Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    
    	That's not a problem, it's a FEATURE !!!!  :')
    
    	My nape does exactly the same thing and the best success I've
    	had is with covering the cage when he is at his worst. 
    	I'm not sure, but I think it would lose it's effectiveness (sp?)
    	if you did it EVERY time.  I hope for your sake that you own 
    	your home, I live on the second floor and Murdock can be
    	heard in the driveway !!
    
    					Good luck,
    
    						Roger

    My female cockatiel does the same thing.  When I get up in the morning
    to shower she starts her calling.  My concern is that I will get
    thrown out of my apartment since we aren't allowed any pets.  During
    the hot summer mornings I used to spray her and she would love to
    just sit up in the window sill and preen herself.  Now, with the
    colder weather setting in I don't know what to do.  I work part
    time at a pet store so I'm continuously bringing home new toys for
    her. I don't want to have to get rid of her since I've had her since
    she was 8 weeks old.  She will be turning a year old in October.
    She's extremely tame and loves to have her head scratched for hours.
    Scooter even falls off to sleep on my chest while I'm watching T.V.
    at night.  People can't believe how tame she is.  
    
    Can any of you bird enthusiast help me.  I really want to keep her! 
    

    
    My Yellow nape does it to, Espally if I'm up stairs and he cant
    see me..he will yell,and yell..or the raido is on..
    
    At least for me, I leave the raido on all day for him, and when
    I get home from work, he is quit all night..he is probelly so
    tired at screaming at the DJ's that is is all yelled out..
    
    Lou/Reggie

    I think that this is reason to request a bird trainer's advice.
    There seem to be a lot of Deccie's with Pet birds and experiencing the
    same types of problems (Screaming).  It's not like we were not aware
    of the birds potential when we purchased them, it's just that we
    thought we could monitor it better.  I can not speak for anyone
    else, but I have read most of the training books on birds available
    and tried their suggestions.  Still, I get her constant screaming. I
    wouldn't be as concerned if I lived in my own home.
    
    So please ... is there anyone out there who can help me (us)?!!!!
     

     Does anyone else have 
>    this problem with their bird, and how do you deal with it?

Gail, I have two cockatiels... one given to me about 6 years ago, and another
bought to keep #1 company, 2 years ago.  We bought #2 to keep #1 company, and
thought that it would quiet him down.  It has had the opposite affect.  I have
two screaming cockies now, and they drive me nuts.  

Mine scream from sun up to sun down, when they KNOW I'm home.  I swear they do
it for attention.  When I'm in "their" room doing some work, they sit and scream
at me, too.  I know it's their cry for attention.  They have plenty of toys.
They have each other.  But they don't have a lot of my time.  I admit it, and I
know it.  I've tried to teach them to talk.  They can only whistle certain 
lines/tunes I've taught them both.  But sometimes, there is NO WAY I can stop
them from screaming, short of covering them up, shutting the shades, and the
door [which I don't do very often].  AND, sometimes all of that doesn't even
stop them.

An expert bird-a-thologist or birdie shrink might give us some alternate solu-
tions.  However, the solution that I've most recently had on my mind has been
birdie adoption.  I know that if/when we have a baby, there's no way I could
keep these screamin' meemies!  If it sounds like there'd be no love lost, well
I guess you're right.  It all boils down to I never should have accepted #1
when my friend gave him to me... I was really doing my friend a favor at the
time.

SORRY, I didn't offer you any advice.  I can tell you that I share your prob-
lem, though... and I'd be interested to hear what other people have to say 
about it.  Stay tuned... in the near future you may see two cockatiels up for
adoption [though I'm not ready to give them away, yet].

