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Eclectus Parrot

The Eclectus Parrot - Brilliantly unique

Text and photos by Bob Bartolo

Introduction

The Red-sided Eclectus, (Eclectus Roratus Polychloros) is native to New Guinea and offshore islands of western Papua. The Red-sided Eclectus is one of nine subspecies and it makes up the majority of Eclectus parrots kept in Australian aviaries. The first thing you notice about these magnificent birds is the vast colour contrast between the male and female Eclectus. This visual variance is referred to as sexually dimorphic. Some people that have visited my aviaries and viewed the Eclectus for the first time think that they are of different species as the cock and hen are so much different. However, because of their visual differences they are easily sexed. Sex can be determined in the nest as early as at 4 – 5 weeks of age, when their feathers start to pin.

The Red-sided Eclectus is a medium size parrot and measures approximately 36 cm. The cock is bright green all over the body with red on the underwing and sides; the tip of the tail is pale yellow in colour. The upper mandible is orange yellow and the lower mandible is black. Hens are deep red on the head, maroon body, blue to purple on the breast and have a distinctive blue eye ring; top and lower mandibles are black. Eclectus have hair like feathers that are different to other bird’s feathers and they never go into a heavy moult, rather loosing some feathers around three times a year.

Housing

I house my Red-sided Eclectus in single pairs in conventional aviaries measuring 5 metres long, 1.2 metres wide and 2.1 metres high. There is also a 1.2 metre walkway/safety passage on the front of the aviaries. The frames of the aviaries are made from 20mm galvanised square tubing. A covered shelter measuring 1.5 metres in depth, clad with zincalume sheeting is at the rear of the aviary. The flight of the aviary is wired with 25mm x 25mm x 2.0 Waratah weldmesh on the front and the sides, on the roof I use the smaller 12.5mm x 12.5mm x 1.6 weldmesh. The floor of the sheltered area is concrete and the remainder is natural soil covered with 100mm – 150mm of ungraded shellgrit.

The floors of the aviaries are swept and raked each week and the shellgrit is replaced or topped up every 12 months. There are two perches of natural hardwood in each aviary, one placed in the shelter and the other in the flight area at the front of the aviary. Having the two perches, one placed at each end of the aviary, ensures the birds get plenty of exercise flying the full length of the enclosure.
Fitted to the front door of the aviaries, is a revolving feeder with 2 stainless steel bowls, which I use for feeding their daily soft foods. With these feeders fitted to the front of the aviaries alleviates the need to enter the aviaries, resulting in fewer disturbances to the birds. Mist sprays are fitted to the top of the aviaries to cool them down during the hot spells in summer.

Diet

The diet I give to my Eclectus parrots consists of approximately 70% soft foods, which is fed on a daily basis. The soft food diet is made of a soaked seed mix containing 4 parts of pigeon mix, 2 parts of sunflower, 1 part of mung beans and ˝ part of faber beans. The seed mix is soaked in fresh water for 24 hours, to which Aviclens is added to eliminate any fungal and bacteria contamination. The following morning the seed is thoroughly rinsed and left to drain for another 24 hours. The next morning the mix is divided into two equal parts into two 5 litre buckets. One bucket goes into the fridge to be used the following day, by which time the seed would have started to sprout. So soaked seed is fed one day and sprouted seed the following day. To the soaked/sprouted seed, I add thawed out frozen mixed vegetables. I used to cut up fresh vegetables but this proved to be too time consuming and vegetables were being thrown out due to overdue storage in the fridge. I find frozen mixed vegetables is the way to go, it is quick to prepare and there is no wastage. Liquid Calcivet and other vitamin supplements are added to the soaked seed mix a few hours before being fed to the birds.

A mixture of fruits, depending what is in season is also fed on a daily basis. Fruit fed is apple, orange, pear, banana, watermelon, rockmelon, kiwi fruit, pomegranate and corn on the cob. Any soft food remaining the following day is discarded and a fresh lot given. They also get silverbeet as well as various nuts, chicken bones and they love hot chilli peppers. Feeding these hot peppers would also eliminate any worm problems if they were present in the birds. When the Eclectus are breeding, each pair is given a cut up ˝ hard boiled egg, shell included, two or three times a week. The remainder of their diet consists of a commercial small parrot mix, to which I supplement with additional plain canary seed and grey striped sunflower. This dry seed mix is available at all times in a seed hopper, placed at the rear sheltered area of the aviary. Fresh water is provided in a 230mm round glazed ceramic bowls.

