Hello All! New to the forum: and thinking of getting an Eclectus..?

[Sterling1113]

If there's anything I've learned it's that forums can be some of the best sources of information and opinions from experience. My boyfriend and I have been thinking about getting an Eclectus parrot to add to our family of pets. Although I love the Vossies based on what I've read, I've NEVER seen one for sale anywhere locally, and I'm very particular about having my animals shipped. It just doesn't seem safe, for the buyer(scams) or the bird(weather conditions). We're housed in an apartment and are moving somewhere bigger come June, but we definitely have room for a large cage and a perch/tree. And with winter ending soon, I'll be spending plenty of time outside with my bird if he/she will wear a harness.

Okay, enough about me! What I'm mostly asking is the general temperament. My boyfriend isn't too keen on the idea of adopting/re-homing due to the old age of some of the birds, and he doesn't want to have a bird of that size who could snap and take a finger off if he felt like it, therefor would rather go to a local breeder and get it when it's still a baby. I do not work, so I would have time for hand-feeding, but I've seen what some breeders do, and it's not much better than puppy-mills
And also, do they tend to attach to one person? I.E. I'm home all day pretty much every day, will he/she grow attached to me and begin to act aggressive toward my boyfriend?
Sorry for the huge post! Thanks in advance for any replies
-Ash

 

[Terry57]

Hello Ash and welcome!
I have a male Vos eclectus who is a rehome. He is getting ready to turn 2. He has a great personality and while he prefers my husband, he also loves me as well. He has not gone through puberty yet, so I know he may well change when that occurs. That is one reason that sometimes getting an older bird is a good choice, because they are who they are.
Shipping is really not a big deal if you get from a verified and trusted breeder. My Hawkhead was shipped to us last year with no problems at all.

While Ekko is a very good bird, he is also quite loud at times, especially first thing in the morning.

Any bird can and will bite, whether you get them as a baby or an adult. That is something you and your boyfriend should be prepared for. An ekkie's diet is also quite specific, have you done some research on that aspect?

With all that being said, I absolutely love Ekko and would recommend an eclectus as a forever friend.

So glad you joined & I look forward to hearing what you decide!

 

[Sterling1113]

I've done more research on their home-needs and cage requirements than their diet, however we still have atleast a month or two before we start looking for a bird to take home and I definitely plan on having done lots of research and having a wide selection of food including fruits, veggies, and whichever food he/she was weaned on to or is currently eating.
The only reason he's timid about it is in the past we have had a sun conure who absolutely loved me and would follow me everywhere just for a snuggle, but if he put his hands anywhere near me or the conure he would get bit. I've had birds most of my life so I understand it's a matter of when, not if. He would just rather have a bird that isn't outright aggressive.

It is very cool that you got your hawk-headed parrot through shipping and I'm glad he/she arrived safe, I love the hawk-headed parrot personally, just not the price tag
Another thing I didn't add: Is your Vossie very loud? My sun conure I had would shriek when anyone entered/left the room and it was piercing! In his defense he didn't come from the best of homes, but it was just shrill.
And also, what price should I be expecting for either a Vossie or SI? I've seen them go from 400(used as a breeder, usually 7+ years old and not tame) up to $1,200 for a hand-raised chick. I assume that's pretty much the usual, especially with me being in Texas where birds like that are less popular as pets.

 

[Terry57]

I feed Ekko a bowl of fresh fruits and veggies in the morning, and another in the late afternoon. He gets a tablespoon of seed for his overnight. The fresh stuff I feed him is alternating: oranges, apples, pears, pomegranates, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries,kiwi, grapes, star fruit, cooked sweet potatoes rolled in hot pepper flakes or sesame seeds,red, yellow, orange and green bell peppers, jalapenos, yello banana peppers,kale, red swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower,brussell sprouts, carrots, corn, mangoes, cranberries, and red cabbage.

