New baby issues

[moni.k]

So, I just picked up my new female Solomon island eclectus earlier today. I know it will take a bit of time to adjust but I just hand fed her around 6:30pm today (she is 11 1/2 weeks old and on one evening feeding per day) she is definitely a bit nervous, but she has been screaming non-stop since I got her. I placed her in a quiet room and turned the light off around 8 to give her some rest, but the moment she hears any noise, she screams till there is no tomorrow. This includes even footsteps walking by the room, to dogs barking and even when she hears people talking. I know that the surrounding is new and she will take some time to adjust, but quite frankly if she continues to scream to this extent, I know it is just a matter of time before my neighbors complain. (you can hear her a bock away... She has a very high pitched screeching call... She is actuall louder than U2). She has a LOT of toys and has her own room where light and temperature is regulated. My question is: will she ever stop the screaming, what can I do to help prevent her from blowing my eardrums off, and lastly, when will the screeching slow down... Is it after she is fully weaned?

Ps: although the noise is a bit much, I love her to death and wouldn't trade her for the world. I will exhaust every and all resources before I consider finding her a new home. She is perfect in every way... I just want to fix her screeching issues. But I also want to know if it's too early to train her also. I know that training builds trust and confidence in your bird, so I definitely want to start as soon as possible.

Thanks, I know this is a bit of a long post but I would really like to hear your input and suggestions.

 

[Pedro]

How much hand rearing food did she eat. I bet she is hungry & isn't filled up enough. I am feeding a young eclectus about the same age, my baby is having 3 feeds a day & is picking at some soft foods.

Try giving her another feed of formula, make sure it's a little bit on the warm side but not to hot to burn her. I would estimate she would eat about 30 mls. If she is noisy tomorrow put her on 3 feeds a day until she settles.

 

[moni.k]

Ok, so she has been on 2 feedings a day (morning and evening) but her screaming has yet to stop. Even after she has her formula, she will continue to scream. Food has been ruled out as a cause. I thought she was screaming for attention, but even when she is out of her cage she screams... it never ends. The only way I can stop her is to put her in her room with the door shut and no noise. But that's so terrible, I want her to have interaction but the whole house has had enough of her screams. It hasn't even been a week, and there has been no rest to her full set of lungs. Please help.

 

[maillet]

We both picked up our baby Eclectus on the same day! What are the odds, only mine is a male Vosmeris. And while I am new, I have two suggestions for the screaming that worked for mine (evidently he was screaming before I picked up, hardly a sound since he has been with me aside from his normal coos and quiet one like "Go away").

1. Ensure she always has a good variety of food - These are habitutual creatures who can happily eat for a 1/3rd of the day without being obese long as its healthy.

2. Take her for a tour of the house with lots of introductions (like 5-10 minutes per individual / place) so she can get familiar with her new setting and co-inhabitors.

Once her basic needs for security and food are met, I found he quieted down right away. Trick I had read was force her to confront her fears early (not to the point of her becoming stressed) but even letting her stare at something new for 5-10 Min.

*Note: You will also want to find out exactly why she is screaming. Did she scream before you picked her up? Does someone rush to her when she does to make it stop?

Eclectus are very very intelligent birds (Echo already knows 3-4 tricks... 15 min per). If they learn you will do something (i.e. give them attention) whenever they scream, why wouldent she? It could also be food, she wants something. If she is scared (well I would be too until I knew exactly what was causing each sound and if it was threat).

Hope these help, given we adopted Eclectus on same day I imagine our experiances will be fairly similar over the next couple of months if we ever need to help each other out.

 

[maillet]

Edit: If you are having trouble picking her up, I did this the first 2 days and now he is able to "Step-Up" and Down on command almost for anyone.

1. I used a glove first day so he could bite to his little hearts content and learn it would not get him anywhere. Once he was satisfied with that,

2. I put food just out of reach so he would have to step up onto hand. I did a full 15 Min session with this to teach him "If you want a treat, you have to Step-Up"

3. If she bites, give her the "cold treatement" for like 2 minutes. A timeout of that size of plenty for a young bird from what I have read. They also need attention as flock animals, and will quickly learn what it takes to fit into your family "flock".

It is all about conditioning from what I have seen and experianced. An excellent book if you do not have it yet is "Eclectus Parrots" a green book with a male right on the front cover. It is a real authority on the issue, and even has a whole section on screaming.

