Male Vs Female

[minirachie]

I am getting an Ekkie and I am totally falling for the female...BUT....alot of websites say they are more agressive and bitey so its drawing me back...
It would be awesome if the Ekkie could get along with frankie...(It says they can get along with other species, but of course it depends on the bird...) and so I'm totally tied between the two
Please share your stories of your male and/or female ekki, and if females are more agressive ect.
Thanks!

 

[ncGreyBirdLady]

I have only had experience with a male.He was a real sweetheart and an excellent talker until he reached maturityHe was also best buddies with one of My grey's until then.Maturity turned him into a total Jeckel and HydeI'm not talking about just aggression either,I'm talking about his being out right dangerous to any Human that dared to get near himAfter years of trying everything I could think of To cope with his change-I decided that He and My Family would be much happier and safer if I allowed him to Breed. He has been a very happy Husband and Daddy for years nowHe even teach's his babies to talk before they are weaned

 

[minirachie]

thankyou! now i know it can be both...sorry about your boy though must have been unexpected. So cute how he teaches his fids to talk

 

[Renae]

I don’t have either yet, but I read that the males aren’t too bad when it comes hormonal time, also apparently the males are likely to show more partner behavior (regurgitation, mating with their person) than females. With that said, I also read they are a lot more gentle, easy going, and independent, but are more prone to feather picking.

 

[Birdiemarie]

I have had both male and female and mine opted not to read the books on how they were supposed to behave. My male was far less friendly than Ruby and was more prone to biting and was more cage aggressive. He was also less handable when hormonal than Ruby who will let me do anything to her and never bites me. She would go to anyone anytime before she became hormonal but is more leery of other people after she hit puberty. Izzy wanted to be friends with her but she wanted no part of it which is common in ekkies since the females are the more aggressive of the two.

 

[ja-nee]

I have only had Juliet a couple of months. Got a few nasty bites the first week but now only beaking. She is also 5 years old. We just got done playing on the floor.(see below)

 

[Karighan]

I don't own an Ekkie myself, but I have heard some very sad stories of female Eclectus killing other birds in the home. Granted, that's something you should always be trying to prevent with any species.

 

[poplrhill]

I've never had a female, and have only had my male for 11 months, and he's still quite young, but so far he is a lot like the book descriptions. Forrest is incredibly sweet, steps up for anyone and is just an all around great bird, even if I do say so myself!

He gets along very well with my sun conure, Kiwi. I'd never leave them alone together out of their cages, but so far I have been very pleased with how they interact. I think Forrie likes Kiwi a little more than she likes him, however. If she is in her cage he will fly to it and play with her through the bars, and they both are fine being on me at the same time -- the only exception is when Kiwi gets up on my head (which she is not supposed to do) -- Forrest will pull her tail! I have a walk-in shower and they have shower perches side by side, and LOVE taking showers with me. They don't snuggle together or preen each other, but they are definitely buds. Good luck in making your choice -- I'm sure whichever gender you choose will make a fantastic companion!

Best,
Lisa
& Kiwi 18 mo. DNA female
& Forrest, 15 mo.

P.S. When they are out together, Forrie will often go in Kiwi's cage to snitch a few pellets, and while he's in there he imitates the noises she makes!! Thankfully he doesn't do the infamous sun conure screech (at least not yet!) and it's sooo funny to hear him sound exactly like her. He never does it when he's in his own cage........ Funny bird!

 

[Vegemite]

Rachel, what happened with Gigi? Good luck with the ekkie. Nice to see you on here again

 

[MessyBeaks]

I have a male that is very loving and sweet - as someone else said, he shows a lot of mating behaviour toward me so I try to limit that but otherwise he is a really lovely bird. He will share his stand with other birds as long as they don't get too close and he is one of only a handful that we keep cage-free because he is so easygoing. He came to us from a woman who had purchased him as a companion for her female, but the female couldn't stand him - she was attacking him if he got too close to her and she also lost all pet quality for her owner although she had previously been very tame. Once he came to live with me I got an email from the owner of the female who said that her personality had returned to her own sweet self after his departure.

 

[minirachie]

Oh man, Im still tied And Gigi is in an aviary. ( Couldn't get her to see Im not mean) I really love a female BUT I want them to get along with Frankie...are there ANY female success stories Also I had a bit of a break because I had alot of tests and sports and I could hardly find the time to come on with all the studying. But it feels great to be back

 

[sodakat]

Even if you find a success story, that doesn't guarantee that the female you select will get along with Frankie. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but don't you think it would be better to prepare accordingly instead of having Frankie get hurt?

