My baby cockatiel keeps screaming?

Ng.x.art

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Jun 21, 2018
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I currently have a cockatiel and I've had him for a week now. From what we've been told he's a month and a half old. He's currently going through weaning as we are handfeeding him but there's something that bothers me. He keeps screaming. After being hand fed he continues to scream. If he is left alone in his cage he climbs up and down in an urge to be let out and chirps instead of screaming. But once the door is open he will fly to me and continue to scream. I bring him with me to do computerwork, thinking he will eventually calm down, but he continues to scream. Even goes as far as getting of my shoulder onto my keyboard to get my attention. (As I was typing this he did so aswell) If he's not hungry , and lack of attention isn't the problem. What is?
 

eagle18

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I have one Umbrella, a Bare Eye, and two budgies.
That sounds like he is still hungry. Are you sure he is getting enough food?
 

itzjbean

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He should be getting 10-11% of his body weigh per feeding, I hope you have been weighing him on a gram scale daily to monitor his growth.

What you describe is completely normal weaning baby cockatiel behavior. At 1 1/2 months he is still learning how to be a bird, still needs formula and they don't really understand being in a cage by themselves, they want to be with you, cuddling and exploring the world.

While baby cockatiels are adorable, purchasing an unweaned baby is generally frowned upon in this community as sometimes problems arise in the weaning process and babies easily end up dying because people don't understand why it is so important to buy a weaned baby that eats totally on its own. So many things can go wrong, and an experienced breeder would understand that this screaming is normal and nothing to be worried about. You should be socializing with him as much as possible, getting him used to human touch and beginning to get different perches to help him climb from the bottom of the cage to the top easily. He will also being to fledge, and will need to start eating solid foods, if you haven't already offered them, spray millet and soft foods like beans, fresh veggies and mushed up pellets will help entice him to start trying new foods.
 

Sunnyclover

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My Nanday Conure did that when he was weening. He would do the "feed me" cry all hours of the day even if he's just eaten. He would also cling to his cage in the direction I was in and beg
to be let out and he grew out of that in about 3 weeks after I got him around the time he was on one feeding a day.
 

EllenD

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You have to realize that an unweaned bird knows nothing at all of what a cage is...If he was still with his breeder he would just be getting put into his "Weaning Cage", which is a cage that consists of many different sizes and materials of perches, different types of food and water bowls, dishes, and bottles, different ladders, etc. This is how unweaned birds learn to live inside a cage, learn to perch, learn to play with toys, learn how to eat solid food out of a dish, etc. Your bird likely has no idea at all what is going on right now, as he went from being inside a Brooder to being put inside a big-bird's cage...

Please get a digital kitchen scale, as Itzjbean suggested, and be very sure to weigh him every day to make sure that he's gaining weight, or rather not losing any...And are you feeling his crop after every formula-feeding to make sure it's full? It should feel like a tight balloon, but sill have a bit of give to it...

Also, have you started giving him solid food to start learning about yet? Starting by giving him a millet-spray inside of his cage is the best way to start, if he hasn't already started to pick at pellets, seeds, fresh veggies, etc.
 
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Ng.x.art

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Yes I have been making sure his crop is full. Even so he still continues to beg. We have a few other members in the family who play with him and pet him and he never screams. But whenever he sees me he screams and tries to fly to me if I’m not at arm’s reach. I have been told that buying unweaned babies is not a good thing, I’m not planning to do it again. I bought him unweaned because I was unaware of how hard it is to take care of baby birds and how dangerous it can be for the bird itself if I don’t take care of it nicely. This is why I’m approaching people who have handled baby birds for help. He had his first visit to the vet last thursday to make sure he was alright and everything was in order. So it isn’t an illness. So I still don’t understand why he continued to scream so much even if he’s by my side.
 

Sunnyclover

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Sounds exactly like my Finley was! Only screamed for me and begged for me. It's just a phase. He thinks you're his Mommy!
 

EllenD

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Yes, this is just a very young baby bird's normal behavior. Yet another reason to never buy an unweaned bird. It's very good you took him to a vet for a wellness exam (hopefully a Certified Avian Vet). Just make sure that his crop is full, and just as important is making sure that his crop is ALMOST empty in-between daily feedings, and COMPLETELY empty before his first morning feeding. Otherwise the formula will spoil in his crop and result in an infection, usually fungal...But it sounds like he's just a typical, very, very young baby bird...
 

wrench13

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You are getting sound advice, NH X. Let's see some pics of your little guy
 

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