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Post by zisforzoe on Jul 20, 2008 21:31:50 GMT 10
Thanks, maybe I should be taking the seed out during the day and feeding it to him only in the afternoon when he doesn't eat very much? As for feeding we do as they suggest in the guides we have and as our neighbour does (who have an absolutely lovely bird, the one that led us to buying one!) and that's cutting up fresh veggies and fruit, but what I have been doing is feeding him 3-4 different kinds of fruit and vegetables in his bowl each time I fill it up. For example, today in the morning I put in his seed and water bowls and then about ten minutes after gave him a bowl of cut up paw paw, fig and chili (I normally go by two fruits, one vegetable) which he went for straight away. And then he had eaten that by about midday (although perhaps 1/3 was on the floor by that time) so at around 3pm he then had kiwi, passion fruit (his FAVOURITE, goes crazy for it!) and celery tops. Is this healthy? The seed mix we give him is canary mix which was what was recommended to us by his breeder, but should we be giving him pellets or is it OK to be eating just seed and fruit and vegetables? He seems to be happy with what he's given but maybe it's like humans - he likes what's bad for him the most! My dad also maybe every second or third day gives him a small cockatiel seed block that has sunflower seeds and smaller seeds with honey and fruits and other goodies, and the other day had a wild-bird block in his cage which he's still finishing slowly. Thanks everyone,  Zoë. |
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Post by just4birds on Jul 20, 2008 22:07:22 GMT 10
I'm gonna have to say once again ... SEED isn't good for eclectus parrots no matter who says they feed it to them or not .... I'll paste from www.eclectus-parrots.com once again ... Diet for Eclectus Parrots: Diet, in my opinion, is by far the most important point I can make about keeping and breeding Eclectus parrots. Many pet owners and even breeders, for that matter make the mistake of feeding Eclectus parrots in the same way they feed their African Grey parrot or Macaw or Cockatoo. They treat them as seedeaters. Eclectus parrots will eat seed, but they are not seed eaters. Their diet in the wild consist of native fruits such as figs, native berries and native nuts. The main thing most people forget or do not know is that Eclectus Parrots are arboreal in habit. Tree top dwellers, they forage for food in the canopy of the tropical rainforest. The three species I mention above, the African Grey parrot, Macaw and Cockatoo all feed on the ground, and this is why they are regarded as seedeaters. In all my years of collecting and bird watching I have only seen Eclectus come to ground in the wild once, and this was during severe drought. there are lots of other things you can feed an eclectus parrot beside seed .... and specially the seed treat sticks etc ... i would never ever dream of feed any of my birds those things ... and pellets are ok for eclectus in small amounts ... when fed alot they seem to have to many vits in them *Lisa* |
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Post by zisforzoe on Jul 20, 2008 22:12:43 GMT 10
Ok, thanks very much for the tips. We might try feeding seed to him as a treat or maybe every 3-4 days or when he's been good and will have to put more fruit and veg in his cage! I'll try to make this a gradual removal as I'm sure that's what he's been raised with.
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Post by just4birds on Jul 20, 2008 22:22:11 GMT 10
also try cooking for him ... he'll eat any cooked veggies .... brown rice .... veggie or wholegrain pasta .... defrost frozen veggies with boiling water ...
you can buy frozen veggies with peas,corn and capsicum ....my eckies and sun conures love it ... and they get it at least once a day ... with brown rice
*Lisa*
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 21, 2008 7:32:54 GMT 10
Zoe I would suggest you join Land of Vos ........ it is a mailing list only for eclectus and they talk only eclectus stuff. I was on there for 2 years and learned so much from there.
I am not going to get into an arguement on seed/pellets or anything else. But I will say my birds get 95% fruit and veges. They get almost everything from paw paw to rockmelon (they love the seeds) mine absolutely love passion fruit and fresh chillies, capsicum, celery (yes the tops are ok to feed from time to time) apparently they love pomegranits too.....but I have not bought any yet for mine. Mine also love home made cooked popcorn (I just buy the homebrand stuff and put it in a brown paper bag and pop it in the microwave). Mine also get the occassional cooked chicken leg and they love it. I also give mine (especially at the moment) a boiled in the shell cooked egg cut up with their breakfast. The list goes on and on with the food you can feed your ekkie (and other birds).
