Young ekkie 'responds' to all human voices

[faysalitani]

Hello all,

We just brought home our first 'big' bird - a beautiful four-month old male ekkie - from the aviary. He's adapted pretty well in terms of eating, sleeping, etc and my wife and I both spend lots of time near him during the day so he's not lonely. But since he's arrived he's done something I've never seen in a parrot - every time he hears a human voice he sounds off with a few screeches. They're not terribly loud but they're making conversation impossible for us, and frankly stressing us out a bit They die down when we go quiet. Does anyone know what we should do? We don't want to reinforce the behavior so we don't respond dramatically or anything, but we're worried we might be doing something wrong...

Thank you!

Faysal

 

[chris-md]

Congratulations on the baby boy! Pics please?

How long has he been with you exactly? You say “just” brought home. But that can mean a lot of things to a lot of people and likely has direct implications here.

 

[faysalitani]

Hey, thanks for the reply! By 'just' I mean today is day 3

Photo of Abe attached

Thanks!

F

 

[LordTriggs]

abe looks like a big poofy green bean!

He's adorable

 

[faysalitani]

Thanks! Yes he's adorable, but acting less than adorable

 

[clark_conure]

OH that bird is just cute as all.....

Nice get!

What does he do when you talk directly to him? Maybe he thinks your ignoring him and want's to chat too? That would be my first thought. Also birds that are "generally good" are generally bonding or bonded. It could be attention seeking behavior, in fact it's "almost" definitely...attention seeking behavior; I'd try to include him more. He might learn the proper volume and he'll start mimicking you more.

 

[faysalitani]

Thanks on all counts!

So when i speak to him directly he responds with squawking, but sometimes when we're quiet he starts chattering and mumbling to himself in a very cute way.

Im trying to get him involved in things. He still nips at me sometimes when he steps up but once he's settled he's fun. Plenty of time outside the cage also, though he doesn't like being petted from what i can tell.


:33:

 

[clark_conure]

three days..... let him relax, sooner than you know he will be crawling to your hand or coming up with some other way to show you he wants to be petted, HE WILL be more snugly than a puppy, he just has to fully bond first. The progress you made in three days is ahead of the curve. Feel free to slow down a bit. And let him get used to not just to the new "flock" but the house, the cage, the toys, the food etc.

 

[chris-md]

Awwww he’s Adorable as heck!!

“Stressing us out quite a bit”. I mean this tongue in cheek, but let’s not be dramatic. Your baby is still very much adjusting. And making noise when others are making noise is part and parcel of parrot ownership, it’s what you signed up for. They are noisy, it’s what they do. For everything else, there’s geico.

Adjusting can take some time, depending on the individual bird. Some take days, others take months. Just give him time to settle in. Some of the odd noises will ultimately disappear. Remember, he’s just a baby still.

 

[LordTriggs]

sounds like all is going well especially 3 days in!

The Eclectus Polygamous nature is among the things that really attracts me to the species as it does make them less prone to being a 1 person bird. Although I think any bird I get right now will become 1 person as there's only 1 person in the place!

 

[faysalitani]

three days..... let him relax, sooner than you know he will be crawling to your hand or coming up with some other way to show you he wants to be petted, HE WILL be more snugly than a puppy, he just has to fully bond first. The progress you made in three days is ahead of the curve. Feel free to slow down a bit. And let him get used to not just to the new "flock" but the house, the cage, the toys, the food etc.

Okay this is good to know ) As long as he's well adapted I dont mind if he doesn't always want to snuggle. But it would be nice to not have him thinking my fingers are food Anyway, I'm glad we're doing okay as his new flock.

 

[faysalitani]

Awwww he’s Adorable as heck!!

“Stressing us out quite a bit”. I mean this tongue in cheek, but let’s not be dramatic. Your baby is still very much adjusting. And making noise when others are making noise is part and parcel of parrot ownership, it’s what you signed up for. They are noisy, it’s what they do. For everything else, there’s geico.

Adjusting can take some time, depending on the individual bird. Some take days, others take months. Just give him time to settle in. Some of the odd noises will ultimately disappear. Remember, he’s just a baby still.

Thanks for your help!! Sorry I didn't mean to suggest we except the little guy to be downright quiet. It's just a very specific thing that made me think I was doing something wrong, that he wouldn't learn to make other noises, etc. I've never interacted with a baby parrot He's awesome though. So much fun.

