I want an Eclectus

[Purevil21]

Wow, everyone is giving me such good advice and information. Everywhere else I just get torn apart for wanting an eclectus as a first bird. Usually people saying I have no idea how difficult it is to care for one. Thanks again everyone!

 

[JustinM]

Your thread has helped both you and I.
When I joined this forum I posted a topic in the "New Members Welcome" asking about Eclectus parrots and tips to a first time parrot owner.

Just like you, I am hoping to be a proud owner of an Eclectus soon! ;P
Best of luck to you.

 

[noblemacaw]

Joaquin a male Soloman island eclectus was a wonderful bird. Unfortunately he died in December of 2005 and I still miss my boy.

As a baby he was afraid of everything. He bit a lot and my hands were sore from him biting them. I almost gave him back to the breeder but after talking to my vet she talked me into keeping him. She told me that I had the capability to help him.

After providing him with a sleeping roosting cage and engaging in "intensive love" therapy it took about 3 weeks for his personality to change a 180. With his trust I taught him confidence within himself. I took this bird everywhere, to the bank, to church, on errands to target, kmart, where ever I could get away with bringing him, I even took him to work when he was a baby.

With all this work I did for him Joaquin turned out to be the most calm trusting parrot I ever had. I use to take him to hospital to help with the mentally ill because he always made people feel happier. He had this unique gift of taking in people's pain and helping them feel better. When he got sick I had to retire him and Joaquin was greatly missed.

The eclectus was not my first bird. My first bird was a cockatiel then my Noble macaw. The eclectus was my third bird so my experience had helped me deal with Joaquin's problems when he was a baby.

When Joaquin died he took a piece of me with him. When he died I was blessed to be able to be with him. The vet called me at 1am and I got there about 1:20am. We were taken to a quiet place and I held him and sang to him and rocked him to help ease the death clinch or spasm. I told him it was okay to go and he died within 20 mins. I love Eclectus parrots but I cannot bring myself to take another into my home. I just cannot bring myself to take another into my life nor can I sing his favorite songs anymore.

I wish you the best with your baby Eclectus. You cannot go wrong with one. Because of my experience I would not recommend them as a first bird but if you get one locally and have a good relationship with the breeder and other eclectus owners you should be fine.

Please keep us update. The both of you that are getting Eclectus. Thanks!!

Noblemacaw

 

[JustinM]

Such a sad story NobleMacaw...
I cannot even be with my pets when they pass, my two former cats (1 died a year after another) I could not even be in the room with them when they were put to sleep.
I had a terrible time even taking them into the vet, but i knew this death was much less painful then what they were going through (Not going to go into great detail, but they went crazy and started chewing themselves up). I could not imagine sitting there for 20 minutes with them.
Feel free to not answer this, but can't an Eclectus live up to 50+ years? Why'd your's go so early?

 

[pawsfoot]

I think wing clipping is a personal opinion, but my ekkies wings are clipped because we take her everywhere with us. It keeps her safe and we feel much more comfortable knowing that she is not going to be able to get lost. I also agree that using a professional to clip them is the best solution. I would never feel comfortable taking scissors to my baby's wings. It costs me $20 to take her to the vet and have her wigns done and nails dremeled. She has no anxiety about it and coos to herself all the way there and back home. They don't even towel her anymore because she is so used to it.

 

[noblemacaw]

Eclectus are suppose to live a long time. I had expected Joaquin to outlive me or at least live as long as I but it was not to be. It would seem that God needed him more than I did because he took him.

He had cancer of the thymus. When he lost his ability to talk and would scream it almost drove me nuts. Once I figured out that he was trying to communicate and not screaming for the fun of it I attempted to anticipate his needs. Near the end I carried him around in a sling and spent as much time with him as I could. The night he died we spent our evening watching TV but I could tell he was not right so at 11pm we took him to the ER. The doctor called up his vet and together they worked up a plan but it was not meant to be because at around 1am I got the call to come to the clinic because Joaquin was not doing well but was fighting it.

