Choosing an Eclectus

Do male Eclectus make better pets than the females?

Female eclectus parrots DO make wonderful pets

 

 

 

 

 

There is nothing worse than being judged by others, especially when your reputation has been unjustly tarnished. Somehow, gorgeous Eckie hens everywhere have been labeled the problem children of the avian world. The Internet is rife with stories of hens being moody, temperamental, even labeled, ‘not pet material’. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Eclectus hens do make fantastic pets. In fact, we have two gorgeous Eckie hens that rule our home. Mia and Moto are the most wonderful companion parrots you could ever wish for. They are incredibly smart and affectionate, both have an amazing vocabulary-which they use in context-and their antics have us in constant stitches. We love our girls and believe hens make amazing companion parrots.

A healthy female Eclectus Parrot

Are they both affectionate?

As juveniles our males tend to be a little cuddlier whereas our hens are a slightly more independent, although this varies from parrot to parrot. Our hens are usually the first to want their snuggle time, but they want it ‘their way’ and are quick to tell you if you’re not doing it exactly right. While the males are happy to sit and relax on the couch with Mum and Dad, play with their toys or have some preening time, the hens will be in mental overdrive. Having already mastered their puzzle toys, they spend time observing and taking in everything around them, assessing their environment and looking for different ways to get up to mischief. The hens love to break the rules and have some fun.

More snuggle time with Mumma

Do both genders talk?

Without a doubt. Both the male and females are incredible talkers. When we are in the aviary, I can barely hear myself think, let alone hold a conversation with Jason. Talking comes naturally to our feathered kids and if they are treated as an important member of the family they will want to communicate with their flock. This may be in the form of talking, whistling or chortling. Not all parrots talk and this is their choice. It doesn’t make them any less of a companion bird; it just means we can enjoy their beautiful natural calls and chatters.

The Ultimate Guide to Eclectus Parrots
This is a short excerpt from our book The Ultimate Guide to Eclectus Parrots’. This chapter explains the differences between the male and female Eclectus parrot. It helps soon-to-be Eckie owners make an informed decision.Also included in this book:

  • Choosing the right breeder
  • The vet check
  • Establishing a routine
  • Baby calls and noise factor
  • Dietary needs
  • Settling your Eckie into their new home
  • Establishing a routine
  • Emergency care
  • And many, many more topics!

To purchase our book click on the icon below!

Download on the iBookstoreWeb Eclectus book

Eclectus Diet

Eclectus Diet

Eclectus Diet

Eckies love fruit and quite literally can’t get enough of it. Some prefer vegetables but I know all of ours choose fruits over their veggies any day. Parrots like their fruit ripe, but not overly ripe to the point of being spoilt. Never give your parrot ‘seconds’ from produce stores or farmers markets. Always buy your Eckie human grade fruit, which you yourself would be happy to eat. Ensure that you thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables to remove potential pesticides or harmful chemicals.

We provide each Eclectus with stainless steel bowls 12.5 cm wide and 6 cm deep. This is filled to the brim with fresh fruit and vegetables every day and it always polished off come nightfall.

We feed our own Eckies the following food ratios

  • 60% of their diet is made up of fresh fruit and vegetables
  • 20% sprouted seed/legumes/pulses
  • The remaining 20% constitutes their hot meal

Always ensure you feed your Eckie more vegetables than fruit. Fruit is high in sugar and if consumed in too larger quantities can lead to unwanted weight gain. We always feed our kids 2/3 vegetables to 1/3 fruit.

Your Eckie’s appetite will fluctuate throughout the year. moulting, the onset of winter, growth phases and even hormonal changes will increase your Eckies appetite. I know our feathered kids eat us out of house and home when they are moulting. It is quite normal for juvenile Eckies to eat like teenage boys until they are approximately 8 months old. Their appetite starts to settle down after this time. Our clients are often amazed at just how much their new babies can consume.

Moulting

When a parrot moults, old feathers fall out and are replaced with new ones. It takes a large amount of energy for parrots to produce pinfeathers, especially if they are heavy moulters. Feathers are made from keratin which is a protein. If a parrot is not provided with protein rich foods to supplement this output, their body will be depleted.

