Eclectus' constant screaming

[Wilsoon]

Hi, to start off, I'm rather desperate on trying to find a way to help discourage my eclectus from screaming. I live in Singapore, in one of the many skyscrapers here. I'm totally unsure of how my eclectus' condition is like as I found it while it was lost (it probably flew away from its previous owner's home) and did not find any missing posters regarding it. However, I can tell that he currently has a plucking issue and he seems to constantly want to pluck his feathers, as well as scream, very loudly.
I'm unsure of what to do with him as the screaming has become so loud (even the neighbouring blocks can hear) and the neighbours are also complaining about him.

 

[Wildplasser]

Search on you tube for eclectus diets. And try to find a mate from the opposite sex. Eclectus are not suitable for keeping alone. A pair is more quiet then a single bird. Females (the red ones) are more difficult then males to keep.

 

[Wilsoon]

Search on you tube for eclectus diets. And try to find a mate from the opposite sex. Eclectus are not suitable for keeping alone. A pair is more quiet then a single bird. Females (the red ones) are more difficult then males to keep.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I realised that the eclectus I have is female, considering how it's a red color bird with a shade of blue. I'm currently feeding her sunflower seeds and also a pellet mix, but I have also come to realise that eclectuses should have fresh fruits as their daily diet instead of pellets and seeds, so I am also trying to get fruits that are suitable for the eclectus.
I'm unsure of how old she is, but I also have another painted conure which is almost 2 years old now, but she doesn't really seem to get along with the conure very well (She constantly tries to bite the conure whenever he gets near her)

 

[BirdyBee]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I realised that the eclectus I have is female, considering how it's a red color bird with a shade of blue. I'm currently feeding her sunflower seeds and also a pellet mix, but I have also come to realise that eclectuses should have fresh fruits as their daily diet instead of pellets and seeds, so I am also trying to get fruits that are suitable for the eclectus.
I'm unsure of how old she is, but I also have another painted conure which is almost 2 years old now, but she doesn't really seem to get along with the conure very well (She constantly tries to bite the conure whenever he gets near her)

Hi, I suggest you read this thread for diet information for eclectuses:

The Eclectus Diet: The Do's, the Don'ts, and Everything You Need to Know But Were Too Afraid to Ask

The eclectus diet; much talked-about, always poorly understood. This post will have three objectives: Explain the dos and don’ts of feeding your eclectus Relate it to wild eclectus feeding behavior Examine the discussion surrounding their physiology, and what makes them unique among parrot...

www.parrotforums.com

 

[cytherian]

Hi, to start off, I'm rather desperate on trying to find a way to help discourage my eclectus from screaming. I live in Singapore, in one of the many skyscrapers here. I'm totally unsure of how my eclectus' condition is like as I found it while it was lost (it probably flew away from its previous owner's home) and did not find any missing posters regarding it. However, I can tell that he currently has a plucking issue and he seems to constantly want to pluck his feathers, as well as scream, very loudly.
I'm unsure of what to do with him as the screaming has become so loud (even the neighbouring blocks can hear) and the neighbours are also complaining about him.

How long ago was the bird lost? If these skyscraper residential buildings are pretty common, maybe they all have a bulletin board near the lobby area? I'm guessing that's what you checked for anyone who may have posted about a missing bird. Maybe you should try making your own--"found this female Eclectus, here's a photo. Is she yours?" Having a bird like this is a pretty notable investment. You have to have a decent large cage for it, plenty of toys, necessary food, and provide attentiveness. Losing such a bird is a big deal.

Btw, how long after you found the bird did you get a cage for it?

 

[Wilsoon]

How long ago was the bird lost? If these skyscraper residential buildings are pretty common, maybe they all have a bulletin board near the lobby area? I'm guessing that's what you checked for anyone who may have posted about a missing bird. Maybe you should try making your own--"found this female Eclectus, here's a photo. Is she yours?" Having a bird like this is a pretty notable investment. You have to have a decent large cage for it, plenty of toys, necessary food, and provide attentiveness. Losing such a bird is a big deal.

Btw, how long after you found the bird did you get a cage for it?

While these skyscrapers are normal, not every one of them contains a bulletin board, so any missing posters are usually just randomly pasted around the blocks within a certain radius. I've made a lost and found bird poster, but the issue is that when I found the bird, she didn't seem to have any form of ID ring, so I'm unsure of who it really belongs to.

I'm not sure when the bird was lost, but I found it on the 18th of February 2022. I also have spare cages that aren't unoccupied so I managed to get her into a cage immediately, but I felt that she didn't really liked being enclosed in a cage, so I just placed her on a perch with food, water and a few chewables instead.

