Advice pleeaaasssee

Hi. My ecky rocky is 6 months old now. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old. I still hand feed him formula once a day and he has his fruits and veggies fresh everyday. No seed or pellets. My problem is that he won't stop screaming and squawking when ever he sees me. We had him inside our house from the beginning. The squawking/screaming out for me became unbearable so now his cage is outside. When he was inside we would try as much as we can to ignore him when he got crazy. We would move or cover his cage. Isolate him and try and when he would go quiet we would approach and say good boy but then he'd just go nuts. Now my wife made me move him outside. It kills me but we have a new born and the screaming is too much for us. When I feed him his formula he usually goes quiet after it. I try and randomize the time I feed him, sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the evening. He likes to come out of his cage and sit with me. Lets me pat him. What's a good way to teach him how to talk??? Maybe we can change the screaming to talking and that way we can move him back inside. Please any advice would be sooooo appreciated.

well i have not had the opertunity to try this but i would like to try it so i dont know if it would work but its worth a try so here goes! maybe if you but a big bird safe toy bell thats not too loud, but loud enough for you to hear it, and every time he rings the bell go to his cage and give him his favorite treat and talk to him a little bit. if it goes according to plan, he will ring the bell to get your attention instead of screaming. hope i helped and good luck!
oh and congrats on your new baby !

Do you let him out on to a playgym in the area where the activity is? Also only get him out of his cage when he is acually being quiet, and make a noise that signifies your presence and eventually he'll use that noise to get your attention. Just make sure to make that noise back at him if you can't get him out or pick him up. I usually make three kissy noises like calling a dog and they pick up on it. It takes a while but it works. I'm training my baby eclectus to do it right now and he's starting to pick up on it. Plus I'd start offering him some pellets and go easy on the fresh fruit, it can make them hormonal. I feed mine fresh veggies and dried fruit and occasional nuts for treats. The myth about pellets and toe tapping with Eclectus is just that, a myth. We feed Roudybush California Blend to our Eclectus and he thrives on it. The former AFA pres. started that rumor and she's been put in her place a time or three for starting that crap rumor years ago. Funny thing is, she now feeds her personal Eclectus Roudybush pellets! I'm an AFA member and I'm friends with alot of the higher ups, so I get the inside scoop on some juicy news occasionally!lol

Perhaps you need to feed pellets. I too formula fed my cag. She would make lots of noise when she wanted her formula. I started to wean her to every other day. If your bird would wean then I predict that the screaming everytime he saw you would cease. It stopped for us. I am not familiar with eckies only amazons and cags. Is it normal for them to still be on formula at 6 mos? By then my cag (this is how old she is now) was weaned. I would give pellets in the morning when he is hungry and then see what happens. Perhaps you can try to skip feeds or if you are on one go to every other day. I also agree that you need to give him time to be on a play gym, tree etc. Do not however take him out unless he is quiet! Good luck, I'm sure it is nerve wracking!

Huss said:

Hi. My ecky rocky is 6 months old now. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old. I still hand feed him formula once a day and he has his fruits and veggies fresh everyday. No seed or pellets. My problem is that he won't stop screaming and squawking when ever he sees me. We had him inside our house from the beginning. The squawking/screaming out for me became unbearable so now his cage is outside. When he was inside we would try as much as we can to ignore him when he got crazy. We would move or cover his cage. Isolate him and try and when he would go quiet we would approach and say good boy but then he'd just go nuts. Now my wife made me move him outside. It kills me but we have a new born and the screaming is too much for us. When I feed him his formula he usually goes quiet after it. I try and randomize the time I feed him, sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the evening. He likes to come out of his cage and sit with me. Lets me pat him. What's a good way to teach him how to talk??? Maybe we can change the screaming to talking and that way we can move him back inside. Please any advice would be sooooo appreciated.

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Huss there isn't anything wrong giving eclectus small parrot seed & pellets. In fact i mix the two together. You eclectus would benefit from 1 tablespoon of seed & pellet blend a day. Also balance his diet better, they don't just live on fruit & veg they must have raw nut, sprouts. And a heap of other foods offered.

