a row without lunging at me.20191031_195214.jpg


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Rubytheekkie

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Also, I just gave her a slice of pepper, she's really enjoying it.

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Flboy

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Dec 28, 2014
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Greater Orlando area, Florida
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JoJo, 'Special' GCC, Bongo, Cinnamon GCC(wife's)
Welcome! You said screech? I had the pleasure of handling an Eclectus a few weeks ago. Well while this gal was hanging on my shoulder, she let out a perfect train horn blast! It was so loud my knees almost buckled!
 
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Rubytheekkie

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So she's not screeching everytime I leave the room, only occasionally now. If she screeches I try to wait 2 minutes before going back in the room.

She let me give her a few head rubs today, I gave her a treat each time she let me without trying to bite but she's still nippy, she still won't step up but she did get closer then she did yesterday, I think she's a little territorial of her cage right now, she's only been with us for 48 hours so far so I guess she's still warming up to us.

What is the optimal humidity level for her? Our heating is forced air and it could get a little dry sometimes. I put a humidifier in the room with her for now.

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chris-md

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Feb 6, 2010
4,349
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Maryland - USA
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Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
Omg she’s a beautiful little sweetheart :)

They do want higher humidity, they are from the tropics. But they may not be too sensitive about it. I haven’t seen a difference in Parker between unsung a humidifier and not using one in our forced air home, so I don’t bother with it. I’ll bet ruby is fine with ambient conditions.

For the diet, your day-to-day is frozen chop. Make a big batch of food that can last a couple months.

What you have sounds fortified, which is very abd. If you must, it’s not ideal, but I’ll admit I do it for Parker’s breakfast, is to provide specialized pellets that have no preservatives, added vitamins/minerals, or colors. The two standard bearers are TOPs pellets and Goldenfeast goldn’obles. I’ll vacillate between these two

You can also provide sprouted grains/pulses/legumes which can be cleaner than other fresh food items.

You’ll learn to kind of enjoy the diet. It’s fun to play around with what you have in the house to create an interesting meal. I subscribed to one of those imperfect produce programs to get weekly stuff to have even more fun. And since it’s all fresh, not a lot of cooking, unless cooking is the only way ruby will accept certain foods (they can be picky about HOW the food is prepared).
 
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Rubytheekkie

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Omg she’s a beautiful little sweetheart :)

They do want higher humidity, they are from the tropics. But they may not be too sensitive about it. I haven’t seen a difference in Parker between unsung a humidifier and not using one in our forced air home, so I don’t bother with it. I’ll bet ruby is fine with ambient conditions.

For the diet, your day-to-day is frozen chop. Make a big batch of food that can last a couple months.

What you have sounds fortified, which is very abd. If you must, it’s not ideal, but I’ll admit I do it for Parker’s breakfast, is to provide specialized pellets that have no preservatives, added vitamins/minerals, or colors. The two standard bearers are TOPs pellets and Goldenfeast goldn’obles. I’ll vacillate between these two

You can also provide sprouted grains/pulses/legumes which can be cleaner than other fresh food items.

You’ll learn to kind of enjoy the diet. It’s fun to play around with what you have in the house to create an interesting meal. I subscribed to one of those imperfect produce programs to get weekly stuff to have even more fun. And since it’s all fresh, not a lot of cooking, unless cooking is the only way ruby will accept certain foods (they can be picky about HOW the food is prepared).
Thanks, yes she is beautiful!

I finally got her to step up to me today! It's the first time she did it since I got her home.

We tried giving her peppers and carrots, alternating between the 2, carrot for breakfast and peppers for dinner, plus I'm leaving a little of the seed mix in her bowl, I don't want to stress her out by changing her entire diet at once. She likes the peppers a lot more then the carrots, this morning she threw most of the carrots on the floor of her cage. I think we may have cut them too small, maybe she wants them larger so she can hold it while she nibbles it. She still does some screeching when we're in the house but not in her room, she absolutely loves attention.

I'm going to try to bring her to the vet tomorrow just to get a basic check up, the previous owner hadn't taken her I don't think ever. She seems fine perfectly fine, doing what Ekkies do, but I'll feel more comfortable after knowing that she got a clean bill of health.

Thanks again for all the help!

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Inger

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Mar 20, 2017
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Everett, WA
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Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
She’s gorgeous! Female ekkies are outrageously stunning. I have no advice for you, just a welcome and keep posting pics!


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Rubytheekkie

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After 4 days I'm finally starting to earn some trust from Ruby. I spent a lot of time with her today and she finally lets me rub her head, back and belly, and she seems to really enjoy it to, she sways when you run her belly. She's still nippy though, I got her to step up onto my finger but she immediately tried taking a chunk out of it, I distracted her/tapped her beak with my other hand, I'm not sure if that's the correct method or not. She seemed to have more energy today to play.

