What makes an Eclectus Parrot a great pet ?
Eclectus Parrots are intelligent, independent and attentive birds. Eclectus Parrots are very clear talkers and love attention. Eclectus Parrots can also amuse themselves if provided with a sufficient stimulating environment whilst you are out. Eclectus Parrots love to interact and be a part of your family. Eclectus Parrots also enjoy cuddling and being close to you.
Eclectus Parrots are stunning. The males are brilliant green and the girls are red and blue. These birds do not produce feather dust, so they are great for allergy sufferers.
- Highly Intelligent and Playful
- Very Clear Talkers
- Stunning Colours, No Feather Dust for Allergy Sufferers
- Affectionate and also Independent
PLAY and STIMULATION – Whilst in the cage provide stimulating toys…For example, fresh branches with nuts or seeds on them bottlebrush, banksia pine cones, pandanus nuts, gum nuts, branches with bark still hanging, blocks of wood, (not treated) and source out woven cane baskets from op shops and garage sales. Woven cane baskets are a good source of fun when hung in the cage. The list in endless for a variety of good stimulating and cheap toys most of which you can have fun making yourself. Eclectus parrots also love to interact and play with you. They love cuddles and gentle playful wrestling. Boys and Girls both make excellent companions. When they are brought up with love and understanding they are just like part of your family.
TALKING – Eclectus Parrots are great talkers. From around 4 months of age Eclectus Parrots start mumbling, this then progresses to talking. As Eclectus Parrots are highly intelligent it wont take long for them to be actually be talking. Eclectus Parrots will also pick up many other sounds and will often speak just like other people in your household. We find that both boys and girls are equally good talkers.
NO FEATHER DUST – Eclectus Parrots do not have any feather dust like birds from the Cockatoo family as they have oil glands for preening rather than dust glands. This means that they do not irritate people with allergies.
Personality and Behaviour
The Hand raised Eclectus Parrot of both sexes make equally excellent companion parrots, even though they tend to have different personalities. As a generalisation, the male Eclectus Parrot tends to be a more docile bird, whilst the female is more assertive. Having said that, it greatly depends on the environment in the Eclectus Parrot resides.
If the parrot is handled with attention and love, then both the sexes will make wonderful pet parrots and companions.
All of our Eclectus Parrots are hand raised from around 3 weeks of age. This initial 3 weeks with the parent birds gives sufficient time for the antibodies and essential nutrients to pass from the adult bird to the baby.
At 3 weeks of age the baby bird is then hand raised by Emerald Aviaries on the best quality hand raising formulas and food to ensure a very healthy and great looking pet parrot.
The baby birds and loved and cared for in a family environment and exposed to all the usual household noises. At Emerald Aviaries we only hand raise a few birds at a time, therefore ensuring that each baby bird receives the loving attention that it needs.
We also try and raise each baby in a “baby community”. Which means the baby birds are not raised all alone with a stuffed toy for company, rather they have other baby birds that they can snuggle up to, thus making the baby parrot more sociable with other birds.
At around 12 to 14 weeks of age the baby Eclectus Parrot should be weaned and ready for its new loving home.
Once you take your fully weaned Eclectus Parrot home the real fun begins. Your Eclectus Parrot has the mental ability of a young toddler and therefore you will need to set boundaries and times for play and interaction. Both the male and female Eclectus Parrots will make wonderful companions. Hand Raised Eclectus Parrots are usually a quiet bird unless something is upsetting them. It is up to you to find out what is the problem and rectify it. You usually find it is something in the environment that has changed.
Eclectus Parrots are fairly slow movers, therefore when you approach your parrot move slowly and talk quietly before asking for your parrot to step up. Once you are both comfortable in each others company then you can interact and play and the parrot will also start to talk within a couple of months.
Usually it is better to start interaction with your Eclectus Parrot when everyone in the household is quiet, which is probably after dinner when everyone is settled. Bring your Eclectus Parrot out of the cage, give the bird a quiet cuddle for the first few days, then once mutual confidence has been established, then you can begin simple playful activities. Be sure that most members of the household interact with your parrot so that it does not just become a “one person bird”.
At the start your young weaned Eclectus Parrot may still want a “sooky feed” in the morning and the afternoon. This is just warmed mashed vegetables. The sooky feed will assist in the bonding and also assist in settling them down in the evening. A full belly of warm mash equals a quiet happy young bird. After a couple of months this sooky feed will no longer be required by your Eclectus Parrot.
As you can see from the videos Eclectus Parrots are a great addition to any serious bird loving family. Eclectus Parrots are ideally an Adult’s bird, however fine for children with supervision.
Dietary information
Eclectus parrots are mainly fruit and vegetable eaters. Seed is also important, however it is essential that your eclectus parrot has fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis. They also love cooked vegetable mash. Just cook some extra vegtables up when you are cooking your own meal and give them to your eclectus parrot warmed up as a mash.
The photos to the right show a typical chop that Emerald Aviaries feed to most of our parrots.
The base chop consists of frozen vegetables such as corn, peas and carrots. Then add whatever fruit and vegetables that are in season. These photos show a mixture of passion fruit, strawberries, grapes, paw paw, rock melon, kiwi fruit, peas, corn, carrot, orange and spinach leaves. There is also some grain bread and sliced cobs of fresh corn.
DO NOT FEED AVOCADO to your Eclectus Parrot as avocado is considered poisonous!
As long as you feed your Eclectus a good well rounded diet you will not need to supplement their diet with vitamins and pellets.
In relation to pellets we advise that in our opinion these products are not required. Pellets are a manufactured food and the best food for all us is fresh fruit and vegetables. “Fresh is Best”.
Eclectus and many other fruit eating parrots just LOVE PASSIONFRUIT . This can be fed as a treat…or if you grow a passionfruit vine you can provide them yo your parrots on a regular basis.
You can just cut the passionfruit on half and give your parrots the whole passionfruit cup, outer pod and all. The eclectus will devour the passionfruit and chew on the cup.
Make friends with your neighbours and grown passionfruits along the joining fence.Then you can all enjoy this wonderous fruit