Do Eclectus Parrots TRULY Have Longer GI Tracts? | Updated For 2022

[@michelehemlokhexwhite4310]

Speaking of Rocko, I recently found out parrots tend to eat UNRIPE fruit, as it means they are not competing with other animals (monkeys, insects, bats, etc), and they are uniquely adapted for this (lower sugar) fruit eating. I had 27 fruit trees in my yard here in Australia, and the lorikeets ALWAYS go for unripe fruit, or they let the fruit ferment (sugars ferment into alcohol), and eat it fermented. And yes, they roll around drunk after lol

[@lesliesmith7312]

that's diffidently the case here in Michigan! The wild birds all swarm the unripe cherries and strawberries before they're ripe

[@renedejong6386]

You never gave your parrot a un ripe appel ... Because simple you dont have a appel tree to find out ... A sour unripe appel does not get eaten by your parrot , if there is a ripe one

[@angelscinta7971]

Lmfao

[@michelehemlokhexwhite4310]

@@renedejong6386 actually, I do. Because I grow fruit lol. On my tree the apples were all well gone before they were ripe.... the lorikeets eat them unripe before they get taken by bats, and the bats eat them before I can lol! Captive parrots possibly have different tastes due to being used to sugary fruit. Birdtricks feed very little fruit, if you follow them, to most of their parrots.

[@michelehemlokhexwhite4310]

@@angelscinta7971 I often had drunk lorikeets actually rolling on the ground under my plum tree!

[@desirae8591]

I appreciate it so much when you get emotional about losing your parrots because I have so many people in my life who don’t understand the pain it causes. The grief is as intense as losing people like my dad and others who I have loved deeply and it’s so helpful to see you normalize what grief looks like and show us that we don’t have to hide it or be ashamed of the massive amount of love we have for our parrots and how it hurts to have that love not have it’s destination.

[@mariemcgrath8681]

I live in tropical Australia & find all my own mangos are eaten unripe by many birds before I'm lucky enough to get ONE! My passion fruit all my birds love & fortunately all my seasonal fruit & vegies are bought from local market gardeners. Happy New Year to everyone. Loved this video.

[@ember6124]

Vet tech here: slower doesn’t necessarily relate to diet. Length is (or at least to be used properly SHOULD) indeed an anatomical measurement, something that is very strictly quantifiable and therefore measurable. SLOWER intestinal system (at least from a medical standpoint) would refer to gut motility, the muscle movements of the intestinal tract (peristalsis). It’s very true that different species have different rates at which the intestinal muscles contract and relax (which is what pushes the digested foods through the intestines) so it’s possible that eclectus parrots naturally have a slower paced system. Now to cover all the bases GI motility CAN be artificial sped up or slowed down (laxatives and all the medication side effects of “can cause constipation/diarrhea “ being the perfect example) and diet is certainly one of the things that can make the intestines move digested food through faster, or slower (along side dozens of other reasons like emotional state, time of day/circadian rhythm, stress, on and on…).

[@MCrvngraddip2013]

This would be a great study for Veterinary Nursing degree students or vet students. Even PhD. Appreciate the discussion 😊

[@ghostymeow]

The woman that runs Elegant Eclectus has a PhD

[@lesliesmith7312]

that sounds like it would be a great project for veterinary students! We could have people donate any deceased birds and the students could record everything about them and get sample to do tests with

[@meltona2]

Thank you for gathering this info! There is so much conflicting info out there in Eclectus diet, I appreciate the additional sources!

[@shuermarvin577]

Jaime, I love your open conversation style. That is why I am watching BirdTricks all the time even though I don't own a bird. I LOVE birds though. They are beautiful creatures. Happy New Year to you and your family (including the birdies). May your 2023 be filled with happy chirps and laughter. 😘😘😘

[@dianedishman9799]

I don't know if you already do this out not, but as a public spokesperson for parrots it could be very helpful if mauve you could make visits to speak to avian vets at their conferences specializing in parrots? Is there such a thing? Let than know about the necropsy you promote to gain more research on Parrot health. Just a thought. Love your work. ❤

[@kristak9725]

Thank you Jamieleigh. Another informative video. My eclectus has been on your feeding system since I got him at 5 months old. I find that offering fresh fruits on top of the chop gets him going. His faves are blueberries and pomegranate.

[@AprilV28]

Pomegranates are a fave of mine as well. Have you tried passion fruit yet? It’s usually their #1. Guavas (ripe or unripe) and horned melons are adored as well. Mine has never cared much for blueberries. Apparently they’re not exotic or expensive enough, and too easy to find 😂

[@vikachan19]

If possible, I think it would be most useful to request a photo with a scale bar (ruler) as well as of the bird before necropsy, instead of simple length. Photos can be easily distributed, add little time to the necropsy, and captures so much more info (do birds with plucking correlate to longer intestines? Is one part of the colon longer than in other birds? Etc). Honestly, getting someone to make a standardized protocol to ask for as an add on to necropsies would be the most useful. Standardization is critical in community science ^_^.

