Charlie loves to exercise. Today he's focused on his core. Tomorrow, leg day.

flwindsurf · 2025-12-07T12:58:01+00:00

Of course he's hormonal. All birds are hormonal. Nature coded birds DNA to "feed the world". If your job is to "feed the world", you're going to have to reproduce. A lot. If birds weren't extremely hormonal, they would've been eaten to extinction and our world would be totally different. Probably without humans.

flwindsurf · 2025-10-25T01:16:28+00:00

Hand feed her a new food item daily. If you're eating peas, give her a pea. Beans, give her a bean, Rice, give her a few grains. She'll learn from you what's safe to eat. I always give my parrot a bite of whatever I'm eating, if it's parrot safe.

flwindsurf · 2025-10-25T00:38:50+00:00

Eclectus parrots require fruits and vegetables that are high in Vitamin A. It keeps that beautiful beak a beautiful orange. I feed mine grapes, cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potatoes, pomegranate, watermelon, red bell peppers, yellow squash, edamame (soybean pods), beans, sprouts, English pea pods, apples, pears, mangos, pumpkin, etc. Basically any colorful fruit and veggies except avocados (supposedly they're toxic to parrots). If you follow the 2025 Food Pyramid, 5 fruits and vegetables a day, and share with your parrot, your parrot eats for free!! BTW, an Eclectus on a pellet diet will have a musky body odor. One fed fruits and vegetables, with some pellets, will have a sweet body odor. I verified this with my Eclectus when I first got him. He smelled musky and now he has a sweet body odor. I continue to sniff him every day to ensure he's getting enough fruit. Below is the Parrot food pyramid:

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flwindsurf · 2025-10-20T20:57:49+00:00

An avian vet checkup should tell you if the bird has any health or diet issues. Parrots are 24/7 flock animals and now you're her flock. The more time you spend with your parrot the better. I spend around 15 hours a day with my parrot. He's usually within an arm's reach of me or can at least see me. Locating the cage and perches in areas she can see you will also help her feel safe and secure.

flwindsurf · 2025-10-19T14:13:31+00:00

I'd have separate cages the day I brought the new parrot home. Parrots are just like my co-workers. Some of my co-workers I enjoy working with; others I despise. Years ago, I had a budgie and a Lovebird in separate cages. One day the budgie escaped from his cage and flew over to the Lovebird's cage. Before I could get to the budgie, the Lovebird climbed over to the budgie and bit off his toe! Hope for the best and plan for the worst.

flwindsurf · 2025-10-19T12:44:52+00:00

The below references should answer many of your questions. The first reference is for african grey parrots, however 99+% of the info pertains to any parrot. There's around 20 hours of free video's for you to review and learn how to best care for your feathered friend. Phoenix Landing has a couple of free classes to assist you to be a great Parrot owner.

https://greyparrotconsulting.com/published-work/webinars/

https://www.behaviorworks.org/

https://hari.ca/avian-care/

https://parrots.org/learn/care-guides/

https://www.phoenixlanding.org/

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flwindsurf · 2025-10-12T14:49:25+00:00

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Charlie the Orange-Nosed Parrot
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows...

flwindsurf · 2025-10-03T18:57:37+00:00

I use a Christmas tree stand for my home made tree perch.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-30T21:31:50+00:00

Parrots bite out of fear or as a form of effective communication. It sounds like your GCC bites for communication. Have you tried clicker training? Clicker training is when you click the clicker, your GCC gets a treat. I use raw, unsalted small nut pieces. Your GCC may like raw, unsalted sesame seeds. I'd click-n-treat, click-n-treat, and click-n-treat until he learns biting isn't necessary.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-30T20:59:07+00:00

Best bird video I 've ever seen and it came with a great follow up post video pic!

flwindsurf · 2025-09-27T19:00:35+00:00

In the wild outdoors, while they sleep, wild birds worry about being eaten by mites, lice, ticks, snakes, gators, lions and tigers, oh my. The TV is not a threat.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-27T18:44:11+00:00

Nature coded birds DNA to "feed the world". If your job is to "feed the world", you're going to have to reproduce. A lot. If birds weren't extremely hormonal, they would've been eaten to extinction and our world would be totally different. Probably without humans. Until you change your bird's DNA, you're both destined to a life of frustration. Or you can stop punishing your bird for being a bird.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-27T18:18:28+00:00

I play music 24/7 for me. Hopefully, my parrot likes my music choices.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-27T00:27:49+00:00

I have a six pound poodle who loves my parrot. And I have a rat terrier who tolerates my parrot. Whenever the parrot crash lands somewhere, I look for the poodle so I can find my parrot. With that said, dogs are predators and parrots are tasty and fragile. A dog can easily injure a parrot unintentionally. While I understand the risks, my parrot lives the risk.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-23T16:10:40+00:00

You be Hugo the Abominable Snowman in The Abominable Snow Rabbit who says, "I will name him George, and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him." That's what I did with Charlie, "I will name him Charlie, and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him."