    No one told us when we bought a yellow nape about the problems....
    only that they were good talkers, affectionate etc.  We had Echo
    for about a year.  When we lived in our apartment we didn't have
    a problem.  We were close to work and home alot.  When we moved
    to our house it was unbearable.  Travel time to and from work was
    greater and outside activities were numerous (we live in the woods).
    With my sinus condition and a cathedral ceiling it was all I could
    do to keep my sanity whith a screaming bird!!!!  I ended up selling
    Echo and hated to but felt I had no choice.  I learned later that
    he had been sold to a wonderful home but again was returned to the
    pet shop because of his screaming.  I have since learned ALOT about
    birds and because of my experience have expanded my services to
    include counciling of "pet owners to be".  It seems that most places
    that offer pets for sale are reluctant to tell ALL about the animals.
    I'm sorry I can't offer any advice as to how to stop screaming.
    It may be that giving the bird it's own room is the way to deal
    with it.  I know many serious bird people who keep the birds separate
    from their lives.  It gives them the option of choosing when to
    spend time with the bird.  You might try calling breeders to see
    what they suggest.  I've also seen ads in the Want Advertiser for
    bird training.  And if all else fails I do know someone who occasionaly
    takes in birds for training.  
    
    MaryAnne
    (603)547-6890
    
    I was thinking about getting a cockatiel....the birds I know aren't
    screamers. Is it something they all do or just some of them??
    

    do your research and do not buy a species that screams period. 
    anthing or animal that can drown out my spouse does not stay long
    in my house.  

    Hello.
    
    
    I have double the problem.  I have a 6 year old Red Lored Amazon
    and a 6 month old Lilac-Crowned Amazon who both scream for attention.
     They scream when they see me because they want me to come out and
    play.  How do I solve the problem when they drive me nuts???
    
    Our birds are all out on an enclosed glassed-in sun porch and over
    the inner door we have vertical blinds.  So, when the birds drive
    me crazy and I cannot give them the attention they want so desperately,
    I close the blinds.  It usually works.  They still have plenty of
    light out on their porch but they cannot see me so they stay quieter.
     Of course, this does not affect our African Grey.  He chatters
    away from sun up to sundown.
    
    Laurie, Jonathan, Fergus, Chico
    

    
    
    I also have a red lord and a nape, and the red lord is worse then
    the nape. I cover them at night and they are in the livingroom and
    found that when they get going I just cover them and they seem to
    know that is quiet time...
    
    lisa

    Mine scream all the time, no matter what, just to see if they can
    send me to the Funny Farm!  ARRRRRRGH!
    
    [I shouldn't be telling such horror stories here cause when I put
    them up for adoption here in this wonderful NOTESfile, nobody will
    want the cute little screamers!]

    	I have found music helps sooth my Blue and Gold Macaw.  I made
    a tape of some very soft and soothing music.  Willows favorite tape
    is from Disney Lands Enchanched Tikki room.  For those who don't
    know, the Tikki room has birds who talk and sing, in voices of famous
    actors.  
    	I also made up speech training tapes with the word or phrase
    I want him to learn.  These tapes seem to calm him down.  They also
    have made Willow a great talker.  He is only 7 months old and he
    has a six word vocabulary.  Not bad for only having him for a month
    and a half.
    	I don't think that anyone is going to find a parrot of any kind
    that doesn't scream.  I know people who have bought birds who don't
    scream, but they scream as much or more than any other parrot I
    have seen.
    	I know birds scream to get attention.  But to go to them when
    they are screaming, this rewards their screaming behavior.  I got
    that from a local bird trainer in Cincinnati.  I bought a new T-stand
    and put Willow in the same room with me while I do my work.  He
    seems to be happy just to be near me.  He did not scream once when
    he was on the stand.
    
    		Good Luck with Your screamers
    				John
    

    Jocko, our yellow nape isn't too bad.  He occasionally screams when
    he sees my husband (his favorite person in the world), through
    the bedroom window or when he first gets home.  Once he gets to
    play with him for a few minutes he is just fine.  We leave him out
    on top of his cage in the morning for about an hour before we go
    to work and as soon as we get home at night.  He usually talks
    or sings to amuse himself.  When he gets bored he usually goes into
    his cage and plays on his rawhide rings.  I think that it is the
    freedom that we give him.  He resides in our bedroom and seems
    quite content there.  He loves to watch tv at night with us 
    and never makes a peep when we are in bed.  Even when we sleep
    very late.  He does like to be around us but doesn't mind being
    alone in the bedroom even when we are home.  He just loves to 
    sing and learn new songs.
    
