phsyco 6 month old eclectus.NEED HELP!

[sykoturkey]

Hey guys,
After some advice on my 6 month old male solomon island electus...his names Chester. My partner and I have recently dropped his formula feed to once a day which we give him at 8 o'clock at night, and he's now doing ear piercing squawks whenever he hears anyone in the house. My partner is his favourite person and is the only one he takes formula from but the squawking worsens when he's with him.
It drives my partner mad, all we want to do is spend time with him and for him to hang out on his play pen but no matter what we do to help it, nothing works even after he's had his formula it continues.
Would love some advice/help on this and any comments would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks!!!!

 

[sykoturkey]

He is stressing himself out so much he is breaking tips off his feathers and he is pacing on the bottom of his cage. Please don't hesitate to reply, we have fallen deeply in love with him and hate seeing him like this...

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to the forums.

May I ask at what age you brought Chester home? Solomon Island Eclectus are the smallest ekkis, and he should be completely weaned by 6 months.

We would need a good bit more information in order to try and figure out why he's vocalizing the way he is.

1. How much time does he spend alone?
2. What type of cage is he in, and how is it set up?
3. Does he have enough toys and foraging opportunities to keep him stimulated and busy?
4. Is he flighted or clipped?
5. How much "quality" time do you and your partner spend with him?
6. What does his diet consist of?

 

[Mekaisto]

In addition to JerseyWendy's comment - what else is he eating apart from that one feed of formula a day?

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Sounds like hes not weaning . As asked what else is he eating? Baby Begging is a ear piercing consistent wail [is he doing that?]. If it is you want have to start over . Offer other food always . But handfeed again 2 or 3 times a day . Should eventually refuse

 

[sykoturkey]

Hi JerseyWendy, thanks for your reply.
We brought him home around 13 and a half weeks old. He was spending a good amount of his time out of the cage, with either me and my partner or on his play pen but as of late he has been in the cage more because I work and because he wont stop squawking when his out or when my partner is around who is his favourite person to be with.

Here's a link to the cage hes in. Bird Cage W/ Play Top Parrot Aviary Wrought Iron JK32 | GTmall Online
it has 2 perches from side to side, one from front to back and one from front bottom to the top rear so he can get up off the floor. also has a emery perch next to the door.
he has a rope swing and a mirror that rattles, 2 coloured rope/wood toys and a natural wood toy. tried to give him hanging sticks with food on them but he just attacked them and got real angry.

we had a vet come and clip him but he clipped his secondary flight feathers not his main feathers so he can still fly just not as agile in the air. said he did them this way to protect the bone structure of his wing??

we were spending atleast 4 hours a day with him in 3-4 sessions but now the only way my partner can handle him is with earmuffs on. so lately it's been about an hour or so a day in a few sessions.

apart from his feed of formula which is about 50ml we give him a mix of fruit/veg in the morning and veg in the afternoon, and seed mix once or twice a week.
Such as cherry tomatoes, strawberry, apple, kiwifruit, pear, passionfruit, grapes, sweet potato, carrot, beans, broccoli, zuccini, cucumber, beetroot, cauliflower stem, capsicum and red chilli. He used to be obsesseed with sunflower seeds but since hes been squawking he isn't even eating sunflower seeds, they just fallout when he squawks.
we also hang a millet stick in his cage every few days.

If you need anymore information please don't hesitate to ask. thanks

 

[sykoturkey]

Thanks for your replies.

hes been eating his seed mix and millet. also normally digs through his bowl for cauliflower stem and cucumber and devours them, today hes been loving his millet. seems his squawking is slowly getting better but not by much. my partner has been trying to handfeed him his fruit/veg but hes not really interested in them, he'll take a bite but then he squawks and it comes flying back out. but he was taking pear last night so that's a start.

he only does the earpiercing squawks when he can see or hear my partner or when he hears a tap running as he thinks we are making his formula. but apart from that the squawks are bearable and it seems like he just wants attention. though when we give him attention they don't stop.

