Worried about getting an ekkie

[Mr.Poisson]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have owned some birds in the past, such as: budgies, cockatiels, lovebirds and a caique. I have recently fallen ABSOLUTELY in love with eclectus parrots. I have only one problem, their lifespan. I have always wanted a large parrot, but I could never shake the feeling of my parrot outliving me. I hate thinking that after I die my poor bird will feel utterly abandoned and will have to start the bonding process all over again with some random person. I am also fearful that when I live too old to care for my bird that I will have to give it away, and I will be living the rest of my life knowing that I put my bird through so much stress as I would have, in essence, stripped it away from its mate. What do you guys think? I have been constantly thinking of this during the past month.

 

[TikiMyn]

WoW I understand you, I am still a teen though, but I am worried about life changes like travelling, but I have figured out a solution ik which my birds can stay. I can not really offer you any advice, but Maybe when you are old you could start to find a next home for him? And once you have let them Come over, so you can get to know them and if they Will be good enough to take care of your bird. And of course the bird can get to know them! I think that once I am old and have birds that is what I would do^^

 

[Milo]

You can always look for an older bird in a rescue. It is a completely valid thing to worry about, and there are a lot of people out there who have written their bird into their wills to make sure that at least some part of their care is covered if they pass before their bird.

 

[jmfleish]

How old are you? First of all, I think you should realize that the lifespan of these birds isn't what a lot of people say it is. Ekkies might live to be 40 years old if you're lucky. A lot of Eclectus have issues too, especially the Solomon Island Eclectus who seem to have health problems and aren't as sturdy as their cousins, the Red Sided and the Vos. I currently have an SIE who has a very vascular tumor in is lower abdomen that cannot even be biopsied because it would put his life in jeopardy. I tried to have it removed five years ago and there was no way it could be removed without killing him. I'm just happy to have him with me every day. It seems that these tumors are not uncommon with the males.

As someone else mentioned, you could always get a companion from a rescue or find one who needs a home. I say that worrying about their lifespan is the least of your worries though, but I'm not one to worry too much about stuff like that. So many other weird things to worry about...health scares, toy issues, what to feed, etc...

 

[finchly]

I am 55 and have a 5 month old caique, plus 2 yr old tiels and a 20 yr old parrot. This is a concern. My kids don't want my birds when I kick the bucket. I could put one of them in charge of rehoming my fids, but I'm scared (since they don't know much about birds) they might not do a good job.

For now, I search for the person who will do it best. It could be an individual or a rescue, I dont care which. I haven't found them yet.

 

[jmfleish]

I am 55 and have a 5 month old caique, plus 2 yr old tiels and a 20 yr old parrot. This is a concern. My kids don't want my birds when I kick the bucket. I could put one of them in charge of rehoming my fids, but I'm scared (since they don't know much about birds) they might not do a good job.

For now, I search for the person who will do it best. It could be an individual or a rescue, I dont care which. I haven't found them yet.

55 is the new 40! I'm sending all my parrots to live with Mizzley should I get hit by a bus tomorrow!

Don't ponder on the negative, be prepared for the future and enjoy the present!. Heck, I currently have three people fighting over my Tuchis TAG! I keep telling them we have nicer birds in the flock that someone could be grandbirdie to but no one wants to step up for the nice ones! Jon keeps whining wondering why we can't just give Tuchis away! Lol!

 

[finchly]

55 is the new 40! I'm sending all my parrots to live with Mizzley should I get hit by a bus tomorrow!

Don't ponder on the negative, be prepared for the future and enjoy the present!. Heck, I currently have three people fighting over my Tuchis TAG! I keep telling them we have nicer birds in the flock that someone could be grandbirdie to but no one wants to step up for the nice ones! Jon keeps whining wondering why we can't just give Tuchis away! Lol!

Oh well I'll send mine too ... let's all send our fids to @Mizzely . Hey, Rio messed up my Z! How'm I supposed to type??

Aww that is sweet that you have people fighting over Tuchis!

 

[finchly]

You know, I never worried too much about my age...the women in my family tend to live to around 100.

 

[jmfleish]

Apparently, Mizzely hasn't checked in to this thread lately! LOL!

Tuchis is one lucky bird! I feel badly for all the other birds in my flock though!

 

[jmfleish]

You know, I never worried too much about my age...the women in my family tend to live to around 100.

See! You have nothing to worry about!

 

[Mr.Poisson]

How old are you? First of all, I think you should realize that the lifespan of these birds isn't what a lot of people say it is. Ekkies might live to be 40 years old if you're lucky. A lot of Eclectus have issues too, especially the Solomon Island Eclectus who seem to have health problems and aren't as sturdy as their cousins, the Red Sided and the Vos. I currently have an SIE who has a very vascular tumor in is lower abdomen that cannot even be biopsied because it would put his life in jeopardy. I tried to have it removed five years ago and there was no way it could be removed without killing him. I'm just happy to have him with me every day. It seems that these tumors are not uncommon with the males.

As someone else mentioned, you could always get a companion from a rescue or find one who needs a home. I say that worrying about their lifespan is the least of your worries though, but I'm not one to worry too much about stuff like that. So many other weird things to worry about...health scares, toy issues, what to feed, etc...

Eh, not that old, almost 20 years old, but I want to get an ekkie after I finish college and get a Ph.D, so maybe at around 30 years old. I've heard that ekkies tend to live shorter lifespans because we weren't completely educated on their dietary needs until now, and that with the proper care they could easily live around 60-70 years. Adopting an older parrot is definitely a great option though, I have no idea why I didn't think of that!

 

[Mizzely]

How did I get bequeathed all these birds?!

 

[BirdGuy21]

Even if you wait until after college and graduate I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. If you are concerned though I too would recommend checking out your local rescues for older birds.

 

[Lodah]

Just a thought... why don't we have a list of people here willing to look after our best friends in case of losing their carers? Might work? Kinda like godparents!

 

[jmfleish]

Just a thought... why don't we have a list of people here willing to look after our best friends in case of losing their carers? Might work? Kinda like godparents!

I thought Mizzely was taking them all!

 

[jmfleish]

Eh, not that old, almost 20 years old, but I want to get an ekkie after I finish college and get a Ph.D, so maybe at around 30 years old. I've heard that ekkies tend to live shorter lifespans because we weren't completely educated on their dietary needs until now, and that with the proper care they could easily live around 60-70 years. Adopting an older parrot is definitely a great option though, I have no idea why I didn't think of that!

I have yet to meet anyone who has an Ekkie over 30 and that's really pushing it! Medium sized birds such as Eclectus, greys, and Amazons tend to have an average lifespan of 30 to 40 years with Eclectus being on the lower end of the spectrum and Amazons being on the upper end. The numbers you see people chattering about often like that silly 60 to 70 year one is generally a crazy outlier and definitely not an average.

 

[finchly]

I thought Mizzely was taking them all!

Just a thought... why don't we have a list of people here willing to look after our best friends in case of losing their carers? Might work? Kinda like godparents!

Seriously.... that is a really good idea!