    As for the cockatiels, we have 2 pairs.  they rarely make any
    noise.  Of course they are true pairs (Male/Female).  And that
    may make a difference, I don't know.  They seem very content
    with their mates.
    
    The big birds seem to require time out of their cages on a daily
    routine.  My Nape and my Moluccan each have their daily routine
    and it seems to suffice.  They do have occasional outbursts but
    not that often and not for long intervals, which I find very
    tolerable...In the rare instances that the Nape acts up, the
    quilt goes over the cage.
    
    Best of luck!
    
    Denise

    We have eight birds .... two yellow collared mini-macaws, three
    parakeets, two cockatiels and an orange winged Amazon.  One thing
    I have found out in the early stages of this hobby is that birds
    can be very noisy and they can sustain this activity for long 
    periods of time.  In the case of one of my cockatiels it is for
    attention.  When he is allowed out of his cage he will stay with
    you and be very happy.  The other cockatiel (not in the same cage)
    will see this and start screaming.  They tend to set each other
    off in this way.  The budgies always have a level of chatter going
    on and this will continue until they are partially covered in the
    evening.  One of the budgies has the cockatiel scream down pat and
    when things get too quiet he will let it loose and will get one
    or both of the cockies going.  My amazon has some kind of major
    scream.  Fortunately, he only gets this way on occasion or if he
    feels that you are giving too much attention to one of the other
    birds.  The mini-macaws are very quiet birds and seem to prefer
    mimmicking human sounds over common bird calls.  My youngest mini
    is a big help in controlling the screams of the others by yelling
    "shut up" when the other birds get loud.  The other birds seem to
    listen once in a while.  If you ask me which is the most irritating
    of all the screams, I would have to say that it is the cockatiels.
    It can really be torture!  I acquired these birds slowly over time
    and I can tell you that for the average person who just wants a
    pet that is different than the common dog or cat then a bird is
    a great choice.  One must consider different species and their 
    reputation for screaming.  One should also take their time and choose
    the one bird that really impresses you.  Keep only ONE bird and
    they will tend to be quiet.  Covering, changing their environment,
    giving them more time out of the cages or simply just spending more
    time with your feathered friend can help keep them quiet.  Some
    or all of these may help.  If all else fails reach for the headsets
    tune in you favorite station, and crank up the volume.  
    
    Jim Buccieri

    My grey, Max also screams for attention, but what can be most
    infuriating is that even he sometimes doesn't seem to know what
    kind of attention he wants.  Many times I'd be willing to let him
    come sit on my shoulder when he screams for attention, but he wants
    nothing of that.  So I shrug, walk away, and he starts screaming
    again.
    
    I have had some limited success (in the last few months we've noticed
    he doesn't scream as often) by doing the following:
    
    o  For a while, everytime he screamed, and I didn't like it I'd
    come stomping into the living room (where his cage is) saying "NO!"
    in a stern voice, then I'd tell him to go in his cage and I'd cover
    the top of the cage.  For repeated offenses, I'd continue the stern
    "NO!" and keep pullin the cover farthur over the front.  Now, when
    he starts it, I can sometimes just yell NO from whatever room I'm
    in (most screaming occurs when we have left the living room) and
    this will sometimes quiet him.  I assume anticipation of the covering
    is what is working here.  He seems to be starting to understand
    what No means, but he also seems to need a much louder and stern
    sounding "NO" than the dog does.
    
    o As often as my tolerance level can take it, when he starts screaming,
    I do absolutely nothing and make sure to stay out of the living
    room, even if I was planning to go in there.  Then I wait for him
    to throw in one of what we define as a "nice" sound, like a wolf
    wistle or "hello".  The moment he does that, I go rushing into the
    room, mimicing what he just did and talking and whistling to him.
    I then make it a point to stand in front of him and "converse" for
    a while.  He loves this.  If he screams again, I turn immediately
    and walk away.  
    
