Eclectus As Pets

Pet Quality: The Eclectus Parrot makes an excellent family pet.  Eclectus parrots differ from many other parrots in that they will go to anyone in the family.  Rarely do they isolate out one person and refuse to have anything to do with other members of the family.  My Indy thinks she is the official welcoming committee for the house.  When anyone rings the doorbell, she immediately heads for the door to see who is coming.  She is quite offended if the person doesn’t offer to pick her up. As soon as they sit down, she sits on their foot and waits for a lift up.  Ollie is a bit more reserved and will wait until he sees if he really likes the new person before he steps up.  If Ollie doesn’t want you to handle him he will push your hand away with his beak, rather than just bite and ask questions later.

Do they talk?  They sure do!  Ollie rarely stops talking.  He will ask questions and answer them himself, in my voice, if I forget to pay attention to him.  The Eclectus have a very clear humanlike voice.  Sometimes he uses my voice, other times a much deeper voice and unfortunately often times Ziggy’s (Goffins cockatoo) voice.  Ollie and Ziggy are great buddies and get into some quite elaborate conversations, usually about Ziggy and/or Owie, (Ziggy can't pronounce his Ls so Ollie is now Owie) being Good Boys.  It is cute at night hearing them say Nighty, nite to one another, over and over again, in a little whispered voice. A neighbour of mine yells Hi, Gail most every time I step outside my door so Ollie has to yell Hi, Gail whenever he hears me go outside in the neighbours rather high pitched voice. Indy doesn’t talk nearly as much as she used to since she has started having babies. It is nice to hear her sweetly murmuring away to her eggs or babies.  At one time, she used to say to everyone that came in Hey, Good Lookin - Whats Cookin? but I haven’t heard it for quite some time. She is too busy caring for her babies.  She doesn’t have time for silly things.

I was in a parrot shop in Halifax recently where they have a pair of Eclectus, Scarlet, and Rainbow.  Rainbow kept saying "You’re so pretty" in this deep mans voice to Scarlet. It was soooo cute.

Does this gorgeous Red Head have a personality?  For some reason the female Eclectus has received an undeserved reputation for her dominate personality.  She is more aggressive than the male Eclectus, but that does not really make her unduly aggressive.  The male Eclectus is an extremely passive fellow.  Other parrot breeders cannot seem to understand that this red head is both beautiful and pleasant while at the same time extremely intelligent.  Wow, a lot to expect of a red head?  Could we detect a wee bit of chauvinism there?  Sure, hope not!

I often refer to Indy as "Her Royal Highness" as every move is with such grace and pride.  When she sticks her foot out to step up onto your hand, it is so lady like, while Ollie sort of just plops and Ziggy hops onto your hand.

I have never met another parrot with as much personality as my Indy or one as laid back as my Ollie.  I love their personalities and their intelligence.