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Eclectus Screaming

Amaan

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Ekkies in general are very different from other parrots. They really think things through before doing them. Sometimes it means holding your hand up for an extra 20 seconds before they decide to step up, and sometimes it means they look at that treat extra hard before taking it. They really aren't cuddly birds, their feather texture is different from other parrots (mostly on their head but some all over) and they don't spend a lot of time allopreening in the wild (preening each other) and so I think that has a lot to do with their reluctance to accept pets or scratches from people. That said, you really want to be careful because they can become VERY "into" their humans if you know what I mean. Be very careful about touching under the wings and over their back, I have to be very watchful of Rosco getting into an overly amorous mood and have to distract him.

They also have a super piercing alarm screech. If there's something around that they don't like it can peel the wallpaper from the walls and rattle your ear drums like no other. They can also be very marvelous talkers, Rosco is constantly learning new phrases and surprising me.

They are wonderful parrots to live with, but they can take some time to adjust to because their mannerisms and body language is very different from other species. If you're looking for a more gregarious bird that will also accept some scritches I would consider the green cheek.
Hey could u help me I have a female eclectus and every time it's sees me it goes off and screams but when I go it's quite even if the family are walking around it's quite but if I carry it or go near it. It will look up can scream is that A bad sign?
 

EsJ87

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Hey could u help me I have a female eclectus and every time it's sees me it goes off and screams but when I go it's quite even if the family are walking around it's quite but if I carry it or go near it. It will look up can scream is that A bad sign?
I am actually having the exact same issue with my female eke.... She started exhibiting more screaming that usual as of 3-4 days ago. As of this morning, overtime i walk into the living room she will start Crowing. Arrwk.... Arrwk..... Arrwk.... maybe 4-5 seconds in-between each screech. It is not super loud, but it is just non-stop. As soon as I leave the room she will stop. I am trying NOT to encourage this behavior, but walking away from her cage and ignoring her as i do other things in the living room or kitchen , she continues. Not sure why this came about, there have bene no major changes in the home or her environment or routine. She does appear to be molting, as per one of my previous posts.... so Unsure if maybe that is what is making her moody? The weird part is when i leave the room she quiets right down and won't make a peep until she seems me come into the living room???? She isn't being aggressive as she will still step up nicely no bite, and comes right out of the cage etc. I have noticed she appears to be regressing, in terms of her feeding. She is not attempting to "eat" from her bath spray bottle and occasionally even from my fingers as if she is getting formula, which she hasn't had for at least 2.5 months. So That's kinda weird?
ANY ONE OUT THERE HAVE ADVICE ?
 

Milo

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Hey could u help me I have a female eclectus and every time it's sees me it goes off and screams but when I go it's quite even if the family are walking around it's quite but if I carry it or go near it. It will look up can scream is that A bad sign?
Is there a pattern other then you being near? It sounds like something is setting him/her off and it could be something about your appearance or something else. Will he/she take treats from you?

@EsJ87 thanks! :)
 

Shinobi

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There is something about you setting off the bird and there are many triggers for screaming. what is different in your appearance to the rest of the family?
 

EsJ87

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Im just chiming in since i'm having the exact same problem. As far as I am aware - my appearance, clothing, hair, etc has not changed at all since the screaming began. She will still do it every time i am in few. No aggressive behaviors observed on her part - just a constant Caw....(4 seconds).... Caw.... etc forever. LOL ...
 

Milo

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Im just chiming in since i'm having the exact same problem. As far as I am aware - my appearance, clothing, hair, etc has not changed at all since the screaming began. She will still do it every time i am in few. No aggressive behaviors observed on her part - just a constant Caw....(4 seconds).... Caw.... etc forever. LOL ...
Is she begging?
 

EsJ87

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Is she begging?
What is begging? The only notable differences in her behavior is she's become extremely "needy". She will jump at the cage door when she seems me approaching, clearly demanding to be let out. She wasn't like that the entire time we've had her since we brought her home. She is also still eating fruit, veggies, and seed (her stable diet from the breeder)... At the advice of several ekkie owners, i also started to give her bean mix as of Tuesday of last week, and I was told to serve it warm. To try and diversify her food and continue to wean her off seeds. . .

