He's at it again and I'm at my wits end!!!

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
So, as I've mentioned many times before, since retraining Skittles I've discovered he doesn't scream for no reason. As soon as I figure out the reason and address it, the screaming stops. Sometimes this requires putting him in his cage and if he continues I cover him up. BUT, 95% of the time its around a need or alarm.

The past few days he's been going off a lot. My neighbor had the nerve to say to me "what did you do to piss your bird off now?" My mom is in rehab and is facing long-term nursing care. I hadn't been able to get ahold of her for almost a week (not common) and I was worried and my sister was not returning my texts or calls. They live three states away (in CT) so I'm pretty optionless in that regard. So, I was having a hard time sleeping at night and ended up doing a lot of sleeping during the day. The first day, Skittles was fine, he napped with me. But the next few days he started going on and on and on while I was trying to sleep the day away.

I need to get him to stop doing this. Why must he insist on forcing me to take better care of myself? Who does he think he is. This is totally unacceptable.

BTW, while everything he's done is true, I hope you all know my reaction to it is sarcasm. Part of the reason I've done so much better with my mental and physical health is because he forces me to take care of myself. Either verbally or psychologically. I'm telling you, sunnies have some sort of gland or gene in their brains that allows them to manipulate humans. I think that should be studied.
 

Jen5200

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2017
1,874
Media
23
Albums
2
249
Washington State
Parrots
Baby - Sun Conure;
Tango - GCC;
Bindi - Sun Conure;
Stanley - Pineapple GCC;
Screamer “Scree� - Cockatiel;
Tee - Pineapple GCC; Jimmy - Cockatiel
Yup - they notice when something isn’t right for you....and then tell you all about it, at HIGH volume :).
 

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
I feel ya! I had a sick day, and everyone screamed the whole day... I didn't find a solution.....so I'll see what advice you get, so next time I can't be catering to their every need for a few hours...;)
 

fiddlejen

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2019
1,232
Media
11
1,156
New England
Parrots
Sunny the Sun Conure (sept '18, gotcha 3/'19). Mr Jefferson Budgie & Mrs Calliope Budgie (albino) (nov'18 & jan'19). Summer 2021 Baby Budgies: Riker (Green); Patchouli, Keye, & Tiny (blue greywings).
Hmm... are you sure you didn't forget to close the budgies' cage and now you need alerted to free-roaming budgies? (Oh no, wait, that was my sunshine bird today, not yours. ...:rolleyes:)

My Budgies watch over me at night. In the morning, once Sunny awakes & takes over, they consider themselves off-duty.

But you've only got the one, right? If you werent sleeping well, your poor Skittles must have gotten totally worn out trying to keep an eye on you.

The obvious solution? A flock of budgies!
:D :whiteblue::greenyellow: :orange:
 

Orin2017

Member
May 5, 2019
81
34
I too have had life long depression, been on many, many anti-depressants, been in and out of hospitals and institutions, even went through transcranial electro magnetic stimulation therapy. I have a letter from the TMS place recognizing my conure as a service animal but some places I go tell me I can’t bring my bird. She is every bit as much a service animal as a dog. Airlines will now recognize mini horses as service animals ... but not birds.

During my last stay in an institution, I became good friends with an bird-lover, who had a federal court order allowing him to have a cockatiel in prison. He was a state hospital patient, housed in prison because he was extremely dangerous. He killed many, many men, both inside of the state hospital and inside of prison, and outside in free society too. Birds were his solace and one of two things that kept him calm (the other thing was gardening). I can see now why he loved birds passionately. Woe be it to the man who harmed his birds or other pets.

Be careful about snoozing with your bird. I would hate to hear you report squishing your bird in your sleep. I know how tempting it is to let a bird burrow into the nape of your neck and take a nap or just chill there to be warm. It would be a hard thing to live with for anyone that loves their bird; but it would be especially bad for someone like us, when we struggle with depression anyways.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

YSGC

New member
Jan 6, 2019
205
0
USA
Parrots
Pico, gender unknown, is a hand-fed Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure, born 2015.
Don't be at your wits end; just lower the volume by 32 dB - see link below.
You'll still hear your birdie, but at a volume that is easier to deal with.