Maybe this link will the cover the variety of food you can offer.

diets

I feed my eclectus almost all the foods that are recommended in the link.

As far as the screaming goes I am afraid it's a learned behavior or your bird is hungry.

Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Parrots and Noise

Check this link out as well.

When i am rearing eclectus babies i don't over handle them & I teach them right from the beginning that noise isn't how they get my attention. They learn very young to entertain themselves & be independent.

A couple more links that may also help. This link has heaps of great info on behavior.

Companion Parrot Behavior

Good news is there is a light at the end of the tunnel all you have to do is teach your parrot what is acceptable & what isn't.

Hope you get something from these links anyway.

Good Luck.

Gosh thats so tough to have to seeh im outside by himself. Especially since parrots are flock animals and don't like being alone. You and your family are his flock. My ekki is almost 6 months now. He was weaned at about 3 1/2 months. He was loud for a bit around that time. He is quiet as a lamb now...for the most part. Give what everyone is suggesting a try. Good luck

I do try and give pellets and seeds but he won't touch them. How can I get him to at least try them???

Will he take food out of your hand? When I rescued my amazon she was on a horrible diet of only seed. She would have nothing to do with healthy food. My avian vet recommended that I start feeding all food by hand. Of course this took forever but quickly taught Kiwi to try healthy food. I am not suggesting that you only feed your baby by hand however, if you start off the morning (pull all food at night) then sit quietly and feed the pellets by hand. Maybe it will seem more appealing. I also don't leave food at all times for my birds. They don't have food available in the wild at all time. They have to forage for it. I feed in the morning the food that they seem less thrilled about but that I want them to have in their diet. This way they are hungry in the morning and then they will try the food. I then give them another bit of food usually some pellet mixed with a few nuts and some other fun bits for them while they are playing on their tree in the after noon. They then get some other type of food (sometime our dinner or more pellets, more vegetables, depends on what they have had during the day) I am careful about not regimenting my cags diet too much, I like her to keep trying new things at different times. I think this helps her to kind of "flow with it" however I do try to give her at least two of her meals with familiar foods from the days before if that makes sense. What I would do is to start the day with hand feeding the pellets, probably will chew up and let most drop out however within a few days he will probably start ingesting more and more. Then I would give the vegetables later in the day and hand feed the pellets throughout the day. I would have at this point pellets in a bowl available after your initial morning feed. I would then start to wean to every other day and then to no formula. It is hard but I think that staying outside alone is not a good alternative. I would bring him in and eat at the same time you are handing over the pellets. Perhaps cut up some toast or pretzels that resemble the pellets it might make him think he is getting what your eating, this always makes my two more interested! Good luck!

What's the best way to wean him and get him started on

Offer him noodles, brown rice, fruits, veggies, sprouts, hot peppers (the hotter the better). They LOVE pomagranate too. They are supposed to get most of their daily protein from noodles and brown rice.

If he is screaming the way Stewie was while he was getting formula I can't imagine how bad it is for you since he is much older now. Louder and pushier.

If you can get him to where he is eatting and keeping himself full and hydrated you can just take away the evening feeding. I was worried to do it at first but eventually Stewie didn't even cry for it. He is definately old enough to be weaned...though different species of ekkis wean at different ages.

Hello, i have a 6 month old eclectus and we went through exactly the same thing, we did absoutly nothing different when he was screaming and after lots of headaches and being very very paitent is has now stopped for the past few weeks.. im thinking that its just part of a stage they go through kinda like a baby crying.. Fingers crossed my boy had outgrown it now

I'm not at all trying to be harsh, but I think maybe you have stunted his independence a bit by still hand feeding. He is old enough to be eating on his own. Pellets are wonderful and you can get a good mix of dried fruit and veggies in with a healthy seed mix. I would suggest offering both as well as the fresh stuff everyday and stop with the hand feeding. In my opinion the Zupreme pellets are easily welcomed by most parrots. They have a few different flavors as well.