 

[faysalitani]

sounds like all is going well especially 3 days in!

The Eclectus Polygamous nature is among the things that really attracts me to the species as it does make them less prone to being a 1 person bird. Although I think any bird I get right now will become 1 person as there's only 1 person in the place!

Okay this is encouraging, thanks guys. We don't really know how to tell whether something's going well or badly! At the very least he's less of a klutz by the day.

Yup, that's one of the main reasons we went with an eclectus. That and they're adorable.

 

[LordTriggs]

sounds like all is going well especially 3 days in!

The Eclectus Polygamous nature is among the things that really attracts me to the species as it does make them less prone to being a 1 person bird. Although I think any bird I get right now will become 1 person as there's only 1 person in the place!

Okay this is encouraging, thanks guys. We don't really know how to tell whether something's going well or badly! At the very least he's less of a klutz by the day.

Yup, that's one of the main reasons we went with an eclectus. That and they're adorable.

Well you've got further in 3 days than I got with my conure and he was a really good boy for the time I had him

Yeah Ekkies are cute, though not for me I think. At least not now.

 

[faysalitani]

Guys, it can't be a food issue can it? He still gets his old fruit-seed mix and we've added fresh fruits that he likes, so not a huge change and he has plenty of food. I'm reading elsewhere on this forum that squawking in a baby might just be hunger.. but he only does it when there are people around

 

[clark_conure]

If he still gets some of his old food available he's not going to starve himself, I'm almost positive it's a behavioral issue; especially by your responses when you talk to him like you mentioned above. I'm sure he's stressed a bit still after 4 days, but ....

Well crap wait, do you see seed husks? there is your answer......If you see seed husks, and not seeds, he's eating.

Also move his cage if it's convenient. So you can watch him eat at least.

 

[LordTriggs]

sounds like attention seeking to me. There's a definite baby begging for food, but it involves dropping the wings and bobbing the head

If he was fed by his parents then the odds of him not being properly weaned are low and he's just talking back at you and mumbling away to himself. If fed by humans then he's trying to get your attention, hopefully.

As long as he's eating then he's fine, just make sure he gets more fruit and veg than seeds

Just breath deeply, you've had him 4 days, he's gotta spend time working things out and learn he's not on the menu. You gotta get ready for when he hits the terrible two's and makes a real racket. you'll beg for the noise he's making now

 

[faysalitani]

If he still gets some of his old food available he's not going to starve himself, I'm almost positive it's a behavioral issue; especially by your responses when you talk to him like you mentioned above. I'm sure he's stressed a bit still after 4 days, but ....

Well crap wait, do you see seed husks? there is your answer......If you see seed husks, and not seeds, he's eating.

Also move his cage if it's convenient. So you can watch him eat at least.

Love this forum for how helpful everyone else is

No he eats, alright. We can see him doing it and I hear him crunching away from halfway across the house Eats from my hand also etc.

He does seem to be nervous, yeah. When he first arrived, oddly, he seemed more docile - stepped up like a champ, pretty quiet also. Now he's nippy (more 'warning' bites than painful) and squawky. Of course if this had happened to me as a bird I'd be a lot worse, so like I said just trying to make sure Im not messing him up in some way

 

[clark_conure]

YOU MIGHT,,,,,MIGHT start time out training if you think he's bonded to you and your wife enough. When the bird bites put him on the floor like 10 feet away and go back and sit down, make him walk back.

It may be too soon, you have to judge by how easily he comes out of his cage.

Putting him on the floor, not the cage or perch, but the floor; and say "no" out loud when he bites, he will realize he is being "shunned" for his bad behavior. He will walk back and be super sweet usually. It might take a few tries till he totally catches on, but he will figure it out that biting is unacceptable pretty quick.

 

[faysalitani]

YOU MIGHT,,,,,MIGHT start time out training if you think he's bonded to you and your wife enough. When the bird bites put him on the floor like 10 feet away and go back and sit down, make him walk back.

It may be too soon, you have to judge by how easily he comes out of his cage.

Putting him on the floor, not the cage or perch, but the floor; and say "no" out loud when he bites, he will realize he is being "shunned" for his bad behavior. He will walk back and be super sweet usually. It might take a few tries till he totally catches on, but he will figure it out that biting is unacceptable pretty quick.

Okay, I will do that. Thank you. I think it's a good idea because it's something he picked up after we brought him home. Before that he never bit.