New Guinea Eclectus

[Renee's Birds]

Hi,
I'm in the Florida Panhandle & I'm parrot proofing my home. My male Eclectus is coming home this next week. I've done 2 solid months of research, as to why I decided on the Eclectus.

He will be about 15 weeks old & fully weaned. He isn't a Solomon Island Eclectus, he's actually a New Guinea Eclectus from the Island of Aru. The Arueclectus are the biggest of the Eclectus species. The males tail & partial wing feathers are blue & they are red breasted. I'm very excited to meet & get to know my boy. I haven't named him yet, I must meet him then decide on a name that best fits his personality.

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the forum Renee

Congratulations on expanding your family

 

[EkkieLu]

Welcome Aboard! I'm so glad you're here! Can't wait to see pics of your new baby boy!

 

[cassiesdad]

Welcome to the Avenue...and Congrats on your upcoming addition!

 

[cassiesdad]

...needless to say (but I will anyway ) we'd love to see pics of him after he comes home and settles in...

 

[hrafn]

 

[Renee's Birds]

Thank you so much. There's so much more information on parrots these days. During the 60's, 70's, 80's we didn't have avian vets, that I knew about anyway. We also didn't have pellets. Ive been reading every opinion on the subject of pellets. Everything these days is gesred to convenience. Man made vitamins will never be better then natural. I'm fully aware of the debate about pellets. Our birds back then were healthy & lived for decades w/out them. I haven't had birds since then because of my work, I'm retired now & I want my baby's again. I'm interested in seeing everyone's opinions w/out being attacked. I've never had a good opinion on the pet food industry. The FDA *asks* them to label honestly, that's not regulation. The FDA doesn't regulate *organic* it's up to the pet food manufacturer's to have honest labeling, unless something has changed I'm unaware of.

 

[EkkieLu]

Both of my ekkies are Red Sided although our vet thinks Lucy may have some Vos in her because of her size. She is bigger than Sergei and she weighs 560 grams while Sergei stays around 490 grams.

Best advice: Don't let all that fruit sit in the cage too long! I take it away and dump it after a couple hours and scrub up the mess both in their cages and on the walls daily. Leave it even overnight and it smells rotton. Summer is hopefully approaching now so Fruit Flies will invade very quickly and are awful to get rid of. I wipe everything each day with warm water and vinegar to make sure any splattered fruit juices aren't left behind to attract the fruit flies or ants. It sounds like a lot of work but it becomes routine and it's no big deal!

 

[EkkieLu]

Thank you so much. There's so much more information on parrots these days. During the 60's, 70's, 80's we didn't have avian vets, that I knew about anyway. We also didn't have pellets. Ive been reading every opinion on the subject of pellets. Everything these days is gesred to convenience. Man made vitamins will never be better then natural. I'm fully aware of the debate about pellets. Our birds back then were healthy & lived for decades w/out them. I haven't had birds since then because of my work, I'm retired now & I want my baby's again. I'm interested in seeing everyone's opinions w/out being attacked. I've never had a good opinion on the pet food industry. The FDA *asks* them to label honestly, that's not regulation. The FDA doesn't regulate *organic* it's up to the pet food manufacturer's to have honest labeling, unless something has changed I'm unaware of.

I have some seed/nut type packaged foods because of my cockatoo and Amazon, but Lucy will only eat fresh fruit and some steamed vegetables, white Sergei will occasionally eat a few bites of packaged foods. I make birdie muffins (no flour at all now) fresh each week for the entire crew and they all love them! I grind some Harrison's pellets into powder (about 1/4 cup) to ensure they are getting extra nutrients. But other than that the muffins are all finely chopped fruits and veggies, and a couple eggs to hold it all together. All 4 babies get one everyday for lunch.

If you need any help or have a question about your new baby, AA is The Best place!!!

 

[EkkieLu]

Oh, I nearly forgot...keep a close eye on the water bowl! Ekkies like to dip their food and after meals it looks like yucky soup! Frequent water changes are a must for them. I change everyone's water twice a day, but much more often is required for the ekkies!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Welcome to AA and congrats on getting an Eclectus.

 

[Fergus Mom]

A big welcome, and hopefully you will post pics when your sweet Ekkie comes home!

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome, and enjoy the site!

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome!

