Peppercorn
Moving in
- Joined
- 5/21/19
- Messages
- 11
Hi,
I'm new here and this is my 1st post. This post has turned out much longer than I intended but I hope you enjoy my story. I'm from a beautiful part of Australia although the Eclectus is not native to our part of the country.
I've had Eclectus Parrots for about 15 years now on and off. I say on and off because I have lost 2 males and 1 Female parrot during that time but have always had one female resident named Ruby.
(You may think I'm clumsy in losing these birds but I'll explain why further on).
On to Ruby.
Ruby is a really unique bird. She sits atop of our verandah in her cage overlooking the entire neighbourhood. She has an incredible vocabulary and she uses it in context amazingly. If you fail to believe that these birds don't understand a rudimentary form of language I don't know what to tell you. I have many examples but I'll leave it out for brevity.
Ruby reminds me of a rough house old broad. I've saved her from snakes in the middle of the night that she's alerted me to. She's had babies where she hated me for taking them from her nest only to forgive me months later and come to me to take her inside to play.
She can be warm and affectionate and then when it suits her, she can rush to bite when she wants you to recognise her domain. She can be a real pretty lady believe me.
But through all this time together we've learned to respect her and she respects us. It's mutual respect.
You can handle her when she's in the mood but you gotta count your fingers at other times.
I lost her long term mate about 4 years ago when I left the cage door opened. His name was Narmu. (I didn't name him btw)
He was a lovely bird and very tame. We got him from a person who rescued him from a younger guy who had lost interest in looking after him. They gave him to us because they knew we would look after him. We did, and we had him for about 8 years. I still miss him after all this time.
He was on the roof of our house when I discovered him missing and I rushed out onto the street and called him to come to me of which I was very confident he would do, as he had done it many times before inside the house.
I called him and he was about to fly to me when a couple of wild butcher birds got on his tail immediately and scared him off. They chased him out of sight right on his tail. I searched and searched the neighbourhood for weeks but I never found him. I always thought that someone found him and kept him for themselves because he would've eventually flown to someone.
I had failed to lock the cage door properly (after removing a snake) and he scarpered. (took off)
Anyway, this is a long way to tell the story but when I was able to save up enough money I always wanted to get a new partner for Ruby. Her and Narmu were an awesome couple and they used to mate daily. Ruby would lower herself on the perch and she would say, "Step up step up Narmu" and he would eventually obey her and step up, and then they would go at it and she would say, "Oooh Narmu, good boy Narmu good boy!". It was quite hilarious watching on and they would do this daily with the described dialogue.
I'd tell people about these crazy birds but no one believed me until they saw it for themselves.
The context of how she uses her language is AMAZING! I could probably leave the cage door open for Ruby and she would come out and have a look around but, I doubt she would even bother to fly off. She's a part of the furniture here now. She has been out a few times but she just hangs around.
Anyway, it took me about 2 and half years to find the spare cash to buy a male replacement for Narmu and I eventually found one advertised on Gumtree for $500 who looked good, and was local. But when I went to inspect him this bird was in very bad shape. The photo they used definitely wasn't up to date or wasn't even of him. He looked terrible.
He'd been left in a metal cage in the middle of a backyard in the Queensland heat for a year and he had been fed nothing but seed and green beans. He had been plucking his feathers on the shoulders of both wings and on his chest. He was in a really bad way and only a year or so old.
The lady told me that he LOVED green beans and would only eat them and sunflower seeds.
I can honestly say he hasn't seen a green bean or a sunflower seed since I've had him and he doesn't seem to miss them.
Obviously, I wasn't looking for a bird in bad condition but I felt that I had to rescue him so, I bought him for $450 out of compassion because the people who owned him just had no idea how to look after him.
I named him Bugalugs and gave him a big cage of his own on the verandah next to Ruby. Ruby is about 14-15 and she would eat this bloke for breakfast while he's young so until he matures my plan is to ease him into her cage eventually.
I have to make Ruby yearn for him which she will eventually. (I know women lol)
Anyway, the amazing thing is that within 6 months of feeding Bugalugs well and giving him some TLC all of his feathers have returned and he's as happy as can be. He's a bit 'flighty' and can be spooked easily, even after a lot of handling but, that's his prerogative I guess.
The most AMAZING thing I've noticed is his vocabulary.
When we first got him all he did was mimic the wild birds calls that he was surrounded with but, by 6 months, he had learned ALL of Ruby's 15 year vocabulary and a few words of his own. Personally, I am gobsmacked at his diction and overall ability.
The one trait he did show initially was a propensity to start yapping unintelligible noises and yapping and yapping and getting louder and louder and he sounded like a broken record going manic.
From start to finish it would take him about an hour until it was like he was going to explode. I've never had a bird who acted this way. Once or twice a day he would work himself up into this manic state where it was like he was revisiting a nightmare so, I decided to hose him down. Thankfully, that worked. It was like a reset.