Female Eclectus are hard-wired to find and defend nests. Instinctually they are geared to sit on eggs for MOST of the year. So, it's common for redheads to be on the lookout for a likely dark spot in our homes. If Frankie challenged her, and she decided he was after her special spot, she could hurt him.

I absolutely LOVE female Eclectus, so don't misread that I'm saying something bad about them. I only want you to take the best care possible of the bird you already have. IMO conures and Eclectus are not a good fit, because of the size difference.

 

[minirachie]

I do understand but it would be nice if anyone has had any succuss. UPDATE: I am 100% that I want a female NO MATTER what. I understand what could happen between the two of them, and I will not do anything to put Frankie in danger! Thankyou for your replies! Im visiting this weekend...I also saw a photo of an Eclectus and a Sun Conure snuggled up together and the blog said they are love birds. BUT every case is different...it just gave me SOME sort of hope LOL.
I am planning on naming her either: Rosie (A name we used for a cockatiels but it would fit a ekkie) OR Scarlett, after i had a emotional meltdown one day, mum showed me Gone With The wind. It has truly changed me and I think I might name her Scarlett in honour of Scarlett O'Hara
Thanks everybody!

 

[jmfleish]

Personally, I wouldn't take the chance. While I know of many great females and of females getting along with other birds, it's generally birds of the same size. As Kathy pointed out, female Ekkies are hardwired to be more aggressive and to defend their nest sites. Eclectus are matriarchal, which means that the female is the dominant sex, not the male like in many animals and most birds. They also don't breed for life the way many other parrot species do. In the wild, males hop from nest to nest mating with as many females as possible. Another very interesting thing about Eclectus is that they don't have a set breeding season and tend to breed year round.

I have a male...had two of them up until June of this year. They were always as sweet as can be, almost never bit, but would defend themselves if they needed to against the other birds. I have a very stong willed Timneh grey who likes to cause trouble and the two Ekkies liked to gang up on him every now and then...it was kind of fun to see him get beaten at his own game every now and then. For the most part though, my males were/are the most docile creatures I have ever met in my life. Cooper, my remaining boy, just turned 8 in September. My biggest complaint about him is he can get very loud when he isn't happy about something and that usually involves me handling his current "girlfriend" Amarillo DHYA. I'm torn about actually getting him a female friend or possibly another male friend, another Ekkie. He was diagnosed with an unremovable mass in his lower abdomen this last June and I don't know how much time I will have with him. For now, he seems to be doing very well though.

They are amazing birds. I find the diet hard but I might be dealing with other issues (the mass). My males are/were just wonderful guys and downright loving to me. Taco, the one who passed away, was completely in love with me and wanted only to feed me and mate with me whenever he was out...that grew a bit tiresome. I would definitely recommend a male over a female with a smaller bird though....just for safety reasons if nothing else.

 

[minirachie]

Thankyou, I have now read more on male Ekkies and once again....I AM TIED I will just go there and see what happens Once I feel a connection boy or girl, I will take him/her home!

 

[Vegemite]

Rachel, that sounds like the best way, just go with an open mind. Dont set your heart on a particular sex because you believe it will more than likely get on with Frankie, cos the reality is, it more than likely wont and if by chance, they do get on, then its a bonus for everyone. You know they tend to pick you just as much as you pick them. (Didnt this happen when you got Frankie, werent you going to check out the gcc's and came home with a sun instead?)

 

[Renae]

I completely agree with you going there and just seeing which one you connect with – you might end up connecting with the male better, or even the female, you don’t know until you go there and interact with them one-on-one.

I must say you are VERY lucky to be able to go and see the babies, mine is a good 5-6 hours away so I have to wait! I would have liked/preferred to do what you are doing and go and see which baby I click with really well.

 

[Mystics Mom]

i have 2 female ekies(Vos and Solo)both are FANTASTIC birds with people but would never trust them around other birds(Except other ekies)especially smaller ones. I have both i just dont let the others near them,that being said my Female ekies are 2 of my most friendly birds to people...

 

[jmfleish]

i have 2 female ekies(Vos and Solo)both are FANTASTIC birds with people but would never trust them around other birds(Except other ekies)especially smaller ones. I have both i just dont let the others near them,that being said my Female ekies are 2 of my most friendly birds to people...

I can attest to how awesome Tanya's female Ekkies are...I would have bird napped them if I thought I could have gotten out the door with them! So sweet! SWOON! Cooper would have been a very happy camper!

 

[Birdiemarie]

We had Ruby around tiels at one time and we tried them out sharing a tree stand together. Although she was never actively aggressive toward any of them if one happened to venture too close to her she would have 'defended' herself. You just cannot expect them to know the strength of that beak even when they are gentle.