Hello! New to parrots, as a roomate

I've known a few exotic birds over the years, but this is the first time I'm actually living with them. So, I'm not the owner--my roommate has them. She started with two Eclectus parrots, then after a couple years, decided to try her luck with a baby. And she got her wish! So now there are three of them.

Eclectus parents

(photo doesn't do the male justice--he normally looks gorgeous, clean beak, well groomed, and stunning)

The baby after 2 years


Temperament
The older male is wonderfully friendly, generally well behaved. He is VERY fixated on the female, who he was paired with at a very young age. They've been together for 7 years now. When she's not around, he's upset. When they're out together, he's totally fixated on feeding and breeding. He'll nip when unhappy about something, but never hurts. He has a nice variety of chirps. Doesn't talk. But he has a very loud warning squawk and isn't afraid to use it.

The female is reserved. She can be friendly, but can become very territorial. Her bite is nasty--she will draw blood. She LOVES to nest and is always hunting for an opportunity to do so. She's the alpha, when it comes to the male. She'll brush off his advances most of the time, then, on a whim allow him to mount. Her vocal range is... unpleasant. She will say "hello" under very rare circumstances, but for the most part she lets out an ear shattering squawk. Sometimes for a solid half hour, one or two per minute with some pauses (it's... annoying). More on that later.

The baby is a funny one. First and foremost, he is seriously bonded with his his owner, who handles & coddles him tremendously. That made him very leery of strangers. He was deathly afraid of me at first. It took a long while for him to relax. I can feed him from my fingers now, and talk with him. Oh, the talking. Well, the adults don't really talk. But this one... the baby has been taught many phrases and he LOVES to engage. He knows nearly a dozen different terms & phrases. He can laugh! And he seems to have a sense of humor. A budding linguist, he experiments with phrases, sometimes shortening and mixing words, tone, meter, and volume. He has a preening problem--keeps gnashing at his feathers, making his spread look like carpet pile. He's on medication in hopes of toning down his feather biting.

The male adult is very comfortable with me. I can have him perch on my hand for quite a long while. The adult female tolerates me and will perch on my hand. The baby... despite chatting with me and taking food, still won't let my hand near him without a cage in between (oddly, he perched on my hand at 6 months old, no problem).

I don't know if I'll ever end up a bird owner on my own, but for now, I've got birds vicariously through my roomate! :04:

welcome to you!!! How lucky are you to live with these beautiful babies

wear a pullover or long sleeve shirt and pull the cuffs over your hands....the baby may "step up" with some encouragement.

and oh yes, if the birds bond......you will become a bird owner....that much is certain.

Laurasea said:

welcome to you!!! How lucky are you to live with these beautiful babies

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Thanks for the welcome!

The baby is the most fun. When he first hears stirring in the apartment at the start of the day, he'll say "Good morning!"

clark_conure said:

wear a pullover or long sleeve shirt and pull the cuffs over your hands....the baby may "step up" with some encouragement.

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I can't approach him while he's outside the cage. He'll fly off in such a flurry that he sometimes goes right into a wall.

and oh yes, if the birds bond......you will become a bird owner....that much is certain.

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I enjoy them, without a doubt, but the work... I see what my roommate goes through, with all the cage cleaning. And she just shelled out nearly $5,000 in medical bills for the female (she had an egg obstruction, almost died). Vicarious participation is much easier!

Welcome, thanks for sharing your feathered roomates! Ekkies can be engaging and capable of extremely clear vocalizations.

The veterinary intervention you described is "egg binding," a potentially fatal complication of laying. Unless they are in a breeding situation with expectation of additional chicks, nesting behaviors may increase unwanted egg laying with attendant risks. I realize you have no input, just sharing a caution based on description. Medical emergency may have been a fluke, might recur.

Do you know if the adult offspring was completely raised by parents, or weaning completed by parents?

Scott said:

Welcome, thanks for sharing your feathered roomates! Ekkies can be engaging and capable of extremely clear vocalizations.

The veterinary intervention you described is "egg binding," a potentially fatal complication of laying. Unless they are in a breeding situation with expectation of additional chicks, nesting behaviors may increase unwanted egg laying with attendant risks. I realize you have no input, just sharing a caution based on description. Medical emergency may have been a fluke, might recur.

Do you know if the adult offspring was completely raised by parents, or weaning completed by parents?

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Thanks for reaching out, Scott.

