Nice to meet you Regi.  I have two eckkies, Cherry and Kiwi.  I've found them to be great pets.  They definitely like to be out of their cages alot so plan on that.  I've been pretty lucky with my two, they're pretty good with my brother's dog a Lab, rabbits and my kids (5, 9 & 12).  They prefer to be handled by me but will allow mostly anyone "usually" to pick them up.  Depends if they feel like it or not.  I was told they were not "loud", not true.  They don't necessarily yell all the time, but usually early a.m. and late afternoon can be pretty noisy.  If you live in an apartment, I would not get one.  When they start screaming my neighbors can hear them and not just the ones that are close to me .  In the summer, I never leave them home with the windows up, I'm afraid someone would kill me or them, lol.  To be honest, for a "first bird" it's a pretty big commitment, they were my first although I didn't get them at the same time.  If I were to do it again, I'd probably have started with tiels which I also have, and then moved to the eckkies.  I'm not trying to turn you away from eckkies, they're great birds. Eckkies are beautiful, funny, smart, I could go on and on, but they do have a down side.  They make a huge mess (most birds do), will eat anything, wallpaper, furniture, blinds, etc... again most birds will do that also.  Just make sure you know what you're getting into.  Good luck with your decision!

Hi Regi,  Welcome to another Okie.  I live about 70 miles south of you.  (I looked at your profile )

I have a female Vosmaeri eclectus, Diana.  Got her from Penny David in Tahlequah 7 years ago. 

Please go look at my reply to Raven,  Mating??? Ekkies  a few minutes ago. 

Describes some of what we have been thru in our 7 years together.  I have several other parrots and have had many others, too.  Diana is by far the best talking bird I have ever had.  She doesn't speak in context but she does say lots of words and phrases.  She never ever screams.  One loud shout when the house is full of people but nothing like a scream.  Mainly if someone leaves the room without saying 'Bye" to her. Our house is very quiet, my kids are grown and gone so people aren't making a racket for her to copy.  She hums when I laugh out loud. She says, "Come here" when I pat a dog and make that slapping sound.  She quacks, gobbles, caws and makes other animal sounds all thanks to my odd Hubby.

Knowing what I know now about the likelihood of the females getting very cranky at maturity, I would recommend a male ekkie or another species of bird, especially as a first bird.

The books Zoomom suggested are good ones.  There is one called Eclectus by Roger Sweeney that is pretty good but very small. Pretty expensive, too.

There is a good website to read about them called Land Of Vos.  Lots of dietary info and good general stuff.

Drop by often and be sure to let us know which species you decide on.

Annie

Hi, and welcome. I don't have an Ekkie either, so I can't give any specific advice about them, but I do have budgies. They are fabulous little birds. Highly underrated. They can become quite loving and talkative with enough attention. Tiels are another way to go. Great choices for a first bird.

I think ekkies are wonderful companions, I have a little SI male named Shannon that has owned me for the past year and a half.  He is not a high-energy bird like my macaws or sun conure, but he is active and loves to be the center of attention without making a fuss about it.  He is only loud when the other birds are loud, his normal mode of communication is soft words or sounds, or little bits of songs he's learned.  He has a beautiful singing voice, except when he's imitating the sun conure.  Much more pleasant attention getters than squawks.  He's not hard on his toys, but I've found that his favorites are the easy to destroy thin wooden ones like popsicle sticks.  His idea of cuddling is to lean his beak against my cheek, or his body against my arm.  He's the kind of guy that is just as happy hanging out with you reading a book as he is playing "fetch the toys so I can throw them again".  Shannon is just coming out of his first bout of hormones, and if he hadn't been feeding his toys and acting a bit more amorous towards them I'd have never known it...although I have read of some males being as feisty as the females during that time.  Land of Vos has some excellent information on eclectus parrots, and I think that there's a chat board on that site where you can browse through old posts and see what kind of issues other folks have had with eclectus as a first bird.  Mom2 is correct about budgies...a hand tamed little one can be just as rewarding as a larger bird.  Active, fun loving, and overall happy little guys.  I have both budgies and an ekkie, and I think the biggest difference between them is the amount of food they eat and the size of the mess they make.  And the energy level...my budgies can wear me out just watching them play.  Hard choice to make...I love the budgies' energy but also love the stately companionship of my little green guy.

 

Awww, what a pretty little birdy. Congratulations! You're off to a great start already. Any questions, just yell.

Aww!  What a little peanut!  I love budgies (I have two...Bullwinkle and Periwinkle)...they are so cute and can be so much fun!  Bullwinkle loves when I pick him up, he flops over in my hand, puts his little feet in the air and just lies there while I rub his head ... anyhow, congratulations and I know you'll have years of fun with her!

 

Christine

Congrats on your new little bird, sure is pretty! 

hi Reji,

 

i have just brought home a 7 month old Eclectus 3 days ago!!, i've read for at leat 5 months prior and this is also my first bird.  I've decided on an eekie because of all the articles i read stating that it's a very calm bird, who very intelligent and can talk very well ( depending on the bird as with any kind), I was waiting for a B&G eggs since Fev but the pair never go to it lol, Let me tell you thta i'm verrry happy with the turns of things.  Tobi is absolutly adorable, he vocalises a few time in the morning and in the evening aroud 5-6hrs but they are not screams. He's very affectionate, both my husband and I can handle him with no problem., and within 15 min my two dogs (lab and collie-germ shepp)tough he was just another member of family. We're extremely happy with our decision.  One good advice for you (thta's what we did and i think it really paid off)

Hi! I can honestly say if you have never had a parrot to start out smaller. Parrots are the most intelligent animals you will ever come to know. They sense when you are having a bad day, or fear them, and they will act just as you do. My suggestion is go to a bird breeder or store where they have birds you can handle. Get used to being around them first. Thats exactly what I did. A tiel would be nice to start out with. They are fun, they can whistle songs and cuddle with you. Also, a pionus is a great parrot to begin with, but there again they have a parrot attitude and can make you fear. My pionus blueberry has taught me lots, but I did research for 3 years, and got around all species of parrots before I chose. Hope this helps..Remember ..take your time, and make a wise choice..you will have to live with your choice for many many years.