My boy updates!

[kim]

Eddie's come a long way. Big time stirer LOL & he's now learnt to growl in protest of something instead of bitting us!
says hello, hello, cricket, hello kim, hello green guy, what ya doin, how ya goin, shutup cricket (oops) & a few other things.
He's pretty hyper too. I'm sure he's sneaking in some jumping beans or something ike that. I'm going to Yallingup to visit my sister in 1 1/2 weeks. I'm taking Eddie with me.


Crickets not changed. He's pretty hormonal at the moment & busy spending time with his bum in the air shredding paper in his cage!! & he's looking really scruffy with his molting too.

He helped me unpack my veggies the other day ;D

[Silvercloud]

They're great pics. Your guys are gorgeous.

[bubbles]

They look great Kim How long did it take Eddie to get a full yellow beak? Herbie seems to be taking forever to get rid of the black

[Matt]

Looking good Kim! Eddie is a stunner, love those eckies!

[kim]

Hi bubbles
Eddie never had black on his beak. He's a SI ekkie & from what I understand it's the RS & Vos that have the black on their beaks & it never goes away. Do you know what sub species yours is?

[Mark]

Bubbles the black will dissapear with in 2 years as he matures.
My mate has 5 pairs 3 young with some black in there beak and 2 mature 3 year+ and they have NO black on there beaks
So just give him time and it will go away !!!

[Natenla]

Awww what a pair of sweeties!! (When they are asleep I bet?! ) They are gorgeous

[Amanda]

Beautiful Pics Kim, Love your avatar pic of Eddie too what a cheeky boy!!!

[Jen]

Thanks for sharing your pics Kim. And of course we knew he would be going on holidays with you...we wouldnt expect anything else from you!! knowing how much you love your birds.

Bubbles,
In regards to the black on Herbies beak, here is what ABK A Guide to Eclectus Parrots... says..."Up to 12 months of age they can still show streaks of black in the beak. By adolescence the beak of an Eclectus cock should be orange with a yellow tip and have a smooth semi-gloss surface. In mature birds, healthy cocks should display orange on the top half and yellow on the bottom half of the beak....Pale coloured beaks may be associated with anaemia or nutritional problems (ie vitamin A deficiency)
For interest sake it also goes on to say that Ekkies have a particularly high requirement for vitamin A which is found in carrots, chilli's, broccoli, capsicum, pawpaw, mango and other dark green or orange fruits and veges and egg yolk.

Well thats enough rambling from me, I have just been devouring every written word on Ekkies I can find in preperation for my new baby coming home!
Jen

[bubbles]

Thanks for the info everyone... I was just begining to wonder he has orange up the top and yellow down the bottom but still some black. He is a Red sided eckie. Herbie loves chillis and paw paw so i know hes getting his vitamin A

[kim]

Pumpkin & seeds are also high in vit A. You do need to be careful with yolk. It's very high in protein & ekkies shouldn't have a high protein diet or food, it needs to be low or no protein.

[Jen]

Thanks for that tip Kim,
I wonder why they mention eggs at all that being the case.

Here is the protein content of an egg...
Protein content of egg white=3.6g,
protein content of egg yolk=2.7g

I think I might avoid it just to be safe.

Beans & lentils are also high in protein and i have read somewhere that these are not a good idea for birds too so I wonder if that is why. I have often wondered, maybe you have hit on the reason!
Nuts and seeds are another high protein food which is probably why these do not make up a large percentage of an Ekkie Diet either.

I have Soooooo much to learn about Ekkies

Jen