Obviously, don't use these to help ignore the legit needs of our beloved conures.
Use them when ALL of their needs are fully met, but not all of their wants - which sometimes seems to be:
1. Being surgically grafted to our bodies.
2. Amusing them 24/7. (Well, 12/7 if they get their 12 hours of sleep.)
3. We NEVER vary our routines.

Earplugs will get dirty and gross so you'll need a large supply, and this is the cheapest way to buy them.
$15 for 80 comes out to 19 cents each.
I've seen a single pair for sale for a dollar.
Please read directions carefully for how to insert them so they work optimally; it's not obvious no matter how smart you are.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Orange-Disposable-Ear-Plugs-80-Pack-92800-80-6DC/202691611

015.jpg
 
Last edited:

Valyndris

New member
Apr 24, 2019
248
7
Canada
Parrots
Jacob the blue and gold macaw
Haven't you heard? Birds own their humans, they just like to make us think we own them so that we spoil them. Birds love us and want to take care of us too, in their own weird little ways. :p
 
OP
Skittys_Daddy

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
You guys crack me up. lol. I KNEW I wasn't alone!


@YSGC Thats too funny. But in all seriousness, you do have to be careful. I make sure Skittles needs are met and often times thats why he will scream- to bring my attention to something. He has unique ways of communicating (ie treats, baths, bedtime). But I also know that I need to make sure he doesn't think that'll get his 'wants' met too. I have found the more persistent you are, the more successful you are. Just ONE slipup in the retraining can bring you all the way back to square one.



@Orin2017, I never let Skittles sleep with me in bed- thats just an invite to tragedy. But he DOES snuggle with me when I nap in the chair. But he sets the nap schedule, not me.
 

wrench13

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Nov 22, 2015
11,383
Media
14
Albums
2
12,567
Isle of Long, NY
Parrots
Yellow Shoulder Amazon, Salty
Don't be at your wits end; just lower the volume by 32 dB.
You'll still hear your birdie, but at a volume that is easier to deal with.

Obviously, don't use these to help ignore the legit needs of our beloved conures.
Use them when ALL of their needs are fully met, but not all of their wants - which sometimes seems to be:
1. Being surgically grafted to our bodies.
2. Amusing them 24/7. (Well, 12/7 if they get their 12 hours of sleep.)
3. We NEVER vary our routines.

Earplugs will get dirty and gross so you'll need a large supply, and this is the cheapest way to buy them - 19 cents each.
I've seen a single pair for sale for a dollar.
Please read directions carefully for how to insert them so they work optimally; it's not obvious no matter how smart you are.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Orange-Disposable-Ear-Plugs-80-Pack-92800-80-6DC/202691611

View attachment 23000

I used to use those with my canary winged parakeet, but he kept spitting them out !
 

YSGC

New member
Jan 6, 2019
205
0
USA
Parrots
Pico, gender unknown, is a hand-fed Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure, born 2015.
Anywhere in my 1500 sq ft house I can easily hear my yellow sided green cheek conure scream with these earplugs fully and properly installed.

And a sun is way louder than a GC.
 

YSGC

New member
Jan 6, 2019
205
0
USA
Parrots
Pico, gender unknown, is a hand-fed Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure, born 2015.
don't be at your wits end; just lower the volume by 32 db.
You'll still hear your birdie, but at a volume that is easier to deal with.

obviously, don't use these to help ignore the legit needs of our beloved conures.
Use them when all of their needs are fully met, but not all of their wants - which sometimes seems to be:
1. Being surgically grafted to our bodies.
2. Amusing them 24/7. (well, 12/7 if they get their 12 hours of sleep.)
3. We never vary our routines.

Earplugs will get dirty and gross so you'll need a large supply, and this is the cheapest way to buy them - 19 cents each.
I've seen a single pair for sale for a dollar.
Please read directions carefully for how to insert them so they work optimally; it's not obvious no matter how smart you are.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3m-orange-disposable-ear-plugs-80-pack-92800-80-6dc/202691611

View attachment 23000

i used to use those with my canary winged parakeet, but he kept spitting them out !
..............

