i know when zup was going bald, the second i took out all sunflower seed form his diet he started feathering up again, now he only gets maybe one or 2 every few months and thats only when he gets into Tangos cage to steal em!

Dom, there's been some specific work done on food sensitivities/allergies with Ekkies. If you do some Googling, you're bound to find it. If I'm not mistaken, we've had threads about this source here, too. Just off the top of my head, I believe corn was mentioned. I know a lot of folks have found sunflower seeds to be problematic, and not just with Ekkies either. Eggs are best used with strict moderation as well, probably not more than once every couple of weeks.

I know there was a study done on wheat allergies and parrots/amazons and feather plucking.

Yikes! Lucy gets eggs all the time. A couple times a week, they are one of her favs. Since I took her off the seed mix today, I noticed she has been talking a lot, but keeps giving me these looks like "where is my seed?". There's corn in her seed mix as well. I suppose I'll take the eggs out of her diet. Its just really challenging, because there's so many different foods that she gets, and it could be more than one... Thanks everyone!

From Avianweb.com, quoting Laurella Desborough: "I would either eliminate boiled eggs from diet recommendations or make it very clear that eggs should NOT be offered more than twice a month. Vet experience and breeder experience is that eclectus parrots (and other parrots) fed boiled eggs on a routine weekly basis develop serious problems with high cholesterol and subsequently arteriosclerosis and do die young...as young as age three, if sufficient eggs are fed!"

From the same page: " Eclectuses have unusually long digestive tracts and require large amounts of fiber, fruits & vegetables in their diet; to remain healthy. This need has to be met. They are far more likely than other parrots to suffer from nutritional deficiencies, since many people ignore their special needs.

It is recommended that eclectuses be fed about 80% soft foods, such as fresh or thawed-out frozen fruits, vegetables, soaked seed. They enjoy corn-on-the-cob, banana, mango, apple, per, passion fruit, berries, cantaloupe and watermelon. It is imperative that the fresh, soaked and cooked food items need to be removed daily to prevent sickness from contaminated food.

The eclectus requires a diet high in Beta Carotene and vegetable protein, and reduced fat compared to other parrot species. They often are deficient in Vitamin A and adding foods like sweet potatoes (either cooked or microwaved until soft), mashed up with other fruits will be both loved by your eclectus, as much as it is good for her or him. The diet of the adult eclectus should consist of 6% fat, or 12% for youngers who are more active and burn more fat."