I think if your bird was less dependent on you for feeding he may be less vocal in trying to get your attention. Does he have lots of toys to keep himself busy with and entertained?

Good Luck!

Just remember, eclectus have diferent needs for foods rather than other parrots. They are supposed to only have seeds as a treat otherwise they can develope problems. I have herd some say that with pellets also, but other people have success with pellets. I found one place that makes a special eclectus pellet though.

MissyMe83 said:

I'm not at all trying to be harsh, but I think maybe you have stunted his independence a bit by still hand feeding. He is old enough to be eating on his own. Pellets are wonderful and you can get a good mix of dried fruit and veggies in with a healthy seed mix. I would suggest offering both as well as the fresh stuff everyday and stop with the hand feeding. In my opinion the Zupreme pellets are easily welcomed by most parrots. They have a few different flavors as well.

I think if your bird was less dependent on you for feeding he may be less vocal in trying to get your attention. Does he have lots of toys to keep himself busy with and entertained?

Good Luck!

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I give him heaps of fruit and veges and he gobbles it all up. I try and put a little mix of pellets through his food but he won't touch it. And then by the end of the day he still wants more. If I put more food he won't touch it he wants me to hand feed him. I tried hand feeding fruits and veg but he won't touch it. I try hand feeding him pellets and that aswell he won't touch. But if I bring his formula it's gone in one minute. He has a big cage. Three different bowls of food. And heaps of toys that I rotate weekly. What's the best way to teach them to talk. If I substitute screaming with talking I'd love it.

I give him heaps of fruit and veges and he gobbles it all up. I try and put a little mix of pellets through his food but he won't touch it. And then by the end of the day he still wants more. If I put more food he won't touch it he wants me to hand feed him. I tried hand feeding fruits and veg but he won't touch it. I try hand feeding him pellets and that aswell he won't touch. But if I bring his formula it's gone in one minute. He has a big cage. Three different bowls of food. And heaps of toys that I rotate weekly. What's the best way to teach them to talk. If I substitute screaming with talking I'd love it.

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Well it sounds like you're sure trying....hmmm. What kind of pellets have you offered? I bought little amounts of several different kinds of pellets to see what my bird liked. I hoped he'd like the organic and colorless ones as much as the fruity and harvest feast Zupreme brand, but I didn't have any luck. Perhaps the pellets that you offered just didn't agree with his taste buds ; )
I would suggest bringing him back in the house with you if possible. What is your daily routine like? Are you home most of the day? Perhaps give him a handfeeding early in the morning, but taper off a little each day to eventually wean him off. After the hand feeding introduce the fresh veggies and fruits as well as several types of pellets. The more hungry he is, the more apt he is to atleast taste them. That's why I think the hand feeding is hurting the cause... Does he like to come out of the cage? Does he have a stand or playtop that he can hang out on during the day? Something to entertain himself with, but also feel like he's a part of what's going on around you. I would think that would help with the constant calling/begging. I think it can be helped, slowly but surely. Also, do you cover his cage with a dark sheet at night? You may get somewhere covering the cage at the times that he's in and making a fuss by covering him up. I've heard that many birds quiet down once their cage is covered.

Also, fyi...you can buy small amounts of different pellets online. Find one that he likes that way... Mysafebirdstore offers bulk pellets of most kinds by the pound for around $4 or less.

I agree it may also be a matter of finding the "right" pellet. My Blue Crown conure was really hard to convert. It didn't matter that she saw the other conure eat them, or me eat them. I just kept trying different ones and it was the Zupreem fruity ones that attracted her. They did not attract my amazon though. With him it was the cube shaped Harrison's.

It would be nice if they were all eating the same ones, but I'm just happy they are all on pellets.

Chances are your vet has small sample packs they can give you as well.

You moved your bird outside, because you have a new baby? You were already pregnant, when you got the bird.. Now you have a screaming baby as well as a screaming bird...

If you can't stand the screaming you'll have to rehome one of them, and it obviously can't be the baby...

Try and find a good home for the bird, someone that would really appreciate it...

I know I'm a grumpy old lady... lol