Eclectus Parrots

I've only met an Eclectus parrot once and I suppose he was a young male since his beak wasn't a bright candy corn color combination. He was a scruffy little guy and at first I thought he was sick but I wasn't sure, hopefully he is doing well.
I'm told that Eclectus parrots are excellent speakers only behind African Greys and Amazons. However they are capable of speaking just as well if not better than Greys and Amazons. They are one of the mild mannered parrots that I've read about and are capable of training themselves with a little guidance and might learn not to defecate on your shoulder. Also they do not like cuddling because apparently they don't like ruining their feathers. These are all generalizations of course and no two parrot are a like.
Male Eclectus parrots are green with orange and yellow beaks when mature and female Eclectus parrots are red and purple with black beaks. The females are the dominant gender of the species and are typically more aggressive than the males. Their diet and lifespan confuse me since different sources have different views on diet and life span estimates. I would guess that their lifespan is probably similar to an African Grey which is about fifty years plus and as for diet I would ask a veterinarian.

Sources
http://www.avianweb.com/eclectus.htm
http://www.parrotparrot.com/articles/eclectus.html
http://www.parrotsecrets.com/Eclectus-Parrot/about-eclectus-parrot.php
The Simple Guide to Bird Care & Training by Julie Rach

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Amazon

Parrot Sitting

I don't know why I didn't type about this before but over the summer I was parrot sitting for two Quaker parrots for about a week. It was a lot of work but it was fun watching Kiki interact with the two other Quakers Sammy and Lola. Sammy was an aggressive five year old male Quaker with his flight feathers intact. Lola was a shy two or one year old female Quaker. Kiki acted like herself friendly and baby like. So it really was interesting watching three different Quakers interact. The only thing is I don't have any pictures or videos of there stay.

The tough parts of the job were cleaning three cages, changing food and water, and trying to keep the noise level down so my dad wouldn't go insane. Sammy's cage was the most difficult to clean since he was very territorial about it but I managed and even changing his food and water was difficult since I had to work swiftly in order to avoid a bite or be chased. Sammy behaved well away from the cage and allowed me to pet him. Though I wore gloves when handling him because I've seen what he's capable of. Lola was pretty easy to take care of compared to Sammy and of course I still gave Kiki plenty of attention.

The funniest and possibly most serious incident happened around the bathing dish. Lola was taking a bath and took her sweet time doing so. Sammy eventually grew impatient and flew into the dish and started to bathe himself and scared Lola off. Kiki also decided to bathe after they had. What I found strange was Lola's bathing habits she took the longest bath compared to Sammy and Kiki. I wish I video taped that while I still had my camera.

Thoughts on Parrots

Parrots are wonderful, brilliant, and diverse creatures and possess qualities that we find irresistable which just goes to show we (humans) really do have weak minds and a lack of self control. Thankfully the high price that comes with owning a parrot is enough to drive away most consumers. This is bad for business but good for parrots in a few ways because their are so many unwanted parrots in adoption facilities.

The high price of parrots might be a good thing because we are more likely be protective of something that costs more than something of a lesser value. I believe that all forms of life should be respected and cared for but sadly that is not the case and animals are still abused no matter what the price tag is. To understand parrots you need to step in their heads.

If I was a parrot I'd be okay with most things that a well providing owner. The only complaint I'd have is that I would want to fly freely where ever I chose to and be with my own kind. Parrots probably don't think like me but we do share common emotions of joy, lonliness, sorrow, and more but I'm pretty sure we would all like to be free of obligations, duties, pride, or a cage and just fly.

Parrot Equipment

A few essentials one should purchase include obviously a cage, cage cover, bird carrier, food and water dishes, cuttle bone, bath dish, toys, perches, and a first aid kit for birds. Of course their are ton of other things and you don't have to buy everything for example for a cage cover use a suitable sheet or blanket and for the bird bath use a dish or something that your parrot can bathe in. Also if you travel a lot you might want a cage suitable for traveling. These of course are the additional expenses when it comes to owning a parrot.

The cage is a must every parrot should have cage even though their are owners who allow them to live cage free. A carrier or traveling cage is also a must for safe and easy transportation for vet visits, outings, sun exposure, or emergencies. The cage cover is also a must to ensure adequate hours of darkness for a good nights sleep. You can either buy a cage cover or use old sheets. The cage cover should allow some light to pass through.

Then their are other obvious things your companion need like food and water dishes, toys etc. I recommend a first aid kit or at the very least some styptic powder in case of bleeding. It's is always better to have something and not need it then need it and not have it.

I didn't find a video relating to this and I been having trouble loading pictures onto blogger so here's a video of a dancing lovebird. Sadly my camera broke so I might not post my original pictures and videos any time soon except for the one that I haven't loaded up yet. By the way I don't think the lovebird is dancing it might be trying to mate like that Kapako had done in the other video.