Eclectus Care

This guide is intended to supplement general parrot care guides, so I won’t go too much into the basics of “enrichment, big cage, etc.” and I will leave that up to you to research. Plenty of resources out there and I will eventually make my own separate guide!

First, the Facebook group “Eclectus Eclectus & Eclectus” is an excellent resource for care. Laurella Desborough, a renowned eclectus breeder and authority on eclectus care, is a member there, and definitely someone to listen to. Things change, and this article may eventually become outdated as new information continues to be discovered. Remember, too, that different people have differing opinions of what is acceptable and what isn’t and even I am not the final authority here. The goal is a healthy, happy bird, and that may mean something different for everyone, and even individual parrots.

Diet:

If you’d like to start a digital fistfight, just ask any eclectus keeper about this in a Facebook group. I always recommend reading through posts on Facebook, but I rarely engage unless I genuinely can’t find an answer to my question. Live, let live, and take the info that works for you and your bird.

People will often repeat the belief that eclectus digestive systems/intestines are longer than other parrots. I have spoken to a couple of avian veterinarians who have done necropsies about this idea, and they have stated that they have not noticed a difference in relative length in eclectus digestive tracts compared to other parrots.

However, whether that information is factual or not, the idea behind the belief is still valid: Eclectus seem to take awhile longer than other parrots to move food through their systems. This may be because they originate from very austere environments and need to absorb every last scrap of nutriment they can from their diet. Having hand fed eclectus, I have noticed that their crops take longer to empty out than other birds, even with the (higher) recommended brooding temperatures and properly mixed formula. To me, that suggests that something in their systems is taking a bit more time to work through what has been ingested and perhaps absorb more nutrients.

But why does that matter for your captive bird who will always get enough to eat?

Eclectus are frugivores, meaning their primary diet in the wild is fruit… a high fiber, high water, high carbohydrate, low fat, and relatively low-calorie food (if we’re not considering the sugary cultivars that humans have bred up for our own consumption). Meaning, they are not granivores (seed eaters) like greys or cockatoos, nor are they palm feeders and opportunistic omnivores like macaws. That means they don’t function well on fatty, nutrient-dense diets that are high in protein.

Though that makes it all sound rather complicated, an eclectus diet is really not that much more complicated or difficult than any good parrot diet. Just a little different. A good composition is 10-50% pellets (yes, that is a broad range; you will find what works best for you and your bird) with the rest consisting of fresh vegetables, fruit, grains, and legumes.

Pellets: Some will argue that an eclectus should eat absolutely NO pellets whatsoever. I would argue that this is unwise for all but the most skillful and diligent caretaker who is willing to spend a lot of time researching and carefully analyzing the nutritional content of what they are feeding their birds. Pellets are essential to ensuring adequate vitamins and minerals are available to our birds in appropriate balance.

Tony Silva has recommended 10-20% of an eclectus’ diet consist of pellets. Some will suggest as much as 50%. It should be no higher than 50% ever. Stay FAR AWAY from artificial colors or heavy preservatives such as you might find in Zupreem fruit blend. I find that Tops, Harrison’s, Roudybush, and Psittacus Omega are most appropriately composed for eclectus.

Seeds: What? The S-word?? Yes, seeds are good in moderation. Non-gmo, non vitaminized seeds. (Seeds with vitamins are fairly useless anyway, but vitamins and eclectus don’t mix.) Offer a mix appropriate for larger birds like African greys.

Fresh diet: Eclectus fresh diet should comprise heavily of healthy, leafy greens, vegetables, fresh fruits, and legumes.

Greens: Kale, spinach, dandelion greens, carrot tops, the like

Vegetables: peppers (even the hot ones!), sweet potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc.

Most parrot-appropriate vegetables are great for eccies, but limit the starchy ones a bit unless they’re also very fibrous (like sweet potatoes). The potatoes, broccoli, and brussels sprouts are best lightly steamed, or you can gently boil them, just don’t let them cook so long that they leach color out into the water or become gray and soggy.

Fruits: berries, pomegranate, grape, mango, banana, orange, watermelon, papaya, etc

Regarding fruit, keep this in mind: In the wild, parrots typically consume underripe fruit in order to avoid competing with mammals and some other birds. Humans have bred fruits to be much higher in sugar than their naturally evolved counterparts. So, it is best to look for fruits that are underripe and/or intended for cooking and sweetening. Think Granny Smith apples, cranberries, or green bananas. Berries are also a good choice due to being naturally low sugar. Also, fruit is usually better served freshly cut up and placed on top of other fresh diet. It does not freeze well, as it tends to throw off a lot of water when thawed and become soggy and unappealing. You can limit serving fruit to 2-3 times a week if doing so daily is infeasible for you.

Fiber: Legumes are a fantastic and necessary addition to your eccie’s diet.

Ideally legumes should be sprouted, though they can also be cooked. NEVER serve them raw. Legumes provide excellent fiber and protein, especially during that frustrating molting/hormone season. An easy sprouting system consists of a mesh delicates bag filled with organic beans (I like a mix of aduki and garbanzo, but you can also use mung and others) and hung in a window in indirect sunlight. Rinse 2-3 times a day for a few days until they grow a little tail. You can freeze what you don’t want to use immediately. They’re delicious in wraps for humans, too!

NEVER give an eclectus supplements unless prescribed by a veterinarian in response to bloodwork demonstrating a deficiency. Eclectus do not handle vitamin supplementation well and have negative reactions such as toe tapping and other neurological issues.

Behavior

Eclectus parrots are gentle and generally quiet souls. They certainly don’t understand aggression, roughness, or other aversive training techniques (which can be said of any parrot, really). They’re also not known for being cuddly or terribly interested in petting, though females will sometimes sidle up to you a bit or even accept head pets. However, they can still be funny, cute, and mischievous!

They respond wonderfully though to positive reinforcement, and they’re well known for being sociable and friendly even with strangers when well socialized. With a gentle environment, they can be quite calm, and routine interaction can teach them to use words in context and mimic nicely. They do occasionally drop a loud and blaring call, but usually in response to something exciting or startling! Otherwise, they are well known for being calm and understated birds.

Like any bird, eclectus benefit greatly from flight, outdoors time in a large aviary, or being able to fly around the house and spend time near an unfiltered window. They also need plenty of mental stimulation, such as foraging opportunities and regular training sessions.

Hormone control can be an issue, though is usually mitigated with appropriate diet and enrichment. Females are notorious for deciding dark spaces (especially under furniture) are nesting sites, so it’s often best to keep them away from those if they take too strong an interest.

Plucking often becomes a problem for eclectus. The two big offenders are poor diet (covered) and people clipping their wings. They’re more sensitive to this than most parrots, and while no bird will take it well, eclectus will often find the cropped primaries irritating and begin plucking the areas they rub against. Excessive environmental stressors and poor habituation/socialization is less often a culprit, but can have an impact just as with any parrot.