Ekko has a really loud scream, but it is low pitched and doesn't hurt my ears like a Sun. When he bellows, it does scare all the other birds off their cages and perches..lol. He only does it a couple of times in the morning, which is great.

As for price, I am in Canada so my prices would be alot different than yours. I paid $1500 for Ekko and his cage. He was a rehome so the price was expensive even for here, but I wanted him really bad

 

[Sterling1113]

That's a bunch of fruit, sounds like you keep your parrots very happy!
My two conures I have(White eared and GCC) are low-maintenance in comparison.
I've read allot about people getting Ekkies from breeders who are "fully weaned" and yet they scream around feeding time, so I plan to have knowledge of hand-feeding and the needed supplies if I buy from a breeder.
My other two birds are very laid back, they share a cage and get along just fine. I /believe/ they are both male. I still call Kiwi a "she" though because that was my first assumption when I got her as a baby. :09:
So hopefully a young ekkie will get used to being around smaller parrots from the get-go so we don't have any issues with them all being out at the same time.
As for a cage, I'm probably going to buy a used one off of someone locally and clean it up real well, and save a few hundred dollars. Those suckers are expensive brand new!
Also, from what I've read, females tend to get "hormonal" around a certain age and sometimes get aggressive. It seems it happens less in males, other than just the maturity(puberty?) process. Is there a severe temperament difference between the genders?

 

[Terry57]

From my understanding, they both get hormonal and females may be nippy. I don't have a female and could be wrong, but I am sure someone else will pop in who has a female. The males get "humpy", but I haven't had to deal with that yet.
Ekko had not been around other birds when i got him, but he doe not bother the other guys. We have a crimson bellied conure that Ekko completely ignores. He has a crush on Darwin, my HH, but has learned to stay off her cage as the feeling is no longer reciprocated..lol.

Ekko has a large cage and uses every bit of it. We have gotten several of our cages used with no problems after disinfectiing and a really good clean.

 

[Sterling1113]

That's good to hear(Or, I guess read). Haha.
I'm a fan of all animals in any shape or form(or species)so It's always nice having a rather laid-back animal. I also love reptiles, I've got a young bearded dragon, a Texas Spiny Lizard who is actually blind due to a run in with a wild bird and a milk snake. Most of the time, they're in their cages though, atleast until they're bigger and not so easy to lose :09:
I'd never have my herps within reach of my birds though, or vice-versa. Even though I'm not concerned about either being aggressive I'd rather not one of them get sick from the others natural bacteria(salmonella for birds, e-coli for reptiles):11:

I'm probably going to have a set-up similar to the one my birds have, a cage that they sleep in/are put in when no one is here, and otherwise they have free range. Kiwi can fly, however I'm still waiting on Loki's wings to grow back out, so he stays on top of the cage/on the play area
Is it normal or common to clip an Ekkie's wings at all? I know allot of people do it to make the bird more "person-dependent" while they're young, after they get their first full set of feathers. But I haven't seen anything about people doing that to larger parrots, as I'm sure they're heavier and can hurt themselves easier by falling/jumping into things

Sorry I'm so full of questions hah. I'm just trying to remember the random little things I couldn't find in any online care sheet.

 

[Terry57]

That's okay! Please ask away
Some people clip, and others don't. Ekko is clipped right now, but I have not decided whether to clip again.

I used to own snakes years ago at the same time that i had birds, and a king snake escaped his tank and killed a young bird I was heartbroken and made sure to keep them in different parts of the house after that.

 

[Sterling1113]

Oh no that's awful I'm sorry to hear.
The lizards are in the same room in closed cages, but the snake is in our (very large) walk-in closet, as it's probably got the most average temperature year-round. (warmest in the winter, coolest in the summer.)
As much as I'd love to have a baby shipped to me, I'm usually really particular about meeting any animal I'm interested in buying. Knowing me I'll probably check all the breeders/rescues within a 3 hour radius of myself haha.

