Baby Ekkie Boy - Strange or Normal Behavior

cneuhauser

New member
Jul 9, 2020
91
19
Cary NC (hate it), LF Job in Moab UT or elsewhere
Parrots
Dusky Conure, Male Ekkie
Afternoon everyone, I just wanted to confirm with those of you that have had baby Ekkie (boys), some recent 'out of the ordinary' behavior... now keep in mind I've only had Comet since October 31st, so I might be the odd and overly protective one.

For the past four or five weeks Comet has been all love, and friendly; this hasn't changed. However, for the past six (6) weeks he has only mumbled or tried to talk... trying to mimic my "Hello"... "Love You"... etc. (I'm sure you folks know the child/girlie voice they make).

However, the last two evenings I've been getting the flock call almost constantly all evening. Even when I say "Hello"..."Love you" in a soft voice, I get the flock call back. He's a parrot, I expect that... but he's been doing it constantly (1hr straight every 15 seconds) so I'm just wondering if he's ok, if he's starting to hit puberty (born May 22, 2020). I also noticed the jerking of the head when I 'clean' his beak from all of the mess... pretty sure that's a baby/hormonal response, so no more cleaning the dirty beak with my hands... he gets the wash cloth. He also just "holds" my finger with his beak, no tongue dabs or anything, just holds it, not clamping down... almost like he's holding my hand. I've also noticed the destructible toys in his cage are being "chewed" but I'm not finding remnants of the destruction... worried maybe he's eating the straw/wood/hemp/cardboard?

I've already looked at his feet, looking for any soars, looked under his wings for any growths, checked his throat for any spots (he gets carrots and sweet potatos 3x's a week for the vitamin A), no toe tapping, and no wing flipping.

I realize I'm probably just being an over-reactive "parront"... just want to make sure he's not in any pain or discomfort. He's actually gaining weight, at about 1gram per day over the last month... started at 300grams when I got him and now his weight in the evenings right before a meal is around 330g.

Again... I'm probably just an overly dramatic parront. He seems fine otherwise, energetic, running around getting into things.
 

chris-md

Well-known member
Feb 6, 2010
4,349
2,119
Maryland - USA
Parrots
Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
At 6.5 months old I have a couple thoughts, none of which involve puberty so forget that - that won't come until 1.5-2 years of age depending on his subspecies:

1. How would you describe his weaning status? The calling could be demands for MORE handfeedings. Its not at all unusual to have a 7 month old still weaning. And the headbobs/jerks could be further indicative for that. Try giving hand feeding when this happens - assuming I'm correct, this is a case where you do NOT have to worry about accidentally reinforcing screaming behavior.

Has he at any point had a market REDUCTION in weight/is he fledged? As they fledge, they experience up to 10% reduction in body weight. If that hasn't happened yet, its a good indication you still need to handfeed when requested.

2. If hes fully weaned: right around the 1 year mark, give or take, ekkies can get VOCAL. Its a known occurance, theres nothing you can do but wait it out and keep earplugs handy. Its a phase, it will pass, but this is a phase you can inadvertently reinforce screaming so be cautious of how you handle this. Its not horribly unusual for this to start around 9-10 months, but 6.5 months is still a bit early for this phase to set in.

Basically, I'm betting its a weaning issue. But if you have health concerns, you might get him checked out by an avian vet just to be safe.
 
OP
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cneuhauser

New member
Jul 9, 2020
91
19
Cary NC (hate it), LF Job in Moab UT or elsewhere
Parrots
Dusky Conure, Male Ekkie
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At 6.5 months old I have a couple thoughts, none of which involve puberty so forget that - that won't come until 1.5-2 years of age depending on his subspecies:

1. How would you describe his weaning status? The calling could be demands for MORE handfeedings. Its not at all unusual to have a 7 month old still weaning. And the headbobs/jerks could be further indicative for that. Try giving hand feeding when this happens - assuming I'm correct, this is a case where you do NOT have to worry about accidentally reinforcing screaming behavior.

Has he at any point had a market REDUCTION in weight/is he fledged? As they fledge, they experience up to 10% reduction in body weight. If that hasn't happened yet, its a good indication you still need to handfeed when requested.

2. If hes fully weaned: right around the 1 year mark, give or take, ekkies can get VOCAL. Its a known occurance, theres nothing you can do but wait it out and keep earplugs handy. Its a phase, it will pass, but this is a phase you can inadvertently reinforce screaming so be cautious of how you handle this. Its not horribly unusual for this to start around 9-10 months, but 6.5 months is still a bit early for this phase to set in.

Basically, I'm betting its a weaning issue. But if you have health concerns, you might get him checked out by an avian vet just to be safe.

Thank you for the info and the more I think of it the more I believe you're correct. I think this may be a weening issue, though I thought he was completely weened prior to this, maybe he's reverting back a little. There's been no marked decrease in weight, in fact he's been slowly gaining weight. However, the head bobs do make me believe that's what he's looking for; I was also giving him pro-biotics for awhile at the Dr's request; and I was using that syringe up until last week, and/or placing the contents on my finger for him to lick off......damn, I wonder if that's the change... interesting...

The last two days were the first that he's also approached me after seeing "My Dinner", and I would assume he's both interested in it now, and wants me to hand feed him. I also noticed yesterday that when I put his dinner food bowl out he hesitated, then I put a little on my finger... and he jumped on the bowl. I'll sit down with him this evening and hand feed him some sweet potato and see how that goes.

As far as fledging goes, he can fly, and does it regularly... just so I come and pick him up (his flights were trimmed slightly by the breeder). So it's more like gliding after a brief push off point, then soaring about 15ft or so... but if he really tries he can get some lift.

Lastly... I believe the pro-biotics were for bacteria in his gut? (at least that's what I recall) could he need another round?

**Edit: I keep forgetting to add information. He's currently eating just about anything put in front of him (he's a pig, seriously), any form of chop I put in front of him he goes face first into (to the point of fumbling off his perch sometimes). He's also a fan of Tops Pellets, as I do place an extra bowl of that in his cage as a safety net in case he gets really hungry. Interestingly enough he actually likes to mix the two of them, so combine the wetness of the chop with the crunchyness of the pellets and he goes berserk. The only stunning/ironic thing is that he does NOT like pasta... my previous bird thought pasta was the 2nd coming of Christ, and complete nirvana. I pretty much ate the pasta out of his first batch of chop and he just watched like "no thanks, that's gross"
 
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