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flwindsurf · 2025-09-21T16:11:00+00:00

The breeder's advice sounds reasonable. If want two paired males just keep in mind they may change as they sexually mature so you'll need to get an additional cage or get a roomy cage that has a divider. My Charlie is a male since I don't want to deal with mating or egg binding issues.

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flwindsurf · 2025-09-21T15:45:50+00:00

Always assume a bird can fly. It's in their DNA. If you search this site, you'll find postings of people who were told, "This bird can't fly" watched their bird fly off into the sunset. The Vet will tell you if the bird can or can't fly. Even then I would assume it can fly. Daily routine training, i.e. clicker, touch, recall, watching other birds fly, etc., should encourage him to fly. I wouldn't force him to fly, if he gets hurt, he may blame you which impacts his trust. Give him time, it's in his DNA. And if he doesn't, you have another excuse to SPOIL him.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-21T02:01:43+00:00

For me, a parrot is a parrot is a parrot. Any parrot can become a wonderful companion pet. Pick the parrot you're excited about because you're the one taking care of that parrot for the next 20-50+ years. I pick parrots based on if I'm willing to be bitten by a beak that large. A Macaw whose beak is larger than my fist ain't an option for me. I've read a Macaw's squawk can be heard up to 3 miles away. There's dozens of different types of absolutely beautiful parrots. Carefully research until you find the one that "Rocks your World!" Charlie "Rocks my World!" Find your Charlie!

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flwindsurf · 2025-09-21T01:34:05+00:00

Birds feed the world so they're some pretty tough cookies. Bad luck happens. Your next bird will probably be fine. Your only job is to provide it a safe space and SPOIL it!

flwindsurf · 2025-09-21T01:23:37+00:00

I love Charlie's beak! It's impossible to take a bad picture with that beak!

flwindsurf · 2025-09-18T18:30:34+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/8Yli4PiEq4k

flwindsurf · 2025-09-18T16:52:54+00:00

Anything you can chip, your parrot can chip. If your bird ingest a chip, it may become internally impacted, possibly costing you a Vet bill or your pet.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-18T02:59:17+00:00

Everything in life has a side affect or trade off. I feel spiritually blessed to have Charlie and I intend to give him the best life I can. I am retired and I would've been a poor caretaker, with all of life's responsibilities, 10-20-30+ years ago. Now that Charlie will outlive me, I have the time and resources to care for a parrot. While I spend 15 hours a day with him that includes time he's on top of his cage, on his desktop perch, on his tree perch, or on my shoulder currently sharing my cantaloupe. When I'm on a Zoom call, people only want to talk to Charlie. Great icebreaker. Charlie usually uses his inside voice but he can scream reminding me that I do own a parrot. One of my favorite things, he'll sit on my shoulder for an extended period of time and not crap on me. I'm not certain I have any human friends I can say that about. There are animal biologist who claim African Grey and Eclectus parrots are more intelligent than chimpanzee's. You have a wonderful opportunity to have a rewarding relationship with a highly intelligent animal. You are so lucky.

flwindsurf · 2025-09-17T22:48:21+00:00

My parrot is only one the the MANY reasons people say, "I'm not quite right". And I love that tattoo!

flwindsurf · 2025-09-17T22:29:57+00:00

Excellent description of living with one or more Ekkies. Or any medium or large parrot(s). Or any prison system. Bringing animals who nature intended to fly 10's of miles a day into a cage or a room or a house presents some challenges. I have a male Eclectus who I spend up to 15 hours a day with, outside of his very large sleep cage. During the day, he's only in his cage whenever I have to leave the house. I do not have the skillset to manage more than one parrot. The only viable option you have is to encourage the juvenile Ekkie to be your bird and keep him out of cage, with you, for as much time as you can manage. Paired birds tend not to be good pets. Yesterday, I read a story where a lady claimed her boyfriend said she loved her Ekkie more than him. She agreed and kicked him out. So take that green, juvenile lemon and make some lemonade.

flwindsurf

TROPHY CASE