Pipsqueake,   My ekkie, Diana, age 5, rates a 10 in cuddly-ness.  She loves to be held and stroked.  By anyone.  Rates very low on playfulness.  Sits like a lump most of the time.  I have her food bowls and water bowls at opposite ends of the cage just so she has to move around.  She swings on her Boing most of the day and I make her "go like an eagle" just so she gets some exercise.

Right now she is feeling very breedy and cranky, has been nasty to me but not to others.  Getting much better, didn't last but a couple of weeks.  She had never bitten me for blood til now.   Annie

Well, phooey,  I made a heap big mistake on your name.  SORRY...Annie

Please note that Ollie and Annie both have Vos Ekkies and both think the same thing and both type at exactly the same time.  

 

 

HI!!  I am owned by a red sided male ekkie, named Cuddles, who is 2yrs. old.  He lives up to his name, & I didn`t name him either ~ the breeder did. I got him some new toys yesturday & he dug right into them.  Played for a good hour & a 1/2.  He would have played longer but then it was his bedtime.  My computer is in the dining room & his cage & play tree are in the living room.  He`s always coming in here looking for me & sits on his play area & visits me ~ he`s quite the talker.  Talks just as well as my grey.  We did go through a period where he would pinch(hard!) my hand when I put him back, after our cuddling, talking & playing sessions, on his cage.  I`d say he didn`t want our time together to end.  He is a bird that anyone can hold, which I can`t say for my grey.  He loves to show off ~ playing & talkingwith people he has just met!!  He would rate a BIG 10!!! 

Thanks Annie, Ollie and Skeeter. I have been looking into a Vos ekkie and wanted a few owners perspectives. So far everything sounds like it's the perfict bird for me! Laid back but open to just about anyone, quiet and most important not to demanding like a Too.

I can add what happens to these beautiful creatures when their needs aren't met. Rosie our SI female wasn't handled and didn't get the attention that she needed. She bites anyone within beakrange. She has an earpiercing screech. She still won't allow anyone to touch or pet her. She fears hands but I can carry her and kiss her and she will sit on me. She has been with me almost a year.

The females are the most aggressive and somewhere around age 3-5 they get hormonal. They are known as "Flesh Rippers" during the breeding season.  They can turn from a loveable cuddly baby into the "Rosie" birds in a short time.

So in short ANY bird that isn't handled and cared for properly can become a biter, screamer and plucker.

Oh, and EVERYONE always thinks that they will always be able to give all the attention they need but then life happens. Naynay

I was hoping Nay would put the other side of the story in for you.  Diana only screams when a guest leaves and only if they don't tell her bye.  She has a super vocabulary, much better than my CAG, but she is in the room with me so I talk to her all day.

Diana's father was so calm that the breeder took him out to play and to bird shows even while there were eggs and babies in the nest.  (This practice is very dangerous in my opinion due to bringing disease back to the nest)  Males are said to be calmer overall than females.   Annie

I have a P.S.  Rosie is sitting on my shoulder while I read and type, giving me kisses. I love her with all my heart "JUST LIKE SHE IS". She is not a bad bird but has had irresponsible owners. With me she is wonderful and she has slowly started accepting others. She has been great even magical with my handicapped child and loves my sister in law Melanie. I just wanted you to know that there is another side to the sweet Ekkies. Naynay

Hi Peepsqueek!!!  I am another Ekki lover!!!!!!  I have a female Voz, who is 18 months old now, and she is the love of my life!!!!!!  She is fresh, playful, sweet, and funny, entertaining , and a total joy to have around.  I also  have a "nephew" fid, who is a Voz Ekki male.  He is the exact same way, but, a little more sweet.  I can't say enough about these great fids!!!!!!  They are beauty and brains all together.

 

Hey Peeps!

 

Another ekkie owned human here...Tiara is a SI female.  She's almost 18 months old and is a honey.  She's not really a cuddler, but does like some cuddling.  She does more of it with my friend Sue who also had an SI female...I tease Sue all the time saying Tiara loves her more than me!  TLT (The Lady Tiara as she is affectionately known), is quite active.  She loves climbing up the sides or the cage, across the top and down the other side.  She has a waffle ball she tosses and some "teething" keys (heavy duty baby teething ring) which she is very fond of.  She also has a rag doll which she loves and a small teddy bear.  She can't sit still even when she is out with me. She's all over the couch, and me.  She's learned to "jump" short distances and loves to jump from my hand to my knee.  She's learning tricks too...can play dead birdie and shake hands.  And, it's taken a long time, but she is beginning to talk more...she's up to 15 words....not a heck of a lot, but can she whistle pretty!

Hi all,

 

I have a male, still fairly young.. about 7 on the cuddly scale, but 15 on the playfullness. He is my hyperactive baby, and will try to turn everything into a game. He likes to share his toys so if you're sitting and reading he'll drag them over to you and try to wedge them into your hand. If we ignore his requests he will stand up as tall as he can (which is quite tall, although his subspecies will remain forever unknown, we know he's definitly NOT an SI) and strut around. If the strutting doesn't get our attention, the bonking of his beak on any exposed hands will. If all else fails, he will grab a nose and hold it, ever so gently, until he gets the much desired attention.

 

 He is the most friendly little guy, and would always run up two flights of stairs to visit my rabbit in my room, until we moved the rabbit down to 'Loki's place". If you sneak a peek around the hall corner you'll likely catch Loki in a deep conversation with the rabbit.

 

Loki's activity level is VERY HIGH, but it can be short lived. If he spends a lot of time out, he'll usually run up the two flights of stairs to my room and put himself to bed in his sleeping cage.

 

He does have the trademark 'Eclectus Yell" as my vet called it, but he rarely decides to use it (except when we're at the cabin and the hummingbirds are eatting out of the feeders by "his" window) and the odd time when we're on the phone.

 

Best of luck

Krissy

I've only had my female ekkie for about two weeks now.  She is incredibly loving and curious.  She always wants to know where I am.  If she's perching out of her cage and I don't come back as soon as she expects me to, she'll hop off her perch and come find me.  She comes with me to work everyday now in a carrier and goes home with me at night.  I am convinced that this is the only way to own a bird.  During the time she's been with me at work, I've seen behavior I don't see at home.  She is much more vocal and playful.  She seems to be having the time of her life ringing the bells in the cage and chewing her toys!  When she gets really riled (self-induced) she gets very talkative!  I truly enjoy having her with me.