Edit: 2 Feedings a day also seems incredibly low My little guy has two full meals a day, in addition to daily snacks and has remained constant in weight all along. I would DEFINATELY try giving her a bit more food, as that may stem the screaming in a real jiffy assuming she is getting adequate sleep and light (if not purchase an ultra violet light, they are like $30.00). If those 3 things are all being met well... Try the above or give her some time. Wish I could help you out more.

 

[Pedro]

I am sorry but your baby isn't very happy & your doing something wrong. It isn't normal behavior unless something is wrong. She sounds very stressed & i think she may have transition anexiety.

Alleviate Anxiety. Transition stress often manifests itself with lost in the woods-type calls which are incessant, loud, inconsolable. Caregivers frequently confuse these as calls for food, but lost in the woods calling continues regardless of satiety. Abundance Weaning ensures us that chicks' calls are not food-related. We provide comfort (see 1, above) during this time but also recognize calling as a natural part of the growing up for young birds. Eventually, the calling ceases. We lessen its intensity by holding, comforting, or playing with our fledglings.
We do not allow fledglings to practice negative behaviors such as crying, pacing, or nipping. We suggest and reinforce alternate behaviors. Most disagreeable behaviors during this developmental period result from insecurity and anxiety while comfort, diversion and play effectively reduce anxiety. Insecurity lessens as the bond between human and companion deepens.


What formula are you feeding, what volume & thickness? What other foods do you offer through the day?

What is her daily routine. Where is she usually housed?.

Also it concernes me that you must never force a baby bird to do what it doesn't want to do. You must work very slow & gain it's trust if not your just not going to get to far with reinforcing positive behavior.

 

[moni.k]

Thanks maillet and pedro. For your suggestions:

1. she has 4 bowls: 1- fresh fruits and veggies (jalapenos, carrot, broccoli, cactus, celery, kale, sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber) ; 2- cooked veggies (carrots, corn, butternut squash, broccoli, edemame, bell peppers); 3- dried fruits (banana chips, apricot, cranberry, apple, figs, mango); 4- water... I also give her a bowl of small hookbill seed mix and some organic pellets for the night so she has something to munch on if she gets hungry.

Her current hand feeding formula is Katee exact (what the breeders had her on previously). The temp is between 104-108 degrees F. The consistency is similar to grainy slightly watered down yogurt. It is not thick and not watery... right in between.

2. The second night I had her, she had a tour of the whole house and even now gets to walk and strut her stuff and explore. She has met everyone and has never showed any signs of aggression or fear.

We have been training her to be held on her back and have her wings touched. She has done really well and will allow us to handle her with ease.

As for her screaming before... I first met her when she was 8 weeks old, then saw her once-two times a week till I brought her home, the first few times she was very quiet (not even a peep). Then the last 2 visits she screamed insanely, but during those 2 visits it was around 4, so I suspected that she was just hungry. But the screaming has yet to seize since the then till now.

I have tried:
1. having the door open so she can listen to our conversations and footsteps etc...
2. walk in, when she screams walk out, then walk back in when she has quieted down... process continued for several hours... no effect
3. sit in the room where she is and talk softly, do homework, etc... but the moment i make a movement she starts screaming.
4. move her cage outside of the room to the dining room (more traffic) but the screams became unbearable and she had to be moved back into the room (she has her own private room which is also the study/office room).

The ONLY time she will stop is when she is all by herself in the room with the door and windows closed.

sigh* I just want her to feel comfortable instead of having to yell all day long.

 

[moni.k]

Edit: I will definitely try the "step up" method, she's pretty good but there are times where she wont, so I will try your method with the food.

To Pedro, what are some of your methods of giving comfort and security. I want earn her trust, but it seems that everything I've done has made the situation worse :/

 

[maillet]

How much sleep is she getting a day? And how much natural light?
These things can easily make any parrot quite irritable I have read.

Other thing is simply the transition of feeders. Any book will say that transitioning between feeders before weening is finished is worst thing for Eclectus especially. It could simply take some time on this regard not to earn her trust but her comfort.

Does she scream when being held or fed? If not, it could be precisely as Pedro said and her Contact Call for attention. If so, reinfocing the scream with attention is not something you want to do, but at same time ignoring entirely could only make situation worse. These are social birds on level of humans, they do not do well in isolation. If she prefers isolation, you may want to consider a vet, as this is far from normal behavior (especially for a baby) who should want her flock nearby.