I cooked yesterday a mix of soup mix (as in the ones with lentils, split peas, barely, etc) then I added some brown rice some more brown and red lentils, some rolled oats and some dried peas and chickpeas). I let them cook for about 1 or 2 hours then let it sit on the stove to set. Then I put it in containers and freeze. Then I add some fresh or frozen stuff to it before serving it to my birds and lately I have been adding almonds to it also, not cooked, I add the fresh stuff to the cooked stuff before serving it to my birds. Then in the arvy they get fresh fruit and veges, lately it has been cherries, lychees, celery, carrot, rockmelon and pumpkin (they love the seeds).
A little seed or pellets is not harmful to ekkies. I used to put seed in with Skye twice a week just for a treat. I have no problems. I do not give pellets to mine though as I have read of a lot of ekkies developing problems due to pellets.....but not all birds do develop problems.
Lisa I wasn't saying that ekkies should have seed diets............I was actually very shocked when the lady told me what her friend had told her.......we didn't get time to actually talk properly as she was heading home and I was heading to another event. I don't agree with all seed diet for any bird, and I don't agree with mostly seed diet for eclectus........but I do give mine some seed as a small part of their diet.
Zoe I give mine small parrot seed not canary seed either.
I hope all the information you have been reading is helping you. As you can see we do all have different opinons too ;D there really is no set rules just guidelines......... except with eclectus they MUST have moslty fresh food in their diets NOT mostly SEED or PELLETS.
I am not trying to cause an argument with anyone.........just trying to be honest with how I feed my eclectus and so far I have not had too many problems with them.
Oh and Zoe the Australian Birdkeeper book on eclectus is an excellent book too.
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 21, 2008 7:38:06 GMT 10
Oh mine also get brocoli, zuccini, cooked mashed potato, raw and cooked sweet potato, fresh corn, frozen corn and peas/beans (warmed up obviously), apples, pears, sometimes a small amount of banana.....my alex pet Takoda loves to have a small piece of banana, or apple or orange if I am eating it. I basically feed my birds and my ekkies anything I have in the house, but I also buy a lot of stuff for them i would not normally buy for us (like cherries and lychees and pawpaw).......oh they love watermelon too. ;D hope this helps. Just dont feed chocolate or avocado or alcohol.
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Post by zisforzoe on Jul 21, 2008 9:20:43 GMT 10
I'll look up the Land of Vos, and I'm going to ask our neighbour more questions about the diet and training, only because their bird, Billy, is one of the sweetest, friendliest, healthiest and most intelligent eclectus parrots I've ever heard of! They've done whatever they do very well lol. I've been a little bit over precautions with everything I give Waldo, even though normally our cockatiels and budgies roam the dinner table almost every night and help themselves to everything from cereal with milk to toast to spaghetti sauce to cooked chicken and steak to mango green tea to yogurt/ice-cream to sometimes even a few sips of fizzy drink... they're a bit strange, but they obviously don't get huge doses of any of this! They're very healthy, we haven't had any problems.  This morning I put a lot less seed in the bowl, he never finishes the seed but he might today because there is not much so hopefully this will be a change he'll go through slowly. Yes Waldo loves passion fruit, celery tops, apple, kiwi, paw paw and chili the most so far, but we haven't given him pomegranate or mango yet, they're still unripe but I bet he'll go crazy for it. Oh and he loveeed the boiled egg we gave him, in the shell, he was like a tank! And he must love it a lot because it was at about 7pm at night when he doesn't seem to be eating! Made a nice big mess over my shirt though hahaha. We haven't been cooking very much because of the school holidays but when school starts again during this week there will be more boiled veggies and rice for him. Zoe. |
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Post by just4birds on Jul 21, 2008 9:38:05 GMT 10
I wasnt narking at you Tracey .... just pushing what i've read and what i believe in ... and what you give your eckies is awesome ... i dont see the need to give them seed on top of that ... but anyway ... also whenever you see pomegranits in the fruit shops grab some ... eckies love it ... and it makes a great red mess everywhere ... but they seem to enjoy it like crazzzzy .. even my lot who dont get alot of fruit .. (slack on my part) pigggg out on the pomegranits ..... but be careful with it .. it some what stains things |
