8 week old eclectus?

[Nightshade18]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and I would appreciate some advice and help. I am planning on getting an eclectus male and I have the opportunity to get an 8 week old chick to finish weaning from a breeder, I would like to know if this would be better to bond with him and have a well socialized companion or if it would be worse and he would consider me a mother and want to leave me and find another human to bond with. I would also like to know some opinions on how cuddly and affectionate the eclectus are. Thanks.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum.

I personally don't think it's a good idea to get an unweaned baby unless you have experience with hand feeding. I also feel that responsible breeders should not sell unweaned babies. Others may feel differently. Here is a discussion on the topic: Hazards of buying unweaned birds - Breeder's input appreciated. | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Tim]

Please do not buy an unweaned baby! Yes, it will see you as a parent. Whether that's good or bad is debatable, for you do not want it to view you as a mate, either. But the potential harm you can do if you do not have experience hand feeding or weaning is too great.

I do not have experience with the Eclectus species, but their behavior is very specific to the species, and their diet is much more specialized. They are beautiful birds!

 

[jmfleish]

I brought home my Cooper SIE at 16 weeks and he was supposed to be fully weaned, which he probably was but he regressed and it was horrible. If you do not have any hand feeding experience, I would not bring a baby home who isn't fully weaned. That is definitely not an experience I would repeat and I had handfeeding experience. Cooper was still having feeding issues at six months of age. He's now 13 and a great eater but his first year of life was tough.

 

[aooratrix]

If weaning is an option, have them do it. I have handfed many babies and am weaning out Annie, my GW. I'm not enjoying it 100% because I know everything that can go wrong. If the situation had been different, I'd have left her with them. I've never fed Eclectus, so I'd only do it if I had significant experience, if I were you.

Most people report Eclectus to be personable but not cuddly. However, there are always exceptions.

 

[Nightshade18]

Thank you, the only reason I'm even considering the hand feeding is because the baby is 8 weeks old and has its first feathers and will be around 4 weeks from weaning on a twice a day feeding schedule. There will also be a bird show in my area soon so maybe I can find an already weaned baby there, it is extremely hard to find a baby in my area thanks for the help

 

[Aggie]

I am a very new eclectus owner. Have had my boy 2 months now. Have had parrots my whole life though. He is just amazing.

I was offered to take him unweaned but after breeder explained how precise you need to be I didnt want to make a mistake of burning him or under feeding ect.

I find the eclectus to be amazing creatures. My bond is already strong in such a short time. My hubby thinks mine sees me as a mother however Im not sure. I am his safety person and the person he tolerates no matter what his mood is. I also get to see more moods that my husband doesn't. He also tries new things with me but won't have a bar of it from hubby.

He watchs me like a hawk. If im talking he looks and listens. I get these baby cries that concern me as if hes calling for his mum. He follows me around the house and comes when I call him. If he wants me, no toy or piece of food looks appealing. He has been like this from day one with me. He can growl and peck (never bite) at my husband when hes moody but in honest truth hubby doesn't pick up on his moods.

I find these birds to be super emotional and intelligent. He will accept all forms of attention and if he doesn't get it he will just go an invade your space to get it. Mine doesn't like to be patted on wings and back but let's me do it. My hubby however doesn't have a chance. He alternates his affections between us as if to be fair. He even tries to be friends with the dog.

He is an extremely fast leaner. He was already talking in just after a few weeks. He is independent and can entertain himself for hours by himself. Out of all the birds I've owned he is also by far the cleanest. His poop lands where it falls. He also has his areas he likes to poop in. Ie cage, play stand and in shower. There is also no projecting it anywhere. All his food bits usually stay in bowl but he has a wide bowl. He likes to shower daily and loves a good head scratch/eye rub.

On the slightly negative side he is super sensitive with everything and food has been a big one. No pellets for him as he will toe tap. And chillies in moderation otherwise it also happens. He remembers everything so we have had to be super gentle and slow but the reward of this is he learns things the right way. He nibbled very hard when we first got him. But as we where so gentle he is now too, even if in a mood. He also needs a lot of attention. These birds need to be with you.....and all the time. Even if in the same room. They need lots of company, attention and stimulation.

I can see there will be behaviours to work through in future as he already has a strong personality. But I guess what you put in is what you get. But he is amazing!!

 

[Calpurnia]

Definitely don't buy an unweaned baby. The idea that you have to hand feed a baby to have a strong bond (or a loving companion) is completely false. Just look at all of the birds that have been adopted as adults, or the majority of people who buy their babies already weaned. The only people who recommend this are breeders because, surprise surprise, getting rid of a baby as soon as possible is a good investment. The less time they have to "waste" feeding, socializing, and weaning a baby is time they can spend raising and selling other birds i.e. putting more money in their pockets. Considering all of the things that can go wrong with an inexperienced hand-feeder (or during the weaning process), it's not worth the risk.