After I got to the clinic and they took me back where he was (he was in a incubator type cage to help him) I took him out and held him. I told him it was okay to go. He took a look at me, then a look at Lupe (my housemate) and sighed and hunkered down into himself and I told him it was okay to go that I would be there with him and he did not have to go alone. We took him into a quiet room and I sang his favorite songs and rocked him. He tensed up almost bringing his hind end to his head relaxed and then died.

Joaquin was not alone and he died with me singing to him telling him I loved him. That to me is a gift I was able to give him and the gift I was given from God to be with him before he died.

I am thankful he was in my life and he helped a lot of people before he got sick. I have debated getting another eclectus but I just can't bring myself to get one. I am sticking with my macaws as they are the right bird for me.

Noblemacaw

 

[dustbunnyrunfree]

Hello Purevil21, I breed & hand rear these beautiful birds. First i will address the wing clip. That is entirely up to you & IMO it dosen't make an ounce of difference providing the clip is correctly done.

Males can be a little laid back, I wouldn't say they need a quiet home not by a long shot, they love to be in the thick of things. I don't treat any eclectus baby or adult for that matter any different to other parrots. I wouldn't hesitate selling a baby boy into a family with children. Eclectus & kids get on very well together. Bottom line is TRUST.

Don't ever believe that these birds don't bite hard. They do. They pack a punch & you can even end up in the ER having stitches. That said it is usually something a carer has done wrong & the bird didn't like it. In all the years i have had eclectus i have never been bitten by my boys. Breeding hens with chicks is a different story.

Most males are very placid as long as they have been trained well. Problems can arise if they are to human imprinted. I am dealing with a 5 year old male that is so naughty. Screams 24/7 & bites when it doesn't get it's own way. If we don't sort this birds aggression out he will forever be looking for a new home. What makes me so angry is it isn't the birds fault it's the uneducated owner that has ruined this bird & now she doesn't want him. So is wanting to sell it to her friend.

If you decide on a baby you need to let him settle into his new environment, usually it will only take a day or two. If your new baby lunges at you, your moving to fast, slow down. Learn his body language & read up as much as you can on parrot behavior that way you will be able to identify a problem & hopefully work with your bird before it gets out of control.

I have 16 eclectus at the moment & truly they are all so well behaved, we get the odd alarm call but for the most part they all just talk to each other. To be honest i don't know why people have so much trouble with their companion parrots, it not that hard to raise a well adjusted parrot without hangups.

I had a 4 yr old ekkie before I was displaced my my apartment, but when i was married, this baby boy didnt like my husband (ex now) , He hated him so much that he would chase him if given the chance, but with that being said my ex would taunt him as well , I kept telling him to stop poking at him that if he got bit it was his fault 100% because he was just protecting himself, My ex had his nose pierced not once but twice, and a chunk taken out of his cheek, all because he was making him mad and poking at him , well one day my baby was on my shoulder all calm and my ex came in and first thing he did was slam the desk to scare him i had to scold my baby to keep him on me cause he wanted to go bite my ex, my ex got up and walked around to where i was and reached over to try and thump him, i tried to say something and stop it and got in the cross fire, I lost a very large chunk of my bottom lip, blacked out .. when i came to my ex was yelling at the kids to get the bird away from him , He was chasing him trying his best to attack him ... after my er visit and 10 stitches inside and out of my lip, my baby only wanted to love on me... I knew he was sorry and didnt mean to get me, he would kiss me over and over and wanted to snuggle with me more then before, .. before my lip was healed completly my children had him taught to say im sorry after he kissed me....

so yes ER visits can happen , and the moral of this story besides that, I got rid of my EX as well....

it wasnt til i moved into a apartment that got shut down that i had 48 hrs to place him in a home, and he is still there today thriving, and still calls me mom when i go visit...