Moulting can make our feathered kids cranky and moody and who can blame them. I would be pretty grumpy if I had pinfeathers sprouting from every direction. From my experience, increasing protein levels in our parrots’ diet helps overcome crankiness and eases them through this uncomfortable time.

The following foods are high in protein

  • Cooked meat and chicken
  • Boiled eggs (cooked right the way through)
  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas)
  • Lentils and pulses
  • Chia
  • Asparagus
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Sweet corn

At Parrot Haven, we have our own special moulting diet. We feed our moulting kids a cooked meal 3 times a week

Tips

Paw Paw helps restore the natural flora in the bird’s crop and gut.

Sweet corn is used when a bird has been sick and lost condition. It helps to put weight on a sick or underweight parrot.

The following should NEVER be fed to your Parrot

  • Avocado, both flesh and seed contains toxins deadly to birds
  • Rhubarb
  • Apple seeds
  • Seeds from stone fruit
  • Lettuce, has little nutritional value and can cause diarrhoea and lead to dehydration
  • Onions
  • Any raw meat
  • Garlic
  • Cheese, can cause crop impaction
  • Chocolate
  • Coffee
  • Soft drinks
  • Milk or dairy products, some birds are lactose intolerant and can also lead to crop impaction
  • Fatty foods or takeaway, e.g. Chinese food, beware of additives such as MSG, preservatives and un-natural flavours
  • Alcohol

Parrot safe foods

  • Apple
  • Apricot
  • Banana
  • Blackberry
  • Blackcurrant
  • Blueberry
  • Currant
  • Cherry
  • Coconut
  • Date
  • Dragonfruit
  • Fig
  • Gooseberry
  • Grape
  • Grapefruit
  • Guava
  • Huckleberry
  • Honeydew
  • Kiwi fruit
  • Lychee
  • Mandarin
  • Mango
  • Melon
  • Cantaloupe
  • Honeydew
  • Watermelon
  • Rock melon
  • Nectarine
  • Orange
  • Paw Paw
  • Peach
  • Pear
  • Plum/prune (dried plum)
  • Pineapple
  • Pomegranate
  • Purple Mangosteen
  • Raspberry
  • Rambutan
  • Redcurrant
  • Star fruit
  • Strawberry
  • Tangerine
  • Tomato (fruit only not the leaves or stem)
  • Watermelon-see melon
  • Pumpkin
  • Celery
  • Zucchini
  • Beans
  • Carrots
  • Red chilies (parrots don’t have capsaicin receptors. This means they do not feel heat from chilies)
  • Broccoli
  • Sweet potato (raw or cooked)
  • Sweet corn
  • Spinach
  • Peas
  • Cauliflower
  • Mushrooms
  • Asian vegetables
  • Snow peas
  • Asparagus
  • Berlotti beans
  • Black-eyed peas
  • Broad beans
  • Chickpeas
  • Common bean
  • Garbanzo
  • Green bean
  • Lentil
  • Lima bean
  • Mung bean
  • Navy beans
  • Peas
  • Peanut
  • Pinto beans
  • Runner bean – Raw
  • Span peas
  • Snow peas – Raw
  • Amaranth – raw or cooked
  • Bok Choy
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprout
  • Celery
  • Ceylon spinach
  • Collards
  • Dandelion
  • Endive
  • Garden rocket
  • Kale
  • Lettuce
  • Pak Choy
  • Pea sprouts/leaves
  • Sorrel
  • Spinach
  • Watercress
  • Wheatgrass

 

Eclectus molting information

 Care for your Eclectus during their molt

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After shivering through the cold winter months, Summer is finally here. It is a time for sunshine, weekend barbecues and relaxing by the pool. It is also the time when our Eckies begin to molt.

Parrot Haven is home to 25 Eckies and one precocious yet very special African Grey parrot and at the moment, all our feathered kids are molting. Our place is decorated with scatterings of feather casings, white fluffy down and the odd primary or two. The aviary is a variable smorgasbord of feathers, from tiny petite head feathers to beautiful tail plumage.

This happens twice year at Parrot Haven however the pre Christmas molt is always the heaviest. Molting can certainly take it’s toll on our parrots. I can only imagine how irritating it must be walking around like a pin cushion, as hundreds of new feathers erupt through the skin.