I'm being told she's screaming to be formula/parent fed. and I've seen her do that chugging motion when my hand is too close to her beak in trying to comfort her. Someone told me I made the mistake of giving her warm food which may have re-activated her desire for formula... Either that or something scared her enough to regress. . . .

Some people say "feed her formula" again even tho she's been weaned off of it over over 2 months as a comfort thing. Others say, formula is like a "treat" and I should avoid doing so unless i want to essentially behaviorally reinforce her screaming as she will learn "I scream I get formula again"

. . . So I am really confused/frustrated and my husband has had about enough of it since this has been going on (and escalating significantly) since last Thursday.

Im going to take her to the vet on Saturday as that is the only time the AV is available for walk in appointments. But other then that I am at a loss.
 

EsJ87

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@Milo --- As an update from Wednesday - The screaming continues. She's now started to scream an ear-piercing screech when i go initially out of sight but she knows I am still there... Like if i open the pantry door and she can't see me, or if i go out into the garage to get something real quick. (She also is doing this when i blanket her at night to go to bed, which she's never done previous to this past week). Then once she seems me again - Its back to Normal level loud. If that makes any sense. I haven't removed the bean mix (Soak & Simmer) completely but am now serving it cold instead of warm to see if that makes any difference. Stools look normal, she is still eating normal as well. She can go on screaming for 2 hrs, takes a 15 min nap then wakes up and if we're in the room visible, starts all over again. Taking her in for a vet walk in with an Avian specialist tomorrow morning, but really doesn't seem like she is sick...
 

janicedyh

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Can you post the audio here? Eclectus have an ear piercing scream when they are afraid or upset. They also have a particular flock call which is not as loud. If I am out of the room and Dobey wants me he uses the flock call. If someone he doesn't like or someone causes him anxiety he screams. Usually its someone he doesn't know that comes to visit but I have known him to do it with people who are anxious around him ... I think they can pick up on how people are feeling pretty quickly.
 

EsJ87

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I will try to remember to take a video at some point. I've noticed she is more prone to remain quiet if I'm SILENT myself... But as soon as I offer a Hey Poppy or something she starts screeching again after a quiet lull. LOL I certainly can't remain quiet forever, or even for long periods of the day to please her. At this exact moment I've been relegated to my office with Poppy because my husband wanted some "quiet time" and so i was sequestered into a room with the bird (since we don't have an extra cage to put her in) while he napped :( ...Its been an hour....I can't really live like this for the foreseeable future. So really hoping i figure out what the issue is.

Upset would make sense because again it has so far only happened when i am around in the room and i go out of her view. So it does seem like a "HEY WHERE DID YOU GO LADY".... and then when i pop back into view its almost like ...okay will go back to regularly scheduled screaming. My husband and i and our 2 dogs are the only ones every around. So I am not sure that it would necessarily be a fear scream. and neither of us are anxious around her... maybe a little annoyed since last week but not afraid of her or anything like that?
 

Rolanda

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I know nothing about ekkies but in other babies it sounds (the Caw... Caw and chugging up and down) like she wants to be fed. A lot here are in favor of abundance weaning, and would say go ahead and feed them. My Mustache did a little regressing when I brought him home. I softened his pellets and spoon fed him until he didn't ask for it any longer.
 

janicedyh

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An audio would certainly help
 

EsJ87

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Just as an update - Poppy did have her first vet visit yesterday. Avian Vet stated she is healthy as a horse. Nothing wrong. That possibly she is just hungrier than usual due to all the new pin feathers she's got going on. Otherwise her stools look good, she's a good weight, no issues with heart, lungs, nose, eyes or talons, etc... She pointed to the screaming likely being completely of a behavioral nature. She also warmed me that should i decide to feed warm foods from a syringe or bent spoon I may in fact be reinforcing the screaming behavior. She recommended instead i simply remove the bean mix completely (not even serve cold)...Give her more seed to make up for that... and continue to watch to see if her behavior improves. I was also recommended to add Vitamin powder to her water as well as start to give a small amount of pellets along with her seeds. While we continue to work on the transition to chop/veggies.