He'd stop and become quiet and preen himself. After a couple of hours he'd eventually start the process again but at least I'd found an answer to his nightmare.
At nighttime he would tap his feet wildly and yap and yap unintelligible noises and his feet would be jumping up and down, and his wings flipping so, to me it's obvious he's had some emotional turmoil.
But he is improving and he's noticeably much better at night now and the manic state seems to be down to 1 episode a day and after only 6 months of care I think that's really good. I reckon he may always have the scars but he should be able to fully recover I reckon.
Anyway, in the mornings he's really loud and screams with the wild Cockatoo's when the sun rises and the neighbours aren't too happy so, I get up with the sun every morning and bring him inside and he quietens down and is quite happy. I've been doing this every morning since I've had him. I can return him about 9am and everyone's happy.
So, on Saturday just gone, I'm half asleep and crawl out of bed in half a trance. I go onto the verandah and go through the same process I've been doing with him since I've had him and grab him from the cage when I needed to clear my throat and then spat into the garden below (which is a pretty dumb thing to do with a reptile resting on your arm) It spooked him.
Before I knew it he just flew off into the wilderness. I just stood there watching him fly off into the distant sunrise, out of sight and I muttered to myself "Oh well, that's the end of that".
I sheepishly walked down the road in the general direction and could hear him announcing his freedom from the top of the trees somewhere but I couldn't find him. I decided that there was nothing I could do and because I did look a bit strange standing in the middle of the street at 6am in my pyjama's, I walked back home cursing my stupidity.
We looked for him for the next few days but there was nothing. We contacted the relevant Vets in the area but no one had reported seeing a loud screaming Eclectus in their back yard tree. I live in south eastern Queensland and there are tree's everywhere crowded with hundreds of Crows that own the tree tops.
My wife just gave me that look that she does that say's everything she needed to say and all I could do next was pray. So, I did. I prayed that he would come home or, at least he'd find someone who would rescue him so he didn't get attacked by the wildlife.
But the truth is I never thought I would see him again.
And then yesterday (Monday), we have our Grandkids out on the Verandah playing and screaming like 2 yr olds do and Ruby was joining in with the screaming as well when, Bugalugs fly's in from nowhere and lands on his cage, trying to get back through the now closed cage door.
He was hungry!! Oh boy was he hungry.
I opened the door for him and he dashed in like he was saying, "Thank God I'm home!" He seemed very happy to be here and when I asked him, "So where have you been Bugs?" He answered with a worrying and deep oh oh oh like Eclectus Parrots do.
So that is a very long explanation of my very good news. Bugalugs is home! He found his way back and he's well and unharmed. In the wild these male birds have been known to fly up to 150 miles in search of food and be able to return to the same tree.
Now, you're probably wondering why I don't cut my birds wings after all these losses? You may think that this would negate most of my problems?
Well, we used to cut their wings when we first got them and then we'd let them walk around the Verandah and climb onto the neighbouring tree's but they are birds and they use, and need their wings. They would fall out of the trees and hit the ground hard. I never had any of them damaged but it wasn't good to see. Also, if you just leave them in their cage they get bored and that's where the ugly habits start to form Imo.
They need some interaction and inspiration.
Even if you cut their wings, their flight feathers grow back quite quickly. Ringnecks flight feathers only grow back once a year but Eclectus's grow them back when they're needed.
So you can get into the habit of believing they can't fly until one day, they can.
However when they do fly off they're still very limited.
This then poses a big problem for them. If they do escape they can't fly well and they are instantly attacked by wild birds here in Australia. Where we live there are plenty of cats, Owls, lot's of Crows, plenty of Carpet snakes too and wild birds who'll attack the Parrots on sight. The wild birds instantly know that these birds are easy prey so they attack them.
The Parrots have little defence other than their ability to fly.
I would rather lose them and know they can at least fly properly and escape, than to lose them knowing they can't escape danger. If they can only "half fly" or fly very short distances because of cut wings, they crash-land on the ground and they can damage themselves and have no way to escape predatory birds or cats and dogs. I don't think it's fair to have a bird and take away their birdness.
Keeping them in a cage isn't cruel as some people think because they need and want protection but taking away their wings I think is cruel. That's just my opinion.
Anyway, there will be some here who'll read this and think I'm a bit of a nut and maybe I am but, I love my parrots and have a respect for them. I've learned a lot about these birds over the years and one thing I have learned is that mutual respect is quite possible with these Eclectus but it takes time. They are very smart and very capable and they know where their bread is buttered so to speak.
I just wanted to tell you one of the very many stories I have assembled over the 15 or so years I've had these birds. This one has a happy ending.
But the longer I care for these Eclectus I sometimes wonder who owns who to be honest because, they're very cunning and intelligent animals. Maybe they're just using me?
