| Help with Baby SI Eclectus - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| HeatherinNH |
Hi!
I have been waiting to take home my 3 month old Male Baby SI Eclectus
"Yoshi" from the local pet store DOB 12/31/04. We have been visiting
him there every other day for about 2 months now and he is not weaned
yet, which I understand is normal. Anyway here are my questions:
About every 30 seconds, he consistantly belts out a loud screach!
(RAWWWWWWCK, RAWWWWWWCK) At first, I thought this was normal baby
begging for food type of screaching, but since the past 3 weeks it's
getting louder and louder and he does it even when his crop is full!
It actually hurts my ears. The store is abundance weaning him so he
isn't starving, and we're giving him bananna mixed with oatmeal and
lots of warm or room temp veggies (though he mostly eats the oatmeal
mix only) I guess I'm just looking for comfirmation that this is normal
and will go away mostly when he is weaned <?>. The only time he is
quiet is when he is snuggling with me under my chin, and even then
he'll belt one out when I say his name (which KILLS my ears). I just
hope it doesn't have to do with the fact that the store recently had a
Moluccan Cockatoo next to his cage for about 2 weeks (Gone now, was
boarding) and that one would scream so loud I had to leave the room a
few times. Also there's a resident Hyacinth Macaw that loves to scream
and I notice Yoshi takes great pleasure in chiming in during those
spells.
I ask these questions because I told my husband that Ekkies are
normally relatively quiet birds and now hubbie thinks I'm a liar!
Please don't flame me, I *KNOW* all birds make noise, but this little
Yoshi of mine is really quite the Soprano.
I'm afraid if we tried giving him time out or something once we take
him home - which would be darn near impossible since he does it
constantly anyway - then he would be discouraged from talking since
we'd be conveying to him that we don't want noise.
Also, what kind of toys do Ekkies like? Since he's out while we're
there, we never see him play with anything so we don't know! He has a
boing, a rope swing, & variety of toys. If you're wondering, his cage
is *enormous* so he's not couped up or anything.
Is cuddling bad? Am I spoiling him? He has two modes: sitting on his
portable perch and chugging ban/oat mix and cuddling. If I perch him
on my fingers, he chugs over to be cuddled.
Is being in a bird room with other large birds that scream bad?
Should I be talking to him while he sleeps on me, or be quiet and let
him sleep?
One other thing, he simply LOVES to be handfed formula. Everytime he
see's a shop worker who usually hand feeds him, he flies over to them!
Last night, his crop was almost hard from the feeding and he was still
pestering them. (His first few flight feathers were clipped recently,
so he's not going to be doing that much longer). I'm afraid he'll
NEVER loose his love for formula!
Any other general advice would be *SO* appreciated! I think I need all
the help I can get!
Thanks so much,
Heather, Eric the hubbie, and Yoshi the SI Ekkie.
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| Joanne |
Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.pets.birds:211506
"HeatherinNH" <HeatherNeptune@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111502751.249899.179280@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> he'll belt one out when I say his name (which KILLS my ears).
Do yourself and this bird a favor and abort the purchase. People who have
that strong of a reaction to the sounds their bird is capable of making will
not find them more endearing with time.
You are not a good candidate to be this bird's owner.
I am not flaming you. I am being very sincere in my suggestion. If you
proceed to consummate the purchase and take the bird home, you really didn't
want to hear the answer. You wanted to be assured that this bird would fit
into your expectation of it.
I had some people in my home a few years ago and one of my CAGs whistled
sharply. Both of these people had an astonishing reaction to the sound. I
realized then that they were not just being fussy but truly had a high
sensitivity to it. My CAGs are relatively quiet birds. And as smart as
they are, it wouldn't take long for them to figure out how to get great
reaction from people who can't tolerate the notes they can hit.
--
Sincerely,
Joanne
If it's right for you, then it's right, . . . . . for you!!!
Play - http://www.jobird.com
Pay for Play - http://www.jobird.com/refund.htm
Looking for Love? - http://www.jobird.com/hearts.htm
Garden Kinder CDs
http://www.jobird.com/cd/gardenkinderhome.html
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| Anonny Moose |
"HeatherinNH" <HeatherNeptune@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111502751.249899.179280@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hi!
