My Male Eclectus Died Suddenly & Need Help Raising His Young

[dnbmorgann]

2/6/2021. I had a very difficult evening yesterday. I was cleaning my self-cleaning oven. The smell was pretty bad and I had doors and windows open. I had once heard to not use real hot temperatures with Teflon pans due to toxicity to birds. I did not know the inside of the oven is covered in Teflon. About an hour after I'd finished, our parrot, Ferd, started fluttering, and got stuck on his perch. I picked him up, and within a minute, he died in my hands.... I feel responsible, yet I'd never done it if I'd known. Ferd was a part of our family for 17 years. It was so fun breeding Ferd and Marjie. Ferd was the biggest talker. He was out of the cage a lot. I will miss him for a long time.

2/8/2021- Update: I knew our male and female eclectus had mated a day before Ferd died. I looked in the birthing box today, and there is an egg! I need as much advice as possible for what to do to have a successful birth! Should I use an incubator? Is it even possible with not having a male to feed the female while on the egg? Any input would be appreciated...

 

[Scott]

My deepest condolences for your tragic loss of Ferd. I dearly hope the egg is fertile and viable as his legacy.

I don't know enough about Ekkie breeding to state whether Marjie will be sufficient to incubate and raise a chick. Would imagine so provided sufficient food resources are available.

 

[noodles123]

I am so sorry for your loss. I feel so bad that you are going through this.


I am not an expert on breeding or hand-rearing, but at this point, a lot is uncertain, as it all depends on how good of a parent your remaining bird is. In the event that you have to remove the chick early (assuming it is fertile and hatches) you may need a brooder with a bird-safe heat lamp (you need to call about PTFE (edit whoops- had pbfd by mistake lol), PFCs, PFOA and Teflon in these lights as well, unless you can verify some other way). Humidity is also super important, so you will want to monitor that as well. You will want a good gram-scale with a perch on it if you don't already have one. You will also need parrot formula, syringes, a digital candy thermometer for the for the formula (+ a skinny bottle brush to clean syringes ---brush needs to be super clean too). I would make the formula with purified water if I were you. It is super important that your hands and the environment are extremely clean in between each feeding etc. You will want to look into the different types of syringes, as some are frowned upon due to difficulties cleaning or loose parts.


Again-- just telling you what I know, but not an expert. If you don't already have one, try to find an avian certified vet to consult throughout this process. I will try to post some links to sites or threads that may be helpful (after I get off work)

I am sure more knowledgeable members will chime in soon.

 

[Flboy]

Hi! I am so sorry for your nightmare!

 

[wrench13]

I wish I had concrete advice on the hatching and rearing of Ekkie chicks, but I do not. All I have is condolences on the loss of Ferd. We see on the board here so many parrots being lost to teflon and related materials due to over heating of the materials.

I would scour the Web for Ekkie breeders to get the answers to your questions, clearly unique to that species. I honestly don't think we have a breeder of those here on Parrot Forums.

 

[SailBoat]

Deeply sorry for your heartbreaking loss! The loss of a longtime family member hurts deeply and will not simply go away. The memories will linger and with time, lots of time, the tears will slowly turn to smiles as you remember the sweet moments.

It sounds like this is possible a new experience, that your two had not produced an egg in the past. If true, first eggs are not always viable and you will likely need to candle (backlight) the egg to determine if it is. Truly great advise above about involving your Avian Medical Professional.

We tend to be a community of individuals owned by Companion Parrots and not so much Breeders and those Breeders that are about tend to be overwhelmed by the numbers of individuals that need advise. Your contacting a local Breeder is likely you best route as you are going to need hands-on support.

Again, sorry for your loss. Self-Cleaning Ovens are also dangerous to Humans with immune related issues and the manufacturers should stop making them.

 

[Saash]

Hello

I am SO SORRY about Ferd! I swear, my worst nightmare I've just taken Pickles out the kitchen so I can cook.

Please join this facebook forum:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/689...28064019065&reply_comment_id=3594017127313492

"Breeding, hand-rearing, and weaning baby parrots" The lady admin has years of experience hand-raising baby eclectus and will surely help you!

I am happy to help also, if you stick around.

My Pickles is 7 weeks old now, but I only took her from the nest at week 3. Its not loads of experience, but at least its something!

Your egg wont hatch for a while still, so you have loads of time to get ready for the big event.

 

[Saash]

It takes about 28 days for an eclectus egg to hatch.

If your hen is not sitting, you can try incubate it.

If she is sitting, let her try and be a good mom.

If you don't have the time to deal with this (its a FULL TIME commitment) then rather find a local hand-raiser to do this for you!

Take a look at this link:

https://www.cuteness.com/article/incubate-parrot-eggs

I got loads of help from an online-avian vet I found here:

https://www.justanswer.com/info/how-it-works

Ofcourse, nothing replaces an in-person Avian Vet for when things really go wrong. Search your area, the local vets and pet shops usually know of one, or you can ask at a local bird rescue centre or bird park.

If you are lucky, try find live contact with a person who raises parrots for a living and doesn't mind helping you out either by doing it FOR you, or to help guide you through the process.