Congratulations, new ekkie mom!   I have a 4 1/2 year old male that I got at 7 months, he was shy for a bit and I let him come to me instead of reaching in and making him come.  Eclectus tend to think a bit before they make a decision about something, so try not to rush him/her when asking to step up or step down.  In relation to more impulsive (?) birds, they can be a bit slow (ok, a lot slow).  Let him set the pace, if he acts like he wants to come out, see if he does.  You don't have to wait if he acts like he's interested.

 

Their digestive system is a bit longer than in other parrots, they come from a place where they have to get the most nutrition they can out of their foods, so you want to give them lots of green leafy veggies, orange fruits and veggies, and undyed pellets.  Some show a sensitivity to spirulina or ethyquin (did I spell that right?) so be careful what you buy for them.  They seem to need more fibre in their diets, and more vitamin A than some of the other birds, but that can be resolved by a good pellet and lots of the right fresh foods.  I'm careful about not giving many nuts, since an ekkie is (normally) not as active as some others and they can get a bit heavy.  An almond a day is probably it for mine.

 

Female eclectus are the more dominant of the two (as opposed to cockatoos and such) so they can be a bit bossy--it's in their nature.  Males tend to be more laid back, I think they've decided that if they're gonna be henpecked, they might as well relax and go along for the ride.  That's not to say that a male can't get spun up when he's hormonal, but by that time you should be able to read his moods and avoid a bite.  They don't crush like a macaw does, but their beaks are adapted for peeling the skins off fruits (and fingers) so they can cut pretty badly.  His eyes will change color from those little shoebuttons to more of a yellow orange as he gets older, and they do pin their eyes when they get excited.

 

Geeze, I've written a novel already and I know I haven't mentioned even a small bit of what you might want to know about eclectus.  A great place to get ekkie information is the Land of Vos (www.landofvos.com).  Should answer any and all of your questions.  There's lots of ekkie slaves on this board, they should be on soon to add to the snapshot I've given you.

 

Congratulations!!! 

I had written a response but I think it got lost in the internet haze, but I'm glad it did, because ZonkersMom wrote a much more comprehensive reply than I did! 

 

I have a male Solomon Island eclectus and I love him dearly.  He's getting into a naughty stage, because he's entering his puberty.  I catch him sneaking peeks at Bird Talk's centerfolds.

Carole, My Diana is an ekkie. She'll be 10 years old in a few days and I have had her since she was 9 weeks old. When she's not hormonal (most of the time she's not) she's a love, but boy, when she is hormonal, she can bite like a razor. She got me 15 times in seconds once and I bled so badly. But that is not ongoing.

Boy ekkies are so much calmer than the girls.  Which did you get?

Which subspecies? The Vosmaeri, like Diana, are very large, she's longer than my Congo African grey but not as heavy. The Soloman and red-sided are smaller.

The girls are notorious for being feather pluckers, which Diana is in the worst way. I knew that when I got her so I didn't go into shock when she began. She was ill for about two years and that's when she began to pluck. I think now it is such a habit that she can't stop.

If you'll read past messages in this ekkie board you'll find lots of help. Of course, your questions will always be answered, too.

Annie

 

I can spell Solomon, yes I can.

Annie

I don't know about the females, but my s-o-l-o-m-o-n () island ekkie boy Shannon is not much of a chewer.  I made him a toy with 1/4" wooden pieces and beads and I think there's only one piece that has a little sliver of wood out of it.  But he's rolled the beads around, played with the plastic pacifiers and stuff and generally just bopped the thing around.  He likes the activity toys with things that move and things that rattle and things he can manipulate.  Just be careful that he can't get anything stuck in the toys with moving parts--I have to make sure my toys are Shannon-proof because he beaks everything, and has gotten stuck a few times on a few toys you wouldn't think would be a problem.  I think your couch and recliner are safe from any more damage, but I'd watch out if there's a hole in the material anywhere he can get to because he'd probably enjoy pulling all the stuffing out more.

 

One thing I forgot to mention about feeding that might be helpful to you.  From what I've read and heard from other owners, and seen first hand, most eclectus don't pick up their food and eat it like Sugar probably does.  So I cut Shannon's food in smaller pieces to minimize waste.  He's good about eating over his dish most of the time (got to get your head out of the dish to make a mess) but when he comes up for air, he looks like the little kid on A Christmas Story with food all over his beak.  Try to make sure the perch by his soft food dish is easy to clean, Shannon's first perch there was his sand one, and besides having all kinds of scrape marks on his beak from wiping food off, it was also the devil to clean.  He's got a dragonwood perch there now, much easier to clean the mess off.