Eclectus - Setting the Record Strait (Also, bird lighting)

[elementalcobalt]

So I took our new bird to get her beak shaved at a local bird farm. I knew from googling, searching, and talking that Eclectus can have differing diets, but I found the store person telling me a bunch of stuff that conflicted with what I already knew.

Right now, I've mostly been feeding her a chop diet. Fruits, vegetables, and cooked beans. I received a few months of supply now frozen, so I don't know exactly the composition of the chop. We occasionally give her fresh fruits and vegetables and she might get a little piece of bread, peas, or nuts as a training treat (never in excess).

Anyway, she stated that the bird needs to be on a pellet diet. She provided me a diet that is "made from fresh vegetables, brown rice, and fruits. She seemed to be very fond of promoting brown rice, although as far as I'm aware, brown rice is a filler ingredient which doesn't do too much. It's colored, but she insists it's "natural coloring"... although I have to wonder that. Do these companies like to mix each pellet with different ingredients to get their multi-colored rainbow coloring. It's like this diet

Amazon.com : Pretty Bird International BPB78318 Species Specific Special Eclectus Food, 8-Pound : Pet Food : Pet Supplies

but a bulk one whose composition I honestly didn't ask for, although now that I'm writing this I realized I should have.

She wants predominately pellet with chop mixed in. Although, her stores chop mixes in a lot of other ingredients like more brown rice and spirella... which I've heard may be too nutrient rich for Eclectus. So yeah, I don't know if that's just bird store trying to sell me hoopla or what. To my knowledge, an assortment of legumes can meet all amino acids needs of an animal. The fruits and vegetable mix should meet most vitamin needs. Eggshells can be used to meet calcium needs. For trace minerals, she'll probably get them but I guess that's what a mineral stone can be fore.

She also insisted we get a mineral stone, which was okay, cause I was considering it last week, although the person there last week said it would be pointless for our animal's diet. The last thing they said was that I need a full spectrum UV bird light on her 8 hours a day. I know light breaks down certain vitamin derivatives, but I've also been told that if the bird gets enough calcium in their diet (like with egg shells), there is no reason for UV to breakdown stuff.

And finally, as far as buying a full spectrum light, is there really any reason to buy the $20+ lightbulbs because they have the word "Avian" in them, when I can just buy a sad bulb for $8.

http://www.amazon.com/Joyous-Light-...=1429404899&sr=1-5&keywords=Alzo+Joyous+Light

I can't find any difference between these and the bird light from a spec standpoint. She gave some baloney about sad lamps sitting at a different flicker frequency that can cause more harm than good, but I'm pretty sure that's not how CFL lights work, or rather, that this rate is more dependent on the quality of the lamp, not the bulb.

Anyway, I'm just looking for some insights or clarifications from the public. It's left me a bit perplexed. I'm half tempted to say screw it, assume noone really knows what they're talking about, and do whatever I feel like. After all, there are seven billion people on this planet and we still can't even agree on what the healthiest diet is for ourselves... what chance do we have on a random species of bird?

 

[Monica]

If you have a healthy eclectus, then she doesn't need a beak trim.

If you do it right, you can provide a healthy diet without pellets. Not all eclectus react negatively towards pellets and spirulina, while others don't react immediately. (i.e. it takes a while to build up) Some ekkie owners *DO* include pellets in the diet, but usually 50% or less (i.e. as little as 5-15% of the diet!)

The majority of the dyes found in pellets are natural and artificial dyes.

Supposedly, the best full spectrum lights are tube lights. The majority of "avian" lights sold on the market are just rebranded reptile lights which are *NOT* the correct lights to get for parrots and may cause sunburn to the eyes and skin. Regardless of the type of lights you get, they may not actually provide any vitamin D to the bird, therefore, are "worthless" in that aspect. However, I do think that the lights can be beneficial in other ways. The lights can provide a more natural lighting within the home, and that in itself is good for the birds, especially if our homes are kind of dark or dim, or our regular bulbs give off the wrong color. Having so called "full spectrum" lighting may help birds to see better and clearer, as well as to potentially increase their energy levels. If that's the case, might as well buy a couple of lights with 91-98 CRI rating and 5,000-5,500 kelvins. The ones most often recommended are the Phillips F32T8/TL950 bulbs with an electronic ballast.



And honestly, who really knows what we're talking about?!?!?!? All modern day doctors say that high cholesterol is bad, and I just met one who takes a different approach to healing and he says that not one person has died from high cholesterol! One doctor made a post on the internet and said that high cholesterol does not lead to heart disease. What if it's true? What if all the information we have learned about medicine and health is false? What if many of our health issues (i.e. diabetes and cancer) can be linked back to processed foods or toxins within the environment?


Unfortunately, we aren't born knowing everything, nor do we grow up to learn everything! All you can do is to learn as much as you can and try to make your own informed decisions. This can be especially tough with so much contradicting info out there!

 

[jmfleish]

Rice is actually a great thing to add into your Ekkie's diet. Rice and beans will complete the amino acid chain when you mix them together. Ekkies have a longer digestive tract and tend to absorb much more nutrition so it is thought that this might be part of the reason why they have issues with dyes and preservatives. It sounds like you're. Doing a great job with what you are feeding now but remember that prepackaged foods should be avoided as well. You don't have to feed pellets to feed a balanced diet but you do have to work harder to get a balanced diet from fresh food.

The biggest problem with not feeding pellets is that you don't get the benefit of the synthetic Vitamin D3 that is most fortified pellets. This is where the lighting comes in. I personally think they're worthless and cause more harm than good, but that's just my opinion. The best way to get Vit D3 into your bird is to go outside and get it naturally from the sun.

Hope this helps.