Eclectus Parrot

[PhilK]

We have a green cheeked conure, Archie, at our place and we are in LOVE with him. Such a great, great parrot and an awesome member of the family. I never thought I'd like a bird as a pet, but you don't know the personality they have until you own one, do you!

Anyway, I'd love to get another bird.. especially as I am moving out soon and Archie loves dad so much I couldn't bear seperating them... I have been looking into various birds and love the eclectus parrots. Males particularly I think. I have done a search of Google and the boards but thought I'd put up a thread too.. Does anybody own them? Recommend them as a pet? How much could I expect to pay for a young hand raised eccie? Size cage?

Please tell me all you know and feel free to share photos, stories etc!

 

[Noongato]

I think theyre around $900, and u need a licence... I sometimes skim past them when reading other classefieds. I love the females, the blue and red is stunning
Ive also heard they arnt a very social bird..theyre skittish or somethingo rather. I stopped reading so much when i read the price tag. Hahaha

 

[=bECS=]

You dont need a licence for eckies
You can pick up ones for handraising if you wanted to do it yourself, for around $500 - 700

 

[Noongato]

Ok, maybe i tell fibbs, its just what i remember reading somewhere...
Or maybe it was something completely non related? My blonde is showing so it couldve been anything... sorry

 

[Goulburn_herper]

You dont need a licence for eckies
You can pick up ones for handraising if you wanted to do it yourself, for around $500 - 700

Not trying to argue but i think you will find that in QLD(each states requirements differ) he will need a license considering they can be found in the wild....in the far north

i could be wrong but im almost certain this is the case................

 

[PhilK]

I've heard you need a licence too... I will investigate that.

Does anybody here own one? What are they like as companion birds?

 

[beeman]

PkilK, My father inlaw breeds Eccies as well as 3 of the black cocky forms.
Eccies make great companion birds, they tend to bond to one person and are
for the most part very social birds (they dont like to be left out lol)
Would be a sound choice if thats the way you decide to go.

 

[bundybear]

phil,
eckies are lovely birds with heaps of personality and great vocal skills.
there is approx 8 sub species (from memory) of eckies of which only one is native to the very top end of australia. you do need a licence for the native species however they are not that common in captivity.
the most common one in captivity is the red sided ecky which no licence is required.
the differences in some of the species is very minor and can often be overlooked by backyard breeders resulting in cross breeding.

unlike many other parrots, eckies seem to bond to multiple people alot better so they are great companion birds.
they can get a bit squarky if they dont get enough attention but then again so do most parrots.
price range from $500-$1000.
Trish from The Parrot Package in Wollongong often has some very nice hand raised eckies, look her up.

 

[jacorin]

try petlink mate,or even try bird mags that qld breeders advertise in,it dont hurt to ring and ask

 

[Freeloader]

Get a hand reared one. Be prepared for biggest racket that you have ever heard if it thinks you are not paying it enough attention.
My wife's male eccy, Edward, is in the kitchen and has a german and english vocab of about 25 words.
Phil i implore you to have a serious think before purchase as you will be putting it in the will for your kids. Their lifespan is 35years.

 

[Bluetonguejo]

My dad has eckies they fly down and eat from my hands and call out hello all the time. even though they can have loud calls some of the many different calls are really amazing like rainforest bird noises and they also mimic things like the kookaburra call.

 

[mysnakesau]

Don't forget we have Australian Eclectus parrots which you DO need a license for and are usually harder to find and more expensive. The most common kept eckies are the New Guinea species which are virtually identical to our Australian companions. You don't need a license for exotic birds.

 

[notechistiger]

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/register/p01389aa.pdf
Page 16 and 17.

You will most likely need a licence for it. Both the Australian and "international" Eclectus parrots are only available under licence other then E.r. macgillivrayi (check the subspecies of what you are purchasing).

 

[=bECS=]

Don't forget we have Australian Eclectus parrots which you DO need a license for and are usually harder to find and more expensive. The most common kept eckies are the New Guinea species which are virtually identical to our Australian companions. You don't need a license for exotic birds.

I didnt look at the location, my bad

Not many pure natives around though, and they have a much higher price tag.
Alot of people sell the Australian x New Gunieas too, which is a shame, but like you said, you cant tell the difference if you are new to them...

 

[PhilK]

Phil i implore you to have a serious think before purchase as you will be putting it in the will for your kids. Their lifespan is 35years.

I'm only 21 mate.. I sure I hope I don't die at 56 :lol:! Cheers for the advice though.

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/register/p01389aa.pdf
Page 16 and 17.

You will most likely need a licence for it. Both the Australian and "international" Eclectus parrots are only available under licence other then E.r. macgillivrayi (check the subspecies of what you are purchasing).

Thanks a lot for that info, I'll give it a read just now.

You say the Aussie and internationals need a licence except macgillivrayi... but macgillivrayi IS the Aussie eclectus subspecies? I'm confused..

I would like an Aussie eclectus (to be patriotic and because they're the biggest) but apparently they're expensive and hard to come by, and maybe the size is more of a hindrance (providing a big enough cage etc).. New Guinea one would be the way to go then I guess. I'll read through the legalities now.

Meanwhile, surely there are others who keep eccies? Post away!!

EDIT: upon reading pages 16 and 17 of the EPA document... it says eclectus parrot (Australian subspecies) Eclectus roratus macgillivrayi is a restricted bird.. and all other eclectus are international birds. But I dunno what "international bird" means... Maybe I'll email them for a final answer.

 

[swampie]

Paul and Sheree from Noah's aquarium and pets at Caboolture breed eccies as well as conures on a regular basis, give them a call and they'll give you all the info you need.

 

[notechistiger]

PhilK, I was simply quoting the document. I don't know the Eclectus subspecies

 

[Noongato]

Theres a bird expo thing in Orange every year in March. Cheapest birds i ever seen, got my handraised GC Conure for $50

 

[PhilK]

PhilK, I was simply quoting the document. I don't know the Eclectus subspecies

No worries mate. Sorry if I sounded rude I didn't mean to! I've emailed the EPA and hopefully they'll get back to me and clear it up!

Any photos of your own eclectus parrots guys? Mustn't be as popular as I thought!

 

[Radar]

We've got a couple of pairs at work that are trained to work with the public to raise money for different things, they are a great bird. I may be biased though, as I don't live there....and don't have to put up with their racket 24/7.