 

[Wilsoon]

Hi, I suggest you read this thread for diet information for eclectuses:

The Eclectus Diet: The Do's, the Don'ts, and Everything You Need to Know But Were Too Afraid to Ask

The eclectus diet; much talked-about, always poorly understood. This post will have three objectives: Explain the dos and don’ts of feeding your eclectus Relate it to wild eclectus feeding behavior Examine the discussion surrounding their physiology, and what makes them unique among parrot...

www.parrotforums.com

I'll take a look at this, thanks

 

[Wilsoon]

This is what she looks like, for anyone curious:

 

[chris-md]

Search on you tube for eclectus diets. And try to find a mate from the opposite sex. Eclectus are not suitable for keeping alone. A pair is more quiet then a single bird. Females (the red ones) are more difficult then males to keep.

None of this is in any way correct for ekkies. There’s already so much misinformation on ekkies in the internet, please be careful advising on a unique species you don’t have any experience with.

 

[chris-md]

Wilsoon, thank you for taking in this sweet lost lady.

I suspect you’re dealing with a number of things at once:

1. This bird is in a new home. Birds in new environments are usually very uncomfortable/insecure, and can let you know it in many ways, including screaming. There’s a temporary adjustment period. So long as you are constantly interacting with her, giving her a comfortable loving home, this phase should pass.

2) I’d bet she is hormonal. It is that time of year, and some things you describe sound very hormonal (she’s defensive/territorial with Your conure, barbering-the plucking she’s doing-is often, though not always, hormonal).

3) she’s not on a good diet with you right now, and I’ll place money on her not having a good diet in her prior home. Read through the diet thread Pip shared with you. With a super hormonal Ekkie, cut down the sugar being given to the bird, which includes fructose in fruits. Trust me, Diet can make or break a birds behavior, and likelihood of being rehomed. One of the few things squarely in your control.

Lastly, and most importantly, screaming and barbering can also be a clear sign of a health issue. On the assumption you intend to keep her, get her to an avian specific veterinarian for a full evaluation and blood panel to make sure her behavior issues aren’t health related.

And of course, make sure she has ample cage accommodations with lots of toys to keep her occupied. Foraging is a wonderful activity. And lots of training. Teach her how to target, fly to you con command. Training simple stuff like this will be very mentally stimulating AND accelerate your bonding, which can help stop the adjustment screaming a lot faster. Look up parrot clicker training - that’ll be one major key for you!

 

[Wilsoon]

Wilsoon, thank you for taking in this sweet lost lady.

I suspect you’re dealing with a number of things at once:

1. This bird is in a new home. Birds in new environments are usually very uncomfortable/insecure, and can let you know it in many ways, including screaming. There’s a temporary adjustment period. So long as you are constantly interacting with her, giving her a comfortable loving home, this phase should pass.

2) I’d bet she is hormonal. It is that time of year, and some things you describe sound very hormonal (she’s defensive/territorial with Your conure, barbering-the plucking she’s doing-is often, though not always, hormonal).

3) she’s not on a good diet with you right now, and I’ll place money on her not having a good diet in her prior home. Read through the diet thread Pip shared with you. With a super hormonal Ekkie, cut down the sugar being given to the bird, which includes fructose in fruits. Trust me, Diet can make or break a birds behavior, and likelihood of being rehomed. One of the few things squarely in your control.

Lastly, and most importantly, screaming and barbering can also be a clear sign of a health issue. On the assumption you intend to keep her, get her to an avian specific veterinarian for a full evaluation and blood panel to make sure her behavior issues aren’t health related.

And of course, make sure she has ample cage accommodations with lots of toys to keep her occupied. Foraging is a wonderful activity. And lots of training. Teach her how to target, fly to you con command. Training simple stuff like this will be very mentally stimulating AND accelerate your bonding, which can help stop the adjustment screaming a lot faster. Look up parrot clicker training - that’ll be one major key for you!

Thanks for your detailed reply! This seems like a very accurate explanation of what's going on right now. When both my conure and her are not in their cages, she constantly goes after my conure even if my conure didn't provoke her at all.

I would really love to spend more time with her, but I suppose her reasons for screaming land on the fact that she spends most of her day without any human interaction and just her chewables. I'm unsure of how parrots really play with toys, because she just prefers to bite anything and everything, including the toys. When it comes to Singapore (and pretty much any country), things can get extremely busy in the day whereby everyone has their things to do. As such, she doesn't really see anyone from the morning until around 3 - 4 in the afternoon, which I suppose are contributors towards her screaming. However, sometimes she just screams at the top of her voice and it doesn't happen just once, she can scream up to 5 times consecutively like this, which is rather ear-piercing if you were right beside her.

Regarding diet, what are some examples of vegetables and fruits do you think is suitable for her? I gave her some raw, washed lettuce but she didn't seem to want it. She just bites small pieces of the lettuce off and drop them. Is she able to take in spicy things like red chilli peppers? I'm unsure of whether it will do her any harm.

 

[Wilsoon]

UPDATE: I seemed to have found a reply to a post I made online regarding the missing eclectus. I'll be meeting the person tomorrow and see how she reacts to him. I'll also try to check up on the eclectus' diet.