Eclectus Diet

[bigdaddyado]

I really want to get a good handle on exactly what I will be feeding my Eccy.

A basic list of the 'required' fruit and veges that will give all of the essentials would be very useful rather than a huge list of every fruit and veg available.

I would really appreciate any help you guys can give me.

[flossy]

My Eckies each have different likes and dislikes! The main thing I provide is lots of fresh fruit and vegies. Mine also get a peachface mix (seed) and Vetafarm Paradise pellets....(a lot of people will disagree with me providing these.....but each to their own. These pellets were apparently "designed" for Eckies??) My boy Wazzle loves pellets, while Reggie and Rosie like half and half.
Hands down their favourites are soaked/sprouted seed, a half boiled egg each per week, lots of different nuts, chillies, and whatever fruit and vegies I give them....lol.
Not much help am I?

There might even be diet suggestions on here in an older thread...must check that out myself!

I also give mine boiled rice with vegies etc. They love birdie bread.....The list is endless!!

No avocado or iceburg lettuce....

I'm sure others will add to this and I know I've forgotten lots too!!

There is also another site that is dedicated to Eckies.....
www.landofvos.com/eclectus.html

Have a look through that site...is is FULL of info!! There is also another forum about Eckies too....but like everything, you can get bombarded with info!!

Take your time and try not to get too overloaded!!

Flossy

[Robyn]

I would recommend to take the advice of who ever you purchase your bird from as they should provide a list of the foods the bird has been weaned onto as well as how to present it to the bird. Then you can only improve on what you feed yourself.

My birds get fresh fruit & veggies, sprouted/soaked seed mix. A small amount of small parrot seed. Raw almonds, only the breeders get hard boiled egg. They love chicken bones to chew on (cooked). Basically you can feed them any healthy food you eat yourself. Not sure about the birdie bread i guess in VERY small amounts would be OK. Personally i don't feed my eckies any cooked foods at all except the bones.

[flossy]

See what I mean Bigdaddy? everyone has their own opinion and differences in what they feed their birds......nothing is set in concrete......everything in moderation is always a good rule to adhere too.

Robyn, when you commented on not giving cooked foods, is there a reason for that? I've read on lots of sites about this mixture that I feed them? They don't get it everyday, but they love it when they do get it?
It has all natural products in it - lots of variety - brown rice, sultana's, corn, pea's, some nuts, spices etc etc......it smells good when it's being cooked! lol.....Actually all my birds enjoy it - I did my research before I started it......so I am presuming it is all ok to give them. The way they polish it off speaks for itself in my opinion.......?

I haven't given mine the chicken bones - so do you give them like the leg bones etc? No meat, just the bone? I must save some next time we have a baked dinner.......

And yes, I agree about getting the advice from the person you purchase your bird from....I was thinking that as I wrote the above but forgot to include it.......

[gypsy]

I don't have an Eckky - (my dream bird getting closer to reality) - but I have read so many different foods people feed them, it seems to be a bit of a different diet for breeding birds vs part of the family bird.
And like us some will like a particular food and some will hate it.

I agree with both Robyn and Flossy follow on with what the bird is used to eating, but don't be scared to share a little of your fruit / vege to see what is liked.
It suprised me that Wally loves brussel sprouts!

and remember when you get your bird we all LOVE photo's

[flossy]

I think if something works for you and your birds....or any animal in fact.....then stick with it. We all have different ways of doing things and what we might like to do, others might not....that's what makes life interesting I guess.......

Goodluck getting an Ecky Gypsy....they really are a gorgeous bird for so many reasons.....
Are you planning on male or female?
I have Wazzle....my gorgeous boy - he is just so adorable......
I also have a breeding pair Reggie and Rosie....who are also both beautiful......Reggie loves me but Rosie gets jealous! lol! She tells me off if I smooch him.....hehehehe....It's quite funny, but it won't be come nesting time - she will attack me I'm sure - if she catches me with her man....lol!

[gypsy]

lol Flossy I did want a girl (because they are sooo beautiful) but after reading about how they can 'turn' at different times of the year I am leaning more to a man, but I am reading everything I can to educate myself more We won't seriously start looking till towards the end of the year and even then I may have to go on a waiting list

Have to blame "land of parrots" dvd for getting my interest in these beautiful birds going and also for me learning that budgies are not 'noisy annoying little birds'

[flossy]

I am going to keep a girl from Reggie and Rosie....I just love the females so much.......I am willing to risk it....lol!
They are moody, they are this and they are that....lol....but....hey, life was meant to be a challenge right? My friends have a female and she is about 9 years old now, they have had the occassional hormonal issue with her but nothing major!lol!

I love all birds and my "want" list is growing and growing........but you know something, I'd give anything just to have my Toddles back...... Gosh I miss her........

