Eclectus squawking is driving the family nuts !

[jbdave]

Hi everyone. I'm new to he forum and needall the advice I can get.
At home we have a 6 month old male Eclectus. We have one major problem with the LOUD squawking he does whenever I am around and we've tried everything to fix it.

Basically since we got him at 4 months, he squawks whenever I am around. It's not an excited noise, just a "sitting still where ever he is and making a noise" noise. In the morning when I get up, he knows I use the microwave and lets out a squawk then. If I speak to anyone in the family he goes nuts with squawking. When I am at work, he is the quiestes bird around and doesn't say boo. He is just happy playing on his cage, or flying around the house meeting other members of "his flock". When I get home from work however the noise is intolerable.

We have tried everything. After trying to spend time with him in the morning without any change to his behaviour I have had to get ready for work quietly so he doesn't hear me and not see him beofre leaving, or he'll wake up the whole family plus half the street. Even when I have bought him over to where I am and sat him on his perch, he just flies back to the cage and sits on top squawking. As soon as I leave the house, he calms down.

Of a night, he starts as soon as he hears me enter the house. No matter what I do, whether it's spending time with him, or leaving him alone, he doesn't stop squawking if I am around. I have tried calling back to him, covering his cage, putting him in a time out room - nothing works. Even when ignoring him and running back to his cage when he is quiet for a few seconds hasn't worked. Training him in another room doesn't work. Sometimes he calms down, but he never is completely quiet like he is when I am not there.

Firstly, other than this issue, he is a good bird. He doesn't bite, and enjoys being around the whole family. He gets free range of the house, but prefers time on top of his cage. He eats only fresh fruit and vegetables, with the occasional treat of popcorn, nuts and sunflower seeds. He is fully flighted, and has plenty of toys.

Again, I must reiterate that when I am not home, he is the best behaved bird a family could want. That being said, the kids no longer want to go near him when I am around as the noise scares them. I cannot live in my house and not be able to be seen or heard by the bird. If the situation doesn't change soon, the bird will unfortunately have to go.

I am open to all advice.

[WVUSAE]

Does he have any reason to single you out? Does he like you or will he come to you when you ask? Are you afraid of him? Just curious trying to understand others have a lot more knowledge than I do.

[jbdave]

Certainly not afraid of him - I am the main person who trains him in the house. We can't decide if he loves me or hates me. If he is flying around, he will often land on me (then scream of course !).
He'll sometimes come to me when I call him, but that's training in progress.
It's weird as it's the opposite of what birds are usually like (as in screaming when you leave the room).

[Dannynoscar]

Im rather interested in this as i have a 3ish month old alexandrine who does exactly the same thing to me. Its only me, whenever he can see or hear me, he's perfectly quiet otherwise. Its as if he is expecting me to do something but im not sure what. He loves me im pretty sure, at least if he's on the floor he will search for me and come straight to me. I asked a breeder and he said its a baby thing and they do it until theyre weaned. I guess your bird is weaned..maybe he was force weaned and wasnt ready? Im still handfeeding mine cos he still asks for it, but he doesnt stop even then. One thing i did was spend a couple of hours one morning with him on his perch, and just sat in a chair in front of him avoiding eye contact and not moving or speaking. He eventually stopped and looked at me curiously, so i treated him. Of course, when i moved he started again but i think he has actually slowed down a little since. And has SHORT periods of quiet, which dont last long but are encouraging. From what i gather, they should grow out of this.

[laducockatiel]

Maybe you Eclectus is bored. I think you should buy him some foraging toys or even make him some yourself. Introducing Foraging Toys could make keep him occupied for the day and he will be a lot happier, then he will have no reason to scream, he will be too busy foraging for some food (or a smaller toy in the foraging toy).

If you would like to introduce him to foraging, I will tell you how:

Step 1: - The most basic way to get a Parrot to learn how to forage for his food is to get a piece of paper, cut it so that it is slightly bigger than his food bowl and poke some holes in it. Then just lay it on tip of his food bowl. He should realise that there is food under the piece of paper (because he will see the food through the holes in the paper) and he should take the piece of paper off the bowl and get rewarded by some yummy food.

Step 2: - After he has mastered the previous step, do the same thing, but instead of just lying the piece of paper on top of his food bowl, cut the paper slightly bigger than before and wrap the piece of paper round, use a string to secure it and poke some holes in it. The Parrot should then learn to pok holes through the paper to be able to eat the food.

Step 3: - After your Parrot is used to the previous two steps, he has learnt to forage, but there are some other ways he can forage too:

1) You can get a piece of paper, wrap his favourite treats in it (poke some holes in it at first, so he can see the food inside) and hang it in his cage.