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Post by avinet on Jul 21, 2008 9:47:14 GMT 10
I'm gonna have to say once again ... SEED isn't good for eclectus parrots no matter who says they feed it to them or not .... I'll paste from www.eclectus-parrots.com once again ... I don't keep Eclectus and never have kept them, however I do have a lot of customers who have them, and we do board them at times, so I have made an effort to learn about Eclectus. The web site that Lisa quotes from is that of Graham Taylor, who is probably the most experienced Eclectus breeder in Australia and possibly in the world. His book on Eclectus is the best available in my opinion and should be in any serious Eclectus owner's library. What he says about diet is good enough for me. Further down from the section that Lisa quotes Graham says, when talking about his daily feeding regime:- In another dish, I give a small quantity of seeds. This is mainly a budgie breeder's mix containing Japanese and Hungarian millet and canary seed. To this I add only about a tablespoon full of grey sunflower seeds. And at the bottom of the page www.eclectus-parrots.com/page06_diet.htm he has a photo of his two daily feeding dishes for a pair of Eclectus, and it shows what to me seems quite a lot of seed to give to a pair every day. What all this shows is that there is more than one way to feed Eclectus parrots, some keepers find success with a seed, fruit and vegie diet, others are successful with a pellets, fruit and vegie diet, while others prefer only fruit and vegies. The main factor to successfully keeping Eclectus that all agree on is the provision of plenty of fruit and vegies - eveything else seems optional. cheers, Mike |
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Karen
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Post by Karen on Jul 21, 2008 11:02:09 GMT 10
I'm sorry but I have to laugh when people say they cook for their birds, oh how we don't want birds to be birds! Trying to make them human and behave in ways that we expect them to behave in.
hehe I can just imagine a female ecky in the wild with an apron on, hanging onto a saucepan telling baby ecky's "hang on, dinners almost cooked" LMAO!!!
Sorry, humor over with now. *snickers*
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 21, 2008 11:54:27 GMT 10
Well Karen I had to laugh at how you put it.......but I think the reason we "cook" for our birds (I only started cooking because of the ekkies) is because the ekkies do need so much more than seed/pellets and this is just one way of ensuring they hopefully get the correct nutrition for them. This morning my ekkies got the "cooked" mix I made yesterday with some chopped up boiled egg and a heap of frozen mixed veges which I also added some chopped up carrots. Because I do make a big bowl of this mix every morning I also then give some to the alex's and the pet birds too and I have to say that all my birds including the canaries absolutely go balistic when I put their fresh stuff in. This arvy will be the fruit......which I have just come home from buying .......... again.  Thanks Mike you actually word things very well and that is what I was trying to say about the ekkies. I will also admit that I am considering buying some pellets one day (possibly when in Brisbane in Oct) and giving some to my birds as a change instead of seed, or just adding a few to the seed.........if the ekkies develop any problems.....then I will stop. For me it is just as a treat or something a different. I know many of you would be shocked to see me even write "that I would even contemplate giving my birds pellets" ;D ;D but hey .......... I am still only thinking about it. lol and it would be less than 5 percent of their main diet anyway. ;D |
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Post by just4birds on Jul 21, 2008 12:14:22 GMT 10
*EDIT* ... i had writen a big rant ... but i've edited it cause its not fair to the other users on the forum ...
If you read the ABK eclectus parrot book .. even AVIAN vets suggest to cook veggies for eclectus parrots ..
Alot of people cook for there eckies not just us handful of crazzy companion eclectus parrot keepers ...
There is a cook able bird food on the market called beak appetit that is for all birds .. not just eclectus parrots ...
Tho i think alot of people started cooking for there eckies as they wouldnt eat sweet potato raw ... or pumpkin soo people found it easlier to cook it and mash it up .... and eckies need alot of Vit A then other parrots ..
But if you want bird to be birds PUT THEM BACK IN THE WILD .....
I didnt find BirdCrazy's post funny at all ... and i thought it come across as quiet ignorant ... but thats just me ...
*Lisa*
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Karen
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Post by Karen on Jul 21, 2008 13:19:38 GMT 10
Better to be ignorant than arrogant.