[gypsy]

May 11, 2011 22:24:46 GMT 10 flossy said:

I love all birds and my "want" list is growing and growing........but you know something, I'd give anything just to have my Toddles back...... Gosh I miss her........

hugs for you xx

[Robyn]

"Quote" Robyn, when you commented on not giving cooked foods, is there a reason for that? I've read on lots of sites about this mixture that I feed them? They don't get it everyday, but they love it when they do get it?
It has all natural products in it - lots of variety - brown rice, sultana's, corn, pea's, some nuts, spices etc etc......it smells good when it's being cooked! lol.....Actually all my birds enjoy it - I did my research before I started it......so I am presuming it is all ok to give them. The way they polish it off speaks for itself in my opinion.......?"Quote"

The thing is we are all guilty of feeding our companion parrots foods that should be fed to a breeding pair with chicks. That in my opinion is way to much food for our companions especially as the bird matures. Eclectus as a companion only needs to be kept on a well balanced maintenance diet. If we over feed them as adults they are being kept in top breeding condition. Then the breeding behavior sets in & the owner doesn't have any idea of how to deal with it. If the bird had of been fed correctly in the first place we wouldn't have all these plucked neurotic over sexed eckies out there.

IMO fresh is always best & has the most vitamin content. I have never cooked anything for any of my birds & have never had a problem with their health or the behavior of my companions. That said i really don't have an opinion on people who do. Just remember the companion parrot certainly does not need the amount of food that some are being fed.

My main concern these days is that IMO some of the wrong info is getting out there, especially when dealing with eclectus parrots & i am seeing more & more behavior issues that could have been avoided if the carer was given the right advice in the first place.

I also did heaps of research on feeding my eclectus & took the advice of some of the most reputable breeders in Aus. They didn't cook for their birds either. Each to their own.

[flossy]

Fair enough Robyn......I will take that on board. I have to say they don't get cooked food every day, but when they do get it they love it.
I got all my info mainly from the Land of Vos site and the Ecky forums who has members from all over the world......so who knows.

And of course I agree - fresh is best...all my guys get lots of variety in that department...ask my friends and rellies.....they say it's like a Continental Breakfast here every day......lol
My birds are all gorgeous and in good health. I had a well known Avian Vet visit recently due to Toddles and he told me that my birds were all in fantastic condition and to keep doing what I was doing...so to me, that was a fantastic compliment....

I wanted them all checked and he said they were all going really well. Not overweight, not underweight....nice condition.....

Anyways - we all have different opinions on how to do everything and that's what makes this world so interesting.......

Thanks Robyn - I am having Roast Chicken tonight! soooo....my babies will be getting some chicken bones tomorrow........

Cheers
Ann-Maree

[passengerpigeon]

I wouldnt add anything else to what everyone else has added in except my male eccy iggy has a real liking to dog kibble which i give to my plovers anyway, and my female ellie...now bare with me here....likes mice, yes i have a few snakes i have to feed anyway and when im preparing the fruit and veg for the eccies i defrost a mouse (bought frozen obviously) and she really really enjoys mutilating it, i suppose its like a big seed in a twisted way, she cracks through all the bones and eats the inners and marrow as weird as that sound and it takes her a little over 15 minutes to demolish the whole thing and all she leaves is skin...my gang gang does this also

its easy to buy a commercial frozen mix of peas, corn and carrot, defrost that and add to it diced other fruits and veges, i add whatevers in the fridge, squash, pomegranate, figs, zuccini, cucumber, apple, pear, kiwi and a slither of bokchoy. make sure you have a good seed mix too, mine are on peachface none of the big cocky and parrot mix, its just like a bowl of fat.
and interesting topic with the paradise pellets too Flossy, they made those pellets as a request from taronga zoo as they have acquiered some toco toucans on the down low, and then apparently they shon them off as eclectus pellets, thats what i heard anyway. hope some of this helps

[flossy]

Hey Passenger....thanks for that.....So are these pellets ok to feed to an Ecky? I would rather wean them off them if not. I know a lot of people who use them for that sole purpose....but I guess if they are ok for the Toucans....then they must be ok for birds in general....
Lots of people don't like pellets - I am a little confused on that subject to be honest!

Now....I am enthralled with the mouse!! I have NEVER heard of that before. I've got reps too and have pinkie mice etc.....Wow....you learn something new every day! lol....
I love your Gang gang picture....what a stunning bird!!

I also use the frozen vegie mixes as well....plus like you say, whatever is in the fridge!!

Thanks again
Flossy

[Robyn]

NOT a good idea to feed dog kibble to Eclectus. If you see what goes into the manufacture of it you wouldn't give it to birds. Although i do know that the Gang Gang benefit from the odd mouse as they do eat caterpillars & moth/fly larvae in the wild. Even Eckies enjoy a few meal worms added to their diet.

