Eclectus screaming to get pellets

[jousze]

So the eclectus, a 6 months old female, is screaming (like if she was being eating alive) to eat pellets. We have made her eat veggies since the beginning however lately she does not eat them and she just screams in order to get pellets.
I know that pellets aren’t good for eclectus, so what to do???

 

[noodles123]

how do you know that is what she is screaming for if she never gets them? is she literally starving then?

 

[saxguy64]

how do you know that is what she is screaming for if she never gets them? is she literally starving then?

Excellent point. If she sees pellets as a treat/reward, and you give them to her when she screams, she then sees it as a reward for screaming. Unfortunately, it will get worse if you continue rewarding the behavior. Difficult position, yes, but fixable as she's still very young. The biggest part of training animals is more about training us humans. Learning to understand how THEY see what WE do.

Question- what else are you feeding her besides the pellets? Grains, veggies, and a little fruit are really the basis of a healthy diet for them. They can be picky. I mean really picky sometimes. Presentation can make all the difference. Raw, cooked, different shapes and sizes definitely play a role with mine. Experiment, keep trying different ways to prepare them. Sooner or later, you'll likely find what works. Then... Keep experimenting, since sometimes they change their preferences, or just get bored with the same ol' stuff. Yup, it's a moving target, but we get used to it. When we share our life with a parrot, we live to serve.

 

[noodles123]

If she wants them because your other bird gets them, I would fill your other bird's dish away from you eckie and make sure you feed your other bird fruit/veg/grains too (granted, pellets are fine for the other bird).

 

[jousze]

No, she isn’t starving. She screams because she sees my other bird eating pellets... I will try mixing some veggies with grains as she will eat grains. However I thought grains weren’t good either for eclectuses

 

[chris-md]

What pellets is she getting

 

[jousze]

What pellets is she getting

She isn’t eating any pellets. She has stolen some pellets without me seeing from my other parrot. Harrison’s.

 

[chris-md]

So my impression here is one of “give it time”. Eclectus young have the potential to be vocal, bratty little things. Right around the one year mark, almost universally, they tend to go through a bit of a screening phase and there’s nothing you can do about it except grab some air plugs. Six months is a bit early for that phase but it’s not unheard of for younger chicks such as yours to still be a bit more vocal than usual.

Essentially, to say that she is screaming for this meal she’s never really had before doesn’t really hit the ear (or eyes as the case may be) quite right. It doesn’t really compute for me. I suspect this is probably just a phase she’s going through, and you’ll just have to ride it out. Don’t give in or you will create a whole new set of problems.

For the record, since you asked, Parker is on mosty a fresh fruit/grain/vegetable diet. However, most mornings he will get a dry mix from Goldenfeast, usually the hookbill legume blend. I HAVE given him pellets before: unenriched, undyed pellets like TOPs and Goldenfeast goldn’obles. Goldenfeast unfortunately does not make their pellets anymore and he quit eating the tops about a year ago, so pellets really aren’t in his diet. But anything that isn’t colored or anything that does not have added vitamins and minerals should actually be OK to feed if your bird will eat it.