It's really wonderful to see so many people starting to make sprouts. This is such an easy and inexpensive way to give our Eclectus a more nearly natural diet with real "live" foods! If you want to see for yourself how much your Eclectus will LOVE sprouts, just soak some whole unshelled sunflower seeds in water overnight, rinse & feed the next morning, and watch them pick all of them out first! I suggest mung beans as your first starter batch of sprouts. They grow the fastest and are problem free. It really is not necessary to buy someone else's mix. I buy mung beans, wheat berries, alfalfa seeds and others from health food stores. I buy all sorts of beans and lentils from the super market. Simply soak the seeds or beans or lentils in water overnight. Rinse and place in a colander to sprout, and rinse several times daily. You may feed them when you can see the tails peeking out or let them grow for another day or two. Refrigerate or feed them before they become bitter. Trial and error will teach you just how long each can grow.

Instead of buying the protective additive for sprouts that many use, I buy what I believe to be the same thing, but much less expensive, from the health food store. It is called Nutribiotic Liquid Concentrate, a Standardized Extract of Grapefruit. This contains "Citricidal", a natural quaternary compound synthesized from the seed & pulp of certified organically grown grapefruit. What a versatile product! It actually is marketed for people to take internally but it is a wonderful safe disinfectant! I use it to wash the fruits and vegetables that I feed my little flock and I use it with sprouts if I don't ozonate them.

The following is a very safe method to use in sprouting. This should eliminate any concern you have about molds in sprouts. They come out squeaky clean and very fresh smelling. One note of caution: when using the ozone system, use it in a well-ventilated area away from your birds and do not inhale the ozone yourself. But don't let this scare you away from this very safe system of sprouting. After the first time you do it, it will seem so easy and you never again will have to worry about contaminated sprouts!

As detailed in a back issue of The Electronic Eclectus by Dr. Simmons: Rinse the beans and seeds in clean water and place them in a stainless steel rice steamer and fill with water. Then take the smallest aquarium type ozone lamp attached to an aquarium pump with an airstone attached to the end of a plastic tube and place that in the water containing the seed. Let this run twice a day for about thirty minutes, draining and rinsing before each set up. Leave the water on the seed for the first 24 hours and after that drain after each ozone treatment.

This system also can be used to sterilize delicate toys such as music boxes or whatever else you cannot immerse in water. Use the same ozone lamp that you use for making sprouts. Place whatever you want to sterilize in a plastic bag and press all of the air out of it. Then fill with ozone through the air stone and seal the bag. Leave for an hour or so and the item should be sterile.

You can buy this equipment from larger aquarium stores or from a place called Pet Solutions. Their phone number is 1-800-737-3868. If you do not want to wait to receive a catalog, here are the numbers and prices:

25mg. Coralife Ozonizer #96300770 price--$74.99, 8 ft. ozone-resistant tubing #96300778 price--$6.99, Hagen Elite 801 Pump #15510801 price-- $5.59, and a Ceramic Airstone #10812535 price--$2.99. Then just hook it up according to the diagram that is included with the Ozonizer. Total charge from Pet Solutions with shipping and handling is $100.55.

Happy sprouting! Your Eclectus will thank you with happy eating sounds, gorgeous feathers, (and maybe more babies too)!

Molting is a very stressful time for a parrot. In the wild, they would become more susceptible to predators due to their lessened ability to fly. THIS LACK OF SECURITY COULD CARRY OVER TO PET BIRDS TOO! Perhaps this is just an instinctual feeling but nonetheless, very real to your bird. It is good to minimize stress during molting and to allow for extra rest. Anything you can do to increase your bird's feeling of security would be a plus. A smaller cage, or covering half of his regular cage so that he can feel hidden, might help him feel safe from predators, even if there are none. Good nutrition is especially important during molting. It takes a good diet to create all those new feathers. I always increase the protein offered during this time. Also, a molting parrot could use some grooming help about now, which also can strengthen your bond and his trust in you. If you help him remove the sheaths from the new feathers, you are performing one of the mutual grooming functions of a mate. He may even rearrange your hair in return!

Besides showers, spray baths, and gently pinching off the dead sheaths that are ready to shed, you could try using a toothbrush. I recycle my family's toothbrushes by putting them through a couple dishwasher cycles to be sure that they are germ free. The used ones work better for grooming than the new ones. Your bird will learn to love being gently "brushed" which will smooth the feathers and remove the dead sheaths too. This works especially well on the small feathers on the head, which is where birds need the most help. This is the one place they cannot reach. Parrots have two or three THOUSAND feathers so they can use a little help from a friend!

If he is a little cranky during molting and doesn't want any help or doesn't want to step up and come out of the cage, this is a good time to treat him as a friend who's a little under the weather and give him a little extra space and quiet time. Molting is a very stressful time, and I've always wondered if they might feel like an "inside-out pin cushion"!

There's good news and more good news! Your bird probably is not sick AND he loves you! Of course this is only a guess from someone who has not seen your Eclectus, but this is a very commonly asked question. At this age, he is beginning to mature sexually and for now, you are the object of his affection! This natural behavior can be directed at a toy or any other object.

Regurgitation is the backward flow of undigested food, usually from the crop. Vomiting is the forcible expulsion of digested food from the stomach through the mouth. Since birds have a crop, it's rare for them to actually vomit. So regurgitation is what normally occurs, not vomiting. Although it can indicate a crop infection or a blockage in the upper digestive tract, if Shamrock has no symptoms of illness and does it only when interacting with you, I really believe that in this case it is a normal sign of courtship. Rather than encourage it, I always use distraction when this happens so that it doesn't become a habit.