Screaming for Attention

I own a 1 1/2 year old green cheek. We have recently moved and I currently only have a part time job, meaning I'm home a lot. My husband and I are in a temporary position at his mother's house. His brother lives here as well, who finds the bird to be extremely irritating. Remus (green cheek) has been very attached to me from the start, but I have usually been away for work/school most of the day. Now that I have graduated and waiting for a full time position I have a lot of time to spend with him. His screaming for attention has gotten much worse with the combination of these two things (moving, mom is at home more).

The current method to try and stop his screaming: 1/4 of cage covered with blanket when he screams, as soon as he is quiet *click* and treat. Then whenever he is quiet on his own *click* and treat. However he doesn't seem to be getting better for 2 months now. I know positive reinforcement is the best, but I can't piss off the people that are allowing us to live with them. Please I am desperate for some help. Like I said I have a lot of free time to make something happen, just out of ideas.

Thanks in advance!

It sounds like your bird has had to go through a lot lately, including a heavy molt, a move, and a caregiver, he is probably stressed from a combination of things. It's understandable that you want to curb his screaming, but I think I would take a closer look at his environment before relying entirely on training. Does he have a well balanced diet and has his eating habits changed recently? Is his cage the right size? Does he have plenty of interesting toys to keep him busy? Where is his cage located? Does your new home include cats or dogs that could be causing your bird stress? Is your bird getting plenty of sleep. I ask because it may be stress and frustration that is causing your bird to scream rather than a behavioral issue. If you have ruled out all the above then go ahead with the training.

Thanks for the feedback. He has gone through a lot right now. For his diet he gets Zupreem pellets, nutriberries and then I make a chop with random things in it. His treats are Safflower seeds and the occasional Sunflower for bedtime. I have been giving he less seed in general because he was gaining some weight. His cage is huge (34'by34'by60') and I have made him numerous toys as well as having a hand toy basket. His cage location is getting less sunlight, but there really isn't another place to put it with more. He is used to our 2 cats, but now there are an additional 2 cats and 1 dog. But they don't seem to come up to him much.

Not sure about your opinion about that but if it is just training, what do you suggest?

I'm sorry if I offended you, it was not my intention at all. I wasn't accusing, only suggesting possibilities that might be causing your bird's personality changes. You mentioned clicker training, that's a very successful method for a lot of birds. Here's a link to a thread written by one of our members who has a lot of experience with parrots and behavior modification, you may find it helpful.

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/48649-screaming-behavior-mods.html

I know that my GCC Avery would scream non-stop when I had her upstairs while my boyfriend and I painted the basement. She was unsure of her new environment and felt insecure, despite being in her cage with all familiar items. Even after I would blanket her (like you) she would continue to scream or wouldn't catch on to positive reinforcement either. And, after the whole experience, she was excessively attached to me and screamed MORE when I left the room.

After time and once she was downstairs again, she settled and the screaming stopped. To me it just sounds like your GCC is just really insecure in his current surroundings, and perhaps insecure with the people around him. Has your bird been introduced to everyone? Do they interact with him without you (positively)? And is there perhaps a place you could put him where he may feel secure? Avery needs two walls to feel safe, so she's always in a corner position. If she's not, she freaks out easily and is constantly stressed.

Something else to try is introducing things to preoccupy him such as foraging for his food throughout the day. If he has to constantly find his food to eat, it'll help with preventing him from screaming. Busy mind, busy beak, quiet rooms, right? . When my birds are too excitable, I give them foraging activities. They stay quiet for an hour + depending on how difficult the foraging is. So that's a suggestion as well.

Screaming protocols are posted. Those work.

Allee, I was never offended! Just giving as much infor I can. Thank you for your help to you and Dinosrawr! I will do my best!

Read this:

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/48649-screaming-behavior-mods.html