Yes, that's it--egg binding (used wrong term). These birds were adopted from a former owner. After several years, the new owner was giving them full reign to engage in mating behavior. Courting, feeding, and mounting. Female was churning out eggs pretty regularly. Owner wasn't giving her materials to create a nest, so no successful egg maturation was facilitated... until she decided that she wanted a baby. Then she gave the female what she needed. In short order -- chick!

The young one was raised partially by the parents, then nurtured by the owner. Once "out of the nest" phase, the baby got its own cage. Father would still feed him, then gradually stopped. When the female had the egg binding incident and was away, the father started feeding the baby again. Instinct to feed something!

Anyway, the egg laying continued... until the binding incident. Then the owner realized she needed to discourage mating behavior. She "sort of" does it. Much less "couch" time. But the male gets pretty unruly after a while of not getting time with the female, so she gives in. Latest move was to go to the vet for some kind of hormonal control to constrain the biological imperative.

These two birds are really adept procreators... kind of a shame she doesn't give them to a breeder, all things considered.

Thanks for an enlightening update! If nesting materials, ie nestbox were removed, the biological stimulus and impetus must be overpowering. There are hormonal prescriptions available to curb unwanted behaviors. Some members have first hand knowledge and can relate to the dilemma!

Welcome to you! You are fortunate to be getting such experience and rewards of parrots! Without the full commitment!
By loud, I know what you mean! My first elkie experience- he was sitting on my shoulder and the first sound was an ear shattering train horn honk! It was so loud, it temporarily threw me into shock and I almost blacked out! AND, I was with a lady friend who I was desperately trying to impress! She was kind!

Scott said:

Thanks for an enlightening update! If nesting materials, ie nestbox were removed, the biological stimulus and impetus must be overpowering. There are hormonal prescriptions available to curb unwanted behaviors. Some members have first hand knowledge and can relate to the dilemma!

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Interesting. When she adorned her cage with a wall toy for chewing, the female Eclectus fully shredded it within 36 hours. Of course, all the bits dropped in the catch tray below. But yeah, nesting imperative seems to be there. In the past, she has only picked at such a toy at random times, allowing it to sit for months.

She did get some sort of implant to help with the hormonal situation. But frankly, the bird is now squawking more than it used to. The owner is a workaholic... and the birds are left for most of the day with very little human interaction. So that may be part of the problem. I have tried to make a point of visiting & talking to them, giving treats, etc., in hopes of assuaging their boredom.

The baby is more... "constructive" in his attempt to alleviate boredom. The birds sit along a wall just outside the kitchen. Often when I come in, the baby will start chirping and talking, and of course I'll reciprocate. Unfortunately, the female does nothing but periodic ear shattering squawks.

A short aside: when the female was isolated for healing, her cage was in my roommate's bedroom. She was totally cut off from the others, other than being able to hear them. Well... she started becoming chatty! She would actually say "Hello" to her owner, in a variety of keys & volume. AND, she started whistling! I would be outside the door, where I'd whistle back, and she'd get a whistle dialog going for many minutes (possibly up to a half-hour, if I didn't stop). It was so amazing! But once she was put back, nestled between the other two cages--the whistling stopped. I tried to encourage it, but no go. Nothing but that horribly discordant shriek of a squawk. It's really so very sadly unpleasant.

Flboy said:

Welcome to you! You are fortunate to be getting such experience and rewards of parrots! Without the full commitment!
By loud, I know what you mean! My first elkie experience- he was sitting on my shoulder and the first sound was an ear shattering train horn honk! It was so loud, it temporarily threw me into shock and I almost blacked out! AND, I was with a lady friend who I was desperately trying to impress! She was kind!

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Yes, it's incredible how loud they can be! The male Eclectus has an ear piercing squawk, but he doesn't do it often. The problem is the female... Her cage is nestled between two other bird cages (her mate and her baby). And she'll start a series of very high pitched discordant squawks, one or two per minute, for like a full half hour straight unless interrupted by line-of-sight to a human. My feeling is that it may be frustration, wanting the male to either feed her or be physically accesible.

Seems an unusually strong yearning for reproduction! Short of placing in breeding situation and yielding to nature, hormonal implants seem the best antidote. Ekkies have a trademark "horn" of deafening proportion. A shame they have no "indoor" voice!

Both my Ekkies had impeccable voice quality, particularly the male. Somewhat shy, unlike Amazons. I'd be treated to aural serenade with either back turned or in another room.

I'd imagine the near mature offspring would be good candidate for bonding as he was weaned by humans.