Also, I didn't give her the seed mix today, just a mix of a carrots, peppers, celery and some apple. For breakfast I put in some kale too but she just played with it. She still got sunflower seeds as a treat when she let me rub her head/belly for a bit. She wasn't that into all the veggies at first but when she realized I wasn't going to give her the seed mix she when back to her bowl and ate it.

Unfortunately the vet I wanted to bring her to (the only one in my area that seems to be a certified avian vet) was closed today. I'll try to take her on Tuesday. Right now she's making cooing sounds and falling asleep on her swing after a long day.20191103_202125.jpg
 
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Rubytheekkie

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I took Ruby to the vet last Tuesday. I made sure to bring her to a Certified Avian Vet. The vet said she is healthy and beautiful. She weighs right about 400 grams, I think it was 408 to be exact. We didn't do blood work, it was a bit expensive, and he said it wasn't really necessary. Her nails were really long and sharp so I had him do her nails while we were there and Ruby did not like it one bit. She was a bit traumatized for about 20 minutes after and when we got home she pretty much went straight to sleep, it was around 8 pm. For the next few days she wouldn't step up to me and came out of her cage less often but I finally got her to on Saturday and she spent have of Sunday on my shoulders nibbling my ears and making holes in my shirt. She's chilling on my shoulder right now too so it seems like we finally trust each other.

She's still nibbling on my fingers a lot, I think she thinks its a game. The issue we have now is since the vet visit, every night when we turn out the lights, she starts to flap her wings pretty aggressively as if she's scared or trying to fight something off. When we turn the lights back on and talk to her she calms down and then we can usually turn the lights back off. Last night we just dimmed them but I think it bothered her because she was sleeping with her head tucked under her wing, she never does that. Is this something that she'll grow out of? I'm a little unsure what to do besides just dim the lights for a few nights and then try turning them off fully a few nights later.
 

1oldparroter

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Nov 4, 2019
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I am 71, married and fairly private. I have PM privileges but prefer the phone. Printed messages, are so limited. jh
I am an avid YouTube're. Hate to type or read too much (lol). YouTube has a search function put Eclectus parrot in it and watch the vids. Actually good ones are from birdtrix and wingsNpaws_ (also searchable) not about eclectus but good information. There are several about an eclectus vegetable chop diet. One lady commented that she noticed her birds wouldn't begin to eat the refrigerated stuff until after in reached room temp or so and to not leave it out for more than an hour if uneaten. One mentioned a fine chopped version of the things they didn't really care for. One says to use 3 main veggies a day with a few of the rest that change through the week to vary their diet and it not be the same old thing everyday. Take the Good Sense of a video, think about it and talk to the people here or a vet. You'll learn a lot. jh
 
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Rubytheekkie

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I am an avid YouTube're. Hate to type or read too much (lol). YouTube has a search function put Eclectus parrot in it and watch the vids. Actually good ones are from birdtrix and wingsNpaws_ (also searchable) not about eclectus but good information. There are several about an eclectus vegetable chop diet. One lady commented that she noticed her birds wouldn't begin to eat the refrigerated stuff until after in reached room temp or so and to not leave it out for more than an hour if uneaten. One mentioned a fine chopped version of the things they didn't really care for. One says to use 3 main veggies a day with a few of the rest that change through the week to vary their diet and it not be the same old thing everyday. Take the Good Sense of a video, think about it and talk to the people here or a vet. You'll learn a lot. jh
YouTube has a search function!? I had no idea!! Lol, just kidding. Yes, I have watched quite a few videos regarding Eclectus parrots and others as well. I'm not sure if you read all my posts but in the last one I mentioned the issue I am having. Since bringing her to the vet, every night when we turn out the lights and leave the room, Ruby flaps her wings aggressively until we turn the lights back on and talk to her to calm her down and then she's fine for the night. I'm trying to determine if this is some sort of fear she developed from the visit to the vet and the correct way to handle it.

Regarding her diet, I was giving her a mostly vegetable diet with a fruit mixed in but she wasn't so happy with it. The vet strongly recommended to have her on a mostly pellet diet with vegetables as a supplement. So we started giving her a mixture Harrison's and vegetables, we alternate, switching between the 2 for each meal. She is much happier now. She really likes red peppers but we can't just feed her peppers, hence the Harrison's.

It seems like she is finally used to our day to day schedule. When I get home from work she is really excited to see me and comes right on my shoulder. She like to just sit there and nibble my ear. And poke holes in my shirt. I think I need to get her a good branch to chew on instead because she can be a bit aggressive with poking holes in my shirt and sometimes pokes me as well. She seems to be toilet trained, she won't poop when she's on my shoulder, instead she will turn around and look at her cage, and maybe give me a couple pokes on my cheek, that's the only time she goes back to her cage willingly, otherwise she'd rather just sit on my shoulder and watch everything I do. And she likes watching other birds on YouTube too!
 

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