Grand vs. Solomon Island (Male)

[EclectusDude]

I find what the breeder told you as very odd. I see many Eclectus being bred all over the US and, yeah, they are prone to plucking but with proper diet and fulfilled lives they end up just fine. Any Ekkie owners want to share their thoughts on this?? I would run, not walk away from this breeder. Sounds like something is up...

Yeah - I didn't go this route. I inquired with this breeder again about their statements and said "Doesn't diet/stress cause this". Their response "The chances of it happening with Eclectus are too high, get an African Gray instead". Ummm...no thanks, I'll find a better breeder.

Plenty of healthy and fully feathered ekkies on this forum!

From my understanding, eclectus are very diet sensitive birds and even the most minor slip ups in feeding can cause all kinds of health issues, plucking being a big one. Many people buy a parrot and want to feed it a simple, commercial pour some 'kibble' in a bowl twice a day diet like you would a dog or cat without the hassle of fresh foods. For some species, quality pellets are ok as a dietary staple, but not for eclectus. That seems to be the root of many ekkie pluckers- improper diet (often due to the owner simply not knowing better). In your preparations, it would probably be wise to consult an avian vet about an appropriate diet for an eclectus and make sure it is something you'll be able to always provide. If I'm not mistaken, they cannot eat some brands of pellets and need a higher proportion of fruit and veg than other species. I also think they are more prone to food allergies, if I'm not mistaken.

We aren't going to feed him any pellets, just a diet that consists of fresh fruits/vegetables and sprouts.

get ya a copy of this good read ton's of info and
also good to have a round for a reference

Will do, thanks!

April (Kiwibird) hit the nail right on the head. Very often, the plucking issues in eclectus parrots spring from an improper diet. Unfortunately, many people (even quite a few veterinarians!) are under the mistaken impression that eclectus parrots have dietary needs identical to those of most other parrots. But the differences are such that it was believed until only recently that eclectus only lived 20 or so years. The truth is closer to between 50 and 70. Why the discrepancy? Because an ekkie consistently fed the wrong kind of diet will suffer a significantly shortened lifespan.

Another contributor to eclectus plucking is their rather high intelligence. So, like African Greys, they need a lot of mental stimulation and can be particularly affected by boredom. (Every parrot needs a lot of mental stimulation, but some are more likely to fall into self-destructive patterns than others.)

But all that said, ekkies are most certainly not pre-destined to be pluckers down the road. But feed them a diet of seeds or the wrong kinds of seeds and you'll be skewing the probability in that direction. So that breeder should probably look to the diet he was providing.

As to your original question, I concur that grands tend to be larger than SI's... though not by much. I think you were also hoping for a comparison of general personality traits, but unfortunately I've never met a grand in person and, as such, have no basis for answering that aspect of your question.

Looking forward to seeing what ekkie you ultimately choose. Good on you for asking your questions beforehand. Make sure to check out that link that Terry57 posted in her response. Good stuff, there.

Thanks for the advice, I'm new to Ekkie's so figured I'd ask to "validate" the breeders claims. We ended up picking him up this weekend. He was super shy at first (I believe the breeder's didn't get him out much), but after two days he's warmed up to us and falls asleep on us. These are such amazing birds!

Probably one of the biggest differences between smaller birds and Eclectus is their emotional need to be with family. Being home doesnt mean your bird isnt bored/lonely.

My wife will be home with him and I work from home several times a week. What that means for us is that he's out of his cage, on our shoulders, on his play stand, in his swing, constantly getting attention/love, going for car rides, etc.

Snarking about lack of responses will only alienate one of your best resources. Not all of us are on the site daily, or even weekly---so cool your jets, be polite, be gracious, and be patient.

I wasn't "snarking", I was simply saying that I wanted some inputs to the questions I asked. I never said I didn't appreciate the responses of someone. Not sure that you need to tell me to "cool my jets" either. I wasn't rude/disrespectful, so no need for you to be either. Thank you.

 

[Allee]

Congratulations! Sounds like you are already bonding with your newest family member! Ekkies are incredible, beautiful, smart, sweet, they have it all. Enjoy your new adventure and please feel free to share the details and post lots of photos.

 

[EclectusDude]

Congratulations! Sounds like you are already bonding with your newest family member! Ekkies are incredible, beautiful, smart, sweet, they have it all. Enjoy your new adventure and please feel free to share the details and post lots of photos.

Thank you! He's amazing and I can't believe how much love I could have for a bird. Our conures were never this loving/sweet.

Will post some pics soon!

 

[EclectusDude]

I am a strong believer in letting the Parrot choose you!

When we want, we fail to consider whether that Parrot wants us. Changing your stance from self-centered to other-centered and you will find that they do in fact want too choose and they are much better at it than we.

Just wanted to follow-up and let you know that the parrot chose me. He's an amazing companion and I'm glad that we've found each other. Thanks for your inputs!

 

[Terry57]

So happy you joined us and I can't wait to see your pictures! Have you named him yet?
I'm really looking forward to reading about your journey with him