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EkkiePride
Egg
Joined: 20 Mar 2009
Posts: 19
Location: Victoria, Australia |
| Giving Ekkies Pellets and Sunflowers Seeds & Nuts |
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Ok I've researched the Eclectus parrot for over a year now and the 'experts' say that seeds and nuts contain a lot of unnecessary fat that the bird simply does not need.
The Eclectus can put on weight very easily and it's usually hard to tell becasue the fat remains internal and not easily recognisable to look at the bird. It's important to weigh your bird every day, some even do this twice a day if they're putting their birds through trick training or other such energy burning activities.
The one true way to tell if your bird is getting too fat is to do this:
Give your bird a shower, really get him/her soaked and take a look at the skin on the belly. If it has a yellow tinge to it, get your bird to the vet because it's in trouble and really overweight but you won't be able to tell just by looking at a dry bird. It's frustrating because as most of us know, birds hide their ailments so well to help protect them against predators in the wild, it's up to us to be vigilant and protect them as they depend on us to have brains.
Birds tend to not eat pellets in the wild, yes they can get their claws on nuts and seeds but the Eclectus does tend to go for Eucalyptus flowers and other naturally and readily available foods where it lives in Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. If you don't live in Australia, please just feed your bird fruits and vegetables as nature intended. It's all too easy to do more harm than good just by being ignorant. Provide the things your bird naturally needs, perhaps you could grow a Eucalyptus tree if you don't already have one, there are hundreds of varieties and they are drought proof.
I would strongly suggest that all Eclectus owners also research the breed and then add a good dash of common sense, which; I understand isn't that common after all. |
Tuesday March 24, 2009 4:17 am |
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kimforster
Egg
Joined: 15 Apr 2005
Posts: 10
Location: Perth, Western Australia |
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Hi
Eclectus do need some nuts in their diet however, like other medium to large parrots, they don't need as much. Almonds are one the best nuts to offer them among a few others. Stay away from peanuts, generally an all round bad nut...
IMO it does not hurt the eclectus to never eat seed. The only seed they would normally eat in the wild are the seeds from fruit. Most eclectus owners I know have never fed seed. You can feed seed every now & then if you choose to but it shouldn't be a main part of the diet.
Here are some recommended
eclectus seeds & nut nutrition
An Eclectus parrot food pyramid
This will give you an idea of the amount of each type of food they should be eating.
Eclectus thrive on sprout, fruit & veg, herbs & flower diets. Ekkies on these diets will never gain weight. I also have never seen an over weight eclectus before. It is a very rare thing to happen. Seeds in their diet on a regular basis can cause seed addictions in eclectus parrots which & causes aggression.
i would expect you could tell the difference of an overweight eclectus simply by weighing them & seeing how they move. An overweight eclectus will more than likely be a perch potato.
I am lucky, I live in Australia so the bush comes inside for them. Eclectus parrots particularly LOVE the flowering gums. |
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Thursday May 7, 2009 3:09 am |
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EkkiePride
Egg
Joined: 20 Mar 2009
Posts: 19
Location: Victoria, Australia |
| Hi Kim, Great reply - Thanks :) |
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Hi Kim, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Thank you for your great reply with the extra information. Some days it's easy to overlook the extra bits. We're very lucky to have Ekkies in Australia where we can easily access all the great things they love to eat. Oliver is a HUGE fan of the flowering gums too 
Where do you stand on the vitamins, calcium etc?? I only ask because, although I have purchased water soluble vitamins, Oliver tends to avoid his water when I add them. I was wondering if they could smell it and perhaps know when they need this stuff. I'd love to hear your thoughts. |
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Thursday May 7, 2009 3:38 am |
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kimforster
Egg
Joined: 15 Apr 2005
Posts: 10
Location: Perth, Western Australia |
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Hi EkkiePride
while I don't offer my ekkie (or any other of my birds, non breeding) vit sups, I don't entirely condone it. I guess it's really a personal choice & as you say in your first post about common sense, offering vit sups also (IMO) has a lot to do with common sense. I don't agree with people freely giving vit sups often unless they've been instructed to do so by their avian vet. IMO I don't believe there is a real need for vit sups unless your avian vet says your bird needs them or they're growing chicks or breeding parents.
You can have numerous problems with offering vit sups without a vet OK if you don't know which vit the bird may be lacking in, or if the bird is not lacking at all then you can easily OD it, particularly ekkies. They're very capable of getting the very best vit/mins they need out of all their soft fresh foods. It's natural for them to do this in the wild & they also do this in captivity. Over indulgence in vit sups can lead to some health problems as well as toe tapping because ekkies are so sensitive to foods.
I do think it's possible for people to get away with offering their pet eclectus the odd vit sup maybe once a month or so.
I don't know an eclectus that will drink water with vits in them. Just tells you how bad it must taste. You can try offering natural fruit cordial in the water to hide the vit taste or adding it to sprouts or even adding it to 24 hour soaked seed.
With the calcium sup, it will only work if it also has vitD in it. Vit D (natural sunlight) helps to absorb calcium. No bird is able to absorb calcium in their bodies without any natural sunlight or at least vit D. There is also a downfall to calcium. Too much can cause a great deal of health issues as well as calcium build up. Again this is a supplement I would only consider offering if it's been said so by the vet or if your ekkie is breeding. Calcium OD is the most common cause for toe tapping in Australia.
I do however offer all my birds a mineral block & cuttle bone. Those difficult ones who have never touched them in their life, I grate some up & add it to their sprouts about once a month. My birds get a large amount & large variety of sprouts, herbs & flowers for brekky every day. These are their natural vits. |
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Thursday May 7, 2009 5:47 am |
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EkkiePride
Egg
Joined: 20 Mar 2009
Posts: 19
Location: Victoria, Australia |
| Thanks Kim |
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Thanks Kim - Once again, great info!  |
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Friday May 8, 2009 12:18 am |
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