I'm new here and this is my 1st post. This post has turned out much longer than I intended but I hope you enjoy my story. I'm from a beautiful part of Australia although the Eclectus is not native to our part of the country.
I've had Eclectus Parrots for about 15 years now on and off. I say on and off because I have lost 2 males and 1 Female parrot during that time but have always had one female resident named Ruby.
(You may think I'm clumsy in losing these birds but I'll explain why further on).
On to Ruby.
Ruby is a really unique bird. She sits atop of our verandah in her cage overlooking the entire neighbourhood. She has an incredible vocabulary and she uses it in context amazingly. If you fail to believe that these birds don't understand a rudimentary form of language I don't know what to tell you. I have many examples but I'll leave it out for brevity.
Ruby reminds me of a rough house old broad. I've saved her from snakes in the middle of the night that she's alerted me to. She's had babies where she hated me for taking them from her nest only to forgive me months later and come to me to take her inside to play.
She can be warm and affectionate and then when it suits her, she can rush to bite when she wants you to recognise her domain. She can be a real pretty lady believe me.
But through all this time together we've learned to respect her and she respects us. It's mutual respect.
You can handle her when she's in the mood but you gotta count your fingers at other times.
I lost her long term mate about 4 years ago when I left the cage door opened. His name was Narmu. (I didn't name him btw)
He was a lovely bird and very tame. We got him from a person who rescued him from a younger guy who had lost interest in looking after him. They gave him to us because they knew we would look after him. We did, and we had him for about 8 years. I still miss him after all this time.
He was on the roof of our house when I discovered him missing and I rushed out onto the street and called him to come to me of which I was very confident he would do, as he had done it many times before inside the house.
I called him and he was about to fly to me when a couple of wild butcher birds got on his tail immediately and scared him off. They chased him out of sight right on his tail. I searched and searched the neighbourhood for weeks but I never found him. I always thought that someone found him and kept him for themselves because he would've eventually flown to someone.
I had failed to lock the cage door properly (after removing a snake) and he scarpered. (took off)
Anyway, this is a long way to tell the story but when I was able to save up enough money I always wanted to get a new partner for Ruby. Her and Narmu were an awesome couple and they used to mate daily. Ruby would lower herself on the perch and she would say, "Step up step up Narmu" and he would eventually obey her and step up, and then they would go at it and she would say, "Oooh Narmu, good boy Narmu good boy!". It was quite hilarious watching on and they would do this daily with the described dialogue.
I'd tell people about these crazy birds but no one believed me until they saw it for themselves.
The context of how she uses her language is AMAZING! I could probably leave the cage door open for Ruby and she would come out and have a look around but, I doubt she would even bother to fly off. She's a part of the furniture here now. She has been out a few times but she just hangs around.
Anyway, it took me about 2 and half years to find the spare cash to buy a male replacement for Narmu and I eventually found one advertised on Gumtree for $500 who looked good, and was local. But when I went to inspect him this bird was in very bad shape. The photo they used definitely wasn't up to date or wasn't even of him. He looked terrible.
He'd been left in a metal cage in the middle of a backyard in the Queensland heat for a year and he had been fed nothing but seed and green beans. He had been plucking his feathers on the shoulders of both wings and on his chest. He was in a really bad way and only a year or so old.
The lady told me that he LOVED green beans and would only eat them and sunflower seeds.
I can honestly say he hasn't seen a green bean or a sunflower seed since I've had him and he doesn't seem to miss them.
Obviously, I wasn't looking for a bird in bad condition but I felt that I had to rescue him so, I bought him for $450 out of compassion because the people who owned him just had no idea how to look after him.
I named him Bugalugs and gave him a big cage of his own on the verandah next to Ruby. Ruby is about 14-15 and she would eat this bloke for breakfast while he's young so until he matures my plan is to ease him into her cage eventually.
I have to make Ruby yearn for him which she will eventually. (I know women lol)
Anyway, the amazing thing is that within 6 months of feeding Bugalugs well and giving him some TLC all of his feathers have returned and he's as happy as can be. He's a bit 'flighty' and can be spooked easily, even after a lot of handling but, that's his prerogative I guess.
The most AMAZING thing I've noticed is his vocabulary.
When we first got him all he did was mimic the wild birds calls that he was surrounded with but, by 6 months, he had learned ALL of Ruby's 15 year vocabulary and a few words of his own. Personally, I am gobsmacked at his diction and overall ability.
The one trait he did show initially was a propensity to start yapping unintelligible noises and yapping and yapping and getting louder and louder and he sounded like a broken record going manic.
From start to finish it would take him about an hour until it was like he was going to explode. I've never had a bird who acted this way. Once or twice a day he would work himself up into this manic state where it was like he was revisiting a nightmare so, I decided to hose him down. Thankfully, that worked. It was like a reset.