We had a female ekkie for about a year. She was definitely willing to be cuddled, but any sort of inappropriate touching led to extreme hormonal behavior. I'd say that even if an ekkie is willing to be pet all over I'd avoid it, considering how many of them seem to get overly hormonal as they mature.

 

[Tim]

This is a great documentary which features the Eclectus. With this species, I think it's super important to understand how they behave in the wild, and how different they are than every other parrot, especially when it comes to bonding, mating and feeding.

 

[Nightshade18]

Thanks everyone I won't go with the unweaned baby, I truly hope they will have Ekkies at the bird show in a couple weeks i would much rather have a weaned baby I want everything to go great and to have a wonderful lifelong companion. Thank you all for the help and advice on the subject!

 

[jmfleish]

Isn't the breeder willing to wean the baby for you? Where are you located? Ekkies shouldn't be incredibly hard to find as babies. They are an interesting species because in the wild, they do not mate for life like many of the other parrot species and they also do not have a mating period but mate throughout the year, the males going to several different females. I have two males and they are extremely hormonal throughout the year. They are incredibly sweet despite that and just love attention but aren't known for liking to be pet like the Cockatoos are. They love being with me though and love being in the thick of the action. They are incredibly sweet and docile parrots but they can be loud. My two boys are actually siblings and tend to be much more quiet with each other than if you tried to separate them. When you separate them, they will honk and screech and they can get incredibly loud.

As for bonding, I agree completely with Dom. I think I have a better bond with some of the birds I've gotten as adults than with the few birds I've gotten as babies and I don't think that hand feeding makes any bit of difference. I've never understood why a breeder would be willing to sell an unweaned baby to someone who doesn't have hand feeding experience other than greed and when you're dealing with such beautiful and intelligent creatures, I can't understand why anyone would do that...

 

[sunnysmom]

Thanks everyone I won't go with the unweaned baby, I truly hope they will have Ekkies at the bird show in a couple weeks i would much rather have a weaned baby I want everything to go great and to have a wonderful lifelong companion. Thank you all for the help and advice on the subject!

If you want to tell us where you are located, we may be able to offer some suggestions on where to find an Ekkie. Do you definitely want a baby?

 

[Nightshade18]

I would prefer to have one around 6 months of age and I am located near the Asheville area in NC, I haven't found any so far or heard of any and the breeder already has someone that will take the baby at 8 weeks if I did not. There is a bird fair in a couple of weeks where there will be a lot of different breeders though from out of state so I may be able to find an ekkie there. I live in a very rural area so it's hard to find breeders.

 

[Lady Jane]

I don't understand why this breeder will not continue feeding this baby until weaned and fledged. If they are in such a hurry to sell the baby then I would be quite suspicious of this breeders ethics.

 

[jmfleish]

Here are some breeders I found in the NC area that sell Ekkies but you can always ship too. I would highly suggest David Skidmore in Indiana. His FB page is Austral Eclectus Aviary | Facebook

Birdie Brains Aviary
Home

 

[Calpurnia]

I would prefer to have one around 6 months of age and I am located near the Asheville area in NC, I haven't found any so far or heard of any and the breeder already has someone that will take the baby at 8 weeks if I did not. There is a bird fair in a couple of weeks where there will be a lot of different breeders though from out of state so I may be able to find an ekkie there. I live in a very rural area so it's hard to find breeders.

Are you open to shipping? I've always lived in areas that lack easy access to breeders and so the last two birds we bought we had shipped across the country. It's a very safe (and I think easy) process if you are open to the idea! If you haven't seen it already, birdbreeders.com is a good resource for finding breeders across the country.

 

[Nightshade18]

I will look into it my only issue with shipping is the price I am on a budget with it, I'm hoping to find one for around $1,000 or less considering I must buy a cage too the unweaned baby was going to be $700 so it will be hard for me to find another for the same price range with shipping at least.

 

[Tim]

Both of my birds were shipped, too--it was a good experience! (OK, the time they were in the air I worried the entire time, but everything turned out great)

 

[SandraK]

Yes, but the responsibility and risk of taking in a very young unweaned baby will far outweigh the cost of getting a weaned bird. Personally, I would not want to take that on though I've helped out tiel parents with handfeeding. I have never dealt with anything larger than a tiel/gcc baby. The larger the bird the longer the handfeeding process from what I've seen on AA.

 

[Nightshade18]

Yes I agree, I was very hesitant about the hand feeding and that's why I came to this forum for some advice and it's been great having such nice people reply! Id rather wait for an opportunity for an already weaned baby and a good price than risk my baby's health.