I really need some help here

[bogo1]

Well that is good. If he was doing it merely to enjoy his one voice it would be even harder to solve. So does anything make him stop screaming? Does he stop when you take him out and focus all your attention on him?

 

[Aussie Ben]

Well that is good. If he was doing it merely to enjoy his one voice it would be even harder to solve. So does anything make him stop screaming? Does he stop when you take him out and focus all your attention on him?

Maybe he does enjoy it, who knows?? lol

Does it stop when I have him out? If I am actually holding him then yes, but when he is flying around, he will scream a bit. NO WHERE near the amount that he screams while in his cage, but still abnormal. For example, If I take him out onto the back veranda for a fly, he is fine when he is within arms reach, but as soon as I am more than a couple of meters away or he fly's over to his perch on the other side, the wing flipping/screaming starts. If I go inside to grab something, he will start screaming more frequently.

Same thing happens in the morning while I make his breakfast... he will sit on top of the cupboards, flip his wings and yell at me infrequently. If he is on me, he is very calm and quiet. Still, even when he fly's off by his own choice this behaviour will occur, so its not necessarily just wanting to be with me, because he is more than capable of getting to me.

If I am sitting watching TV, he will fly off of me and onto the curtain rail or cupboard, look at me and scream. Then he will fly back and we go round and round in circles. Watching TV in the dark is okay, he will just go to sleep in my lap .

 

[wildheart]

Well I just see things in a different manner. I would smother him with love and attention as much as what is humanly possible. This will insure that he gets his confidence back and not feel so depressed, insecure and ignored. The screaming has already become such a second nature to him that he now screams when he flies or sit on the rail, "Hey Ben look at me, look at me".

When ever Sterretjie screamed for me I answered back with HALO. We've done this so many times that I now make the contact call before she does! I call Halo and she answers with a wolf whistle or any other cute chirp. She hardly ever screams anymore.

 

[Aussie Ben]

When ever Sterretjie screamed for me I answered back with HALO. We've done this so many times that I now make the contact call before she does! I call Halo and she answers with a wolf whistle or any other cute chirp. She hardly ever screams anymore.

Apart from the screams, the wolf whistle is one of eddies favourite sounds. In between the screams, we often get 5-10 minute periods where he just whistles his favourite tones and I ALWAYS try and respond to those.

 

[bogo1]

Ooookaaaay, This last question is really strange but I am in states and you are in Australia so humor me please for not knowing the answer. When is he due to molt? (And no, I don't think this is pre-molting behavior... I have another reason for asking.)

 

[Aussie Ben]

Ooookaaaay, This last question is really strange but I am in states and you are in Australia so humor me please for not knowing the answer. When is he due to molt? (And no, I don't think this is pre-molting behavior... I have another reason for asking.)

Well he started to molt about mid year, I felt it was about time as he hadn't for a while. This picture was taken in June, not long after I noticed the first feathers falling (you can also see his beak was peeling). You can see that his plumage was still fairly full and bright.

He still has not recovered to the condition to which he is at in this photo, which is why I think there could be a medical complication. I can actually see his ears, which is unusual. When I saw them for the first time I just thought he was molting, but now, not so sure. He can't reach those feathers so he is definitely not plucking them. I will get another photo tomorrow of his current condition, its not awful, but its enough to make me worried.

 

[Spiritbird]

Oh AB I feel so bad this is happening to you. Do you have just one bird? As you know already it is a natural instinct for bird to call out to the flock. If he is the only bird and you are not home to answer him then he will escilate calling out until he is satisfied. Is he near a window where he could have seen something threatening? Is there a new photo near him that may be scraring him. I too like idea of a second cage in a different location to see if he cools his jets on the screaming. Also the addition of more one on one attention if you can manage that.
If the vet finds nothing amiss than you know to at least work from the behavior aspect. There are music CD's and DVD's that have birds calling on them. Perhaps they will calm him down some.

 

[wildheart]

Ag no Ben, that is not nice. I hope you get to the vet as soon as possible.

 

[bogo1]

Ben,
I will be interested in the vet's perspective. Something sounds off, doesn't it. I would go with showering with affection and wolf whistle responses to his screams until we get info from vet. Urge him for blood work if you can... need to make sure nothing wrong there.
In meantime.... earplugs for all????

 

[Aussie Ben]

Oh AB I feel so bad this is happening to you. Do you have just one bird? As you know already it is a natural instinct for bird to call out to the flock. If he is the only bird and you are not home to answer him then he will escilate calling out until he is satisfied. Is he near a window where he could have seen something threatening? Is there a new photo near him that may be scraring him. I too like idea of a second cage in a different location to see if he cools his jets on the screaming. Also the addition of more one on one attention if you can manage that.
If the vet finds nothing amiss than you know to at least work from the behavior aspect. There are music CD's and DVD's that have birds calling on them. Perhaps they will calm him down some.

Thanks SB,

I have 2 birds Eddie the Ekkie and Buddy the tiel.

He is near a window, but he can't really see out of it as he is against the same wall. We do have flocks of wild parrots that gather across the road, which does sometimes aid in setting him off, but that also sets Buddy off too. He has been here for nearly 4 years, so i don't know why he would suddenly have an issue with the birds outside.

He can just see the front porch if he sits in the far corner of his cage and he screams at any strangers he sees.

I have a CD with bird calls on it (just regular birds though). He doesn't mind it. I also have a radio/CD/Cassette player in the room where I play him things to listen too (He seems to like talk-back radio and the wiggles ).

 

[Aussie Ben]

Thankyou so much for your help barb, I will let you all know about the vet checkup. Unfortunately it won't be till next week.

