Training/Ill prepared owner here

I rescued (was living in a 12x15 cage on a diet of peanuts and cheerios) a cockatiel in the past and it was the sweetest, quietest little bird. This was many years ago and little Peanut sadly passed away.

I recently got a new cockatiel a young hand fed little guy named Pretzel. I have surmised that Peanut (my old bird) was female and Pretzel (current bird) is a male, mostly due to differences in activity and sheer volume.

This little guy flock calls CONSTANLTY and it is driving my husband to the brink to the point where he he seriously considering living elsewhere while I get this under control.

I found some resources on flock calling, mainly looking at this one Flock Call - Helping your parrot . I was just wondering if anyone else has had any luck quieting a noisy bird, how you did it and how long it took. To be clear, I love his songs and whistles. I know birds come with some noise.

Bonus: Pic of the little noisemaker himself

how old is the noisemaker? Has he been dna'd? If older than ~9months and not dna'd looks female to me. What does peanut look like?

Thanks for the reply! Pretzel is only about 5 months or so old. Not dna'd. Definitely has the bars on the bottom of the tail. Currently I am just guessing male bc of how noisy he is.

Peanut was a standard 'tiel with a yellow face and usual little Pikachu cheeks. She's passed and I unfortunately don't have ant pics. It was before cell phone cameras were as common as they are now.

Wow 12x15 cage. What wrong with people?

Pretzels said:

I found some resources on flock calling, mainly looking at this one Flock Call - Helping your parrot . I was just wondering if anyone else has had any luck quieting a noisy bird, how you did it and how long it took. To be clear, I love his songs and whistles. I know birds come with some noise.

Bonus: Pic of the little noisemaker himself

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Best method I found that works a my male Cockatiel use to do this all the time, is to ignore him and don't look at him, or approached him till he stop for a while. Eventually he get the point, that it not going to get him attention and he stop

You have to reward for quiet behavior. Whether that’s his favorite treat, lots of praise, or spending time with you. By rewarding desired behavior he’ll learn that which behaviors will get him the attention he wants.

Make sure you don't have any mirrors in cage as well, as that can also cause flock calling as well.

ParrotGenie said:

Wow 12x15 cage. What wrong with people?

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Right?! I was shocked! The things you find on Craigslist! But even after such a rough life, it was just the sweetest, most well behaved little bird!

Here's this if you haven't seen it already.

Consider trying to get him to switch to a different flock call! A whistle? I have taught my JoJo blowing kisses is a flock call that I always respond to!

Welcome to the forums! What a darling little noisemaker, tell your husband to leave. I’m joking about tossing your husband, awful joke, I apologize, hopefully no one will need to move including Pretzels. Birds of the same species can have a wide range of personalities, male or female. You didn’t say how recently you brought your little Pretzels home? From experience, when a new bird is relocated they are often confused and some are more vocal about it than others. Once the bird has a chance to get comfortable and feel secure in his new home he is likely to calm down. A routine helps, knowing the lights are turned on at a certain time, breakfast is served, out of cage time, play time with a human, snack time, bath time, dinner time, lights out, once they know these things happen regularly they usually don’t feel the need to flock call as often. Toys and human interaction also helps. Transitions are tougher for some birds, time and patience while getting to know the new kid often resolves the issues we see with new arrivals.

Here’s a link on bonding and building trust you may find helpful. Enjoy the journey and please share the details.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

At 5 months he/she does not have adult feathers so you can't tell gender by looks yet.
The male Cockatiel is definitely more vocal than the female so based on the fact that he makes a lot of calls you could be right that your bird is a boy.

What I found to be most effective for unpleasant flock calls is to respond with something more soothing. A whistle that is quieter or just saying "hello" back to him.

Just be consistent with what ever method you try. If it does not work after a few weeks try something different.
Unfortunately this is just natural for them. You are trying to teach them to go against there built in programming.

Cockatiels are brilliant at learning to whistle tunes. My boy Fang can whistle everything from musical show-tunes to the French national anthem (he mixes them up a lot too which gets interesting) You can start teaching yours actual tunes which may replace the flock call, bearing in mind you may end up with a bird that whistles the same tune over and over and over ... which may also do your head in ...

Welcoming you and Pretzel. Where is the cage located? Is your household a general active and loud one? Or more quiet with Pretzel being the only loud one? And like others have said there is an adjustment period, if the bird has just left his flock and joined you. Hopefully things will settle down.

BB came home with me when he was 4.5 months old and looked very much like Pretzel. BB still was wearing his first set of baby clothes. When he started to strip more yellow started to appear.
As far as flock calling BB will do that when his Uncle David comes home from work and it drives David crazy lol. Beebs can be VERY loud with his calling and will go on and on for fifteen minutes or more, or until David sits down and talks to him for a bit. At first I thought it was cute when BB started it...now I'm not so sure


Jim

Thanks everyone for the welcomes and wonderful replies!

I got Pretzel in November and have had him(?) for about 3 month so far. He has a very spacious cage with plenty of toys and gets out at least a couple of hours each day. Usually to play on his playground and for showers (which he just loves!)

I've started calling back when he flock calls with just a quieter "Hey!" to let him know that I'm there for him. I also want to potty train him so he can be out more without worrying about accidents, but for now the nose level is my principle concern.

I'll report back here with any progress in a few days (hopefully I'll see at least small changes soon!) I welcome more advice and feedback- as much as you all are willing to share!!

Laurasea said:

Welcoming you and Pretzel. Where is the cage located? Is your household a general active and loud one? Or more quiet with Pretzel being the only loud one? And like others have said there is an adjustment period, if the bird has just left his flock and joined you. Hopefully things will settle down.

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I've had him for about 3 months now. Pretzel is the only loud one in the house. It's generally very quiet at home. We have just my husband, myself and a cat that meows only occasionally. We do turn on the radio for him when we leave for work and he has just tons of toys in his very large cage. From chewables, to climbables to shredables, so I'd be shocked if he's just calling out of boredom.

Well one good thing the vocal ones usually end up being better talkers IMO

So based on advice I have received, we are now answering flock calls when we are out of sight.out of the room. Ignoring flock calls when he can see us or when I am sitting right in front of his cage potty training him.

Letting him out in 15 minute increments once he goes "potty" and repeating the process with the command "go potty". He usually goes within 5 or fewer minutes of being back in his cage with or without this command.

EDIT: Just to add, this little guy is clipped in an odd way. The center feathers of each wing are clipped, he can still fly quite well, though his braking is not the best. Most stopping is done with his feet grabbing not his wings actually braking. He does get a couple of hours of time outside his cage daily, either on his playground or with me (whichever he flies to, usually a bit of each).

This feels like a lot at once for such a little bird and any additional advice or tips are much appreciated!

Welcome to you and Pretzel! Cute name. I'm glad another noisemaker tiel found its way into your heart.

Very nice that progress has been made! Kept busy when you're away! Those feathers should grow back and have better balance.

Usually the flock call is associated with a flock member nowhere to be found, so danger is nearby (in their heads) and just wants that attention too. Associating a sound like a whistle can help and make various whistles, who knows...eventually they get picked up! After awhile the calls stop when taking the hint. In the case with Baby, my tiel, the loudest calls are after we've spent time together and I put him back in his cage for a bit. They usually last about 5 minutes and he stops, takes a nap. It's usually during the day and right before bedtime and then he settles down. They are not constant at all, only a few minutes or so. I usually leave the radio on or have a music channel on the TV on a timer for him when I'm away.