 

[Terry57]

It is nice to meet them first and see if you are compatible Darwin needed a home and she was a great deal. She is 22 so we were really expecting more issues with her than she had

Are you planning on getting one after you move?

 

[Sterling1113]

I'm not really sure when I plan on bringing the actual bird home. I'm probably going to do alot of clean and moving around my current apartment and get the cage I'd like to have the bird in, and see how much room there is for exploring. If it doesn't seem crowded we may get one before the lease is up. However if May comes around and we're ready to get a bird, we may as well wait until we move to reduce stress. I try to be as prepared as I can, but also play it by ear haha.

 

[Kiwibird]

Hi. We looked into possibly adopting an eclectus while we were looking for a bird, but our BFA Kiwi came up for adoption and just stole our hearts From what I remember, they needed a somewhat specialized diet (compared to other parrots) and that males tended to have a little better temperament than females (it obviously depends on the individual though). If you haven't ever owned or been around large parrots before, I highly suggest for both you and your boyfriend to get in contact with a local avian shelter. Many offer relatively inexpensive classes on large parrot care even if you aren't adopting from them, which can be hugely helpful in learning proper care and training techniques. It also may be beneficial to volunteer at a shelter to gain that hands on experience (who knows, you may fall in love with one), or join a local exotic bird club. And please don't close your mind 100% to rehomes or adoption. There are so many birds out there who are in desperate need for a loving home, and not all of them are aggressive self mutilators with major behavioral issues. There are a lot of very sweet birds who would do well with a new-to-parrots family, and shelters tend to care a lot more about placing the right bird in the right home than a breeder or pet shop.

As for apartment living, that just depends on the bird. Kiwi came home to a 300 sq ft studio apartment (his cage took up a massive chunk of our living room), but after spending his known life in a tiny cat crate, he settled right in to his much roomier accommodations. We've moved twice since we adopted him, and he hasn't ever had a problem adjusting. He doesn't have vast amounts of room to explore, but we always include him in what we're doing and there's never a day he isn't in every room doing various mentally-stimulating/bonding activities. What is MORE important than the amount of physical space is the amount of time you spend with your bird and what activities you do with them to keep them engaged and entertained.

 

[Sterling1113]

Kiwibird: I appreciate the feedback. And I am most definitely NOT opposed to re-homing or adoption, it's just that all the local* parrot rescues have a lengthy and tedious adoption process, and it's more of a "Let us match you with a bird we assume you would like" rather than "come spend time with each parrot and see which one seems most likely to bond". I'm ALWAYS checking Craiglist and other websites where people post ads for birds they need to rehome, but alas I haven't found anything suitable. I've been around types of cockatoos, amazons, a male eclectus and a blue and gold macaw. I don't mind a bird with a complicated diet, as I spend 90% of my time at home caring for my animals anyway. I have a "special needs" lizard who is blind so I hand feed/water him daily.
I'm also not 100% set on an Eclectus. I just remember out of all the large exotic parrots, the Eclectus had the best attitude toward me, especially me being a stranger, but I know it greatly varies depending on the bird.
All of my animals have been re-homes, including my reptiles and birds I've had in the past, and I just think it would be a neat experience to have a hatchling and do the hand-feeding myself. I'm always excited to try new things that I can learn about. I would also like to learn more about the Goffin Cockatoo, the Galah Cockatoo and perhaps a Gray. I've never been around either of those specific breeds though, so my research would have to be pretty extensive if I were to seriously consider bringing one home.


*By "local" I mean within 3 hours if I'm lucky, so that's already a ton of gas for the scheduled visits to and from the shelter.

 

[Anansi]

Hello, and welcome to the forum! I see that Terry already gave you the Eclectus 101 class. She's a great source and I cosign on all that she said. I too have a male eclectus. Bixby is also very laid back and, though he's most closely bonded to me, has a very close and loving relationship with my wife as well. He'll even fly to the elder of my two sons (5) when called. So he's definitely not a one person bird.