In meantime.... earplugs for all????

HAHA, yea, while I am studying. I have kinda fallen in-love with my headphones .

 

[CrypticDelirium]

I wish I could be more insightful, but I can't think of a single thing to suggest that someone else hasn't mentioned! I'm sure as hard as you're willing to work everything will turn out all right in the end!! = )

 

[bogo1]

Ben,
Can you find out if he is screaming when no one is home? Have everyone noisily leave and hide sit quietly so he doesn't know you stayed and see if he is screaming. It might help us know if he is trying to communicate with his people or is stressed about something else in his internal or external environment.

 

[Aussie Ben]

Ben,
Can you find out if he is screaming when no one is home? Have everyone noisily leave and hide sit quietly so he doesn't know you stayed and see if he is screaming. It might help us know if he is trying to communicate with his people or is stressed about something else in his internal or external environment.

It generally seems to be when people are around, however, he will scream when no one is around too. Today was a quiet day (relatively)...until everyone started getting home and started talking.

 

[bogo1]

So it sounds like he is talking too..so to speak ...but he is talking at migraine producing sound level. I wonder how he would respond to a "white noise " machine . You can rig something up like with a fan ((not blowing on Eddie obviously ) or just experiment with white noise option on cell phone. Just grasping at straws here.

 

[Aussie Ben]

yea maybe, he does like the radio. He has also decide he doesn't like the sound of the piano anymore (which we have always had and always played). Its almost like he has a problem with everything. I will really be surprised if there is nothing wrong with him medically, as he really is not himself. I will have to wait till the vet visit. Last time we went, the vet only did a physical and he was very happy with his condition. To quote him 'he is in better condition than most eclectus we see here'.

On a more positive note, he is doing really well with target training. I have him flying everywhere to get to the target stick and he follows it with enthusiasm

 

[Aussie Ben]

Okay, so the last few days have been magical in comparison to other days, he has been relatively quiet. I have increased his training sessions even more so he has something fun to engage in while he is out and although this hasn’t eliminated the screaming, it is helping. So, the screaming has been limited over the last few days, but something that hasn’t is the wing flipping/quivering (still not 100% sure on the difference). Here is a video that will show you just how violent it can get. What is weird is that there is no real pattern to it. In the video you will see one second he looks all nervous and then the next he is just chilled out old Eddie. It does not matter what room we are in, this behaviour always occurs, but never while he is on me or anyone else. This is not him being afraid of me lol, as you can see he is more than happy to step up and engage with me (pretty sure that’s what he wants). The episodes in this video are only short, I have seen them go up to 5-10 minute periods.

One other thing you will notice is his feather colouring, usually it is full and bright at this time of year, but he hasn’t recovered from his moult like usual, which is concerning. There are even some yellow feathers popping up on his back that you can see. I am taking him to the vet this week to see if there is any medical explanation for the screaming and flipping.

 

[Von1983]

Can't see a link for a vid Ben....am I being blind? EDIT: No, I'm being ridiculously blind!!!! I just thought it was a picture of Eddie. *looks sheepish*

Ok, I've watched it! I could watch him all day, he's beautiful!!!! You know I'm no expert, but in one of my books the wing shaking/flapping without opening is described as "pick me up! pay me attention!". It's a conure book, granted, but Cal does this when she wants my attention - true to form! lol. Would that make sense?

Glad he appears to be a bit cheerier though....when is it trip to the vet time?

 

[wildheart]

I've been reading up about wing flipping in Electus since you brought it up and found some interesting articles for you. I am glad you loaded the video because it helps a lot. Unfortunately, to me, It does not look like begging to be picked up nor does it look like wanting to fly. Sterretjie is ALWAYS begging and ALWAYS 'pretend flying' somewhere. During this time her eyes are focused on me or the place where she is 'flying' to. She also leans forward and even to the side where this object is and she does not stop until she reached her destination. Wing flipping is an in-volunteering action, although it does seem like Eddie is controlling it in a way?

I read that over supplementing their food can cause it because they live of a low nutritional diet in the wild. They mainly eat fruit and veggies and when they are given a lot of pellets and/or extra vitamin supplements are added then it can cause the syndrome. They also develop allergies when given the same type of food all the time, for example the pellets, allergies also cause wing flipping.

How much pellets does Eddie eat and how often, is it coloured? What type of vitamins does it contain? If there is Vit D3, spirulina and/ or vitamin A in it then it can cause wing flipping .

I read that they need a high Vitamin A and Calcium diet. Pumpkin and seeds, carrots, broccoli leaves, dark green vegetables and dark orange or red fruit & veg are high in Vitamin A. If there is vitamin A in the pellets then it can mean that he is being over supplemented. They have the capability to eliminate excess vit. A in its natural form but he can not eliminate vitamin A in the form of an unnatural supplement (like pellets).

Calcium deficiency can also cause wing flipping. Food high in calcium are collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion and watercress.

Why dont you try and completely stop giving him pellets, only give him fruit, veggies, the above greens and human food. If it is the pellets that causes it then the wing flipping should stop.

I saved the articles on my other computer at home so I cant share it with you now.

 

[wildheart]

I forgot to mention that it is very seldom that wing flipping will start before toe tapping, but it has happened. The wing flipping should also happen while Eddie sleeps, have you ever noticed it, or is he covered at night?

I am not saying that you must completely stop giving pellets, just take it out of his diet for maybe 2 weeks and see if the 'wing flipping' becomes less or even stops. (I dont know how long it will take before it stops because it has been going on for such a long time). If it does improve then buy another brand of pellets preferable without preservatives and colour, but you need to rotate it so that he does not become allergic.