As parrot slaves, we must understand that molting affects our kids moods, dietary needs, appetite and even sleep patterns. It certainly takes a toll on our kids bodies and we must do all we can to ease our kids through this time.

What is molting?

Molting is a process where old feathers fall out and are replaced by new ones. Feathers are made from a protein called keratin, just like our hair and fingernails. Unlike skin, keratin is unable to repair itself. If a feather is damaged or frayed, it will remain that way until the parrot molts.

The importance of protein

When a parrot molts, protein is taken from the Eckie’s body. If a parrot is not provided with protein rich foods to supplement this output, their body will be depleted.

An Eckie suffering from protein deficiency will be tired, lethargic and irritable. It will prolong their molt and the newly molted feathers will look dull, lacking their trademark glossiness.

It is very important to feed your Eckie foods which are high in protein, such as:

  • Cooked meat and chicken
  • Boiled eggs (cooked right the way through)
  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas)
  • Lentils and pulses
  • Chia
  • Asparagus
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Sweet corn

Change in appetite

Molting affects our Eckies’ appetites. Some kids become ravenous eating machines, while others become very fussy eaters, craving certain foods and rejecting others. Monitor your Eckie’s appetite carefully when molting, and take note of specific foods they crave. Our feathered kids listen to their bodies, and will source foods that will help ease them through molting.

 Moodiness

Molting can make the demurest of Eckies cranky and short tempered. Their body is working in overdrive to produce hundreds of pin feathers and many become irritable. Please, do not take this personally as many people have experienced this with their feathered kids.

My hen, Red, is terribly short tempered while molting. I know there is very little room for error and if I mis-read her body language, I will receive a nasty bite. As much as this hurts, I don’t take this personally. I know that once she has finished molting, she will return to her sweet self.

Everyone copes with their Eckie’s moods differently. Some ignore cranky behavior, leaving their kid alone until they are in a better frame of mind. Others distract their Eckie by offering a new toy or food treats.

Some Eckies become little sooks. They seek the love and comfort of their owner and demand cuddles and affection. This too is normal. Some of our hens seek extra cuddles while molting. Once they have molted their neediness reduces and their moods return to normal.

Aloe spritzes

Aloe spritzes help moisturize the skin, keeping it soft and supple. This allows the developing pinfeathers to break through the skin more easily. It is simple and cheap to make.

We buy 100% pure aloe gel from our local health food store. We then put 1 tablespoon of aloe into a spray bottle and fill it with a cup of warm water. Our kids love being misted by the warm, moisturizing water, and the aloe gives their feathers a spectacular sheen.

Some people choose to use a pre-mixed aloe drink. Please ensure there are no additives before using this.

Sleepy time kids

Molting takes its toll on our kids’ small bodies. It takes a lot of energy to grow hundreds of feathers, and our Eckies become tired and lethargic. Your Eckie’s sleep routine may change around molting time.  Many will take long catnaps during the day. Others will want to go to bed earlier, or sleep in. They need this extra sleep; it helps the body recuperate, so when playtime rolls around, they are re-energized and ready for fun.

Lots of extra love

Molting is a stressful time for our feathered kids. They feel itchy and out of sorts. Some kids become despondent when they molt. They know they look scruffy and it really upsets them. They are such sensitive little souls.

As devoted Eckie parents, we want to do everything we can to help our kids through this difficult time. So let’s give our molting kids an extra special treat to show them how much we care. It will make your Eckie feel very special.

For more information about the Eclectus Diet please visit our website

The Ultimate Guide to Eclectus Parrots contains 380+ pages of content dedicated to assisting owners care for their Eclectus.

It contains chapters on The Eclectus molt, diet, training, emergency care, bonding and much, much more

.Eclectus care

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Hand Raised Eclectus

Here at Parrot Haven we specialise in gorgeous hand raised Eclectus Parrots

We have over 11 years experience specialising solely in Eclectus Parrots and take great pride in selling only the very best hand raised Eclectus available.

ABOUT US

All our babies are raised in a loving family environment, spoon fed and they spend hours socialising and playing with us. We raise only babies born here at Parrot Haven (we are a closed aviary, we do not take in other breeders eclectus babies and raise as our own) and all of our breeding birds have been chosen for their gorgeous natures and temperaments that they pass onto their babies.

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