Eclectus Parrot

Scientific name: Eclectus roratus

Description:
   The Eclectus parrots are vividly colored birds with tight interlocking hair like feathers which produce a sleek glossy plumage that actually looks like silk. They are a large stocky parrot, being 14 to 15 inches in length (35 cm), and have a short square tail and long round tipped wings.
   The male Eclectus is brilliant green on top, has yellowish-green wing coverts, and has red patches on the breast and under the wings. The tail feathers are almost black with yellow tips. The upper beak is a a coral yellow with a yellowish tip and the lower mandible is black. The iris is a dark orange.
   The female Eclectus has a rich red on the head and breast while the back and wing feathers tend to a darker red. The belly and the nape of the neck are a dull purple to a blue and the tail is tipped with orange. Their beak is black. The iris of the female is a yellow color and they have a blue ring around the eye. (All young Eclectus have brown irises.)
   The Eclectus parrot has evolved into at least 10 subspecies, four of which are available in the industry. The females in each subspecies appear quite similar, but the males vary widely in their markings. Differences in the subspecies are specific to the location they came from in the Pacific Islands and include size, head coloration, and brightness of plumage.

Distribution:
   The Eclectus parrots are found in Australia, New Guinea, and the islands of eastern Indonesia.

Care and feeding:
   Fresh food and water must be provided daily. In the wild the Eclectus parrots eats seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, leaf buds, blossoms, and nectar. Besides a good seed mix, Fruits and green foods are essential to keep the Eclectus healthy! Their digestive tract is adapted to a fibrous diet and if deprived, they may develop Candidiasis (see below). Eclectus are also prone to becoming fat, another reason why they should be encouraged to eat more vegetables and less oily seed. A cuttle bone or a calcium block is a good source of calcium.

The fungal disease, Candidiasis, is associated with Indonesian parrots including the Eclectus parrot, because these birds need a relatively high amount of Vitamin A. Dry seed is notably deficient in Vitamin A, which is why they need additions to a seed based diet. Candidiasis is apparent in the mouth. The bird will play with its food rather than eating it, and you may notice a sticky whitish discharge from the beak. Inside the mouth will be whitish patches of Candida fungus. Your vet can give you medication for this, but you will also need to improve the birds diet.

   Foods for your pet will include a ready made large hookbill seed mix enriched with vitamins, but Eclectus must also have their diet supplemented with all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Fresh foods you can offer include green peas, cucumber, young dandelion greens, sweet corn, beet greens, carrots, broccoli, unsprayed lettuce, chickweed, dandelions, eggplant, green peppers, sorrel, spinach leaves, tomatoes and zucchini. Do not feed avocado as it is toxic to birds! Fruits that you can offer include, apples, peaches, apricots, bananas, pears, plums, raisons, and most other fruits.
   Most parrots enjoy and occasional shower or bath. A shower can be accomplished with either a hand held shower sprayer or a hose with a fine spray head and lukewarm water. A bath pan or ceramic dish 12"-14" (30-35 cm) can be placed on the bottom of the cage or mounted at about 39" (1m) above the floor in an aviary. The wings should be kept trim if you want to discourage flight and to prevent the loss of your pet through an open window or door. The beak and claws need to be trimmed if they are not worn down from climbing and chewing.

Housing:
    A cage best suited to adequately house an Eclectus parrot would be between 39"- 59" (100-150 cm) high and have a floor space of 23"x 39" (60 x 100 cm). This size will provide room for lots of movement as well as space for perches, food dishes and a variety of playthings. A room to adequately house 2 Eclectus needs a ceiling height of at least 70" (180 cm) and a minimum floor space of 39"x59" (100 x 150 cm). Perches should be 1/2" to 1" round or square as well as various sized fruit tree branches. Playthings can be such things as climbing ropes, chains, bells, parrot swings and wooden or other bird toys.
   An outdoor or breeding aviary needs to have a protected shelter that can be heated and cooled where necessary. It should be no smaller than 59" - 79" (1.5 - 2 m) high with a floor space of 39"x 39" (1 m x 1 m) and have an attached flight cage. The flight should be 79" - 118" (2 - 3 m) long with a perch at each end. A climbing branch and a bird bath are nice additions too.

