Eclectus

Our Eclectus

Although I only breed Vos, I have many good friends who breed the other popular sub-species of Eclectus. If you are interested in an SI, RS or Grand please email me and I will refer you to someone who has them.

Vos babies hatched 2/14/2010, more on the way.

We are able to make unrelated pairs of Vos Eclectus for future breeding programs.

The name Eclectus is derived from the word eclectic because of the sexually dimorphic coloration of the male and female. The males are varying shades of green depending upon their subspecies, and have brilliant red splashes of color on their wing bends and sides. From the age of about one year, they have a striking candy corn beak. The females are varying shades of red, blue, lavender, and purple. The females of the Vosmaeri subspecies have an additional daisy yellow color on the tail. All adult females have jet black beaks. Because of the pronunciation of the word eclectic, many people pronounce the name of the Eclectus parrot "e-cleck-tus."

Origin: Eight to ten subspecies of Eclectus are recognized. They originated from the Cape York Peninsula of Australia, the islands of Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, and New Guinea. Only a few of these subspecies are commonly available in aviculture. They are the Grand, Red Sided, Vosmaeri , and Solomon Island subspecies.

Housing: The answer to the question of proper cage size for the Eclectus parrot is easy; buy the largest cage or aviary that your space and budget will accommodate. Horizontal space is important due to the large wingspan of the Eclectus. They require daily exercise and their cage must be wide enough to allow them to flap their wings vigorously if they are unable to fly in the home or in a large aviary. Three feet is a good width if they are to spend a good deal of time in the cage. Cage height is important because of their love of climbing. A macaw-style cage allows enough vertical space for a boing toy to be hung inside the cage. Otherwise, a four or five foot cotton rope and a swing are standard Eclectus cage equipment. They enjoy small hand toys, V-Tech brand and other toys for toddlers, and any challenging toy that can be manipulated by beak and feet. Wood toys for chewing and destruction can prevent a bird from becoming interested in over grooming and possibly destroying its feathers. Eclectus should be allowed out of the cage and into a separate play area or tree for at least an hour a day and longer if possible.

Talking ability:
Even as young babies, lots of verbal growling and chortles.

Most of the babies we sell are starting to clearly talk at 6 months of age.

Eclectus parrots are generally classified among the top three parrots for talking ability. Rivalling the African Grey and the talking Amazon parrots in clarity of speech and scope of vocabulary, they not only repeat many words and phrases but some learn entire songs. Some Eclectus chicks learn their first word before they are weaned if the hand-feeder repeats a word to them often. Eclectus parrots enjoy repeating interesting sounds as well as words and phrases learned from their human companions. Some males have melodious voices while others sound more masculine, but nearly all Eclectus females have the most charming sweet and seductive voice--full and throaty like that of a "opera singer." As with all parrot species, there are birds that never learn to say more than "hello".

Diet: Eclectus MUST have fresh foods in their diets. Supplements are not needed if you feed a healthy full diet.

Never feed an all pellet diet, never feed a colored pellet diet.

We use TropiMix Large Parrot mixed with Proteen 25 Eggfoods as our daily mix.

Our breeders are also fed Avico Bugs-n-Berries during nesting to ensure proper protein levels.

Every other day the birds are given one of the FeatherGlow Soak and Simmer cooked mixes, blended with at least 3 of the following- pomegranates, mangos, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, carrots, red and green bell peppers, kale, collards, dandelion and other greens.

When our Eclectus are breeding we add a 1/2 teaspoon of Lory Life Powder, a teaspoon Bugs-n-Berries,
a 1/2 teaspoon Baby Boom Veggie Powder and a pinch of Calci-Boost, to their soft food mixes.

Babies are hand fed- Tropican Breeding Mash when babies are 6 weeks of age we then mix 50/50 with any low Iron-low Salt Organic Gerber baby fruit or veggie food.

Other Supplements are not needed!

*They will assimilate all the vitamin A and calcium that they need from the colorful orange, yellow, red, and green foods like pomegranates, mangos, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, carrots, red and green bell peppers, kale, collards, dandelion and other greens.

Health: Eclectus are hardy birds that have no species-specific health problems. They thrive on exercise, natural foods, and pure water. They need a wide variety of nutritious foods rather than vitamin and mineral supplements.

Stress, Liver problems and Aspergillus are sometimes seen in the species, and can cause death in some cases.

Longevity: Poor diet before much study was done on their nutritional needs caused many to believe the Eclectus as a species could not live past 10 years of age. We now know that is not the case. There are Eclectus in this country now that are of 30 to 40 years of age. With proper diet, housing, and yearly (well bird) exams an Eclectus can live into it's 50's or 60's.

Noise: In general, Eclectus are quiet birds that prefer talking to screaming, but there are exceptions to every rule and there are a few loud Eclectus. They are capable of very harsh, loud calls when threatened with danger. Fortunately, most of them do not use the warning call very often.

Sleep: Ten hours sleep is the best, if you intend on keeping your Eclectus in a main living area with activity (even a tv on late at night).

You should have a smaller sleep cage in a bedroom or unused room.

Never keep your Eclectus in a kitchen or bathroom,

Fumes from cooking and cleaners in these smaller areas can be deadly.

Attitude and Your new baby

Generations of Aviculturists can tell us about those two obvious growing stages all youngsters experience. The first one is generally known as the "Terrible Twos". It is basically a stage when the bird will learn about pecking order. He may lunge or nip at his owner, but this is all very normal. Our baby Eclectus experience this growing stage at between 3 and 5 months of age. For the owner to maintain the alpha position, he must keep the upper hand. For example, if the new owner wants the youngster to step up onto his hand but the baby does not appear interested, the new owner must physically force the bird to step onto his hand. If the owner fails to maintain dominance, the bird may gain the alpha position in pecking order and the owner will find, as the bird matures, that it is not a well socialised pet.

The second growing stage is what we call "Puberty". It occurs in Eclectus between 18 to 24 months. What we see in this stage is an attempt to find an outlet for those newly discovered hormones. We may see fast, unidirectional movements, quick unexplained mood changes, occasional screaming, shadowboxing, and masturbation, along with the expected courting activities. These stages usually pass and the Eclectus mellows out by the age of 2 or 3 years.

Many Eclectus owners tell me their birds dislike being touched, scream, feather pluck, and are generally unfriendly. Where do some people find these "Birds From Hell"? I believe that an Eclectus who has not been properly socialised as an infant will fit this category. To properly socialise an infant, the caretaker must hold the baby as much as possible, and touch it all over its body, including underneath the wings and feet. The caretaker should talk or sing to the baby as much as possible to familiarise it with the human voice. I spend most of my day in the Nursery, so my babies become accustomed to the company of a human. Unless it is necessary, we do not separate our infants in the brooders if at all possible so they will be habituated to the possibility of sharing their owners' attention with another pet or person.

We breed Vos Eclectus

Our Eclectus Price

Eclectus $ 1,100.00

Deposits are $ 200.00

"If your thinking of purchasing two non-related babies we reduce the price per baby by 200.00.

This offer is only good if you deposit on both babies at the same time."

We take payments through out the babies hand feeding.