>
> I have been waiting to take home my 3 month old Male Baby SI Eclectus
> "Yoshi" from the local pet store DOB 12/31/04. We have been visiting
> him there every other day for about 2 months now and he is not weaned
> yet, which I understand is normal. Anyway here are my questions:
>
I have a female RS ekkie. She is quiet most of the time but occasionally
lets out with the most horrendous screams. The neighbors down the road have
mentioned it, its that loud. If you are worried now about the screaming,
please do not take this bird home, for reasons another poster listed. I
don't believe there is really any way to discourage a bird from screaming if
that's what it wants to do.
Eclectus need a great amount of vitamin A in their diet and I'm wondering if
the formula this baby is getting provides it. If you decide to take this
bird home, please get him a checkup from an avian vet who can tell if he is
showing signs of deficiency and how you can provide a proper diet. Also
consider joining the eclectus listserv at
http://www.landofvos.com/eclectus.html where you will get answers to all
your questions.
However, I hope you will seriously reconsider all the reasons you want this
bird, all the possible bird behaviors that might cause trouble in your life,
and how your relationships - with the bird and with the people around you -
will be affected if he doesn't turn out to be the gentle, quiet companion
you'd imagined.
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| AFLane |
Bad news... the noise Yoshi is making is VERY normal. I have a female SI
Eclectus that is around 14 yrs old (approx... she's a rescue). We call the
"lovely" noise that she makes her "Pteradactyl GRONK". When Cuppie gronks,
it usually means whe wants attention or even acknowledgement. Her gronk is
loud enough that I have actually dropped the dinner dishes due to being
startled. It's so loud that she scares our Quaker right off his perch
(actually, it's kind of funny... she gronks, he falls and then gives me a
look that says "Ummm... I meant to do that! And you didn't see anything!").
Be forewarned... This loud gronk will NOT go away. There is nothing you can
do to make the bird stop gronking, except to have the bird with you 24/7.
Even then, if the bird gets very excited, there will be gronking. Cuppie
loves riding in the car. She gets VERY happy in the car. She gronks in the
car. We go deaf in the car.
If you decide to go ahead with the purchase of Yoshi, warn your husband...
there WILL BE GRONKING! Now here's what we've done to minimize the gronking
occurrences. With 5 parrots in the house, we can't hold Cuppie all the
time. So, when she gronks, I NEVER run over to her. That's training her to
summon me by gronking. What I will do is call over to her in a soothing
voice... "Here I am." "I'm in the kitchen." Oftentimes, I'll just whistle
to her -- my CAG and I are working on the Hungarian Rhapsody, so whistling a
couple of bars calms her down. She's looking for reffirmation and
confirmation when she gronks. She hears noises (kitchen or other parts of
house), but can't see what/where the noises are. So, GRONK!
If you can't handle the gronking, please do the bird a favor... do not bring
him home. I know others have said the same thing, and they are right. If
you bring Yoshi home, and you (and/or your husband) can't handle the noise,
Yoshi will eventually end up at a rescue. I'm not flaming you... just
stating some facts. I've volunteered at a bird rescue for a couple of years
now, and the 3 big reasons that birds are surrendered are 1) Noise!; 2)
Aggression (bird is normal, owner did NO research on handling and/or bird
psychology -- we get the untrainable bird "tame" in just a month or so); and
3) Death or major health issues in the family. (FYI - Cuppie came to me
due to aggression. She was nicknamed the "Mini T-Rex". During her rehab, I
took over 60 bites on my hands, and 2 on my face (she lunged unexpectedly).
She's been in my home for 16 months... no biting since day 5.)
Now about cuddling. Cuppie seems to love it. My husband calls Cuppie "his
little neckwarmer". But we limit her cuddling sessions to 20-30 minutes at
a time. It gives her a chance to poo, have a bite to eat and get a drink of
water. When she's ready to come over for more snuggles, she'll slide down
the bars of the cage and reach for whomever is sitting in the easy chair
next to her cage. Yoshi will want to be with you ALL the time for massive
snuggling and cuddling... he's a baby. Birds are VERY social flock animals.
Since he is not in a bird flock, he's making you his flock.
I'd like to recommend a book... "Birds for Dummies" (hate the title, but
it's a great book). If you have it already, be sure to read it cover to
cover. The amount of valueable information in the book is astounding. It
will answer MANY questions you will have about parrots. In fact, get it and
read it BEFORE you bring Yoshi home.
Now about toys... can't help you there on Ekkie toys. Cuppie is a rescue.
She had no toys, and in the past has had no idea what to do with them.
