New owner help

Hey all,

My wife and I picked up a female eclectic 3 months ago. She was almost here years old and we brought her into a very busy household.

We have three children (12, 10, 5) two dogs, and two cats and when we got Stella we also picked up a Quaker parrot.

We currently are struggling a bit with Stella due to never ending flock calls. Our neighbors have even complained about it. I travel quite a bit and my wife is getting majorly frustrated. I think when she isn't flock calling we like her quite a bit. When I am home on the flock calling isn't quite as significant but mainly because when she does I pop her on my shoulder so my wife doesn't continue to press me to get rid of her.

Aside from the flock calling we struggle to get her to vocalize. She only will do it when we aren't in the room and we aren't quite sure why. We have lots of questions we would love to ask and learn provided I can determine a solution to the flock call.

If anyone has some suggestions would love to hear them. I would really love to keep her but I'm having a hard time defending the constant flock calls.

Thanks in advance

Mike & Jessica

Welcome.
I have no advice... I caved in years ago. The Rb rules the roost.
But I hope others here will have more help for you.
I hope so very much that there is a good solution for you AND the bird (s).

Hi, Mike and Jessica, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!

As for the problem you're having with Stella's flock calling, I'd lean toward the extinction and differential reinforcement techniques. These methods are very well described in this article by Barbara Heidenreich: Barbara's Force Free Animal Training Talk: Stop your Parrot from Screaming for Attention It is a VERY worthwhile read and geared specifically toward situations like yours. Just remember that it's not an overnight fix. It will require patience and consistency on the parts of each person in your household. But I do believe it can help.

Welcome! I wouldnt focus on vocalizing (talking) right now--personal opinion here. Not all Ekkies are public talkers, and it can become a "be careful what you wish for" parrot trick. I call it a parrot trick because that's the first thing Im asked about Wrangler, and to be honest I dont care if he ever says a word---he is a skilled communicator in his own language of grunts, chirps, growls, peeps, clicks, etc....there is never any doubt what he thinks or wants--and it's my relationship with him that I value more than a few words and phrases he might say to entertain others. Just curious, where do you keep Stella that she feels the need to call out? Is it possible to move her into a more central area of the home where she feels more included? Ekkies are very social and appreciate being part of the flock. Mine only calls out when he cant see me--which is rare when Im home. I either call back "Im right here" to let him know I hear him but cant be with him, or I take him to the room Im working in---I have a small stand in every room in the house. I use jewelry/necklace stands, they're portable and not expensive. Just like our shepherd who wants to be near us (cant guard the flock/herd if you're in another room!), I pretty much treat Wrangler the same but make accomodations for the fact that he is clipped and doesnt have 4 paw-drive.

Im not a training expert but trying to get her to vocalize at the same time you are trying to reduce flock calling could be counterproductive and confusing to Stella. You've got years to work on vocalizing--so focus on proper bird behaviour first.

OP, you sure you AND your wife picked up Stella? You have a pretty long road here to gt her to stop calling, and as has been said all must work with this issue. Your wife must be on board with any training, or conditioning put into place, and sorry, if she is already talking about getting rid of Stella, this does not bode well. The basic method is to ignore the flock calls, after you or your wife have acknowledged that you hear her and ask her right back "whaere are you?". Only coming back into the room after she is quiet, even for the smallest time, or chages to a quieter chattering Not giving in to constant calls. The bird is trying to maintain contact with her flock.

Is there reason for her to be nervous about being with he flock? When she is left alone in the house, is she reassured that you or wife will be back soon? She is a part of the family now, you wouldnt leave a 3 yr old alone , right? Any time she is left alone, reassure her that you'll be back in ****** time. Wife too!

Hope this helps.

Also, your engaging in 911 behaviour. Popping her on your shoulder when she calls is only teaching her to call more. Observe the disipline.

Thanks for all the useful feedback. We have been trying to not respond to the 911 today and although the calling got worse it seemed she started to get the point and tried whistlin and saying hello to get us to come back.

Because our house is so busy we didn't start her out inside of all our chaos. We have had her out in the open in the middle of the house for 6 weeks or so now. There is a male eclectus for sale close to us and not sure if that would help. It may be throwing gas on the fire. We are hoping to use the feedback provided here to help.

If you've read the link to the article I provided, you'll see how big a step it was that she began whistling and saying hello to get your attention. That's HUGE, in fact. Whenever those moments occur, you have to seize upon them. Immediately go over to her and reward the behavior. Parrots learn through association. So if you can forge the association in her mind between certain types of sounds having a positive effect and others driving you out of the room, she'll eventually gravitate toward the positive effect noises. But consistency is key, here. Consistency and readily available treats.

As for another bird, I'd hold off on that. you and your wife are still trying to work things out with this one.

As an interested lurker, thanks for the link Anansi!

Mzinga - your latest update sounds like a perfect example of the process described in that article, down to the "extinction burst" of intensified calling. I made a little "aww!" noise when I read your last post - she sounds like a lovely bird who is very willing to understand and cooperate with the rules of her new flock!

Right, no extra parrot. You could have 2X the problem, and have to split your time between 2 birds. They could hate each other , too.

that's not gas on the fire, that's an atomic bomb at this point!

Okay figured an extra bird may not be the right solution at the right time.

We did struggle late in the evening as the duration between screeches dropped to 1-3 seconds and would be like for 2-3 minutes straight. I lost my patience and put her in the cage as she wouldn't stop so I could give her positive reinforcement. Hopefully that didn't undo the progress we made yesterday. I could tell this morning she was a bit upset with me for our disagreement last night.

That isn't"positive reinforcement", it's negative reinforcement and just telling her that her own cage is punishment. You have to stick with the plan and not lose your patience, otherwise it will only continue to get worse.

How much attention do you pay the bird? How many hours per day of out of cage time does she get? How many hours of direct interaction does she get with you and/or your wife? Is her cage in the main living room of your house, so that she is among her flock even if you're not directly interacting with her? When she is calling for you, where is she and where are you or your wife at? These are the answers we need to help you.

I find it odd that she was continually calling you for 2-3 minute intervals at evening when you were home...Why was she not with you if you were home? I'm starting to see the problem, as she is obviously in a different room from you when you're home in the evening? And how long during the day prior to this was she alone?

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

talking has been a funny thing around my house i now have 3 talkers, and none will talk on command, they talk when they want to which is ok by me. when they are learning to say something it is kinda cool because they seem to practice when the cage is covered and when they figure it out i will see them doing it in the open. to be honest commend talking is over rated. i get the most enjoyment out of when it just happens, dont even bother me when Sammy goes into his cussing rant always directed towards me.lol