Endi
New member
Ekkie questions from a future owner
Hello! I recently posted in the general questions forum and got some great tips/advice from everyone. I decided to go ahead and buy The Ultimate Guide to Eclectus Parrots by Kristen Badham and have read the book front to back. It cleared up a lot of my questions but left me with so many more! So if anyone can help me clear these questions up, I would really appreciate it
1) How well do Eclectus do in a city? After reading the chapter on bird harnesses I wondered if my future Ekkie would be able to be harnessed and taken to a local city park. Assuming he would enjoy being outside at a park. Mind you, I'm talking about a smaller city, not something huge and crowded like NYC. Are they spooked by lots of people or does it vary from bird to bird?
2) Do Eclectus do alright with other animals? Is there any sort of guide or tips you guys have for introducing pets to each other? My current roommates might want to get pets once we move someplace that allows them; one wants a small rodent like a hamster or rat and the other wants a puppy. If either of those will prove to be a problem, I may have to wait to get a bird for a while longer.
3) Presents! After reading about how much Eclectus like to play and need interesting foods to eat, I wondered if Ekkies like to open wrapped gifts? My dad's dogs love Christmas time and unwrap their own presents. Do/would Ekkies enjoy opening presents? Is it safe to let them do it? Is special pet wrapping paper a thing?
4) As an artist, I have a lot of pencils, paint brushes, and various sculpting tools around my house propped up in jars. During certain projects (halloween costumes, primarily) I end up with a lot of large chunks of foam, fabic, boxes, and other supplies around the house. I'm not a particularly messy individual, but sometimes it gets a little cluttered in my apartment. Do Ekkies like to play with stuff laying around on tables? Is this going to be a problem for me? I'll certainly put more effort into keeping clean if it would be.
5) This is more of a general bird question but is it possible to potty train a bird? I know birds don't really have any control over when they go, so I'm more curious than anything else. I'm prepared for lots of poop, lol.
6) This book lists a few plants that are bird safe, but some of my plants aren't listed at all. Do Ekkies like to eat/chew on houseplants? Also are jade trees, cacti (as long as they don't poke themselves on them), or spider plants safe for ekkies should they ingest them? Lastly, I have an Air Plant in a glass sphere hanging by my window. I'm guessing my ekkie will probably want to play with that, huh?
thanks for taking the time to read through my questions. It'll still be quite some time before I'm in a position to get a bird, so I'm trying to fill my brain with as much birdy knowledge as possible before I get one, even if some of them are superficial things like "can I do this with my bird" c:
Hello! I recently posted in the general questions forum and got some great tips/advice from everyone. I decided to go ahead and buy The Ultimate Guide to Eclectus Parrots by Kristen Badham and have read the book front to back. It cleared up a lot of my questions but left me with so many more! So if anyone can help me clear these questions up, I would really appreciate it
1) How well do Eclectus do in a city? After reading the chapter on bird harnesses I wondered if my future Ekkie would be able to be harnessed and taken to a local city park. Assuming he would enjoy being outside at a park. Mind you, I'm talking about a smaller city, not something huge and crowded like NYC. Are they spooked by lots of people or does it vary from bird to bird?
2) Do Eclectus do alright with other animals? Is there any sort of guide or tips you guys have for introducing pets to each other? My current roommates might want to get pets once we move someplace that allows them; one wants a small rodent like a hamster or rat and the other wants a puppy. If either of those will prove to be a problem, I may have to wait to get a bird for a while longer.
3) Presents! After reading about how much Eclectus like to play and need interesting foods to eat, I wondered if Ekkies like to open wrapped gifts? My dad's dogs love Christmas time and unwrap their own presents. Do/would Ekkies enjoy opening presents? Is it safe to let them do it? Is special pet wrapping paper a thing?
4) As an artist, I have a lot of pencils, paint brushes, and various sculpting tools around my house propped up in jars. During certain projects (halloween costumes, primarily) I end up with a lot of large chunks of foam, fabic, boxes, and other supplies around the house. I'm not a particularly messy individual, but sometimes it gets a little cluttered in my apartment. Do Ekkies like to play with stuff laying around on tables? Is this going to be a problem for me? I'll certainly put more effort into keeping clean if it would be.
5) This is more of a general bird question but is it possible to potty train a bird? I know birds don't really have any control over when they go, so I'm more curious than anything else. I'm prepared for lots of poop, lol.
6) This book lists a few plants that are bird safe, but some of my plants aren't listed at all. Do Ekkies like to eat/chew on houseplants? Also are jade trees, cacti (as long as they don't poke themselves on them), or spider plants safe for ekkies should they ingest them? Lastly, I have an Air Plant in a glass sphere hanging by my window. I'm guessing my ekkie will probably want to play with that, huh?
thanks for taking the time to read through my questions. It'll still be quite some time before I'm in a position to get a bird, so I'm trying to fill my brain with as much birdy knowledge as possible before I get one, even if some of them are superficial things like "can I do this with my bird" c:
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