2) Buy him some foraging toys

3) Get a piece of fruit (say, Apple), poke a hole in the middle and hang it in the cage using bird safe string.


Hopefully, if you follow these steps and your bird learns how to forage, it will be much happier and wont squawk as much. Thanks for reading!

Regards,
Laducockatiel

[liz]

A paper lunch bag works well. I strted by folding the top back to make it as tall as wide. Then I put treats in the bag, laid it on it's side and put it in with the tiels. Sweetie was the first to go in (she is always first). Then the rest followed. The next time I just folded the top over and set it flat side down. Sweetie knew what is was and called her mate Shadow to help. Between the two they tore the bag apart. They shared with the others.

[sidech]

I HAVE YOUR ANSWER.

This is typical, perfectly normal Eclectus behavior. I went through the same thing with Jazz, just like many other Ekkie owners have. Someone from an Australian forum who went through the same thing gave me hope.

This behavior is just baby crying. It doesn't last more than 6 to 10 weeks, usually, so you should be done soon. It has nothing to do with training or bad behavior. You just have to tolerate it, it will go away. People usually suggest buying ear plugs and being patient...

There is one important thing you can do, though, to help. Give him one soft, warm feeding at night, before bedtime. You can buy baby jars, like bananas or blueberry. Give it warm in a deep spoon, and feed him like his parents would. I'm sure you can find a video of that on youtube. This will give him extra comfort and confidence, which he needs. He is calling his parent, Ie YOU, for comfort !

Give it to him as long as he wants, there is no harm in it. Eclectus can take a long time to wean, and their parents feed them for more than 6 months in the wild. Sometimes they don't physically need the feeding, but they need it emotionally. Just like some kids will need the pacifier for a long time.

Also, what are you feeding him ? Are you sure he's getting enough ? Is he being fed fresh veggies and fruits, along with sprouts and rice, quinoa ? His diet is important. He will sqwack if he's not being fed enough.

Are you subscribing to Laurella Desborough's emails ? If not, you should. You would learn so much about Ekkies.

[Zanizaila]

What sidech sais is true.
I had the same problem with a young cockatoo - many birds today are weaned far too soon, before they are ready, and then they scream and scream and scream to get the attention and safety they desperately need. Parrot chicks in the wild are never weaned in such a harsh way. The parents don't suddenly throw the chick out, saying "now you have to feed yourself, or you have to starve". Nor do they avoid cuddling the chick because "it might get spoiled".

That's because parrots know exactly how to raise other parrots, we don't.
My cockatoo was weaned when he was three (!!!) months old, came to me one month later, and then when he was about five months, he suddenly started screaming every time I wasn't near him, and did this thing, constantly, whenever I was within his sight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoM9hai4Wy8

Although he was much older. Those babies are crying desperately for their parents and siblings, for food and safety. And we humans believe we are doing it better than their parents by denying them physical contact. Parrot chicks raised by their parents NEVER cry like that. They are also spoiled rotten with love and physical closeness all the time, and get to choose themselves when they are ready to eat on their own.

For the largest parrot, such as large cockatoos and macaws, this can take over a year.

[PiratesMom]

OK so I have read all of these posts and I am still confused. My red sided eclectus is almost 12 years old and has started this infernal screaming over the last year. We actually gave him away last week to someone who was crazy about him and was so sweet to her in our home. For the week she has had him he has bitten her and screamed NON STOP. We are going to bring him home again this week. He screams whenever a stranger comes to our house. He screams whenever we have guests even our dearset friends he has known for years. He screams for the sake of screaming. We have tried all of the things that everyone says to modify behavior. I have given him all new toys, foraging toys, you name it. I really think he misses our children who are in college now. There is nothing I can do about that unfortunately, they are gone. I love this bird and he has been such an important part of our family but my husband has literally said me or the bird. Now he has scared off his best potential new home. What can I do? I really need help to figure this out. He eats fine, plays and is happy until someone different from my husband or myself comes around and then no one can stand it!! Apparently our friend could hear him talking and happy from her bedroom but when she comes in the room he starts the screaming. He even screams for her when she has him out on her hand. This is crazy!

[sidech]

I don't know what to say except I sympathize... Those Ekkies can scream real loud. You're probably right, he must be screaming because your kids are gone.

Have you tried a behaviorist at home ? It'll cost you a couple hundred bucks maybe but what if it stops the headaches ?

I think this is a serious problem that needs an experienced hand.

Good luck !