My Eclectus wont stop squawking

[Rocco&Ava]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and desperately need help. I bought home a 10 week old male Eclectus about 4-5 weeks ago so he should now be about 14-15 weeks old. I have been feeding him formula and started to introduce fruits and veggies with sprouts and pellets in the last 2 weeks. He is a beautiful bird.. but we have one problem, his SQUAWKING!!! It is so loud and ear piercing. But he only does it when I am around. If he sees me or hears my voice or hears someone's voice that sounds like mine he will squawk and squawk and squawk.

He has a play gym inside not a cage but today I had to put him outside in a cage because I couldn't handle it anymore. If I hold him he will squawk, if I just leave him on his stand he will squawk, if he flies over and sits on my shoulder he will squawk in my ear! I suffer from severe migraines so it gets very very hard to handle while I have a migraine attack.

He was never this bad when we first got him, he would only squawk during his feeds and be amazingly quiet for the rest if the day. I have read so many posts and forums but no advice has been able to help because I have either tried it already or it doesn't relate to my situation. I don't want to keep putting him in a cage and covering it up so I am desperate for some expert advice if anyone out there has experienced the same thing with Eclectus parrots and somehow gotten through it. I feel like I cant go near him or have to hide from him and whisper around him so he doesn't hear or see me so he doesn't go off. I don't want to keep sitting in another room, I want to spend time with him and teach him tricks like I have with my ringneck...

Please help!

[Pajarita]

My dear, he is a baby and wants his momma, that's all. How many hours a day are you spending with him one-on-one? Does he have company all day long or is he by himself for hours and hours? Because babies need, at least, 5 hours a day of one-on-one and physical company 24/7/365 and, if they don't get it, they develop a deep seated insecurity which leads to behavioral problems. And putting him outside all by himself is not a good idea as it would only make his insecurity worse (all by himself -something that NEVER happens in nature- and in an unfamiliar place -very, very scary for a baby!).

Also, please do more research about his diet because pellets are not recommended for ekkies.

[sidech]

Buy earplugs. There is nothing to do about it except make sure he is well fed. It last about 6 weeks and stops on itself. Many Eclectus go through this phase, inclusing mine. I thought I would go nuts, but people were right, it went away without me doing anything. It's a baby thing.

[Rocco&Ava]

When I first got him I would spend almost every waking moment with him and made sure he had some alone time so he wouldn't become too attached. And then once his squawking started it was ok at the beginning, and then it just got worse and worse and that's when I decided maybe its better if I am not around him as much so he doesn't do it. But it hasn't stopped I have had him for about 2-3 months now so much longer than 6 weeks. I did do a lot of research on their diet before I got him and was advised they do need pellets however steer clear of the coloured ones as they have the additives and is harmful so I feed him the plain ones. I am trying to ween him off the formula now and only feeding him once a day in the mornings as he is about 5 months now. I just don't know if I am doing the right thing or what else I could do better. I just need some sort of direction

[Wolf]

When I first got him I would spend almost every waking moment with him and made sure he had some alone time so he wouldn't become too attached. And then once his squawking started it was ok at the beginning, and then it just got worse and worse and that's when I decided maybe its better if I am not around him as much so he doesn't do it. But it hasn't stopped I have had him for about 2-3 months now so much longer than 6 weeks. I did do a lot of research on their diet before I got him and was advised they do need pellets however steer clear of the coloured ones as they have the additives and is harmful so I feed him the plain ones. I am trying to ween him off the formula now and only feeding him once a day in the mornings as he is about 5 months now. I just don't know if I am doing the right thing or what else I could do better. I just need some sort of direction

Mlght I venture that you may be starving your bird. I don't think that feeding only once per day is sufficient to keep him/her healthy or to keep from begging for more food.
The only way one feeding per day is practical is if you supply enough food for the entire 24 hr. time span.

[sidech]

Why do you want to ween him ? If he still eants it, there is nothing wrong with it. He'll stop when he is ready. He might be sqwacking for formula. It is reassuring to them. Just give it to him ! In the wild, they are fed longer than that by their parents. There is no harm in feeding him. And it might help with the sqwacking !

[Rhibelle13]

Its normal, actually its 1 of 2 things...... i went through it too.
1) either he is still hungry and is yelling at you, be sure to keep food around at all times. he must eat often.
OR
2) Remember hes still a baby and wants to be with his mom, think of an infant and the response when the baby hears moms voice.. he just wants his mommy!!!
I promise it will get less and less as he learns your routine!

[Pajarita]

He needs soft food and to have somebody with him. He's a baby and you are creating a problem that might never be solved if he gets traumatized enough (babies need company, warmth and food, regardless of the species). And, regardless of what you might have read elsewhere, ekkies should never be fed pellets. Period.

[Rocco&Ava]

Ok, so just to clear things up that may have been mistaken, I do not only feed him once a day. I was only referring to his formula. I have never weaned a bird myself so I am getting so many different information thrown at me like 'he should already be weaned by now' 'gradually decrease the amount of times you feed him his formula as he should be weaned now' and so on. I read on a lot of parrot websites that Ekkies take much longer to wean than normal parrots and this can be up to 6 months of age and he is approaching that so I thought now is the time to try and wean him. I am only trying to go by the information I come across and want to do the right thing but I am sort of lost that is why I am asking for help. I have gone back to feeding him his formula twice a day like before which keeps him much happier and now I know that his screaming and squawking are mainly related to wanting to be fed. Aside from his formula I am feeding him fruits and vegies, boiled brown rice and boiled sweet potato, I give him nuts and pomegranate and a boiled egg once a week and sometimes some salmon & tuna so I still don't understand how he could be so hungry for his night feed. I spend a lot of time with him when he is happy (which is after his formula feed) but it still doesnt stop him from squawking when he sees me and hears my voice.. could anyone give me some personal advice on when I should wean him and how to do it..?

[Pajarita]

No salmon, tuna or egg. With the exception of a couple of species, all parrots are herbivores but ekkies are the most herbivores of all the parrots. They have the longest intestinal tract of them all and that tells us that they need more plant material fiber than the others - this translates into a nutrient poor diet with lots and lots of fiber. With ekkies nutrition, less is always better. They are also highly prone to high cholesterol and fatty liver so no eggs and no oil seeds. And salmon and tuna are loaded with mercury so, please, don't feed him those any longer. Just organic veggies and fruits, no weird, unnatural stuff.

Yes, you are going to find many contradictory advice out there when it comes to parrot husbandry. It's a sad fact that people repeat something they've read without double checking the accuracy of the statement or using common sense... And people always say they did it (whatever it is) and that their birds are fine but, in most cases, they don't really know and/or they have young birds. Ekkies do wean later than most species but no bird should be weaned on a schedule. Period. The bird will wean when he is good and ready - and, when he is, he will let you know by not begging for his food. There are lots and lots of birds that end up with eating disorders or just plain insecurity from not been allowed to develop the way they needed (and insecurity means plucking which ekkies are also very prone to). Every bird is an individual and if yours needs a bit more 'comfort' and asks for a longer feeding period, so be it. It's the same with children, some need their bottle a little longer than others, my oldest girl used to go to sleep with a bottle until she was almost five years old but none of the others did and one did not want it after he turned two and they were all raised the same way. They are all grown now, healthy and well-adjusted and the oldest girl is the same as the boy who did not want it at two... not everybody is the same and baby birds are like human babies and they need to be treated like individuals.