 

[Renee's Birds]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I didn't learn about Ekkies until a couple months ago. I found them to be very unique & fascinating the more I read about them as to why I chose this species. Are any of you Ekkie owners doing any sprouting? I've been getting pro's & cons. I've learned that it's labor intensive & must be thoroughly rinsed every 8-12 hours. Bad stuff also grows on the sprouts, I read it was recommended on the final rinse to use a 50/50 water/hydrogen peroxide to kill the bad stuff & then several more rinses to get rid of the mix. I heard many won't eat it or they mainly pick out mung bean & sunflower sprouts. I'm not sure if I'm going to take this on yet. I'd be very interested in hearing your views on this.

Thank you

Renee

 

[sunnysmom]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I didn't learn about Ekkies until a couple months ago. I found them to be very unique & fascinating the more I read about them as to why I chose this species. Are any of you Ekkie owners doing any sprouting? I've been getting pro's & cons. I've learned that it's labor intensive & must be thoroughly rinsed every 8-12 hours. Bad stuff also grows on the sprouts, I read it was recommended on the final rinse to use a 50/50 water/hydrogen peroxide to kill the bad stuff & then several more rinses to get rid of the mix. I heard many won't eat it or they mainly pick out mung bean & sunflower sprouts. I'm not sure if I'm going to take this on yet. I'd be very interested in hearing your views on this.

Thank you

Renee

@BirdGuy21 ?

 

[EkkieLu]

Neither Lucy nor Sergei will eat it. They crave their fresh fruits and will only occasionally eat anything else. I make a weekly batch of birdie muffins, no flour, loaded with veggies and they will nibble on those. I use unsweetened fruit juice and applesauce instead of any water so they will eat their veggies.

 

[Renee's Birds]

I have some seed/nut type packaged foods because of my cockatoo and Amazon, but Lucy will only eat fresh fruit and some steamed vegetables, white Sergei will occasionally eat a few bites of packaged foods. I make birdie muffins (no flour at all now) fresh each week for the entire crew and they all love them! I grind some Harrison's pellets into powder (about 1/4 cup) to ensure they are getting extra nutrients. But other than that the muffins are all finely chopped fruits and veggies, and a couple eggs to hold it all together. All 4 babies get one everyday for lunch.

If you need any help or have a question about your new baby, AA is The Best place!!!

I love this muffin idea. I've read that many are doing exactly this. Adding in ground pellets for extra vitamins is a great idea. I love to cook & I grow some of my own veg.

 

[Renee's Birds]

Both of my ekkies are Red Sided although our vet thinks Lucy may have some Vos in her because of her size. She is bigger than Sergei and she weighs 560 grams while Sergei stays around 490 grams.



Best advice: Don't let all that fruit sit in the cage too long! I take it away and dump it after a couple hours and scrub up the mess both in their cages and on the walls daily. Leave it even overnight and it smells rotton. Summer is hopefully approaching now so Fruit Flies will invade very quickly and are awful to get rid of. I wipe everything each day with warm water and vinegar to make sure any splattered fruit juices aren't left behind to attract the fruit flies or ants. It sounds like a lot of work but it becomes routine and it's no big deal!

**********
Thank you on the fruit advice, I live in Florida & I was a nigh club owner, I know how easy those dang fruit flies start & once they start, it's difficult to keep them away. I'll be spending quite a bit of time with him especially for the 1st month. I want to learn his likes & dislikes quickly. As far as fruit goes, I'm going to start with blending small portions to hopefully cut down on the flinging & I'll use blended fruit in his muffins. I'm going to try & stick with foods native to New Guinea like mango, passionfruit, dandelions, mung beans.
*****************

I have some seed/nut type packaged foods because of my cockatoo and Amazon, but Lucy will only eat fresh fruit and some steamed vegetables, white Sergei will occasionally eat a few bites of packaged foods. I make birdie muffins (no flour at all now) fresh each week for the entire crew and they all love them! I grind some Harrison's pellets into powder (about 1/4 cup) to ensure they are getting extra nutrients. But other than that the muffins are all finely chopped fruits and veggies, and a couple eggs to hold it all together. All 4 babies get one everyday for lunch.

If you need any help or have a question about your new baby, AA is The Best place!!!

Thank you so much. I will be referring back w/questions. I will be pulling out my gold scale & I'll get his weight when he arrives & I'll be tracking it every other day to make sure he isn't losing weight.

 

[Renee's Birds]

Welcome Aboard! I'm so glad you're here! Can't wait to see pics of your new baby boy!

Awwww thank you so much. I'm so glad I found this forum.