Young Eclectus squawking

[Swifty_ano]

Hi all!

My new baby boy has been in our family for 2.5 weeks now and he has been am Angel!
he's slowly opening up and realizing I'm his new family.

he's a 16 week old male Red Sided Eclectus. Today he developed a constant squawk.
it's only a single noise but continuous whenever he sees me or if he hears a noise he thinks is me.
If my phone gets a message he lets one go.

He was sold to me fully weaned. But thought he may have regressed so I fed him a sooky feed.
he sqawked while eating and carried on like a baby haha it was adorable,

But even after he ate, he was still noisy. Not as bad but still.
if I walked near his cage he would squawk, if I said his name or spoke to him he would squawk.

Any ideas?

I have noticed his voice is a bit raspy when he makes his inside noises.... Hoping it's from all the squawking haha

 

[moni.k]

If he's squawking even after his feedings, then it seems like he's begging for attention. Give him a soft contact call to acknowledge his presence. If it continues, don't give him attention. It will encourage his squawks. Instead, give him a lot of enriching toys such as foraging toys. When you get a moment of silence, shower him with affection. He may return your attention with squawks, continue to ignore them and reward him for his independence and good behavior. It may take a lot of patience and possibly even a good pair of ear plugs, but it'll be well worth it. He's at a young age and like a child you have to teach him which behavior is acceptable and what isn't using positive reinforcement. You got this handled!! Plus, there's a lot of other eclectus owners here to help! Welcome to the forum swifty_ano

 

[sodakat]

He IS a baby.

As a rule, youngsters only call out for food. They recognize their parent, hand feeder and caregiver and if they are hungry they make that single, repetiive noise. This is not something that should be ignored using behavior modification.

Keep food in his dish all the time. You may have to move him to the dish if he is not going there himself. Make sure he is eating what you provide. At his age he does need to sit and eat for a long time.

I think it would be good to hand feed him a bit for another month.

 

[Swifty_ano]

Here's the problem. I tried feeding him what the breeder fed him, so as to not shock him. He ate well, but I noticed he was only eating. SPROUTS, Corn and grapes. The other vegetables remained untouched.
so I started feeding him vegetables in the morning minus sprouts and it seemed to work a little. Didn't eat all of it but more then he had been.

He got his favourite things for dinner as well as his not so favourite mixed in.

He did well for 4-5 days and just one day decided he would squawk

I gave him a hand feed this morning but wasn't hungry for the mix and decided he wanted his normal food.
He ate a good chunk of it. So he shouldn't be hungry today.

He does seem to be making constant inside noises though like his " awwwwwwww" noises. Is this normal? He doesn't usually do that in the morning?

 

[sodakat]

The begging noise is only made when they see the feeder (bird or person).

It sounds like you are doing good. I just wanted to remind you that he needs to eat as much as possible now. He is very, very young to be on his own especially since he is one of the larger subspecies.

 

[mtdoramike]

You ain't seen nuttin yet hahahahahahahaha. Wait for him to get a year or two old and see what happens. You think he's squawking now, you haven't heard anything yet. Also, the longer he is there and the more comfortable he gets with his surroundings, the more vocal he will become. They have a scream or yell that is soooo high pitched and loud, it can be heard better than a block away and I believe could break crystal if it was near.

Try to ignore it because he's doing it for attention and the more attention he gets, the more he will want, just imagine a screaming 2 year old at the store wanting a toy and mother tells him or her "NO".

 

[nicki]

It's so hard to know what bad behaviors we are teaching our babies! Anytime I am in the kitchen, SQUAWK! Now we have a thing where if we hit a piece of silverware on a plate, ya know, otherwise known as eating, SQUAWK! I am doing my best to keep him full and happy. He's been maintaining weight wonderfully, not taking much handfeeding, picking at veggies and seed/pellets (even though I really hate to do the pellet thing) at night. It sometimes just feels like you're doing everything you could and then the SQUAWK. Mine has been home for about the same amount of time as well. Feel free to message me, I know this feeling if you want to vent about it

 

[Swifty_ano]

Thanks everyone! NICKI I might have to take you up on that offer.

I've started with hand feeds of an evening. I've tried morning feeds and he's more interested in his normal food.

He's fine when I leave for work but when I come home Its non stop noise. I'll give him a hand feed and he loves it, however, it doesn't help the noise.
he will sit on my shoulder and squawk in my ear....... That really hurts.
It seems nothing I do helps the situation.

When it's our time, once he settles down he always makes inside noises like "awwwww" but it's pretty constant to. I'm not sure if it's because he's vocal or trying to communicate with me?

I've done 4 hand feeds so far and it seems he's put on 35-40G? This seems a little excessive for such a short amount of time?

Its getting too me as I feel I'm doing something wrong. Like hes asking for something/ yelling something to me but I'm not providing it

 

[sodakat]

That seems like a lot of weight to gain in a short time. Four days?? Are you weighing the same time of day? Weigh him in the morning after his first poop of the day before he has eaten.