She's been watching the other birds, and hopefully taking notes on what to
do with the toys. But it's slow learning. Your baby bird won't have that
problem. Try lots of stuff to see what he likes to play with. Every bird
has different tastes, so it's hard to generalize.
Good luck with Yoshi...
Amy
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| HeatherinNH |
Thank you all for your help....
I went to the store last night and was floored when we found out he's
ready to go home Thursday! (Tomorrow) When we visited him, we spoke
softly to him, almost whispered. We were surprised to find that this
did help! Alot! He even moved his beak and made word like noises for
the first time! We spoke to the 'bird-guru' lady there about his
squaks, and she swore up and down it's a baby thing and will be soon
replaced with words. I wonder, does Cuppie talk aswell as gronk?
Perhaps the bird-guru-lady is right, or she's just selling me a bird.
Whatever.. my husband and I discussed this at length, and we have
decided that we have 2 months invested in Yoshi (not to mention the
store already has over $2,000 of my money bird+cage) and beyond all
that, I really.... really.... really... love this little man. Hey,
it's not easy being green - right?
Don't worry about him being a rescue-- I used to be a Veterinary
Technician, I would *Never* send him to rescue. We're growing old
together! (I'm 26).
What I would love is any other input on this.. Like I said, are gronks
(rawwwwwk rawwwwwk) REPLACED with words or in addition to? Has anybody
ever had an ekkie from babyhood that changed this type of thing? Any
other advice? He's coming home tomorrow! *YAY* And he'll be in the
same cage he's been in the store so at least that will be familiar to
him. I was thinking of bringing him to my parents house for Easter on
Sunday, would this be too stressful since he's getting scenery changed
Thursday (coming home)? Or is it best to get the little guy used to
this kind of thing? I have 2 Italian greyhounds (sm dogs) -- it would
probably be too stressful to intro them Thursday right? It would be
nice since I have Thurs off--- anyway any homecoming advice? He's a
very outgoing little man and definately doesn't stress easily if at all
so far. We made it a point of intros with him and all kinds of people
over the months at the store.
Thanks alot for all your help.....
Heather, Eric the Hubbie, and Yoshi the SI Ekkie
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| AFLane |
Hi Heather, Eric and soon to include Yoshi,
Male Ekkie's have a greater tendency/capability to speak than female Ekkie's
(at least according to fellow Ekkie parents and written research that I've
read). The odds are very high that he will learn to actually speak.
However, he will probably still gronk. One of the male Ekkie's that I
placed from the rescue commented on his bird gronking, but then also
mentioned that the bird had picked up quite a few phrases in a very short
time. Cuppie only has 2 or 3 phrases... the rest is gronks. And she NEVER
speaks when we're in the room. Once in a while, I hear this delicate little
baby voice say "I'm Cupcake... I love you". Too cute for words. Of course,
when we hear this, we go running into the living room to tell her how clever
she is, and she just looks at us like we're nuts. When I come home from
work, if I listen carefully, I can hear that little baby voice say
"Hiiiiiiiiii". I have to listen carefully, cause the other 4 birds are
yelling to be let out of their cages and they all want a hello kiss first --
especially my bossy quaker that yells "Gimme a KISS!". <lol>
Now about th "bird-guru" at the pet store . She is going to tell you
anything that she thinks you need to hear, in order to finalize the sale.
Let's get real... it's a business. Not slamming her, but she's in business
to sell the bird. As long as you go into your relationship with Yoshi with
an open mind (and possibly earplugs), you'll be fine. Remember, there's no
such thing as too much research. Around 4 months ago, there was a nice
article on Ekkie's in Bird Talk magazine. I recommend subscribing.
Now about taking him to Easter at your Mom's. I don't recommend it.
Although Yoshi is used to lots of people coming and going in his life, he's
used to the scenary staying the same. He's been great in the store, but
when you bring him home, there's going to have a major adjustment period.
Many birds, when brought home, start to have totally different behavior.
The bold people-bird can become shy and withdrawn; the shy can become
aggressive (fear/self-defense). Patience is necessary during the first few
weeks (and sometimes months) with a new bird. Once you bring him home, he's
probably going to want to stay in his cage a bit, and will only want minimal
handling. That's okay, and normal. Talk to him. Let him know that
everything's alright. If he allows it, reach in the cage and gently stroke
a toe. Having the same cage is nice, but it's in new surroundings. Believe
it or not, birds do not adapt to change well. If he gets stressed, he may
start to pluck or overpreen his feathers a bit (Ekkies, quakers and Afr.
