Pet Forum / Birds / Birds / November 2007

Here is my two cents worth of info.....
1. The Bob(my senegal parrot) has just reached 21 months and has started a
nipping and biting period right now...Iam very firm in telling him no that
if he does this again he will be going to his cage...lots of times he is
fine and will bend over with a Iam so cute look and all I wanted was alittle
of your attention look but then there are other times(bloody finger,etc)
when he gets put on his cage...I never lock his cage unless we are going out
or bed time so all this does is let him know that he won't be around mom if
he is on his cage(unless he climbs down).

2. I haven't heard of eclectus plucking ...but as any child,baby,bird you
should always have plenty of things for the baby to do...The Bob has 2play
gyms,1play stand,a really nice cage with plenty of toys and ropes and
perches on all..

3. As for dogs......The Bob is the man in this house...we have two dogs a 15
year old mini Dachshunda and a  4 year old Schnauzer who is wild and a
jumper....but The Bob is the boss...and if those two aren't paying attention
Bob will tweek them.....Both dogs will not get in The Bobs way and when Bob
gets down and no one is aware of it the Schnauzer will let us no...but
usually Bob is just looking for us and will always go to the computer then
kitchen....we do keep a ladder for bob to get down and up on but usually he
is very good and stays on....except when someone has a  snack or doing
homework...then he has to get the pencil.....
Good luck with whatever baby you end up with....was the Eclectus a boy or
girl? Not that it makes a difference...
Oh if you don't have it already.....Birds for Dummies is a great book.....

I think you would get a lot of great information by getting
the books suggested by oldmolly. Many parrots do go through
a nippy time around puberty, but this can be worked through
with patience and knowledge.

I wanted to mention a few things about eclectus and plucking.
The vets who have spoken at my bird club say they do see
more plucking in cockatoos, grays and eclectus than amazons,
for example. There are various theories on why this occurs
after you've ruled out medical causes. The theories are
boredom, sexual frustration, general stress and bad diet.
The books and websites can help you learn more about this.

There are some great resources on eclectus on the web and
have slightly differing viewpoints. The one I read most is
www.landofvos.com, run by an excellent breeder named
Carolyn Swicegood. She has great recipes as well as advice
on behavior issues. Another excellent site is
www.eclectusbreeder.com run by Laura Desborough - the person
I see frequently quoted in magazines about eclectus and
their care. There are also mailing lists where you can
post your eclectus questions and get advice from
experienced breeders and owners. Go to yahoogroups.com
and sign up! I belong to the one moderated by Carolyn.

These sites have excellent advice on keeping eclectus.
You should become knowledgable in the dietary requirements
of these birds which differ somewhat from amazons, toos
and grays. These birds require more fruit than some others.
In addition, highly supplemented foods (too many vitamins)
can cause eclectus to show symptoms of nervousness (toe
tapping, wing flipping and foot biting) as well as lead to
biting. I rarely add vitamins to the diet of my eclectus.
I follow the diet recommendations of Carolyn Swicegood
which is an all natural diet of fresh vegetables, fruits,
nuts, sprouts and grains along with some human grade seed.
Some people add pellets to the diet, but you have to choose
a brand that does not contain spirulina, dyes or are extremely
high in supplements. Dyed seed/pellets can discolor the feathers
of eclectus. Lots to learn about.

I dearly love my eclectus hen. This is not true of all
eclectus, but mine has never bitten anyone and is always
sweet tempered and affectionate (more common in the males
than the females for eclectus). I just saw a show on
Animal Planet about a male eclectus used as a therapy
bird in nursing homes. That bird was perfectly dependable
to be gentle with anyone.

By the way, I have no problems between my eclectus,
large dog and four cats, but of course, you have to
always supervise.

Good choice!

Janet Levy

Try subscribing to the Eclectus Connection:
http://www.landofvos.com/tec.html There are about 1000 members which
include several breeders.

   

I have a 10 year old Female I did not see a "terrible twos"  never
heard of this myth in
connection with a bird.  I believe that the eclectus is fully mature by
age 2 so
I would discount this

The eclectus needs ultra violet light to keep their plumage healthy.  A
simple full specturm
plant light is all you need.  The Female will look for a nesting site
at the slighest chance.
I don't know about the male.

My Scarlett lives with a cat and as never had a problem with that.  
However she is excitable and
when a loud noise suddenly happens she tends to startle.  I would be
sure to be calm and reassuring
when the dog "goes off".  If the dog decides that barking is a good
thing then you new eclectus may
fell threatened in his wn cage and his reaction could be anything from
stopping the talking enjoy to
trying to fly through the bars to get away from it.  Caution here.

Here is Scarlett's web site
 Http://www.dartm.com/birdy.html

I have 2 ekkies; one male and one female.  I didn't see anything that
you talk about in #1.  On #2, I haven't had any problems other than
some neck scratching due to my dry climate.  On #3, we have three
medium-sized dogs and the pecking order in the house is:
1 - Female ekkie
2 - Male ekkie
3 - largest dog
4 - medium dog ...