Maintenance:
  The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys, and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.

Social Behaviors:
  Eclectus parrots are tamed easily and are very sociable. Some folks feel the male is the more talented, with more talking ability and easier to tame. However, both sexes can become affectionate pets and enjoy human handling.

Handling/Training:
   You should give a new arrival a few days to get use to you, your voice and it's cage before trying to handle it. A handfed baby will not need much taming and can often be handled right away, as it is use to human attention. Remember that taming and training a bird takes patience, never 'punish' your pet! This only serves to destroy the trust you've spent so much time building. For more information on training parrots, see About Amazon Parrots.
   For an extensive parrot training system that potentially turns your bird into a fun, loving companion as well as learning lots of cool trickls, try Chet Womach's Parrot Training Course.

Activities:
   Exercise and play are important activities for the physical well being and psychological health of your parrot. These activities help deter distress and prevent the problems of screeching and feather picking. Provide your parrot with lots of activities in the form of large link chains, bird ladders, parrot swings, ropes, fresh branches for gnawing and chewing, and rotate new bird toys on a regular basis.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Sexing Eclectus parrots is simple. The adults and even the chicks are dimorphic, meaning the males are mainly green and the females are red and blue. The biggest challenge is mating members of the same subspecies. There are four subspecies of Eclectus available and they can be difficult to distinguish between. If you are a beginner looking to breed, you should seek the aid of an experienced breeder to help you choose birds of the same subspecies.
   Bonded pairs will readily nest, which makes the Eclectus a fairly easy bird to breed. While most large parrots will usually only lay (and rear) one clutch of eggs in an outdoor aviary, the Eclectus are "free-breeders" and may nest several times during a breeding season.
   In the wild, they are seen nesting in groups with each pair making their nest very high up, in the hole of a tree. Eclectus will need a nest box mounted as high up as possible. It should be at least is 31"-39" (80-100 cm) high with an inside diameter of 12"-14" (30-35 cm) and an opening of 4"-5" (10-12 cm). Provide some bedding material inside on the bottom of the box. In the wild their nests have been observed to have the eggs laid on wood chips.
   An Eclectus female will usually lay 2 eggs. The female will brood for 26 to 28 days while the male brings her food. The hatchlings will leave the nest at about twelve weeks.
   Beware of over breeding. Free-breeders are prone to having a calcium deficiency. This can result in complications of soft-shelled eggs and egg binding. Provide plenty of calcium. Cuttlebone is an excellent choice not only for the female but also for the chicks, as they are prone to rickets. Be sure to remove the nest box after the brooding until you are ready for them to nest again.

Potential Problems:
   An eclectus parrot that is well cared for will seldom become ill. Though it is often difficult to determine illness, some visible signs of illness to be aware of are ruffled plumage, listlessness, drooping wings, sagging body, extreme mood changes, having no appetite, bulges in feathering, partially closed or watery eyes, swelling of the eyelids, rasping, difficulty breathing, excessive saliva, dirty vent, and any change in the feces not apparently diet related.
   Some of the more common illnesses are; Psittacosis (chlamydiosis or parrot fever); bacterial, viral, or fungal infections; feather picking (results of boredom, poor diet, sexual frustration, lack of bathing); allergies; chewing flight and tail feathers by juveniles, beak malformations in chicks; Papillomas; kidney disease (gout); toxicity, heavy metal poisoning; lipomas in older birds.
   Immediately provide a warm, draft free, secure environment kept at about 86°F (30°C). Place food and water close to the perch where it is easily accessible. An ailing parrot should be taken to a avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

   Behavour problems usually stem from something missing in the bird's environment. Boredom, lack of trust, lack of interaction with other birds or people can lead to problems like biting, feather plucking, and screaming. Try to develop a bond of trust and spend time with your bird to help avoid these problems. We have also had good success with Chet Womach's Parrot Training Course. He offers free 3-day introductory course so you can try it out before you buy anything.

Availability:
   Eclectus parrots have been successfully bred and are readily available, though they are moderately expensive.