Hormonal screaming

Rocky is making us lose our minds. It's hormones, which we can't fix, but oh, my ears. My nerves. My constant headaches. He wants constant and unrelenting attention. He screams when we go into another room, ever so briefly. He screams even when we're in the same room. He screamed when I was standing in front of him offering my arm for step up. He wakes up at dawn and won't go to bed until late no matter what we do. Even turning off all the lights and covering his cage doesn't shut him up and get him to bed some nights. No wonder cockatoos get rehomed so often.

My babe is only a galah and is usually the quietest birdie in existence, but I feel your springtime pain! You should have heard her when Daddy dared to be away from home for six whole hours in a row (I work from home). I'd like to say she didn't speak to me for a week, but... she screamed her head off for a day THEN acted like a brat screaming on and off for a week and generally acting as if I had tortured her by not being somewhere she could hear me. And she's not even fully sexually mature. I can only imagine what Rocky is doing!!!

Siobhan said:

Rocky is making us lose our minds. It's hormones, which we can't fix, but oh, my ears. My nerves. My constant headaches. He wants constant and unrelenting attention. He screams when we go into another room, ever so briefly. He screams even when we're in the same room. He screamed when I was standing in front of him offering my arm for step up. He wakes up at dawn and won't go to bed until late no matter what we do. Even turning off all the lights and covering his cage doesn't shut him up and get him to bed some nights. No wonder cockatoos get rehomed so often.

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I'm sorry,but you are living my nightmare!! That "was" EXACTLY what my "little beady-eyed monster" Jonesy did! FOR WEEKS!!! And I had to rehome him,which I still regret..


Jim

Yes I know your pain so well, although I'm surprised he continues once you put him to bed. Normally cutting down the daylight hours, making sure they get 12 hours sleeps does the trick, well most of the time.

Make sure you are not rewarding him for his noise, they love getting a reaction out of you, which will only encourage them to do a behavior more. Make sure he has lots of chew-able toys to keep him amused. Ours loves wine boxes with old telephone books. It makes a royal mess, but keeps him quite lol

Yup, sounds about like a cockatoo! My dads cockatoos screeches daily for long stretches and it's enough to drive one (and any neighbors with their windows open in a half mile radius) to madness:17: He is relatively quiet during the day at least.... Been doing it since long before I was born, every day, never ending screeching and it seems not to be slowing down with advancing age either. The good news is, you eventually just train yourself to tune the racket out. Still, I have never minded the peace and quiet as an adult I never got growing up in a home with a cockatoo! There is a good reason you rarely hear of people who've owned their cockatoo for more than a couple years and noise is likely the #1 reason. I don't even know that one can describe to a prospective owner just how wearing on the nerves their vocalizations can be.

Yep, right there with ya'! Living with Poppy is mind shattering for the last two months. I've changed her cage decor, changed her diet, given her ridiculously expensive woodpiles to destroy, I've made terrible threats, settled on an asking price for e-bay and changed her name. Even a new hat and more time out of her cage hasn't helped. She hates everything including me. I keep telling myself it happens every season, this too shall pass. We will survive.

Phone books, I completely forgot phone books! I'll try that!

Why are mine no noisier than usual? No uptick in screaming so far.....

:44:

Scott said:

Why are mine no noisier than usual? No uptick in screaming so far.....

:44:

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Because you are the king of all cockatoos? By all accounts, you have the most well behaved flock of cockatoos known to man. I think you know some magical cockatoo potion or spell or something you'll never share

Kiwibird said:

Scott said:

Why are mine no noisier than usual? No uptick in screaming so far.....

:44:

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Because you are the king of all cockatoos? By all accounts, you have the most well behaved flock of cockatoos known to man. I think you know some magical cockatoo potion or spell or something you'll never share

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I LOLd, thanks April! Seriously, my theory is cockatoos are best kept in flocks. They easily bond to humans and various too species. Seems they can be cuddly one moment, the next get plopped on a stand with other toos and happily hang out or play. I've had successful combinations of Goffins + Moluccan + Citron.

Scott said:

Kiwibird said:

Scott said:

Why are mine no noisier than usual? No uptick in screaming so far.....

:44:

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Because you are the king of all cockatoos? By all accounts, you have the most well behaved flock of cockatoos known to man. I think you know some magical cockatoo potion or spell or something you'll never share

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I LOLd, thanks April! Seriously, my theory is cockatoos are best kept in flocks. They easily bond to humans and various too species. Seems they can be cuddly one moment, the next get plopped on a stand with other toos and happily hang out or play. I've had successful combinations of Goffins + Moluccan + Citron.

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Probably less or no manipulation going on as a consequence IMO?

Who's going to tell Siobhan that she needs to get more 'toos, not me!

plumsmum2005 said:

Scott said:

Kiwibird said:

Because you are the king of all cockatoos? By all accounts, you have the most well behaved flock of cockatoos known to man. I think you know some magical cockatoo potion or spell or something you'll never share

Click to expand...

I LOLd, thanks April! Seriously, my theory is cockatoos are best kept in flocks. They easily bond to humans and various too species. Seems they can be cuddly one moment, the next get plopped on a stand with other toos and happily hang out or play. I've had successful combinations of Goffins + Moluccan + Citron.

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Probably less or no manipulation going on as a consequence IMO?

Who's going to tell Siobhan that she needs to get more 'toos, not me!

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Hmmm, yes, that would be a difficult sell! There is no guarantee multiple cockatoos, or any birds for that matter would get along. I might just be incredibly lucky!

Scott said:

Kiwibird said:

Scott said:

Why are mine no noisier than usual? No uptick in screaming so far.....

:44:

Click to expand...

Because you are the king of all cockatoos? By all accounts, you have the most well behaved flock of cockatoos known to man. I think you know some magical cockatoo potion or spell or something you'll never share

Click to expand...

I LOLd, thanks April! Seriously, my theory is cockatoos are best kept in flocks. They easily bond to humans and various too species. Seems they can be cuddly one moment, the next get plopped on a stand with other toos and happily hang out or play. I've had successful combinations of Goffins + Moluccan + Citron.

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You may have a point. One of our other members who has a couple cockatoos (StewieandHollie) doesn't seem to complain about his birds being screamers either.