Also whenever hes out of the cage all he wants to do is be on my partner. whether hes on the couch or even when he lays on the floor. seems overly obsessed.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Think of it as maybe he needs to feel secure . Try a schedule you and your partner can keep up with. Keep your sessions short . One takes him out and puts him on a playstand and interacts a little. The other takes him to hang out on you while you have coffee [then put him back]. Both be really positive and be sweet when you pass by him. Do a routine [short than increase] when home later. This helps them learn not to be anxious waiting to come out and see you. They know your seeing them later. You see my birds and we have had some real problem ones [that are now turned around].

 

[labell]

This is the reason I tell people to let breeders hand feed and completely wean their babies when it comes to eclectus. The weaning begging scream is obnoxious! It will pass but it is present in every baby eclectus I have ever fed, some more than others but they are very needy babies. Jolly was over 7 months he is a Solomon before he was willing to give up his last comfort feeding. You are right ekkie babies can have a full crop and still will beg/cry you can try to distract them but most times it doesn't work so to save my ears I would make the play/cuddle sessions shorter but more frequent.

I know you said he was more bonded to your partner but I would spend time with him as well if I were you. In the long run it will be better and may help him get over the baby behavior. Typically when an eclectus baby is weaning you should give them tons of variety and choices. It may seem like you are wasting some but exposing him to a great variety now is the way to unsure he is a great eater and not picky. Getting that little bit of warm formula often times stimulates them to eat more grown up food. So even when a baby seems like it should be weaned giving them a little bit of the formula will sometimes get them to wean faster.

I know a screaming eclectus baby can make you want to pull out your hair and run from the house never to return but I promise it does end, once they are weaned they don't make that same sound ever as adults, hang on!

 

[labell]

Another point to add once he is given his formula even just a little, put him back in the cage with a couple of bowls of different foods try some warm brown rice and veggies. He should really be eating enough for you to see his crop large like when he was getting full feedings of formula. If he isn't eating enough on his own then you have to feed him more formula until he is ready to wean. I have certainly been called a sucker but imo a baby should wean when it's ready and not forced into a time frame. If you have to add back on another small feeding I think that is better than letting a baby stress from hunger.

As I said Jolly took the longest and at first he only wanted to be with me and no one else. Letting him wean at his own pace turned him into a love bug who now goes to my husband as readily as he goes to me...well almost.

Eclectus typically have a love of eating, it is a joy for me to watch them dive into their food that I work so hard to provide and chop and keep varied and fresh at least I know it's appreciated! I am not always sure where they put it all but seeing an empty bowl always makes me happy!

 

[sykoturkey]

Hi guys thanks for your replies once again - Pinkbirdy and Iabell
His loud squawking is very ear piercing and does want to make us leave our house but we hold it together best we can, we know its not his fault!
Last night I put a bowl full of fresh vegetables and sprouts which he usually loves, but he hasn't touched any of it... and usually he will throw some on the floor of he's cage but he hasn't done that either which indicates to me he just isn't interested in it at all.

I will definitely give the brown rice a try and mix some vegies through it, should i steam the vegetables so they are soft for him?
After we give him he's formula we would put him back in the cage so he can eat his solid food and usually he does but like I mentioned, last night he didn't touch any of it.

I hate seeing him like this, all stressed and confused. He is such a beautiful baby!!
I really appreciate everyone giving us pointers on trying to help him. Any comments are welcome - we are new to owning an eckie and only want to do right by him.
Although I get very stressed myself when he is upset.

So if he isn't really interested in his solids anymore, should we go back to feeding him more feeds of formula a day? If so, how many feeds.. 2-3?
But still provide a fresh bowl of fruits and vegetables as well....

Thanks!!!!

