Chelsea, How do I train her?>

So I have a bit of a situation growing on my hands, since my sister has dropped off her bird to me. Chelsea is a sulfur crested lesser Cockatoo , which used to be our family bird ( very tame, hand feed , raised from baby) until my sister moved out and took her with her.

The bird has spent for the last 8 years in the place my sister was in, which was a dog breeders house . Meaning that Chelsea has heard almost nonstop barking every day. Also I found out that my sister like many owners, by mistake has made the bird think she is her mate......

Currently , my sister just move to a apartment which has a strict no noise rule since its with lots of older people. And asked us to take care of Chelsea for a little bit for a few months while she settles.... And wants the bird trained.

The problem I am facing is like many her her screaming for attention ( Which I have tired to ignore , then as suggested treat her or say hello to her once she quite for a period of time= in her starting again screaming loud pitch screams and barks, gave her a food foraging, gave her tons of branches , has a big cage, toys, plenty of clean water) . I am getting frustrated since I have downstairs neighbours, and they are starting to complain after only a week ( in a rental top floor house).
She screams only when were around and she not out of her cage ( unless she covered for night) , and it does not seem to matter how long I wait to reward her after her being silent .... she just starts again. Any thing I can do ?

Welcome.
Thank you for helping this bird!

I'll suggest some basic readings for a start, but I'm sure our Cockatoo Community will be along to advise and give support about these special parrots!

Here's some reading on bonding for you.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
General Parrot Information - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com/2012...n-parrots.html

It's a waiting game to an extent...Never come back in when she is screaming. Once quiet for a period of 10 seconds (or longer, depending on how long she stays that way) re-enter and praise. You can try to preempt this by talking to your bird from the other room...Sometimes, your bird talks or makes a new sound that is preferable, you should immediately go over to the bird and praise---My bird know that she gets attention for monkey noises and speech (I love you, hi big bird etc) and she doesn't scream much anymore because she knows it doesn't work and she has other alternatives that I actually enjoy lol. Does she scream when you leave the house? Mine doesn't, but you might be looking at some anxiety issues if she does continue to scream even when she knows you are not home. Finally, consider narrating your routine to build up your bird's ability to anticipate what is about to happen "I am taking out the trash", " I am going to vacuum", "I am going to the store", "I am going to work" etc. My bird seems to really benefit from this and she seems much less concerned when she knows what to expect. Oh-- and if you are in the room and your bird is being quiet, you can say "thanks for being so quiet" and praise them too (before the screaming ever starts).

Welcome and Thank you for helping Chelsea!
She is going through a big change and parrots don’t adjust quickly (nor quietly). My best suggestions are 1) to be patient (mostly to save your sanity) and 2) to try and make her acquainted with her new surroundings. Let her explore and assess the safety of your home, family, etc.
There must be a million things that to her look and feel unfamiliar, which will make her stressed and more vocal.
If she’s deeply bonded to your sister she’s also probably worried about her and misses her.


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Wow! I truly sympathise with you. The sound of a full-bodied cockatoo bellow is not funny. I can't offer any help, I'm afraid, as my own bird is a screecher as well. She screeches in the mornings for twenty minutes or so and again at night when the wild flocks fly over and communicate with her. Aside from that, she'll screech if she hears my voice and can't see me. I've found that if I go to her and speak quietly, giving her a scratch and sharing the time with the Beaks (pair of Alexes), she calms down and goes about her business.

I don't know anyone who's 'cured' a cockatoo of screeching. It's really part of who they are. The wild flocks are constantly vocalising and call to members miles away. I know 'Setta hears them before I do and will call to them until they reply. Since it's such an important part of their personality (birdality?), I think it's not really something we should try to change.

Instead, why don't you investigate what you can do to deaden her noise? Maybe hang some plush curtains or blankets over the windows and doors? See if you can find some office screens (the sort covered with carpet or thick fabric) to place near her cage and 'catch' the sounds she makes.

DO NOT cover the cage when she shrieks because that will destroy her trust in you and muck up her sense of time. It could result in her screaming at 3am instead! Also, DO NOT give in to the temptation to give her something to eat or chew when she shrieks. You're rewarding the behaviour and she'll only shriek more!

I honestly don't know what the answer is, but I believe your best bet is to try and contain the noise rather than trying to stop the bird calling out. Sorry. If you hit on a magic solution, please share! I'd love to know about it!

PS. You could try giving her a new sound to copy. Say, a whistle or a quiet word ('Hello'). If you reward that, then she might prefer it to screaming? Just a thought...

Cyell said:

Also I found out that my sister like many owners, by mistake has made the bird think she is her mate......

?

Click to expand...

Thanks for helping this bird (I didn't say that in my first post, but I should have). The absence of your sister and the addition of a new home could definitely cause anxiety. That having been said, since the screaming pre-dates the transition, it could be a mix of behavioral issues, anxiety and hormones. All cockatoos scream, but what you are describing sounds excessive. The good news is, that means you can fix it (but it will take time). In conjunction with the advice I posted above (regarding behavior) you should also address the potential hormonal issues that could be going on here.

