All My Baby Eclectus Does is Scream

jgourd · Jan 4, 2011

I hand fed my baby until about a week ago. Now she gets warm weaning pellets for five minutes in the morning and that is taken away and she gets warm veggies and fruit on top of all natural Harrisons ZuPreem mixture. When eating she screams the whole time. When she is done she still screams when she sees me. We'll play for an hour and the whole time she just screams like a hungry baby.

Is this going to stop soon?

Cowtown · Jan 4, 2011

I wish I could help you I did not get Abby until she was 12 weeks old.

Sounds like she wants to be near you but I could be wrong.

greycloud · Jan 4, 2011

How old is she? Sounds as if she is not wanting to be weaned yet. It is very important to not force wean her. I would offer her a bedtime feeding and morning feeding for a bit.

Chris Winkler · Jan 4, 2011

greycloud said:
How old is she? Sounds as if she is not wanting to be weaned yet. It is very important to not force wean her. I would offer her a bedtime feeding and morning feeding for a bit.

Yes she is screaming for the feedings I would bet..

jgourd · Jan 6, 2011

It is mostly during feedings. In the morning she gets weaning pellets softened and warm for five minutes, then I take them away and replace with a big bowl of fruit and warm veggies. At night she gets just the veggies and fruit. She is over four months old and doesn't seem to want to wean at all. Throughout the day she has access to Harrison's formula so she does have food all day if she wants it. Her brother (who went to a different home) weaned right away.

Chris Winkler · Jan 6, 2011

They all wean at different rates. My Echo is a TAG and he didn't fully wean until almost 7 months of age. Tobi my Eckie weaned at 3 1/2 months. Way sooner then I had expected.

Please don't push the weaning. It is vital for her health both physically and emotionally. Give some comfort feedings until she turns her head at them.. It will happen in time. Don't rush it she is only going to be a baby once.

jgourd · Jan 7, 2011

She is totally a sweet little bird. She flies to me when I say "come Violet" and the other day I fell asleep while she was on my chest and she defended me against my sister and fiancée. I am harness training her so we can go outside together.

Today I did away with the weaning pellets altogether. She is now on just fruits and veggies which she eats up like crazy. I have a third bowl in her house that just has Harrison's which she will eat throughout the day but still, just the "I'm hungry" screaming when I walk in the room or take her out. We took her to a vet for a "warranty checkup" and the vet even said she was impressed at how sweet she was and how impressed that she tolerated being toughed everywhere.

We took her and out baby Gala on a road trip for Christmas and she did great. In her travel cage she was trying all kinds of new vocalizations.

I am sure over time she will stop the screaming but for now it is a challenge to hang out with her with that screaming in my ear.

Chris Winkler · Jan 8, 2011

Why did you ask our opinions if your not going to acknowledge what has been said? If she is screaming regardless of how much she is eating she still wants the feedings.

jgourd · Jan 8, 2011

My behaviorist told me she is spoiled. She eats everything we put in front of her. I will whatever anyone suggests including going back to hand feedings if I have to.

Pedro · Jan 8, 2011

If she is still wanting hand-rearing formula i would only give it to her early evening to settle her down for the night. Eclectus are clever, they learn very early how to get our attention.

If your Behaviorist has told you she is spoilt i would be working very hard to fix the screaming before it becomes a really bad behavior. I would follow his instructions. What has he told you to do to stop the screaming. I am sure he would have given you a few ideas.

Chris Winkler · Jan 8, 2011

jgourd said:
My behaviorist told me she is spoiled. She eats everything we put in front of her. I will whatever anyone suggests including going back to hand feedings if I have to.

Behaviorist?

She is still very much a baby. I don't agree with her being spoiled at all. She is a BABY. Like I had said my Echo wanted feedings till he was 7 months old.

Its called abundance weaning and is extreamly important for her to wean when she's ready not when your "behaviorist" thinks so.. forced weaning can cause several behavioral issues that can be detrimental when she is older.

Chris Winkler · Jan 8, 2011

Winged Wisdom Pet Bird magazine ezine - Bountiful Weaning produces quality pet birds and parrots

Here is an article for you to read.

Below is just one quote from this page.

If all handfeeders used a bountiful weaning program, there would be fewer birds who needed rescuing. Fewer birds who were abused or neglected. Fewer birds who were naked, screaming, and isolated. How can it not be a better world when a bird has one permanent home and is a calm, trusting, well-behaved, and well-loved member of the family?

Something to think about!!

Pedro · Jan 8, 2011

I guess the only way to find out if she is indeed hungry is to put her back on formula, if she refuses to eat it, then i would assume she is screeming for Attention.

In all honesty an Eclectus baby is well and truly weaned by 16 weeks old. However some do & will eat formula as long as offered.

I have 4 chicks ATM 2 approx 16 weeks that are weaned & 2 younger that are having 2 feeds a day. I do have a bit of a squark now & then but as soon as i feed them all is quiet again even if i approach their cage.

Oh & Chris i never force wean any of my chicks they are never sold until they have been independant for a month.

Chris Winkler · Jan 8, 2011

Pedro said:
Oh & Chris i never force wean any of my chicks they are never sold until they have been independant for a month.

A month! That's awesome.. so many breeders are selling their chicks within a week of weaning.

Pedro, It is wonderful

that you make 100% certainty that they are ready to go. I wish more breeders would do the same thing.

jgourd · Jan 10, 2011

I'll read the article. She is back on the pellets. What my behaviorist told me to do was give her weaning formula in the morning and take it away after five minutes. Then give her a veggie / fruit / pellet mix. At night she gets just veggies and fruit. I observed her eating yesterday closely and she was gnawing on the veggies and not actually swallowing them.

Today the veggies are squash which is nice and soft and she seems to be eating that along with some chopped melon. She was actually quiet this morning while eating. I do not think I need to return to hand feeding the weaning pellets as she eats them up out of a bowl just fine.

She also just beginning to try new vocalizations when she is hanging out with me which is cool.

jgourd · Jan 14, 2011

SHE WEANED!!!
Yesterday she only ate a few weaning pellets. When we were hanging out downstairs she was acting very independently, flying around and exploring like she never did before. This morning, she turned her nose on the pellets altogether. She eats quietly even when I am in the room.

Now to figure out what she will work for as a training treat.

As an aside, my Military Macaw has become such a fast learner that I am literally teaching a new trick every two days.

charliebrown · Jan 17, 2011

Charlie LOVES pomagrante... He figured out how to climb up his new rope toy and to the top of his new wooden perch in a matter of minutes to get to the pomagrante treat at the top... They are going out of season but if you can find some try that but be warned they make a huge mess with them.

jgourd · Jan 18, 2011

She seems to go for grapes the most.

lorel · Feb 6, 2014

:red:So my baby eclectus does the same thing. she is 16 weeks old this week. She eats on her own just fine and always has a bowl of fresh fruits and veggis available throughout the day as well as some pellets and seeds. I hand fed her, and she only cries at me, I know she is still a baby, but it does get frustrating. She has said "I love you" twice to me and can copy words and sounds when she feels like it, which is not often. The vet said she should be fully weaned by now and is totally healthy. She is a great bird otherwise and is snuggly right now and is learning tricks like laying on her back and I am harness training her. Any advice at all would be appreciated,,,:red:

Sadie13 · Feb 6, 2014

my boy was late to be weaned.
I have read that you should never force them to be done weaning.
We gave our boy "comfort feedings" once in the morning and once at night along with his regular food. He just stopped asking for it one day.
I dont know how true it is, but i have heard that if you wean them before they are ready you will get emotional issues in the long run.

All My Baby Eclectus Does is Scream

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