what brand of pellets do you feed your Eclectus?

[mcmalott]

I have 20 week male Vos Eclectus named Simon

He heats Roudy Bush pellets - that is what his breeder prefers and has had wonderful luck with - no plucking!

My vet prefers Harrisons......

What pellet do you feed?

 

[Blue]

Greenie might get 5 pellets a week, Zupreem Natural or Nut Blend, but other than that he gets fresh food and a seed mix

 

[dragonlady2]

Mine gets TOP's pellets and will also eat Roudybush. He only get's about a tablespoon per day and the rest is fresh fruits and veggies, millet, sprouts and sweet mashed potato with brown rice. Aren't Ekkies awesome!

 

[mcmalott]

My breeder and vet suggest 70%pellets and 30% fruits and veggies - ahhhhh there are so many different opinions

 

[c3honey84]

Eclectus should not be fed a full pelleted diet. 90% fresh fruits and vegetables everyday or else they will develop a vitamin deficiency. Roxy gets pellets only a few times per month, and only as a supplement. And I always use Zupreme all natural.

 

[moni.k]

No, no birds diet should be made up if 70% pellet. Even cockatoos and macaws... 60% fresh fruits and veggies while 40% is made up if natural pellets. With eclectus they have a lower digestive tract and cannot process pellets and seeds like other birds. 90% of their diet should be fresh fruits and veggies, while 10% is made up of organic/natural pellets. There is no difference in opinions. That is their diet. If you look online, there is plenty if information on diets for eclectus. Please do not feed your Ekkie 70% pellets. I can promise you that your bird will have health issues. If not now, then in the future. I feed my bird fresh fruits and veggies all day long. Only in the evening I give her a tablespoon of organic pellets (totally organic pellet, for all sized hook bills), and a tablespoon of seeds. That's to just hold her over till the next morning.

Please check out some of the online resources and previous threads on this forum. There is a lot of information out there that can help you.

 

[c3honey84]

My breeder and vet suggest 70%pellets and 30% fruits and veggies - ahhhhh there are so many different opinions

I am very surprised that your breeder would say that. Yes there are different opinions, but you should know that your breeder is in a very small percentage that says 70% pellets. I have read eclectus books that say that because eclectus have an elongated digestive tract, they do not do well on pellets. The number one rule however, is NEVER feed pellets with artificial colors or flavors. They develop psychological problems such as toe tapping from this.

 

[Chikoo]

I don't feed my ekkies pellets, but I keep a stash of TOPS pellets. I give it as treats or occasionally give some to them when fruits are low in season or something.

 

[Molcan2]

Roc came to me wing flipping and occaisional toe tap, we put him on Pretty Bird Eclectus specific diet pellets and both of those behaviors stopped with in a few days of being on them. He eats 75/80% pellets and the rest is fruit. He refuses veggies and refuses mash/chop, so we were stuck having to give him pellets. His calcium levels were low when we got him, his blood work has been perfect ever since the diet change. Everyone is going to have different opinions, you'll have to find what works for you. Diets need to be tailored to individuals, what works for one may not be right for another but this is what works best for Roc.

 

[BeakersBro]

No, bird diet should be 60% meat, 30% pasta, 10% grapes.

 

[mtdoramike]

I don't feed Mac pellets. I will give him a spoon or two of seed in the morning along with his fruit and veggies.

 

[birdbrainzz4me]

when i had my ekkies, i fed them harrison's. it's a pellet food, but we also gave them their fruits, veggies and nuts also. our male had a vitamin a defficiency and had to stricktly stay on harrison's because it was a veterinarian made pellet high in vitamins. if he didn't stay on it he would get the black stress lines in his feathers and started toe tapping. so what ever you do choose to feed, my best suggestion would be to read the nutrients and find what ever has the best content of vitamin a, from what i was told that is one of the most important vitamins for an ekkie because they have longer digestive systems than most parrots.

 

[c3honey84]

Please read this example of an eclectus diet:

Diet

If you feed your eclectus the proper diet, there will be no vitamin deficiency.

 

[BeakersBro]

Please read this example of an eclectus diet:

Diet

If you feed your eclectus the proper diet, there will be no vitamin deficiency.

Thanks for this link. I just made a whole bunch of it and Beaker likes it.

I like it too (when I add a bit of salt).

 

[lpolliard]

Wow...a whole lot of conflicting information on this post.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Every thing I've read on Eclectus say they don't do well on pellets, and that the majority of their diet should be fresh foods.

 

[sodakat]

What a mess. I hope no one does a google search on feeding eclectus and comes upon this thread.

 

[Peeker]

For the most part I think there is agreement that Ekkies do best on fresh fruits and veggies. Sprouts, cooked sweet potato, lentils, beans rice etc. If pellets are offered they should be a small percentage of the diet and not have artificial colors and flavors--Ekkies do poorly with additives. Watch your bird closely for toe tapping and wing flipping and if it starts,try eliminating the pellet to see if it stops.

I use Roudybush but only give it once or twice a month.

 

[BeakersBro]

Please read this example of an eclectus diet:

Diet

If you feed your eclectus the proper diet, there will be no vitamin deficiency.

The link that c3honey84 posted here is the correct diet, and here is a video of Beaker eating some:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9oonhQ4WLI]Beaker eating #6 Healthy Hookbill Diet - YouTube[/ame]

And this is what it looks like in pot form:

 

[RockysMom]

the breeder I'am getting our little girl Candy from says maybe once a week she can have a Tablespoon of pellets and it has to be organic pellets like TOPS or Harrisons the rest she feeds Goldenfeast , veggies, beans , rice and fruits