I've only fed, bred and kept birds for 25 years. What would I know?
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Post by farseeker on Jul 21, 2008 14:16:09 GMT 10
Come on now guys, there's no reason to get narky. Everyone has different opinions so let's just concentrate on giving Zoe as much info as we can instead of insulting each other, okay?
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Post by just4birds on Jul 21, 2008 14:35:37 GMT 10
I didnt want to spoil the thread ... but i wanted to say what i thought and how i read your post ...
and call me arrogant if thats what suits you ... but i'd rather be arrogant about what i'm passionate about .. the to just come across rude ....
I also never questioned what you've done for 25 years ... and big deal if you have done all that .... you also dont know what i've done in my 34 years of life ...
I also feel i put alot into this thread .... and helped out as much as i could... without having to defend what i say ... like i always seem to have to when i post on the forum
So lets end this here in this thread .... feel free to pm me if you have anything else to say towards me.
*Lisa*
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 21, 2008 17:32:08 GMT 10
mmmmmm ........ I had my say ;D ;D the white flag is flying high. ;D
I hope you have learned heaps from this thread though Zoe and you might have come to realise that when it comes to feeding our birds no matter what the breed.......... there are so many different views, you make your own decisions ........do the research join the ekkies forums, talk to vets, breeders and read books, and ask the questions and find out what the "common" ideas are and then make your own informed decisions. ;D
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Post by mybirdz on Jul 24, 2008 15:12:26 GMT 10
Hi everyone I do have a few things to say....so this might end being long since I have to start from the top. A hand reared ekkie doesn't generally become 'untame' just for being with parrots for a few weeks. Humans are imprinted on the babies that're hand reared for a very long time. It's more likely the breeder has said this as an excuse & the bird is not hand reared or Waldo is just acting very normal for a bird who's been taken out of the home he's familiar with & placed into a completely new & strange environment. No amount of hand rearing can prevent fear & aggression in parrots that are not familiar with their new surroundings. Only time will solve this. leaving him in his cage until he's settled may have made things easier. Simply forcing something like this can cause quite a few set backs. You need to bare in mind that Waldo is not as familiar with your home as he is with the home he was recently raised in. He is going to act odd, fearful &/or aggressive. He will not trust the new humans in his life until he's gotten used to them & this can take weeks to months. This could very well be a reaction to his new surroundings. Often people say their bird is very sweet 7 they can handle the bird & then after a few days or weeks the bird suddenly changes. It could just be the only way he knows how to react to all this if he is still frightened of his new home. Perhaps you could try for a week or so not to put so much pressure on him to be with you. Allow him to become acquainted within his new home in his own good time. Ekkies can be known as being very aloof to start with. they like to sit their, observe the house hold take things in their own stride. Aggression through lack of sleep is not know in ekkies. They're one of the few parrot species that does not get grumpy through lack of sleep. they simply make up for it by napping during the day. Definitely try & cover the glass or smear it to stop him flying into it & harming himself. i'm not sure what you mean by "covering his face and pressing him down" but you have described a bird that is very frightened of either something within that room or fearful of being handled & simply just trying to escape. Perhaps if you open up his cage & speak to him without taking him out & handling him. he needs to learn to trust you & your home. Give him time to accept everything first. Give him time wake up, eat a little breaky, watch you speak to him. Then after maybe 1/2 to hour see if he's more willing to come out. Move to him & around him slowly. Don't force him out if he doesn't want to come out & don't move suddenly or you may startle him. Rather than Waldo not learning, you could try a different step. try & put yourself in Waldo's shoes for a while. The home you know has suddenly been ripped from you. you're being made to accept the home & people in it without getting to know them properly, without having a chance to settle into the home properly. you're basically being forced to do things you're not yet ready to do. You've been given no chance at all to settle into your new home. while I may agree to this under normal circumstances I do not advice you do this at all with Waldo because I am certain he's acting in this way because of fear of the unknown, not because he's trying to push the boundaries. Be very careful if you choose to take this action with Waldo as it may backfire. this sort of action should only be taken with a bird you have had for sometime, already knows your home routines well & you well. When disciplining, a cage in a separate room is preferable as it