Reprinted with permission from the Eclectus Forum Newsletter - 1st edition
"I never heard of Eclectus." was my response when the parrot breeder suggested the species. I was looking for a small to medium sized bird who was fun, friendly, pretty, and adaptable. We spend three months of the year on the road in a motor home and over the years have reduced our doggy population from a dozen to one. A lively parrot seemed just the right addition to the family.
And finding the right breeder was important. After twenty-five years of breeding show dogs, I knew the screening process necessary. First, I scanned the ads in Bird Talk. I wanted aviaries I could visit, which meant ones I could get to in a day's drive. And I was only interested in breeders who didn't conduct lot sales to pet stores. My breeder had to care enough about his/her babies to place each one carefully in an individual home. Then I wrote an introductory letter to each, telling them about us, our household and lifestyle, and the characteristics we were looking for in a pet bird. Phone calls followed the letters and we arranged our first visit.
In the week between her suggestion and our first opportunity to visit her aviary, I scoured the book stores and petshops for books which included this lesser known species. When I found only a smattering of conflicting information, I turned to the Pet Forum Libraries on AOL, checking out a variety of parrot species, but finding nothing on Eclectus. Finally, among the current Bulletin Boards, I was able to locate folks who owned and lived with Eclectus parrots. I read everything available. I learned that Eclectus don't pair-bond in the wild and so would be less likely to exclude my husband or myself as the bird reached sexual maturity. I also discovered that Eclectus scream less and bite less than many varieties of parrots. And while affectionate, they aren't as needy as Cockatoos. The clincher was one owner's description of male Eclectus as the Golden Retriever of the bird world. That I could relate to.
When I arrived at the selected aviary, we were instructed to wash our hands and then introduced to some of the kindergarten birds of several species who were looking for loving homes. Many were cavorting in two huge play yards while others ate or napped in the surrounding cages. Everything was CLEAN and the birds appeared healthy and bright-eyed. The breeder brought out a male Eclectus and several females and ushered us into another quieter room where we could chat and play with the birds.
I wasn't disappointed. "Kelly Green," a one year old male, sat on my hand or my husband's, accepted tickles and pets, and generally made his gorgeous self very agreeable. But we wanted a baby. And that meant getting on a waiting list and waiting for eggs to be laid, hatch, and the chicks to be hand-raised. That turned into two months of waiting for the first eggs, another month for the second clutch, and another month before the breeder was sure she had males; then two more months before our baby boy was weaned. We spent that time reading all the books on parrot behavior, training, diseases, feeding and keeping up with the Eclectus bulletin board. We also bought cages--one for home, one for travel--and began investigating play trees and gyms.
Finally it was time to visit the baby birds and let one of them pick us. I couldn't sleep the night before. What if neither wanted us? The chemistry had to be right. Dogs believe the lyrics to that old song, "Love the one you're with," and will fit in with almost any family. We didn't want to force ourselves on a bird, we wanted to be accepted as friends. As it turned out, I need not have worried. While one of the boys simply disdained both of us, turning around on our hands and showing us his back, even flapping away in rudimentary flight, the other fell in love. We didn't have to guess. The second chick stretched and craned his neck, peering at our faces. He beaked our fingers, played with a hand toy, squawked inquiringly when we spoke to him, and finally fluffed out his feathers and relaxed companionly on our hands.
The next few weeks will drag long and slow until we can bring Jazz home. His cage is set up, his toys are waiting. We even have a supply of his favorite pellets waiting in the freezer. And the breeder is teaching him his name.
CRANBERRIES
by Constance Bacon
Reprinted with permission from the Eclectus Forum Newsletter - 1st edition
Are dried cranberries a good food source?
Fresh cranberries contain a variety of constituents including carbohydrates (10%), organic acids and small
amounts of protein, fiber, and ascorbic acid.
Cranberries contain a compound that inhibits the urinary pathogen, Escherichia coli (E. Coli), and cranberry juice, as well as blueberry juice, is used in humans to relieve the symptoms of urinary tract infections.
Though nontoxic, cranberries can cause a bird to get diarrhea if a large amount of the berries are fed. In fact, many dehydrated foods are fed here. Dehydration does not destroy many of the important nutrients, etc.
