African Grey or Eclectus?

[Sydnee Fisher]

I am not planning to buy until I’m ready maybe in a few years. I’m experienced with all things birds and want a parrot to be my life long companion and hopefully be extremely intelligent and talk. It doesn’t matter so much to me if they want to have cuddles all the time but would enjoy if it would like head scratches every once in a while. I do not work at home but will have plenty of hours to teach my bird new things everyday and give it plenty of toys and affection. I would like to know the difference between the Eclectus and African Grey and everyone’s thoughts and concerns they have of me getting each. Thank you!

 

[Sweet Louise]

They are very different birds. I considered an Eclectus but didn't feel I could manage the specialized diet. I got Louise as a baby rescue and never looked back. She is quiet, not messy, likes to hang out. With a grey, you have to make sure they are mentally challenged. Louise likes to share everything I eat and loves junk food--I rarely eat it now but if I have it, she is locked up or she is right in it. She likes to be where the action is. If I go to a part of the house out of her sight, she contact calls. A lot of the time I will just take her with me, she enjoys it and is no bother as long as you don't mind poo and buttons chewed up. I believe that a Grey is smaller than an eclectus. At first I thought greys were kinda boring looking, the eclectus is a striking bird. I now believe Louis is the most beautiful bird, all the lovely hues of grey and looks like she is wearing a suit of armor made of feathers. Having a bird is a huge responsibility, things like travel is difficult as finding proper bird care has been challenging. Every day it takes more work than all my schnauzers combined--and from what I can tell, Louise is an easier than average grey-and easier than average than most any bird.

 

[Sydnee Fisher]

They are very different birds. I considered an Eclectus but didn't feel I could manage the specialized diet. I got Louise as a baby rescue and never looked back. She is quiet, not messy, likes to hang out. With a grey, you have to make sure they are mentally challenged. Louise likes to share everything I eat and loves junk food--I rarely eat it now but if I have it, she is locked up or she is right in it. She likes to be where the action is. If I go to a part of the house out of her sight, she contact calls. A lot of the time I will just take her with me, she enjoys it and is no bother as long as you don't mind poo and buttons chewed up. I believe that a Grey is smaller than an eclectus. At first I thought greys were kinda boring looking, the eclectus is a striking bird. I now believe Louis is the most beautiful bird, all the lovely hues of grey and looks like she is wearing a suit of armor made of feathers. Having a bird is a huge responsibility, things like travel is difficult as finding proper bird care has been challenging. Every day it takes more work than all my schnauzers combined--and from what I can tell, Louise is an easier than average grey-and easier than average than most any bird.

Thank you I was before you even said anything attracted to the African Greys because a friend of mine has one and it doesn’t really like anyone but the women but is super smart and loves head scratches from her. I have lived on a dairy farm with 150 cows and 36 chickens so I know poop, mess, and how some have really bad attitudes (I love them anyway). I don’t mind screams also!

 

[Sydnee Fisher]

The Eclectus diet is also a concern of mind...

 

[ConureTiel]

Be sure to go to the subforum titled "Species Speedway" and select the threads for Greys and Eclectus. Lots of good reading there, especially "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" threads.

 

[Shinobi]

Eclectus Parrots need more fruits / vegetables than other parrots. It is generally recommended that eclectuses be fed about 60% to 80% soft foods, such as fresh or thawed-out frozen fruits, vegetables, soaked seed. They enjoy corn-on-the-cob, banana, mango, apple, per, passion fruit, berries, cantaloupe and watermelon. I don't think that the diet of the Eclectus parrot is specialised, it's just slightly different. they still eat the same type of fruit and veggies as other parrots.

The Eclectus requires a diet high in Beta Carotene and vegetable protein, and should consist of 6% fat for adult Eclectus while younger birds that are more active and burn more fat may need 12% of fat in their diet.

Eclectus can have adverse reactions to synthetic supplements and can result in over-supplementing or vitamin toxicity. This can cause physical and emotional issues such as toe tapping, feather plucking, wing flipping, and screaming. if the diet for your Eclectus is correct then there is no need for synthetic supplements. But If you choose to use synthetic supplements, please seek the advice of an avian vet who has experience with Eclectus parrots first.

 

[Mansion75]

Let's do a movie moment
" search your feelings wise one, let the bird pick you"

 

[jmfleish]

Ekkies...they tend to not be one person birds and have a much different feather structure which makes them great birds for people with allergies. They are very intelligent and can learn to speak and have large vocabularies. I have two Solomon Island Eclectus males and they are literally the sweetest birds I have ever met but their diets can be hard. They can be prone to feather picking, wing flipping, and toe tapping. They are extremely intelligent and about the same size as the CAG. They can be incredibly loud!

Greys are similar in some instances but different in other instances. They are dust producing birds so are bad for people with breathing issues and could cause issues with people who have allergies. If you have asthma or COPD or someone you live with does, walk away from a grey right now. If you or someone you live with has lots of allergies, make sure Greys are not one of them. Greys are incredibly smart to the point of being almost empathic. They are known for their speaking ability but this does not mean that every one of them alway talks. They do need to be mentally stimulated and challenged and some like to play bait and switch biting games. They generally have a wicked sense of humor.

Neither bird is much into cuddling but there are always exceptions. Most of my greys love scritches around their neck and head. My Ekkies aren’t interested in that but will let me bring them to my chest and give them full body pets. I can also do just about anything with my Ekkies as they are incredibly gentle and completely trust me. My greys are a bit less confident in letting me do what I want. Most of them step up readily but I can’t turn them upside down or other stuff that I can with the Ekkies.

 

[Sweet Louise]

Ekkies...they tend to not be one person birds and have a much different feather structure which makes them great birds for people with allergies. They are very intelligent and can learn to speak and have large vocabularies. I have two Solomon Island Eclectus males and they are literally the sweetest birds I have ever met but their diets can be hard. They can be prone to feather picking, wing flipping, and toe tapping. They are extremely intelligent and about the same size as the CAG. They can be incredibly loud!

Neither bird is much into cuddling but there are always exceptions. Most of my greys love scritches around their neck and head. My Ekkies aren’t interested in that but will let me bring them to my chest and give them full body pets. I can also do just about anything with my Ekkies as they are incredibly gentle and completely trust me. My greys are a bit less confident in letting me do what I want. Most of them step up readily but I can’t turn them upside down or other stuff that I can with the Ekkies.

I did not know they are the same size. Maybe they look bigger to me because of their striking colors?

 

[jmfleish]

I did not know they are the same size. Maybe they look bigger to me because of their striking colors?

Just like greys can vary greatly in size so can Ekkies, it will depend on what you are used to in a grey versus what you have seen in an Ekkie. Most of my greys are fairly hefty and weigh in the upper 400s to lower 500s, but my new pair, Seymour and Chevey are tiny in comparison. I haven’t weighed them yet but would guess that Seymour is in the low 400s and Chevey probably isn’t even 400 grams. I need to get them on a scale. Both of my Ekkies are around the 480 gram range. CAGs can range greatly from 350 to 700. Ekkies can probably hit the same general range. There are also several subspecies of Ekkies and weight tends to be able to separate them along with very minor color differences.

 

[Sydnee Fisher]

I guess I will actually have to meat them to make a choice then!