Greys are pretty prone to plucking). If he starts to stress, back off... no
touching... just talking.
Let's start at the beginning. When you go to bring him home, you'll need to
have an appropriate car carrier. When I travel with my birds, I do not carry
them in their huge cages -- it's not practical, and it's dangerous (unstable
and toys swinging around). I have a cat carrier for each bird that has a
perch mounted (drilled a hole in the side and screwed in the perch). In
addition, we line the bottom of the cat carrier with a towel and drape the
top and door opening with a towel. It's cold out! Once we're in the car,
the towel gets lifted off the door so the bird can see me and can be
reassured.
Set his cage up in a part of the house that you spend a lot of your time.
Birds are VERY social. They want to be with you... even if you're just in
the room. We use the living room. Place him in the cage and CLOSE THE
DOOR! It will be very tempting to play with him, but he'll need you to back
off. Do NOT let the dogs near the cage. Yoshi probably doesn't know what
they are, and they ARE predators. In fact, if the door is open on Yoshi's
cage, I recommend removing the dogs from the room -- banishment.
Eventually, Yoshi and the dogs may get along great, but never, ever leave
them together unsupervised. The damage that can be unintentionally
inflicted is devastating.
I'll have to continue this later... I've got an appointment.
Amy
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| Dreamspinner3 |
"HeatherinNH" <HeatherNeptune@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111502751.249899.179280@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hi!
>
> I have been waiting to take home my 3 month old Male Baby SI Eclectus
> "Yoshi" from the local pet store DOB 12/31/04. We have been visiting
> him there every other day for about 2 months now and he is not weaned
> yet, which I understand is normal. Anyway here are my questions:
>
> About every 30 seconds, he consistantly belts out a loud screach!
> (RAWWWWWWCK, RAWWWWWWCK)
I owned a 5 year old female SI Eclectus and she also let out the same kind
of loud scream throughout the day. Other Eclectus owners told me that it
was normal behavior. Overall, my Eclectus was quieter than my other
parrots--except when she did The Scream. It was normal behavior for her and
there was nothing I could do to stop it, nor did I even try.
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| Dreamspinner3 |
"HeatherinNH" <HeatherNeptune@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1111608955.157076.143380@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> We spoke to the 'bird-guru' lady there about his
> squaks, and she swore up and down it's a baby thing and will be soon
> replaced with words.
The "bird guru" is not telling you the complete truth--the bird will
probably learn to talk AND continue to make the gronking noise. As other
have said, it is normal for Eclectus to make the gronking noise all of their
lives.
> Don't worry about him being a rescue-- I used to be a Veterinary
> Technician, I would *Never* send him to rescue. We're growing old
> together! (I'm 26).
Of course you don't PLAN on every giving up you bird--but will both you and
your husband be able to stand the gronking noise day after day, year after
year?
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| Tammy |
I have a 3 year old RS Ekkie and he just loves to have his screaming "fits".
Which as you have been told by others that this is quite normal. He is
simply vocalizing which is normal. He does it mostly when he can't see me.
Yes, it can be quite ear piercing. Just make sure that you are prepared for
what is to come. When Buster decides to have his "fit", our B & G Macaw
Joey loves to chime in also...this can be quite the bird "opera". LOL
Best wishes to you, your family, and new baby.
For the Birds,
Tammy
"Dreamspinner3" <dreamspinner3@hotpop.com> wrote in message
news:d1smpc$are$1@domitilla.aioe.org...
> "HeatherinNH" <HeatherNeptune@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1111502751.249899.179280@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> Hi!
>>
>> I have been waiting to take home my 3 month old Male Baby SI Eclectus
>> "Yoshi" from the local pet store DOB 12/31/04. We have been visiting
>> him there every other day for about 2 months now and he is not weaned
>> yet, which I understand is normal. Anyway here are my questions:
>>
>> About every 30 seconds, he consistantly belts out a loud screach!
>> (RAWWWWWWCK, RAWWWWWWCK)
>
> I owned a 5 year old female SI Eclectus and she also let out the same kind
> of loud scream throughout the day. Other Eclectus owners told me that it
> was normal behavior. Overall, my Eclectus was quieter than my other
> parrots--except when she did The Scream. It was normal behavior for her
> and
> there was nothing I could do to stop it, nor did I even try.
>
>
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