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Hi...I am getting ready to get a red sided eclectus, and was wondering if it is true that males are better for families than females? I have heard the males are more calm and easier to get along with.

I'm ekkie slave to a little SI male, and I have to say that he is one laid back little guy. Having said that, I don't know how he would react to a "family" since it is just my husband and myself at home right now and we haven't entertained any relatives that have shown an interest in handling him. Going by what seems to be a generalization about ekkies, the males have more of a reputation for being calmer, but I have no real basis for comparison between males and females. We have a lot of members here who have eclectus, hopefully you'll get some other opinions to judge.

I have a female Vos ekkie, who used to be all laid back and anyone could walk up to her and pick her up. Then hormones struck at about age 5 years, with a vengeance. I can only pick her up early in the morning without getting a bad bite. Her father was a very calm bird who could be removed from the breeding cage and handled any time the owner wanted to. Very laid back, calm bird. I don't know what mama bird was like, but since they didn't comment I'd guess she may have been a bit cranky.

My female is also a naked plucker. If you have read previous messages on this board, I have mentioned her a lot. Her plucking began with two serious illnesses before she was two years old and she's never stopped. She's 9 years old now.

Best wishes. Let us see pics when you get him/her.

Thanks for the help. I did another discussion on attitudes, because I did choose a male, but he has an attitude. The females were more willing to be loved and touched. They would step right up, while the male crouched down and lunged to defend himself against our hands..HEHE.. kinda cute though, just not when he is older and can do damage to my fingers.As of now I put a down payment on him, but can choose another if he doesn't change his attitude problem.

I am moving that new discussion to this one so we can keep track and not have part of this lost forever.

From: SensualHeart (Original Message)

Sent: 6/16/2005 7:18 PM

Hi, I wrote before about a male or female.. I did find a male. He was 10 weeks when I went to see him, but he crouches down and lunges at anyone that gets near him. He wouldn't stand upright. The females were more social and allowed me to touch them. Does this mean the little boy eclectus has a bad attitude , or just age related?? I certainly don't want to choose one that will be hard to deal with, and bite me when I try to touch him. Hope someone can help with my decision..

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From: <NOBR>

ZonkersMom125</NOBR>

Sent: 6/16/2005 8:21 PM

Hi again. Congratulations on your new green guy! I got my guy when he was almost 7 months old, so I don't have first hand experience with younger ekkies, but from what I've read on an eclectus group I belong to, the lunging biting stuff seems to be age related and something they grow out of as they get a bit older. What does the breeder say? Have you checked out the Land of Vos website yet? That has a FAQ section that is really great, probably answer every question you might possibly have about eclectus parrots.

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Message 3 of 3 in Discussion

From: <NOBR>

Peggy19401</NOBR>

Sent: 6/16/2005 9:29 PM

JMO but a baby that age that doesn't want to be handled either has a physical problem or hasn't been socialized well. Babies that age love to be handled. Some breeders don't do anything more than pick them up every few hours, squirt some food down their throat and just put them back till next time. Some even gavage feed because it's faster. Neither one of these makes for a well socialized baby. These breeders also sometimes wean too early so the babies are ready to sell. When I had my pet shop I sometimes fed as many as 20at a time, but each baby was cuddled and loved on. I did not wean a baby until it didn't want to be fed any more. If I were you I would look around some more. It's hard enough to raise a well behaved parrot as it is without starting with problems. Peggy

I agree with Peggy, that this sounds like he wasn't well socialized. Birds who are so young usually will step up for people unless there is something really scary like my daughter's long curly bright red hair. Most birds are afraid of her. Mine are terrified of people in hats and ball caps, too. Always have been. Does the bill of a cap look like a giant predator bird's beak to them? Think about what was going on when he acted so oddly. Maybe it was fear, maybe he's just not a social bird.

Gotta think like a bird.

I was thinking that it was not so normal for him to be crouching and lunging in fear, but the breeder said at that age they will do that, because its instinct when they are that young. The females were 12 weeks, and acted so much better. They were confident, and stepped right up. I am so confused now, because I did want a male since I have kids. I have heard they were better for families...but this little boy is something else. I am going back to see him soon, to see if he is a bit better with his attitude. Do you think the breeder is right? Or would a 10 week old not do the lunging and crouching down?

Hi again. I just did a quick surf through the Land of Vos website and found one of the message threads I referred to when I mentioned that it seemed to be an age related thing with young ekkies. Hopefully you can access this:

Of course, all bird personalities are different, and it may be that he's a bit more nervous than the females. If you've got the chance for a few more visits before bringing him (or another bird) home you'll have more opportunity to see if he's going to be a good choice for your family. Keep us posted, I'm really interested to see if this is in fact an age/stage related thing or a personality/socialization thing.

Thanks Nancy! I don't want to make assumptions so soon about the breeder, because her others were so sweet and seem to have been nurtured a lot. Maybe he is just a shy little fellow as of now and will get better, at least I hope..he is the onle male. She told me they all seem to do more of that at first, she said they will even put their heads down and hide.. I just don't know because any young parrot I have seen was very social and almost too much so hehe. I just hope things work out, I have already put down a deposit, and I would prefer a male since my 7 year old loves parrots, and my pionus tries to bite her.*sigh* I will check out the link you sent me..again thanks

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