...
There were unfortunately several changes that whole week when the behavior started which was a THURSDAY. So it will be hard to pinpoint exactly what triggered her or maybe it was everything all at once idk.

#1) My mother inlaw came to visit and stayed for a full week. . . Therefore Poppy got used to seeing person in her area 24/7 which is NOT the usual schedule around here. I work from home, but for the most part and shut in my office and I come out every few hours to have her out of cage for a few mins at a time. She left on a Tuesday.
#2) THAT same TUESDAY she left, i went and bought 2 new things which I started to feed her that same day. The first was I purchased dehydrated veggies (peas, carrots, corn, and red chilis). I started to give 1 tablespoon of this mix in with her regular seed that Afternoon. The 2nd was the bean mix, which i had soaking over night and cooked the following day to feed her (would've been wednesday)..
 

janicedyh

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Whoa...did the vet actually say vitamin powder and eclectus at the same time. Everything I have ever read says no to that one. Is he familiar with the species? Also the seed thing makes me wonder. Even though Dobey gets a little organic hulled millet I know no other person who has an Eclectus who thinks seeds are a good thing...unless its something like eating seeds from the fruit like pumpkin, guava, passiuon fruit etc. Please, give some input to this members who have Eclectus?
 

Milo

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More seed? Oof.... please do your bird a favor and just add some extra pellets or veggies!
 

janicedyh

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More seed? Oof.... please do your bird a favor and just add some extra pellets or veggies!
Doesn't the seed thing seem weird? And supplements? I think Eclectus 101 says that aint so
 

Milo

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Doesn't the seed thing seem weird? And supplements? I think Eclectus 101 says that aint so
It does seem weird, the seeds more so then the supplements. For those it depends on what camp you're in when it comes to eclectus diet. I feel like there would be too much guesswork in supplements (and we don't know which ones and what's in them) getting a bird on pellets is a much safer bet.

@EsJ87 what is poppys normal diet?
 

janicedyh

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I agree, I'm not a specialist but read as much as I can. Dobey does eat seeds but its seeds from his fruit. I do use milk thistle and a very small amount of hulled organic millet. Some can tolerate pellets and some can't. Dobey's limit is 3 or 4 pellets a day. I started giving him more because of a heavy molt but he quickly started toe tapping and wing flipping so I removed it completely for a short time and he is back to 3 or 4 per day. It was Harrisons course (unfortified). Its more of a fun thing to eat for him than a "real" part of his diet. There is nothing in his diet that a human could not eat. In fact, my adult children keep telling me I need to eat like Dobey : ) . His diet consist mainly of greens, a small amount of grain such as quinoa and sprouts. He has 3 fruits added to that per meal and I try to make at least one a "super food". Feeding an Eclectus is tricky but it gets easier when you know what to avoid. The whole pellet or not pellet is up to the individual and up to how the bird processes pellets. Milo asked a good question concerning Poppy's diet.
 

EsJ87

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It does seem weird, the seeds more so then the supplements. For those it depends on what camp you're in when it comes to eclectus diet. I feel like there would be too much guesswork in supplements (and we don't know which ones and what's in them) getting a bird on pellets is a much safer bet.

@EsJ87 what is poppys normal diet?
In case I didn't make it clear - The vet is ONLY suggesting more seed, since I'm removing the bean mix which I was giving about 1/4 cup of, and Poppy is currently flinging most other foods offered to her (fruit and veggies). This is why she suggested more seed for the time being, as well as the vitamins in the water so that I'm not inadvertently starving her. She did say ideally seeds shouldn't be more than 30% of diet, but if she isn't eating anything else better to add more seed then let her starve.

Her diet before the behavioral issues were mix of fruit in the AM (strawberry, mango, banana, a small cut up grape, watermelon, raspberries, blueberries, etc) whatever i have available at the time. Her 1 tablespoon of seed (sunflowers out) and 1 tablespoon of dehydrated peas/carrots/corn/red chili in the afternoon, then chopped fresh carrot and green bell peppers in the later afternoon, and if i had any sweet potato I'd throw that in the too.
 
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