[@kimberlymazzola8549]

Don’t own birds now. Would love to have known this info when I did. I use your info for the rescue dogs, cats and humans in my life. Love the fact your technique change as you learn. Thank you for sharing with us.

[@rgonzalezarce3815]

Hi, my 12 years old Ekkie Mamba suffered in 2020 of the consequences of a bad diet vets here in Mexico gave me, regardless of my comments on what I have found online about ekkies. She had liver and renal disease and had even gout, with a consecuencias plucking. After changing vets for 2 yeras finally found a vet who is open to stablishing communications with breeders and with elegant eclectus channel. She is way better now with all the supportive care, your diet and ECs diet plan. If you consider avian veterinary lackusting in US, imagine how rudimentary it is in Mexico :( we don’t even have full bloodwork services for pet birds.

[@MitaGupta-ff3jm]

How do you deal with budgie poop outside of the cage, in the car, and even in a hotel! Especially since they poop so often!

[@joebean3615]

You can use a cloth or baby wipe (pretty sure that’s what Jamie uses) or if they’re died up you could use an old credit card and scrap it off

[@grievousangelic]

Knowledge is power! Great video.

[@Letti11]

Thanks Jamie for your willingness to keep searching, learning and sharing your thoughts 🤩

[@joebean3615]

Hey Jamie Leigh could you do a nother diet video , appropriate cage sizing or a q and a with one of your birds 😊

[@Whateverhasbeenmynameforyears]

A video about how you have changed what you do in training would be informative.

[@michellejeffers4528]

I love how you are constantly trying to learn more about all birds. I just bought your pellets and want to get seasonal feedings for my three cockatiels. Hoping some will come in stock soon!

[@BirdTricks]

Hoping to relaunch this spring publicly but you can email in in the meantime to get on the waitlist and we will get it out to you asap. 💚

[@michelehemlokhexwhite4310]

Looking forward to watching and finally understanding this!

[@caitlinw8351]

do you have a playlist for the vet related videos? i can’t find one. thanks!!

[@redtally1]

Good presentation and it is ok to conclude that we don’t know as to relative Ekkie intestine length. I had heard and read that in my 15 years of owning an Ekkie but can well believe it is just a conclusion someone once wrote down which has become an accepted fact though unsupported. Supposedly, the males and females were thought to be different species for a time and that was wrong. Thanks for all your research on the issue.

[@hlubideetz7614]

Can I please see a list of sources that you got your information from?

[@ghostymeow]

Yo!!

[@michelehemlokhexwhite4310]

Necropsy is the perfect way to actually solve this. Either way though, diet is more important.

[@wwaxwork]

Trouble is that only works if the data is amalgamated and not a bunch of scattered vets doing the necropsies. There needs to be some sort of central database for gathering the information, not only for Eccies but all parrots and exotic pets.

[@michelehemlokhexwhite4310]

@@wwaxwork totally agree!

[@lappalappaOHANA]

I think it isn't only about the size of the intestinal but how the intestinal is built up. So microscopic and how they manage food.

[@DIY-ForEverything]

I would love a video on how to keep a male and female eclectus together and how to keep hormones down. With your advice on hormones and diet it is working for me so far... But in the eclectus community the answer from experienced keepers is always give them a nest box. Thats something I am not ready for and it would be great to see a video on eccy hormones given the males are hypersexual.

[@groucrow9709]

Due to the dominance of the female Eclectus, separate cages are a must. Even if there has been no problem yet, there could be any time. Love both the boys and girls Eclectus!💚❤️

[@DIY-ForEverything]

@@groucrow9709 already done that. My boy just won't take no for an answer x

[@groucrow9709]

@@DIY-ForEverything What?? 🙀 A stubborn Eclectus? 😂 How well I know lol I have heard that keeping the temp lower at night helps dampen hormones. I know it works for Amazons, but the randy Ekkies can be challenging. Let me know if you have success xx

[@emma-leerimon743]

I'm new to owning a Eclectus Parrot and it's amazing how many different mixed information is out there some say stay right away from seeds other give seeds. I for one has chosen to only feed chop, spouting seeds and a little bit of fruit pending what fruit as I know in supermarkets most fruits are extra sweet. I be interested to know if someone watch them in the wild all year round and there eating habits different seasons ect.

[@AprilV28]

If I find it again, I will link it. I found ONE study like you are describing. It included the graphs of foods they eat in which seasons. They also found that they rarely ever ground forage, as it was only ever observed during a year of severe drought. So interesting. So the majority of seeds they consumed came from fruit pulp. Explains (at least in my mind) the fruits my girl prefers. All very seedy, high fiber, low sugar fruits 💡 Anyway, they tend to forage in tree canopies according to this study and would eat accordingly based on the season. Aka, flower blossoms, unripe fruits and nuts, etc… I’ll look for it!