Hormonal birds tend to make more noise. To help with this, make sure she is getting a solid 10-14 hours of dark, uninterrupted sleep each night (12 is about the bare-minimum for mine) and then try to get her light schedule regulated. How much sun-light does she get during the day? Too much sun can stimulate hormones, but too little can be problematic as well. A solid bedtime/wake-up routine can work wonders.

Make sure you do not allow your bird to play with boxes or hang out in shadowy places (such as, under furniture, in piles of blankets, in pillows, under clothing, in crumbled paper or shredded materials etc). Cockatoos are easily stimulated and so you want to make sure you remove any triggers for nesting behaviors. Shadowy areas are a major culprit.

Also (and very important) no one should pet the bird anywhere other than her head/neck. If you have touch touch other places for medical reasons etc, that is different, but stroking under the wing, down the back etc is VERY sexual for a bird and it sends the wrong message. The same goes for hugging them against your chest or even allowing them to sit on your lap under a blanket. It is like leading a bird on and it can be very upsetting when you do not mate with them (like rejection). SO, please tell this to your sister as well.

You may also want to consider limiting or removing access to certain types of shredding toys. Chewing toys and toys in general are great for a hormonal bird because they need to stay busy, but the sea-grass-type of shredders (soft grass toys) can make thing worse for an already hormonal bird (it just depends on the bird). Wooden chew toys etc are great all of the time though. If you get new toys for her, make sure that you introduce them slowly (put them within her line of sight for a few days, but outside of her cage so that she gets used to them). New toys are often a source of fear for birds.

If your bird ever regurgitates or engages in other sexual behavior towards you or your sister, change the subject immediately- withdraw attention or redirect the bird's attention to something like a toy to change the mood/tone of the situation. Do not make a giant deal out of it (never scold), but do not attend to it either and stop doing anything on your part that might be triggering it (if the bird starts quivering when you are petting it---even if your are only petting on the head, stop).

Warm/mushy foods can make hormonal issues worse because they are similar to regurgitation, so keep that in mind when feeding her. If she isn't already, make sure that she is eating pellets and a bit of healthy seed mix (no peanuts, corn or sunflower seeds). Diet can have a huge impact on behavior.

Random thoughts--- If you are leaving the house and want to know if she is screaming/what she does when you are gone, you can do what I used to do by live-streaming her to an "unlisted" Youtube Live-stream. Just set up a Youtube account and login on a laptop. Use the laptop camera or a web-cam to record the bird and before you leave, email yourself the link--then start the stream. Anyone with the link can view an unlisted stream, but other people will not be able to (as long as it isn't on a public playlist). You can then use your phone or another computer to check in on her in real-time (and this way, you will know how many cookies and apology notes you need to bring your downstairs neighbors lol). When you get home, hit end stream, and once the video processes, you will be able to review her entire day (assuming your internet connection didn't time-out). During this time, you might try experimenting---see if leaving music on makes your departure from the house better or worse....try different genres of music (birds DO have very individualized preferences when it comes to music). You could even try other sound-tracks (you can find 10 hour recordings of people talking/crowd sounds, babbling brooks etc)...

You might also want to consider her cage location. Is it currently in the part of your home where you spend most of your time? If not, it should be. Is the cage exposed on all sides, because sometimes parrots feel vulnerable to attack (instinctual fear) and it can help to have at least one of the cage sides backed up close to the wall (this varies among birds, but in general, it is best not to have a cage in the middle of a room). In some birds, windows can also be a source of anxiety, but it is a double-edged sword, as natural light is extremely important for them as well. That having been said, too much natural light can cause breeding behavior. Whatever you do, make sure that you are leaving plenty of lights on for her during the day (whether or not she is near a window) and definitely make sure she gets some natural light (if not when you are gone, when you get home).

If you think lack of sleep is an issue or that she is staying up at night because of you, consider investing in a smaller sleep cage where she can spend the night in a different and quieter room.
Do you cover her cage at night and does the cover fully block out the light?
I have a great cover that I purchased online and it is breathable but it also is also very effective at blocking light and it covers the entire cage (http://www.cozzzybird.com/ -I got mine on Amazon and I LOVE IT).

Does she get plenty of exercise and time out of her cage, because if not, that could be a major issue as well? Cockatoos need quite a few hours of out-of-cage time each day, and at least a solid hour of play/interaction. Passive interaction is fine, but it is no substitute for direct, one-on-one game playing etc (assuming your bird likes you enough to do this). If she is still fearful of you, then don't push playing etc until you have a better bond, but do allow her to spend plenty of time out of her cage (Assuming it can be done safely).

Finally, if she is generally sweet and charming when people are around, you might consider introducing her to your neighbors. They might be more understanding if they felt a connection to your bird.