Last thing I could think of based on what you described is there could be something that is stressing her out on a constant basis (I.e. something in room or cage, health issues, hunger, lack of sleep, lack of sunlight, etc). I know I removed one of the toys from cage the first few hours I had my little guy home (a climable fake plant) and his screaming stopped within minutes, and I have only heard him scream once since then (when one of my relatives raised their voice a little too loud).

 

[moni.k]

Her cage is covered from 7pm-8am. She then has a play perch outside and inside where she is allowed to play and practice her grip (recieves natural sunlight outside and inside through a window) She still cries when I hold her... Or if anyone makes a sound. I find myself whispering around her because she gets very upset at noise. As for the vet, I just had blood work done this last Monday, and I am just waiting for the results. I definitely agree that the transition had some effect on her, yet she has never showed any sign of aggression. She would do a very light nibble to tell us when to back off, but nothing painful or aggressive.

I ruled out the factor that something is scaring her in the room, because that is the only place where she is quiet. I am making an appointment to the vet again next week and discuss this situation further.

She has not shown any lameness, lethargy or loss of appetite. She has lots of energy and will act like a little goof ball, wobbling around the house exploring. So at least she is having fun to a degree, but if she is nervous and anxious I want to elevate it. I know that the breeder had only her In the house hand rearing at the time. They had no other pets (except the breeders in the outside aviary) and no children. But I do have a dog (5lb shih tzu)... Can that be a cause? My dog is actually a bit scared of her (the screaming intimidated her I think) and will always keep a good distance. Of course they are always supervised and I never leave those two alone together.

Ps: I have been reading up on anxiety in parrots and I think she definitely is feeling uneasy. Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to try and trick train her with "step up" and hopefully it will built a little more bond and trust with Nalani.

 

[moni.k]

Edit: there has been some improvement!! I'm so ecstatic. This morning I went to give her, her morning feeding. As usual she screamed uncontrollably, but this morning for whatever reason the feeding ended up in an huge glob of mess. She I took her to the sink and gave her a nice lukewarm bath. This is her second bath, the first one she was terrified and didn't know what to do. However, today she was fluffing up, chirping and really enjoying it. After I wrapped her up in a towel and played peekaboo with her as I dried her off. She followed with happy chirping (nowhere close to a scream). After, she even did an attempt of a dance along with a little bit of very pleasant baby calls. I don't know what I did or what came over her today, but this gives me a glimmer of hope. I know that this will be a slow improvement, but I am filled with determination.

 

[Moony]

Whew, I bet your dancing on cloud 9.. I have read that some of them are just screamers and there isnt much you can do.. Keep up the effort,keep us updated...

 

[Pedro]

I think she may have had that lost in the woods feel.
She is starting to feel a bit more comfortablt & is gaining trust.
Keep up the good work, remember to work very slow with her & as soon as she doesn't want to do something.STOP.

Moony eclectus are never screamers, yes the do have a series of calls but IMO screaming & biting are both human taught. We need to understand what our parrots are telling us & read their body language.

 

[moni.k]

Thanks for all your support, I noticed that she really likes the toys with bells attached on them, so I went to petco and bought a few foot toys with bells inside. We played soccer together for a bit, once I figure this whole iOS thingy I will post photos. But she is definitely warming up. I can't believe it's literally a night and day difference just overnight! Yes, to moony: I seriously feel like I'm on cloud 9 lol! And Pedro, you were right, it was anxiety of the new surroundings. I think she has finally started the feel more comfortable and the screaming has dropped by 90%. Of course it will be a gradual improvement and although today was amazing, tomorrow she may act up again. But I feel very confident that things will work out. Haha I kept forgetting the most important aspect when getting a new parrot... "Give them some time!!"

 

[maillet]

Glad to hear she is doing better. Just a few quick reminders on Eclectus opposed to other Parrots.

1. When they are scared for frightened, they are silent instead of making noise. So if they are being silent in one area, it may not necessary mean all is fine in the room.

2. Sunlight through windows is useless to Parrots. The windows filter out all of the essential nurtriants they need to maintain a pristine coat and good mood. Try a Ultra Violet light at 86+ similarity to sunlight (not a reptile light) for 2-5 Hours a day.

3. Parrots use their beak as a third hand for balance and climbing. What may appear to be biting is known as "Beaking" and describes the "light" bite you described. Trust me, if you pay attention you will know when she wants to bite as opposed to beak play.

When Biting her body will be arched low to the ground, her iris's will expand and contract rapidly (flashing), and her feathers will appear fluffed if not on end to make her appear larger. Of course, if she growls than this is all the more reason to leave.