I know you were asking about clipping your bird as well. I chose to keep Bixby flighted, and there is not one day that I've regretted it. We're still working on his flight training, and from time to time he can be a bit clumsy, (Bixby is only 6 months) but he's coming along. And he absolutely loves flying about.

And as for your noise concerns, every bird is different. Bixby, though, is very quiet. He only ever gets noisy when my boys are making their own racket and he wants to join in! Lol!

Please keep us updated on whatever you decide. And good luck!

 

[Sterling1113]

I've been doing *alot* of reading in between my daily chores (dishes, feeding animals, basic cleanliness.) and I've seen a couple threads involving Bixby They're gorgeous birds. My thing is I over-think too much, and when I find something demotivating it tends to sort of create a metaphorical fog or haze over the plus side. I tend to be jumpy, and the last thing I want is something to happen(another bird makes a sound, etc) and I jump or jerk, thus scaring whichever parrot I decide to get and even prompting a bite! ouch!
But I have time before I get ready to bring a bird home, and I'll definitely post here(Or in the appropriate thread) once I'm more sure on what lovely bird I'd like to add to my flock. I appreciate all the replies and helpful answers to my many questions.

EDIT: And on the clipped wings topic, really the only reason I've ever clipped my birds wings is if they wouldn't socialize. For me, when I clipped my GCC's wings he bonded much quicker and now will be scratched and step-up to mostly anyone. Just waiting on those lovely flight feathers to come back!

 

[Kiwibird]

I get shelters can come across as being difficult (and perhaps some of them are deliberately trying to be), but I think for the most part they just have the birds best interests at heart and don't want the same kind of people who would buy a bird totally uniformed/unprepared in a pet store to abuse and abandon to come adopt one who's already damaged for half the price. We went through the "screening" (which was extensive) at 2 different rescues, both of which kept calling with much larger birds we weren't really able to house or care for because there were so many of them. Large cockatoos and macaws are the most common birds up for adoption, and I think they try just a little harder to find loving people for them because they can languish at shelters for years, while the smaller guys get adopted out much quicker. I don't think it's a intentionally pushy thing, more of a "please don't automatically look this little guy/girl over" thing. We just stayed adamant about a amazon/eclectus/gray (3 species we were most interested in). Both rescues were 3 hours south of us, and when Kiwi's owner contacted them wanting to surrender him, she was 3 hours north of us (6 hours from them), so they just put us directly in contact with her. We drove up the next day and couldn't leave him there, so it was kind of a chance scenario we ended up with him I believe everything happens for a reason, so as long as you keep an open mind, the right bird will just fall in your lap one day.

On another note, it's funny you have a blind lizard. My leopard gecko is blind too and doesn't have any toes left from difficult molts over the years (he's just REALLY old, I got him in 1997 as "my first pet"). I have to thump his crickets in the head for him to "catch" them anymore. Poor guy is so decrepit. I can't believe he's lived this long, but he's quite plump and still comes out and basks and crawls up on his log so I guess he's still going strong.

 

[MikeyTN]

You've already been given plenty of good advice but I want to mention this one thing. You've mentioned that you might want to hand feed. Eclectus babies are one of the tougher ones to feed, definitely not for a beginner! So that's something for you to consider.

 

[Sunshine1313]

No, they don't usually attach strongly to one person. In all of this, the key word is usually. You just have to understand that if you do get an eclectus, it might be nothing like the norm/usual. Best of luck.

 

[Sterling1113]

I saw the classifieds thread, but do you think a forum like this would be a good place to look for a bird? I'd have to find someone local though because I'm insanely paranoid about scams. Almost got scammed out of a Goffin Cockatoo a while back because I was young and fairly ignorant to online shopping.

 

[MikeyTN]

Always meet in person and pay in person! There's quite a few of them being posted in Houston if you want to take a drive there.