Eclectus

Eclectus parrots are the most sexually dimorphic parrot species in the world. Sexual dimorphism means the vast difference in colour between the cock and the hen. The cock bird is mostly an emerald green with underwing coverts and flanks of red. The lower mandible is black, the upper mandible is an orange-yellow colour. The hen bird is predominantly maroon. The head and neck are red, the chest blue, red or purple, depending on what subspecies. The mandibles are black. The differences being so great that until the late 19th century, male and female were considered a different species. The Eclectus parrot has hair-like feathers, particularly around the head, breast and abdomen. They measure approximately 37 cm in length.

Personality: There is a lot to be said regarding the Eclectus parrot's personality and behaviour. I will try and cover the main factors without boring you! They make an amazing pet and are super intelligent. It is their intelligence that at times may make them appear to be timid and shy when faced with a new situation or person. They are cautious about their surrounds and can be greatly affected by change. For example, a Cockatiel couldn't care less if you wack a couple of shiny new toys smack bang in the middle of it's cage. It's not intelligent enough to be afraid (please don't be offended Cockatiel owners). If you did this with an Eclectus it would freak out! An Eclectus would hide in the corner until it slowly realised it was safe, and bit by bit worked it's way over for a very careful look at the new things in it's environment. Handraised Eclectus benefit from being passed around a bit whilst young. This gives them more confidence in all people, not just their keeper. Once accustomed to new surroundings and the people in it, the Eclectus parrot is affectionate, playful, curious  and keen to explore. Not only are they great mimics (talkers), they are able to learn cognitive behaviour and communicate intelligently. They can make some seriously loud screeches at times, mostly at daybreak and sundown. Generally they are quiet, and can make all sorts of wierd and wonderful sounds. Our breeding pairs all say "hellooo" with perfect clarity. They can all clearly say each others names. It's like they are having a conversation! (Hello Cobber...Hello Baaarrny)

Bathing: Eclectus love to bathe and should be provided with a suitable dish filled with water. I kill two birds with one stone (I probably shouldn't use that saying) by using an extra large porcelain dish. This is their drinking water and if they want to jump in, they can. I scrub the dish and change the water daily. We use suspended aviaries, for our Eccy's, that have exposure to the elements. When it rains they go crazy, climbing and swinging upside down with wings out...they love it! 

Accomodation: We house our breeding pairs in large suspended aviaries. The size we use for Eclectus are 6 metres long which includes a 1 metre secure walkway to the rear. Width is 1.5 metres with double mesh between the cages. We partition the sheltered end with colourbond to provide privacy during breeding. The flight end of our suspended's are 3.5 metres long and have full exposure to the elements. They are built on concrete slabs and are 1.5 metres above the ground. We use "L" shaped nestboxes that I designed, with an inspection door accessible from the walkway. I also use a hinged door and mechanism that allows me to close the birds access for chick inspections, weigh-in or leg-ringing. Eclectus can dive into the nestbox aggressively during breeding, causing harm to young or possible egg breakage, the closeable door eliminates this problem.

Diet: Eclectus should recieve around 60% of their diet as soft foods including fruit, veg, soaked and sprouted seed. See our "Diet" page for more info regarding what fruit and veg to feed, as well as our seed sprouting procedure. We recommend pellets be provided at all times, as these contain many nutritional ingredients and supplements. See our sub-heading under Diet,"Pelleted Diet". As a treat for our Eclectus, the odd hard boiled egg is mashed up including it's shell and mixed in with their fruit and veg. It provides a great source of calcium. I also save the drumsticks or bones from other types of roast with a little meat left on. They see me coming with them and start going silly. They can grind them up completely and this is a good additional source of protien. These extra foods provide variety and relieve boredom.

We have other headings under "General" relating to cage placement, household hazards, parasites etc. Please click on those headings for more information that relates to Eclectus and other species.

 
Molly (hen) ............................................ Cobber (male)