He'd stop and become quiet and preen himself. After a couple of hours he'd eventually start the process again but at least I'd found an answer to his nightmare.
At nighttime he would tap his feet wildly and yap and yap unintelligible noises and his feet would be jumping up and down, and his wings flipping so, to me it's obvious he's had some emotional turmoil.
But he is improving and he's noticeably much better at night now and the manic state seems to be down to 1 episode a day and after only 6 months of care I think that's really good. I reckon he may always have the scars but he should be able to fully recover I reckon.
Anyway, in the mornings he's really loud and screams with the wild Cockatoo's when the sun rises and the neighbours aren't too happy so, I get up with the sun every morning and bring him inside and he quietens down and is quite happy. I've been doing this every morning since I've had him. I can return him about 9am and everyone's happy.
So, on Saturday just gone, I'm half asleep and crawl out of bed in half a trance. I go onto the verandah and go through the same process I've been doing with him since I've had him and grab him from the cage when I needed to clear my throat and then spat into the garden below (which is a pretty dumb thing to do with a reptile resting on your arm) It spooked him.
Before I knew it he just flew off into the wilderness. I just stood there watching him fly off into the distant sunrise, out of sight and I muttered to myself "Oh well, that's the end of that".
I sheepishly walked down the road in the general direction and could hear him announcing his freedom from the top of the trees somewhere but I couldn't find him. I decided that there was nothing I could do and because I did look a bit strange standing in the middle of the street at 6am in my pyjama's, I walked back home cursing my stupidity.
We looked for him for the next few days but there was nothing. We contacted the relevant Vets in the area but no one had reported seeing a loud screaming Eclectus in their back yard tree. I live in south eastern Queensland and there are tree's everywhere crowded with hundreds of Crows that own the tree tops.
My wife just gave me that look that she does that say's everything she needed to say and all I could do next was pray. So, I did. I prayed that he would come home or, at least he'd find someone who would rescue him so he didn't get attacked by the wildlife.
But the truth is I never thought I would see him again.
And then yesterday (Monday), we have our Grandkids out on the Verandah playing and screaming like 2 yr olds do and Ruby was joining in with the screaming as well when, Bugalugs fly's in from nowhere and lands on his cage, trying to get back through the now closed cage door.
He was hungry!! Oh boy was he hungry.
I opened the door for him and he dashed in like he was saying, "Thank God I'm home!" He seemed very happy to be here and when I asked him, "So where have you been Bugs?" He answered with a worrying and deep oh oh oh like Eclectus Parrots do.
So that is a very long explanation of my very good news. Bugalugs is home! He found his way back and he's well and unharmed. In the wild these male birds have been known to fly up to 150 miles in search of food and be able to return to the same tree.
Now, you're probably wondering why I don't cut my birds wings after all these losses? You may think that this would negate most of my problems?
Well, we used to cut their wings when we first got them and then we'd let them walk around the Verandah and climb onto the neighbouring tree's but they are birds and they use, and need their wings. They would fall out of the trees and hit the ground hard. I never had any of them damaged but it wasn't good to see. Also, if you just leave them in their cage they get bored and that's where the ugly habits start to form Imo.
They need some interaction and inspiration.
Even if you cut their wings, their flight feathers grow back quite quickly. Ringnecks flight feathers only grow back once a year but Eclectus's grow them back when they're needed.
So you can get into the habit of believing they can't fly until one day, they can.
However when they do fly off they're still very limited.
This then poses a big problem for them. If they do escape they can't fly well and they are instantly attacked by wild birds here in Australia. Where we live there are plenty of cats, Owls, lot's of Crows, plenty of Carpet snakes too and wild birds who'll attack the Parrots on sight. The wild birds instantly know that these birds are easy prey so they attack them.
The Parrots have little defence other than their ability to fly.
I would rather lose them and know they can at least fly properly and escape, than to lose them knowing they can't escape danger. If they can only "half fly" or fly very short distances because of cut wings, they crash-land on the ground and they can damage themselves and have no way to escape predatory birds or cats and dogs. I don't think it's fair to have a bird and take away their birdness.
Keeping them in a cage isn't cruel as some people think because they need and want protection but taking away their wings I think is cruel. That's just my opinion.
Anyway, there will be some here who'll read this and think I'm a bit of a nut and maybe I am but, I love my parrots and have a respect for them. I've learned a lot about these birds over the years and one thing I have learned is that mutual respect is quite possible with these Eclectus but it takes time. They are very smart and very capable and they know where their bread is buttered so to speak.
I just wanted to tell you one of the very many stories I have assembled over the 15 or so years I've had these birds. This one has a happy ending.
But the longer I care for these Eclectus I sometimes wonder who owns who to be honest because, they're very cunning and intelligent animals. Maybe they're just using me?