seems to have a better effect on things. Covering can not only be tedious but also become rather unhealthy for your bird as it starts to lack natural sunlight, especially if you start to do this too often & it doesn't always work. Rewarding with treats for preferable behaviour works better with Ekkies & ignoring bad behaviour. They strive to please their owners, LOVE to eat & are always looking for new things to learn. but again you cannot do this & expect it to work on an ekkie that is new to your home. Are you offering Waldo the food he ate at his previous home? If you aren't this may be why he's throwing food. If the food is the same then yes I agree this is more likely to be a tantrum & he will grow out of it. Ekkies do also play with food all the time. This may also teach him not to trust your hand. I advise against using this method. Again you need to show Waldo he can fully trust you. This sort of action may cause distrust. this is not entirely correct. the bird needs to be given time to adjust before attempting to get on top of training situations! this sort of thing may work for some but it never gains full trust in a bird & there is a high risk of it not working. If it doesn't work you end up with more behaviours than you started with. I agree. I think he's either not been hand reared properly or not at all. Also there is a difference between hand fed & hand reared. If waldo has only been hand fed then it's likely he's only been fed by humans & put back after feeding with no further human interaction. A hand reared baby is full time cared for by humans with feeding & interaction. It's kinda hard to see the picture without a close up but it does just look like a typical scruffy juvvie that's possibly moulting. They can have those dark patches when they go through a moult. It's kinda almost like bold spot. Waldo looks normal for a bub. A panicky reaction of this kind makes me think something within that room r in his cage is terrifying him. you need to find out what it is. You can try placing his cage in another spot & see if he starts to settle down but he really does sound like something in their is scaring him to death. That is very common in ekkie babies & they will eventually moult out. how much seed do you give him per day? Their diet is very important. An incorrect diet or slight allergy or food that is not generally good for them can upset the balance. This can cause many behaviours in ekkies including aggression. Seed is high in fat, low in nutrition & many ekkies have been known to become seed junkies. It's also not a natural part of their diet but there are good seeds you can offer if you have to use seed eclectusparrots.net/seedsnnutsHere is also an idea of the sort of diets an ekkie requires daily: www.eclectusparrots.net/sprouts A lot of people can swear by many different things. That diet is certainly not something I would ever consider, it just isn't worth the risk. Ekkies diet reaction are also individual. Some are more sensitive than others. While some seems to do really well on crappy diets, others can only eat the most natural diets to stay healthy. Many ekkies kept on crappy diets can also show no indications at all of health issues until a lot later in life, then they often start to rear their ugly head. Honestly?...no & no.... you should be weaning Waldo off the seed, offering more fruit & veg & sprouts & then when he's eating sensibly & very well you can introduce a TINY amount of seed. Pellet is a personal choice. Again it is a food that causes many health issues in ekkies so do be careful with it. if you choose pellets, choose WISELY! 100% natural eclectus parrot specific pellets should only be used. Food colours, preservatives, additives in pellets cause toe tapping. Fortified human foods also cause toe tapping. Actually it's recommended in captive birds & very nutritional since we're not able to offer the exact diet they have in the wild. Ekkies also do extremely well on a healthy human diet & yep that includes cooking. ok so that was extremely long LMAO but I've now caught up! And yes I have my own ekkie website www.eclectusparrots.net |
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 24, 2008 17:16:25 GMT 10
Hello it was me that made this comment
The lady told me she had spoken to a breeder who gives his seed and his get fruit every second day and he swears by it
I was not advocating that........... my birds get 95% fruit/veges, cooked mix and more stuff (limited time to go into it but you can read it in my posts here on the board). I was trying to make a comment on seed not being totally bad for ekkies in small amounts and if the rest of my post was read it was noted that I did not agree with what had been told to me about feeding seed with some fruit and veges.
Your post and information was very good though ......... I just wanted to put into full context what I actually said.
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Post by mybirdz on Jul 24, 2008 17:31:42 GMT 10
Hi yes i know that comment came from a friend & not you. And I know you weren't advocating it but I was just saying my part on that anyway I know a few people locally who also swear by the seed diet LOL |
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Post by vankarhi on Jul 24, 2008 17:49:34 GMT 10
what for ekkies?? Seed diet that is?
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