If you are taking your time feeding him, by the time he is finished he should not be calling out for food. If you are talking to him he may just be responding to you and that's a good thing.

It's the incessant, repetitive cawing that indicates hunger.

When my birds are weaning their chicks they will let them call a few times before feeding them. The older the chick gets the longer the parents wait before feeding them. Eventually the chick quits begging.

But, as owners of youngsters we need to make sure they are eating plenty and that there is always food available.

The baby stage does pass!

Does he seem to be doing a good job of eating the various foods in his dishes?

 

[Swifty_ano]

He doesn't eat everything I give him nut he eats bits and piece.Mainly sprouts and his fruit.
I'm trying to get him to eat everything else but it's not easy

So his squawking is when he's in his outside cage and he sees someone. It doesn't matter who.
its not only when he's hungry, He does that when it's later in the arvo and that's really ear piercing.

The worst part is, even when he's fed, he still squawks after wards for a little while until he settles down a bit and realizes he's not going back outside.


Any ideas?

 

[moni.k]

As mentioned before, don't praise him for his squawks. If he sees someone and squawks, don't take him out of the cage immediately. You can give him a contact call to acknowledge his presence, but if his squawking continues, ignore him until he gets quiet. Then you go in and take him out of the cage. He needs to learn to be independent (even when you or someone is home) and that "silence" or cute noises are acceptable. Remember: foraging toys is literally the golden key! There's a DIY section on the forum that has a lot of really good ideas for super cheap at home foraging toys that won't cost you a pretty penny.

My favorite is getting eucalyptus branches and zip-tying them to the cage. then from the branches and leaves I tie coffee filter paper filled with nuts, dried fruits, dehydrated veggies. It provides a super easy, cheap foraging activity, especially for the beginner birds who haven't had much experience in the foraging department.

Aside from feedings and bedtime, Nalani isn't on a "set" schedule of when she comes out of the cage. Some days she's in her cage all morning, other days she spends it outside or on her perch. Switch things up with the routine to make it different from yesterday. Then, when schedules change (which they do for school, work, family, etc.) he won't become accustomed to a single set routine.

 

[Swifty_ano]

Even when out of the cage he will squawk. Even once fed he still squawks.
when he's on my shoulder he squawks.

I can't stop it

 

[sodakat]

When exactly does he NOT squawk? What are all the conditions where he is quiet?

 

[nicki]

I'm definitely still a noob, but what I have been doing is making a chop. Food processing all his food so that all his yummy foods and his good foods are so small that when he picks out his favorite foods, there is still good food stuck to it He throws a lot out, but I feel like it helped out a lot Still wants his hand feeding though, those squawks are pretty loud echoing through my kitchen. I guess Eko is a fitting name then lol.

 

[Swifty_ano]

He doesn't squawk when covered up (after a while)
After he thinks I'm gone he will quieten down after a few minutes but when he hears something he thinks is me he will make noise....

 

[Joshuwaaa]

Hey,

Your situation sounds so similar to mine and Lokis about two months ago, everyone here will recall how horrid it was when I felt so useless to stop his calling.

What I can tell you is diet is a big thing, as soon as he ate enough he began to calm. I'm sure your feeding him fine, just what helped me.

Also, persevere, as a baby he is calling to say I'm here, to say play with me etc, an I know it must get frustrating but ignore those calls and they do grow out of it.

As suggested take him out and start teaching him stuff, if he screams pop him on a perch and just sit and ignore him, don't look at him, don't say anything.

When he's quiet go back to him, but expect a call. He will call back while learning,an then walk away again. When he stops get back to him straight away, get that call, and go back.

I promise it gets better, message me about Loki if you like and maybe we can find a solution.

Sounds silly but there is nothing like seeds he can see? Or nuts? Or toys he can't get too which might frustrate him .


I apologise of this is a repeat of previous people's answers. Have to study but wanted to quickly post any help I could. Persevere

x

 

[drlisaort]

Okay mtdoramike you are scaring me!!! Oliver is VERY quiet with the exception of his lovely talking and cute little noises. He is not a squawker only the first week when he came in January and with one of my sons every time he passed by him, but that ended when he fed him one weekend while I was gone. So, will this change in a year?

 

[sodakat]

He doesn't squawk when covered up (after a while)
After he thinks I'm gone he will quieten down after a few minutes but when he hears something he thinks is me he will make noise....

Some birds are more needy than others and some are more vocal than others. If you know he is eating well, then I would say talk to him when he makes the noise. Turn it into a back and forth where you respond to his noise and see if he will respond to yours. After all, that is the first step towards helping a bird learn to talk.

I don't think it is normal for him to squawk ALL the time so I hope you are exagerating a bit.

Does he fly? Does he have things to chew that interest him enough that he will fool with them? Or does he just want to be with/on you?

A content young bird should be too busy to squawk, IMO.