    So basically, as much as possible I try to reward the sounds we
    like, and ignore the screams.  If ignoring isn't possible, then
    it's the stern NO followed by covering.  The biggest problem is
    when he's making nice sounds, but I'm doing something such that
    I can't go to the cage to reward him.  I don't want to counter the
    immpression that the nice sounds are more productive in gaining
    attention, nor do I want him to think that I'm at his beck and call.
    So in these cases, I try to at least whistle back to him or call out 
    phrases he knows.  We do this a lot in the morning while I'm getting
    dressed in the bedroom.
    
    It's taken a long time, but we are slowly seeing results.  Of course,
    some days he has his moods and seems no better at all, but these
    are getting farthur between.  I doubt we'll ever completely get
    rid of it.

     (left on door Fri. A.M.)

        Hello neighbor,

            It is open window season once again and this morning 
            I awoke to those familiar cries of pain? pleasure? 
            from your condo.  I live 2 buildings away and I can 
            hear you perfectly.  I don't know if it's the yelps 
            of an awesome orgasm or pain from physical therapy 
            but it's embarrassing + annoying.  Please, I beg you, 
            close your windows I don't think I can take it for 
            another 5 months.

                                         Thank you very much.

                                             A concerned neighbor

    I hava a total of 10 birds in my 2 bedroom house. A few neighbors
    have mentioned that they hear strange things comming from my house.
    On neighbor saw my husband and myself leave then heard hello hello
    she came and took a look around our house thinking that some one
    was trying to break in. she got a real good laugh when she figured
    out it was my female mustache parakeet. I have found that my birds
    respond to me or my husband. If we get loud they get louder. I told
    my husband it is to hard to fight with hime because I can't get
    a word in edge-wise :) My birds also make noise to say hey folks
    we are happy to be alive. I found that my birds are noisy twice
    a day in the morning when we leave to go to work, and at night around
    6pm they all chatter for about 2 hrs then they all quiet down and
    are ready to snoze. I have one exception my female mustache she
    loves my husband even if he has fallen asleep and gets up at 3am
    she yells at the top of her lungs. aaahhhrrrrgg 
    
    Donna in california

    RE:  .15
    
    Though the note kind of made me laugh, I think it's pretty rude...
    given that you don't know this person and vice versa.
    
    If you have a sense of humor and can appreciate the attempt at humor in
    the note-- perhaps you might reply in the name of your yellow nape, and
    sign it from him/her, and leave the reply on their door.

    Before you all go off on a tangent here.......
    
    I would not jump to conclusions on the 'rudeness' just yet!
    
    I have two yellow napes, and KNOW the screaming that can go on
    during the day.  I would have to bend to the wishes of the neighbor and
    close the windows......No one asked if the person works at noght and
    'tries' to sleep during the day!  Ya don't know, so give him/her the
    benefit of the doubt.   I do see a good point in the note though! That
    person had EVERY right to call the police for a disturbing the peace
    complaint, but rather attempted to handle it personally first!  I'd
    contact that person and discuss this first!
    
    I see the same idealism here as Smokers vs Non smokers (I'm one of the
    smoking types....but in public, always ask first) The people have just
    as much right to quiet, as parrots do to noise........a little
    consideration here wouldn't hurt!
    
    JMHO
    
    chet

    
    	I have a general question that I hope someone can either help or
    	sympathize with...
    
    	I have a Goffin Cockatoo, called CoCo...  CoCo is right at 3-1/2 to
    	4 years old... It seems that lately he/she, we aren't sure, has
    	become a real pest.... Basically, yelling and screaming alot...
        CoCo isn't confined to his cage when we are home but usually stays
    	on it, except lately.... We have had periods of almost a bomb
        diving effect at night... I did take care of that one by clipping
        his wings.... Can anyone give me any suggestions as to a possible
        cause???  I know that this is vague but alot hasn't changed at home
    	that could have caused this behavior... I do have another bird,
        female Cockatiel, but these two love each other and still don't
        have a problem...
    
        Any suggestions or possible reasons would be greatly apprciated as
        I would hate to sell him if it can be solved...
    
    
        Thanks
    
    
        Debbie
    
    
    
    
    

    The previous note was moved here as there are already 2 notes dedicated to
    screaming, plus others that are concerned with it. 4 notes containing
    informaton on screaming are:
    
    168
    251
    570
    595
    
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