 

[labell]

Yes I would add back another feeding such as one in the morning and one at night with plenty of fresh food choices in his cage as well. A baby should never be stressed over food imo and if adding another feeding back for a little while makes it easier for him I say why not even if it is a small amount that just stimulates him to eat his grown up food.
You can try steaming the veggies with the rice to see if he likes them that way as well but I try to feed raw veggies whenever I can just because they contain more nutrients. The most important thing is giving him lots of options and choices while also feeding him the formula for as long as he needs it. Each baby is different, I really do think and my husband would agree that the extra time we gave Jolly to become weaned when HE was ready made a huge difference even though my husband teased me about being a push over!

Also don't let one day of not being interested in his cage food change how much you give him. I know it seems wasteful but there will be days that he eats his bowl clean and some days he doesn't but those choices should be given regardless and just supplement with more feedings if you need to with him being a baby still. As I said with most eclectus babies even giving them a little formula seems to stimulate them to eat more. Hang in there it will get so much easier I promise.

 

[sykoturkey]

We gave him 50ml's of formula this morning and he seems much more content, we also had a bowl of mixed nuts and he was loving them but i took them out so he would go towards eating some more solid food. He picked through it but didn't eat it all.
I gave him a mixture of strawbs, steamed carrot, corn on the cob, pear and apple. I'm trying to give him the things he is most likely to want to eat but also trying to give a varied range of it all.
So my partner and I will go back to giving him 2 feeds of formula a day which is what we were giving him when we brought him home.

I don't really mind about the waste of food he doesn't want, my family owns a fruit & veg whole saler so we get plenty of fresh produce. But i'm just a bit of a worrier if you hadn't already picked up on that...haha.
We weighed him last night and his weight was 345 grams and that was before formula...
He still looks like a healthy boy which is the main thing!! Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it. I'm sure I will have a few more questions for you yet though

 

[labell]

I feed nuts in small amounts to my eclectus but you want to make sure he is not getting too much they are very high in fat and protein. I feed all the normal things you hear about for eclectus fruits and veggies, quinoa and sprouts, lots of deep green leafy stuff such as kale, collard greens, mustard greens, watercress, dandelion greens (the greens all chopped small so that they can be really mixed into all the other wet ingredients so it sticks) but also some less common things like dried organic flowers and I even occasionally feed the lory nectar diet and bee pollen. As treats mine LOVE whole star anise. The star anise and the dried flowers I get from a place called "Starwest Botanicals" it's a great company with good prices on their organic bulk spices and herbs. Oh and some real yuk factor... I also occasionally feed meal worms live and dried. YUMMY!

 

[Birdman666]

Sounds like hes not weaning . As asked what else is he eating? Baby Begging is a ear piercing consistent wail [is he doing that?]. If it is you want have to start over . Offer other food always . But handfeed again 2 or 3 times a day . Should eventually refuse

Agreed. Sounds like baby begging to me too...

Put him back on hand feeding for now, and then gradually wean him off it again.

They scream to their parents to be fed in the wild. There comes a time when the parents just ignore the screaming, and show them how to eat on their own. This is how and where we find food. This is what we eat...

 

[sykoturkey]

I don't feed him too many nuts, only a very small amount although he loves them!
We have put him back to 2 feeds of formula a day, one in the morning and one at night. He seems much more happier now he is getting his morning feed.

He has a coarse perch in his cage to keep his nails down but he hasn't been playing on it as of late.... and whenever he steps up onto my partner or I he claws us, they are getting very long. What's the best way to trim them?

Thanks guys

 

[sykoturkey]

And I'm also going to try to give him some meal worms... I think he will be stoked!

 

[JerseyWendy]

And I'm also going to try to give him some meal worms... I think he will be stoked!

I remember quite vividly how my ekkis reacted to meal worms - my jaw dropped! I also made sure not to get kisses....for quite a while. :32:

 

[Anansi]

And I'm also going to try to give him some meal worms... I think he will be stoked!

I remember quite vividly how my ekkis reacted to meal worms - my jaw dropped! I also made sure not to get kisses....for quite a while. :32:

Hahahahahaha!!!!

 

[labell]

With young ones I just go to Sally's beauty and buy those huge black emery boards and make filing each toenail as stress free as I can by kind of making it into a game.