Oh lord, what is this call?

[chris-md]

I'm a tad perplexed by this call my new boy is making this morning. It's a two-pulsed "ack! Ack!" At the top of his lungs. He spaced these calls about a minute apart, then dropped it to 30 seconds apart. I did not respond to them and did not come running so as not to reinforce them. Only went to him when there was a bit more space than usual between them to try to reinforce the quiet.

What could this be? My gut says morning flock calling. He made it when I'm in the room with him and when I'm out of site. It all started when I got up to take the dog out. Let me tell you DH is NOT amused...

 

[Peppagirl]

Hi Chris, congrats on your new boy. I have a female eclectus, she does the same high pitched noise also, quiet ear piercing. I just ignore her and she seems to stop. It's not everyday that she does it. But boy it's loud. Apparently quite normal and as they get older they seem to stop.

Congratulations again......

 

[Pinkbirdy]

My 2 male Ekkies are the loudest of my big flock . They do this thing that sounds like a bullhorn . We call them the "Bullhorn " brothers .

 

[Kiwibird]

Most parrots vocalize in the morning and evenings (and when you leave and when you get home and when there's a commotion and sometimes for no apparent reason at all). LOUD vocalizing is part of parrot ownership. You did right not reinforcing it, but even so, he will still make loud noises (and unfortunately, early AM is often a favored time to do so).

I would suggest you cover his cage at night and wake him up AFTER your husband is up (if possible).

 

[RavensGryf]

I would suggest you cover his cage at night and wake him up AFTER your husband is up (if possible).

This is a good idea, and if you are covering, you might want to make sure the color of the cover is dark enough that morning light can't seep through too much.

My covers are fairly light colored, and my 2 Poicephalus, Griffin and Robin start chirping, peeping, clicking, and making their cute noises after 10 hours of sleep (almost like clockwork). Raven the Pionus is not a morning guy, and is always silent lol.

 

[Terry57]

Ekko also does this call, but he did it much more often when we first got him.
Sometimes now he does a couple days with no call, and then it will just be 2 awk awks in a row. His calls are usually in the evening right before bed.

 

[chris-md]

Alright so it's exactly as I thought. I admit while I know most call out dusk and dawn (my conure used to do that), I had hoped like last night it would be more chatter than screaming. I can live with it, we'll see if DH can. It was just made a tad worse since the roommate was home (he's moving out and is rarely in nowadays).

I can cover him, but DH and I work for the same company so we have the same schedule.

 

[RavensGryf]

That's interesting... both with my current parrots, and ones I've had in the past, none of mine have ever (for whatever reason) called routinely in the morning and evening. One of the birds I had in the past was an Eclectus too. As I posted above, my 2 Pois are the morning guys, and Twigs once the budgies are uncovered, but no one seems to make noise as the sun goes down.

 

[Anansi]

Mine don't do morning or evening screams. Jolly talks A LOT in the morning, especially. Telling me how good a boy Jolly is. (Yes, he speaks of himself in 3rd person. Lol!) He also sings his name, asks what we're doing and makes a variety of kissing noises. Pleasant, as morning calls go.

Maya, on the other hand, will make one loud shriek whenever I enter or leave the room she's in. Kind of like a court crier, though designated only for me. Hahaha! Not a problem, since it's only one sharp burst. (Of course, it can get a bit more... significant... anytime we're hosting guests, as I might enter and leave a room several times in a row. Hahaha!)

You're doing the right thing not encouraging the behavior. If you are consistent with building an association between acceptable vocalizations and your entering the room, you should eventually see a decline in those ear-piercing screams.

 

[chris-md]

He's dramatically improved. Only a couple yesterday and nothing today! I think you might have been on to something Terry, might be a comfort thing for him in a new place as he gets used to the routines). And I haven't had to cover. thank god cause his cage is huge, not sure how I would cover it!