Do eclectus prefer one sex over the other?

[Terry57]

So I have a chance to get my dream birds, an eclectus. He is a Vosmaeri, and is 2 years old. The man has had him since he was weaned, and I was wondering if since he was raised by a single man, does this mean that he would be more likely to bond with my husband rather than me? Or does it not really matter to Eclectus about the sex of their main caretaker? I realize that all birds are different, but was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this.

 

[MikeyTN]

I think it varies from bird to bird. I don't think my ekkies are sexist. Willie the macaw was raised by a woman but he picked me. I think it just depends on how you approach them and train them. I pick up my friend's ekkies when I visit her. They do just fine with me. They're not very good with strangers, it takes them awhile to warm up.

 

[Terry57]

Thank you for your reply! I am more than willing to give him the time he needs to adjust to me I just wanted to know if it was possible. I am hopeful that with love and attention, I can earn his affection!

 

[drlisaort]

Oliver is predominately with me but he would gladly hang out with either of my adult sons and my husband if they approach him. He seems to love the entire family but knows I am the primary caretaker which bonded us. Now with that said, when I visit Charlie, the breeder, he goes crazy for him...absolutely loves him as they spent the first five months totally together with my weekend visits a few weeks after his hatch date. I guess what I'm trying to say is perhaps he will be happy with either gender if he's been exposed to both.

 

[Terry57]

Keeping my fingers crossed that that is the case with him. His name is Echo and we are supposed to pick him up on the 14th. It is a 5 - 6 hours drive each way, so praying for decent weather. Will post pics when we finally get him home!

 

[pacoparrot]

My female si eclectus Echo loved everyone and anyone. Sometimes it seemed like she had the same trust for complete strangers as she did for her family. She didn't tolerate being pet or having her feathers touched but would give many warning nibbles before she actually got rough. She was a great bird.

 

[Caesar]

I am no expert but in my house there r two males(human) and just the other day my Eclectus growled like a dog at my flatmate case he got to close to his cage. I told my flatmate to just give him his alone time as these birds do enjoy that piece of themselves. My flat mat says NO NO he just needs to be handled by me.. three mins later of to the hospital for stiches 2 all up. So basically I am saying its the person not the always the gender .

 

[Mike17]

My experience with eccies is that they don't seem to have a human gender preference, unlike other species (and I'm sure that the reason for that is pitch of voice- some of our birds' vocal response is different when wife talks to them). I'm not sure what it is that makes eccies comfortable with some humans and not others. The breeder we got our current hand-raised eccy from had a group of semi-tame girls in a room/shed connected to her aviaries, and the females would fly to my shoulder while none of the males would come near me- but that comes down to individual birds, I think. Plus, I'm tall so possibly preferable to short humans!

 

[Boogie]

My boy eckie "boogie" loves blonde women, and scrambles down the side of his cage whenever a blonde female comes near. He stays at my cafe most days greeting customers with "hello! Make sure to leave a tip!" so he sees a lot of people over the course of the day, it may be because I myself are a blonde female, and he may associate blonde females with food, love and attention.....he is not particularly interested in males, or dark haired females, he's not aggressive towards them either, I guess all birds are different? I wouldn't worry too much about your eckie having a preference, as long as you love him, and show him that love, you will develope a bond, and there's no reason why that bond won't extend to the rest of the "flock" members. Good luck....and let us know how you are progressing

 

[Terry57]

I am so excited!!! If the weather is agreeable, we are going to get Echo next Saturday!! Only 1 week away, and I am darn near counting the minutes. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that the weather is ok..right now the forecast is for a high of -22C with a 60% chance of snow.

 

[MikeyTN]

Just bring some blankets! You'll be fine with Echo. Good luck!

 

[Terry57]

Thank you I feel like a little kid, so excited!!! This is a dream come true, and I can't wait to welcome Echo into our family. I just want to make sure I give him the best life possible

 

[MikeyTN]

I'm sure he'll have the best ever! Enjoy him, just remember some can be high strong at first and you just need to gain his trust.

 

[Terry57]

I am planning on working toward his trust and love every day I just hope he doesn't mourn too much for his current dad, hoping I can make it easier on him. He also hasn't been around other birds so am a little worried about whether he will be stressed at that. I will keep them apart, but in the dame room. Luckily, Echo had a vet appt. last week and checked out fine.

 

[MikeyTN]

As long as you introduce him slowly with the other birds he'll do fine. My pair did not like the screaming cockatoo that we used to have. They stopped talking for a very long time. They started talking once the cockatoo was gone.

 

[Terry57]

Luckily, none of my guys are screamers...just in the morning my pionus goes crazy.
Intorduce him as in have him out at the same time? Or as in start him in another room and bring him in a little at a time?

 

[MikeyTN]

I think he would be fine in the same room but I would work with him one on one for the time being without any interuption from the other birds. So I would walk into another room away from the other birds to train. That's how I do it but depending on each individual bird on how much training they really need.

 

[Blueridge]

My bird isn't sexist. Im a guy and he usually hates everyone but me, but one weekend I had to leave to go somewhere and my mom parrot-sat him, and he fell in love with her over the weekend. When I got back though, he hated her again lol.

 

[drlisaort]

My bird isn't sexist. Im a guy and he usually hates everyone but me, but one weekend I had to leave to go somewhere and my mom parrot-sat him, and he fell in love with her over the weekend. When I got back though, he hated her again lol.

Too funny! I guess our birds are so smart they know when their preferred companion is gone and to attach to the sitter while the going is good...or until the primary caretaker returns. Gotta love these guys!

 

[MikeyTN]

They can be users too....I used to have a Nanday that did that to me....she prefers my best friend even though she was my bird. She's super sweet with me cause she wants out and interaction but the moment he comes home she attacks me....