[@thenaturelensph]

@@AprilV28 hi do you have the link?? :)

[@emma-leerimon743]

@@AprilV28 that's be awesome

[@l.m.2404]

Have you heard of the, Vet Ranch channel? Dr. Karri owns small parrots as pets and she plus her husband (also a vet) do a wonderful job of saving animals in Texas. I would totally watch a panel discussion on the subject with Dr. Karri , Dave and whoever else and with you moderating.

[@wendycottingham8011]

Interesting!

[@DIY-ForEverything]

It would be great to see a collab between yourself and other channels which cover eclectus. Or getting mel on skype call. She records herself on a seperate camera with eclectus (sends you the footage) and you do as well. Thats way you can split screen together a higher quality video that is in sync.

[@BirdTricks]

I’d rather go back to Oz 😉

[@conniemuttart1019]

Have you consulted with Dr Jason Krean? He seems to have the best Credentials I’ve ever seen. What are Patty’s credentials? I love her to death personally but I have always wondered what are credentials are .

[@BirdTricks]

I actually reached out to him about 3 years before Rocko began showing poor health signs and could never get a response.

[@shelbrindahl6633]

Good grief. How hard can it be to measure length of intestine at necropsy & publish the data?

[@lizziehn5928]

It's not hard, it's just not a normal part of necropsies or bird research in general. Only a few bird species (mainly passerines) who have had their intestines measured at all. Hopefully this video will bring more attention to it

[@Serina-the-girl]

Can kids above 8 years old take care of birds

[@AprilV28]

Mine are 11 & (almost) 13, they certainly help and “know” what to do. They do a great job. But parrots are so high maintenance, emotionally complex and intelligent that I would never recommend a bird for a child (if they are solely responsible for it). It’s never ended well with my daughters friends. Parrots, in my opinion, need adult supervision. A whole family pet for sure.

[@zunairbirds3984]

MashAllah 💓🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹💞

[@elijahfinch3889]

do you know anything about the parrot breeder Tony Siva? he knows a lot about most parrot species. I find chatting to breeders is very helpful when it comes to parrot care. I understand why they are often frowned on, but if you find a good one it can help you out a lot. a lot of breeders I know talk a lot about diet. they do their best to replicate what they eat in the wild and even go to changes in different parrot subspecies because they might come from different areas.

[@renedejong6386]

I like debunking stuff ... Fruit from a shop is not perse sweeter or ripe ! strawlberry's from my garden pluked ripe are way sweeter than from a supermarket. My amazone did not like strawlberry's from a store as much as those from a real garden .... Fruit from a shop gets pluked when its not even half ripe (here in holland ) other wise they could not keep fruit in a shop for a week , it would be roten... Animals in general prever fruit that is ripe ! Also german research says normal seed food from a pet store isnt that bad .... Pellets wich are cooked contain almost no vitamins and stuf .... A wallnut a day keeps the docter away .. Is what others helps , so why not me also

[@cursedGalataea]

The fruit in stores get sprayed with chemicals that inhibit ripening while the fruit is in transit, the transport vehicles are also full of this stuff. This is how they keep from rotting. Also, the fruit from a wild strawberry plant is very tiny, smaller than a kernel of corn. Grocery store strawberries are bigger than your bird's head. The taste is different because the decades of selective breeding to get giant strawberries came with different flavours.

[@AprilV28]

Agree! I live in Ventura county. Strawberry growing capital (among other produce). You are absolutely right. Which is why I try to only do organic and/or local in hopes to avoid the chemicals. Can’t do much about the selective breeding, so I stick to exotic fruits.

[@renedejong6386]

@@AprilV28 yeah i think fruit and veggie's can be a point of discusion... Because it depends wildly on what part of the world you are ... .yeah well they can grow banana's here in greenhouses.... Still not nature's best. ! We have banana's in store wich are still green when we buy them from the store ... Also the litle birds in my apple tree who rip my apples , know when they have enough ... If i gave my lilte caiqeu a hole apple it would probably be the end for her .... Ive grow some inca berry's wich normaly grow in the amazone , but my bird did not like the sour taste .... Funny how a lot of witches react on this topic

[@ghostymeow]

Yeah it might be worth mentioning that the woman who runs elegant eclectus has a PhD. so given that, I’m more inclined toward her information. You didn’t provide any real hard sources either. I agree that we are all on the same team, but you reached out to your sources. That’s limiting already. Why don’t you reach out to Elegant Eclectus? That would be a real discussion worthy of attention.

[@_Ocean_Soul_]

I have an idea but im gonna need help woth this. Can I email you?