ROMEO'S STORY
Buying an Older Bird
by Chuck Stern
Reprinted with permission from the Eclectus Forum Newsletter - 1st edition
Did you ever notice when you're out doing errands, and
you run into other "bird people" you know, and they tell
you about a new store, you will adjust your errands so
you'll eventually end up near the new store? That's what
happened to me, and that's how I happened to meet Romeo.
I wandered into Wilson's Parrots in Alexandria that day,
looking for a couple of toys for my cockatiel and budgie,
but of course had to wander upstairs to visit the temporary
residents of the store. And there, situated between a very
active umbrella cockatoo, and a very loud and active blue
and gold macaw, was Romeo, a male Grand Eclectus
parrot. He was gorgeous, of course, except for one thing;
all of his chest feathers, back feathers, and leg feathers
were gone. He had plucked himself.
I was concerned about this, of course, but after getting
bitten by the macaw and cockatoo, I asked the store
employee if I could take Romeo out of his cage. He said
Romeo didn't really like most people at first, but a half-hour or so of work would make him much
friendlier. I
opened the cage, and he stepped right onto my hand. With
some trepidation, I brought him closer, and started talking
to him. Immediately, he started stroking my beard with his
beak, and saying "Hello" to me in a very sweet, fluty voice.
I spent an hour with him that day, walking around the store
and talking to him (and wiping bird-barf from my hand).
I can still smell those regurgitated bananas!
When I looked at him, almost heartbroken because I knew I couldn't take him home right then and there, he looked at me and said "What's wrong?" (He has not said this to me since). Right then and there, I knew he had to come home with me.
Romeo was about four years old; his previous owner
had taken a job that required him to be on the road for
several days each week, and the bird had started plucking
himself. After about a year of this, the owner decided to
put Romeo on consignment. He had been in the pet store
for several months before we crossed paths. Two days
later, after convincing my wife that the bird needed a good
home, I went to the store and put a deposit on Romeo.
The Homecoming
Six weeks later, I finished paying for Romeo; he was
cheap, for an Eclectus, but it took a while to come up with
the funds for the bird, plus the cage, plus toys, plus food,
plus accessories. Romeo was in an especially bad mood
that day when I picked him up from the store. He bit me
very hard on the hand several times while getting him out
of the cage, and again while putting him into his carrier. I
was not discouraged, but I was certainly not thrilled with
Romeo's new-found love of inflicting injury.
I put him in his cage when we got home, spent about 45
minutes talking to him, and let him settle down for the
night.
The next morning was not much easier on my hands. I
was bound and determined, though, so I toweled Romeo
out of the cage, set him on my hand, and talked to him for
a while. He seemed a bit calmer, but was still breathing
heavily and unwilling to be scratched on the head. I did
this a few times with him and finally he stepped onto my
hand without biting. "Progress," I thought to myself. "Now
let's totally screw it up with a trip to the veterinarian."
Dr Stahl Draws Blood
The next morning was our scheduled appointment with
Dr. Stahl. We had our, by then, accustomed tussle getting
out of the cage, followed by our cuddle session, and then a
battle getting into the carrier. By the way, I have since
learned that Romeo goes very nicely into his carrier if I put
him in with my left hand; with my right hand, he is able to
grab the door of the carrier with his beak.
After our arrival at the office, and about 10 minutes of
New Patient Paperwork, Romeo and I waited only about 5
minutes to see Dr Stahl. Romeo was happy to come out of
his carrier and sit on my arm and be scratched. His initial
weight was 403 grams. Dr Stahl then took Romeo from
me, grabbed him in a towel, and gave him a thorough
physical examination, explaining what he was doing each
step of the way. He listened to Romeo's heart, looked into
his eyes, ear holes, nares, and mouth, felt his muscle
development on his breast, palpated his abdomen, stretched
out his wings, and finally palpated his cloaca.
Once the physical exam was complete, he drew blood
from Romeo's jugular vein while the technician blew gently
in Romeo's face to distract him. The blood work was to
test for psittacosis and PBFD, in addition to a complete
blood count, and chemistry workup. The blood chemistry
he was going to do included a liver enzyme, electrolytes
and vitamin levels. Dr. Stahl also gave me a slide to get a
feces sample to do a Gram's stain at home, and a tube of
solution to do a float for Giardia. In all, we probably spent
an hour at the doctor's office; the total cost was $175. It
was to turn out to be well worth it.
Next month's installment: "Dad, I can't blow my nose,"
or "Sinus infections are nobody's friend."
Birds R Us
Back to Articles Page
Eclectus Forum TOC