Francie Mae
Member
- Feb 22, 2025
- 73
- 59
- Parrots
- Bare-eyed cockatoo
Hey everyone 
Hope all is well.
Summary/request for advice:
-Baby parrot constantly screaming, making what is very similar to the "feed me" sound, even after she's full
--> is she scared? does she dislike us? if so, how can we ensure her comfort? we don't want to rush bonding, we just want to make sure we're doing it right
-Small bald spots on the bends of her wings
-Biting her foot
We've had Mischief, our Galah cockatoo, since May 27th (she was born March 15th, so she's a few days short of three months). It's been a joy to have her in the house, but we're still worried about her screaming. Again, it's not at all annoying--we don't mind the noise itself--we just want to be sure that she's healthy and adjusting well. I know this is something I've already discussed, but I come bearing updates.
Mischief is steadily gaining weight, and she has no qualms about eating--the issue is, though, that even after she's fed and her crop looks quite full, she continues to cry. (side note, even despite our best efforts to clean her up, she does have crusted food on her feathers. Sort of worried that it's bad for her to have that dried food on her). We have started feeding her until she stops eating/seems full, but even after she's chosen to stop eating, she'll continue to cry for as long as we are in the room. It goes beyond her taking some time to realize that she's full. When we talk to her (softly) she screams louder. She cries constantly if my dad or I is in the room. She doesn't cry with my mom; Mischief's cage is in the living room, where my mom spends most of her time when she's home, so I'm not sure if it's that Mischief is scared of us and not my mom, or if it's that she associates my dad and I with food. My mom does not feed her. It's hard to bond with her because she screams (the scream I've come to learn comes from hungry baby birds). If we reach for her, she'll scoot back and scream louder, which makes me wonder if she's afraid. She also starts to cry, albeit quietly, if I make eye contact with her. However, while she nips my mom, she doesn't nip me or my dad. She'll nibble on our fingers but very lightly, which I think is because she wants food from us. She's still on formula, but she's been eating small amounts of her kibble, which is constantly accessible. She has no interest in chop yet.
I want to make sure she's comfortable and healthy. She has an upcoming vet appointment for check-ups, which I'll keep you updated on. She's already had her first appointment, in which she got a clean bill of health. We have questions about her feet, because sometimes she abruptly and seemingly aggressively bites her foot. She was doing this even when we first brought her home, but at the time, the vet didn't see anything wrong with her foot, but she said to keep an eye on it. It seems to be both feet. It's not frequent but she seems to freak out when it happens. In the meantime, I'm wondering if she's screaming at us because she's a baby who wants food? I want to enjoy her baby stage but she seems to be in constant distress. Additionally, she has two small bald spots, one on each of the bend of her wing in the same spot respectively, but I'm hoping that's because she's so young. We want to start harness training her by touching her wings, but she's always too worked up (as in hungry, I think). We also want to work on basic training (in very short stints to avoid frustrating her) like target training since we've read that it's good to do early on both for bonding and mental stimulation, but again, she's too worked up.
As I was writing this, she flew over to the arm of the couch. I'm not sure if she wanted to be close to me or if it's just because she's used to sitting there, but it's nice, either way. She also beak clicks frequently throughout the day, especially before bed, which is cute.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!
Hope all is well.Summary/request for advice:
-Baby parrot constantly screaming, making what is very similar to the "feed me" sound, even after she's full
--> is she scared? does she dislike us? if so, how can we ensure her comfort? we don't want to rush bonding, we just want to make sure we're doing it right
-Small bald spots on the bends of her wings
-Biting her foot
We've had Mischief, our Galah cockatoo, since May 27th (she was born March 15th, so she's a few days short of three months). It's been a joy to have her in the house, but we're still worried about her screaming. Again, it's not at all annoying--we don't mind the noise itself--we just want to be sure that she's healthy and adjusting well. I know this is something I've already discussed, but I come bearing updates.
Mischief is steadily gaining weight, and she has no qualms about eating--the issue is, though, that even after she's fed and her crop looks quite full, she continues to cry. (side note, even despite our best efforts to clean her up, she does have crusted food on her feathers. Sort of worried that it's bad for her to have that dried food on her). We have started feeding her until she stops eating/seems full, but even after she's chosen to stop eating, she'll continue to cry for as long as we are in the room. It goes beyond her taking some time to realize that she's full. When we talk to her (softly) she screams louder. She cries constantly if my dad or I is in the room. She doesn't cry with my mom; Mischief's cage is in the living room, where my mom spends most of her time when she's home, so I'm not sure if it's that Mischief is scared of us and not my mom, or if it's that she associates my dad and I with food. My mom does not feed her. It's hard to bond with her because she screams (the scream I've come to learn comes from hungry baby birds). If we reach for her, she'll scoot back and scream louder, which makes me wonder if she's afraid. She also starts to cry, albeit quietly, if I make eye contact with her. However, while she nips my mom, she doesn't nip me or my dad. She'll nibble on our fingers but very lightly, which I think is because she wants food from us. She's still on formula, but she's been eating small amounts of her kibble, which is constantly accessible. She has no interest in chop yet.
I want to make sure she's comfortable and healthy. She has an upcoming vet appointment for check-ups, which I'll keep you updated on. She's already had her first appointment, in which she got a clean bill of health. We have questions about her feet, because sometimes she abruptly and seemingly aggressively bites her foot. She was doing this even when we first brought her home, but at the time, the vet didn't see anything wrong with her foot, but she said to keep an eye on it. It seems to be both feet. It's not frequent but she seems to freak out when it happens. In the meantime, I'm wondering if she's screaming at us because she's a baby who wants food? I want to enjoy her baby stage but she seems to be in constant distress. Additionally, she has two small bald spots, one on each of the bend of her wing in the same spot respectively, but I'm hoping that's because she's so young. We want to start harness training her by touching her wings, but she's always too worked up (as in hungry, I think). We also want to work on basic training (in very short stints to avoid frustrating her) like target training since we've read that it's good to do early on both for bonding and mental stimulation, but again, she's too worked up.
As I was writing this, she flew over to the arm of the couch. I'm not sure if she wanted to be close to me or if it's just because she's used to sitting there, but it's nice, either way. She also beak clicks frequently throughout the day, especially before bed, which is cute.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!
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