Flossey Paradise Pellets are fine for the Eclectus although are not specifically made for eclectus but for fruit eaters in general. I buy them for my birds but i also use other pellets as well. My eclectus get approx 80% fruit , vegetable & sprout mix, the other 20% is made up of seed, raw nuts, pellets & what ever else i have on hand.

As far as what brand is good or not I think that is entirely up to you. If your eclectus are not wing flipping or toe tapping or is showing any reaction to them i would say its ok for them to eat. Personally i would rather give my birds bird pellets & not dog kibble.

[passengerpigeon]

Robyn, i have been studying dog nutrition for quite a while and i have an all natural kibble that the ingrediants has been looked into thoroughly and the nutrition carefully also. thousands of keepers use dog kibble soaked as a part of their birds diet, mainly softbills and pigeons and doves with special diets to supplement their base diet of fruit or livefood, depending on what the bird needs. Ian Ward a well known eclectus breeder does the same for his eccies, seeing their diet really should be close to equal between seed and fruit, kibble has exact dialysis of nutritional content so you can identify what you want in your birds diet. but i defiantly agree to say that there ARE alot of really poor quality kibble that are horrible for your dog, and not much better for a bird of course, so yes i agree to look into the ingrediants of what your feeding your bird.
and i dont find anything wrong with feeding the mice, if the eccies like it let them have it, as long as they eat it quickly so it doesnt spoil, the mice are sterilised when frozen for your reptiles so i guess theyd be fine for birds, flossy i dont think theyd get much meat of a pinky though
and thankyou for the kind words on my ganggang, they are possibly my favourite birds
i know a breeder of gang gangs that actually has huge aviaries with colonies of them and he releases sparrows/quails in there and the cockies actually demolish them ...protein i guess.
paradise pellets are fine for your eccie and i dont replace them with the kibble, i offer both, the kibble in smaller moderation, but both offer completely different nutritional values.
i mix the pellets through their seed, the debate of seed or pellets will never end, and even though vetafarm says they are a complete diet i would never have my birds on just pellets, a mix of both is better. but everyone has something different as flossy mentioned, as long as you offer fruit and vegies and balance it out right (this goes for any birds), eccies arent hard to cater for.

[flossy]

Thanks heaps for that.......and yes...not much meat on a pinkie mouse....lol. Although my beardie loves them....hehehehe.....
My eckies get both seed and pellets....so I'm happy with that.

This dog kibble....are you "allowed" to mention what is a good brand??? If not,could you PM me the details....I'm interested to know more about this......

Are the gg's noisey birds? I'd love to see a colony of them....what an amazing site.....
I seem to be really drawn to most cockatoo species........except at 5am on the morning when we get about 100 white ones flying over screeching their good mornings to the world! lol....

[passengerpigeon]

no worries, and yes i dont even think theyd have bones worth cracking!
well i dont really see why i cant say it on here? can i ?
well a brand of dog food called eagle pack, has a kibble out called Holistic Select, it is all natural, and wheat and soy free (cereals are bad for dogs), you can get a few flavours, and that flavour is the main ingrediant unlike the cheaper, crappy kibbles where it says 'chicken' it means artificial flavours which are really not good for any animal. while the chicken flavour of this product has a main ingrediant of dried chicken, and its particulary high in protein which is good for softbills which saves me giving livefood out all the time if that makes sense. depends how you make up the rest of your eccies diet i guess nutrition wise, but normally it lacks a bit of protein.

[passengerpigeon]

and with the ganggangs they arent noisy in my opinion and i have a pet major mitchell which is easily said a 100 times noisier, gangangs arent particularly loud and are probably the quietiest of the cockatoos but they make a real weird sound sounds like a really creaky door except louder, its unusual but i wouldnt say offensive to neighbours if that was what you meant. i have a pair of galahs housed next door and they are probably louder so depends what you call loud eclectus are louder and white cockies a lot louder so depends really, my favourite bird though my ganggang, they are so unique in there behaviour and look you get so much out of keeping them

[cinderella]

we have a breeding pair both hand raised and i will often vary their diet as we do with ourselves fruit veges nuts they adore shelled so they have to work on them plenty of branches and leaves to tear apart and exercise, i give them bones and they are prolific breeders so think its give everything a go and see how they accept it. We have many australian parrots here also amazon and macaw so the diets are different but i try every bird with different things we all like a change and in the wild they search daily for usual and different so think you are their only way of getting something different and give it a go...

[Robyn]

Hi Cinderella, we would love for you to introduce yourself up in the Introduction section. You have a interresting mix of parrots so we would love to see pics & hear about all your birds. & of course yourself.