Breeding

Eclectus parrots become sexually mature at two to three years of age, but this can vary between birds. Generally the hen bird matures earlier than the cock and tends to be the more dominant towards her mate. Eclectus parrots can be bred in either a log or a timber nestbox. I prefer to use an L shaped nestbox, which is easier to clean and handle. Hollow logs tend to be too heavy to handle, are harder to clean and I believe should be left in the natural environment to be utilised by native birds.
The nestbox I use is made from 16mm ply and measures 800mm high and 300mm square, with a nesting compartment measuring 300mm cubed. A wire mesh ladder is fitted to the inside wall of the nestbox from the 120mm diameter entrance hole down to the entrance of the nesting chamber. The nestbox is hung on the side wall of the sheltered area. For nesting material, I line the bottom of the nestbox with approximately 130mm of course wood shavings. I find Eclectus need stimulus from other pairs of Eclectus to get them into breeding condition, for this reason I house four pairs in four aviaries alongside each other. Just before egg laying, the pair would be observed mating on several occasions and the hen will spend more time in the nestbox, rearranging the nesting material..

Generally two eggs are laid, the second egg being laid 2-4 days after the first. Clutch size does vary; I have had pairs lay three and four eggs in a clutch on occasions. Only the hen incubates the eggs, which lasts for a period of 28 days. Chicks are born almost naked when they hatch. Their eyes start to open at 2 weeks of age and at this stage, a grey down starts to cover their body. Chicks can be sexed at approximately 4 weeks of age, when coloured feathers start to develop on the side of the cheeks and wing tips. Chicks will fledge when they are approximately 2˝ months old. Eclectus parrots can breed all year round and for this reason young birds should be removed from the parents once they are independent and seen feeding on their own.
A word of warning, Eclectus hens can become very aggressive during egg incubation and chick raising. Some hens may attack their owners when entering their aviaries. I have had a hen fly out of her nestbox and latch on to my chest with her claws and beak, after I tried to inspect her chicks in the box. Not a very pleasant experience I can assure you, especially when it was unexpected. I am now very wary with this hen when entering her aviary to inspect her chicks.

Handraising

Currently there is a big demand for the hand raised companion parrots and Eclectus make excellent pets when hand reared. I have hand reared Eclectus chicks from the egg as well as pulling them from the parents at 2 weeks of age. The job is made so much easier when chicks are pulled at this age and can weigh 3 times more than a chick at the same age, which is hatched in an incubator. The weight gain of a parent-raised chick is very rapid compared to a chick hand raised from egg. However, hand raised chicks do attain the same weight as parent raised chicks when fully weaned.
I prefer to spoon feed rather than crop feed the chicks. It is much slower than using a syringe, but as more time is spent feeding the chicks, they turn out much quieter and are easily handled. I have found hand reared Eclectus have the same breeding capabilities of parent raised birds. Hand reared birds in an aviary situation, tend to be less flighty and are less prone to stress when the owner enters their aviary.

Conclusion

The Eclectus parrot is an interesting and delightful bird to have in a bird collection. They have a number of unusual calls that are quite pleasant to the ear, however they can also let out a raucous screech when they become alarmed or excited, unfortunately this is what people mostly remember. They are a high maintenance bird, in that they require to be fed their soft food daily. They may not be suitable to some suburban backyards depending on how much noise they generate and how tolerant the neighbours are. I live in the suburbs close to the foothills and I have a number of different species of parrots that can become quite vocal, however my neighbours find their range of calls not too harsh on the ear and are no worse than other varieties of native birds such as kookaburras, cockatoos, rosellas and lorikeets that inhabit the area. I strongly recommend that the prospective Eclectus owner, whether it be for pet or breeding purposes, should obtain prior to purchase, a copy of the ABK publication A Guide to…Eclectus Parrots, Their Management, Care & Breeding.
Apart from the noise factor, I would thoroughly recommend the keeping of a pair of Eclectus parrots and experience the enjoyment these exquisite and charming birds provide.

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