Lol! :D
 

Valyndris

New member
Apr 24, 2019
248
7
Canada
Parrots
Jacob the blue and gold macaw
Talking about parrots being loud, I recently started trying to teach Jacob to say "I want attention" it would be so cute if he said that instead of screaming but of course I'm only dreaming. :p
 
OP
Skittys_Daddy

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
Skittles actually has three 'pitches'. The lowest is adorable. Its kind of like low pitch 'beep-beep' screech. The mid-pitch is more of 'curve screech' followed by repeated mid pitches that will eventually get to you if they continue in a short period. The high-pitch are his 'alarm' sounds which usually accompany 'head feather' raises. These screeches are intolerable and very high decibel.

The low pitch ones he usually makes in the morning when I wake up and his sleep cage hasn't been uncovered yet. It can also be his 'needs addressing' screech. The midrange screeches tend to be his 'call to attention' screeches and the high pitch are as I just mentioned.

It's really all about managing the situations for me. Granted it may not work for everyone, but being in an apartment building- I have to keep it manageable. Even though I have a lot of protections seeing as I am in public housing and not with a private landlord. Its extremely difficult to evict someone for noise complaints during the day. I still try to show courtesy though.

The 'pet noise' policy of my landlord lists this as a violation: 'persistent noise' for a period exceeding ten minutes and/or 'repeated intermittent noise' for a period of more than thirty minutes. It also says that such disturbances must be witnessed by a member of housing staff.

When my neighbor (who complains about everything) and I were not on good terms (had nothing to do with me) kept calling to complain about Skittles with resident services, they ignored her. She ended up calling the director who ordered RS to address it. So then RS called me (and I could tell they didn't wan too cause they know how that neighbor is). I responded to that with having other neighbors come to my defense. That basically put an end to that.

Now that neighbor and I (the one who complained) are on good terms (in fact, she's the one who took me & Skittles to the vet) and suddenly she's not complaining about me anymore AND housing knows this. So basically, she shot herself in the foot, so to speak.

Even so, if noise ever did become an issue (with Skittles), the landlord said they'd install sound barriers on the doors to minimize the sound.

Often times, all I have to do to shut him up is grab him and stuff him down my shirt. lol. Then he shuts right up. lol.
 

clark_conure

Well-known member
Jul 14, 2017
3,924
Media
21
2,224
Minnesota
Parrots
A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
I feel so lucky, I work nights and my birds actually try to be quiet when i sleep. only Idea i have is so much time I spend with them on me. IDK
 
OP
Skittys_Daddy

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #15
Skittles is actually VERY quiet and well behaved when its actually night time. I'll put him to bed between 7p-8p and he's like dead to the world til I wake him up in the morning (which is usually between 11a-12n.). He does get woken up by me sometimes (not on purpose) during the night. Sunnies need 10-14hrs of sleep, the vet said I should aim for at least 12 since hes free-flighted but Skittles seems to need closer to 14. Ten hours of free flight seems to be his limit.

Often times, I end up waking him up when I go to sleep (which is between 2a-3a). He does his "tap tap" on the side of the cage and I 'knock' back on the dresser where his sleeping cage sits. Its our way of 'checking in'. lol. He's such a riot.

While he doesn't mind me napping or relaxing for 2 or 3hrs in the afternoon, if I do more than that he'll have something to say about it. The ONLY chores I cannot do with him awake and out of the cage are certain chores that require the use of cleaners (mainly disinfectants- toilets, counters etc) as well as any chore that requires me moving a lot of things around that are significant in size. I don't like moving large things with him out of the cage anyways since it interferes with my ability to keep an eye on him.

It boils down to making adjustments and finding a system that works for you so you can meet your own obligations and also addresses the needs and requirements of you fid. Once you get a system in place, its pretty much a cakewalk. BUT if you tamper with that system- THEN you can have issues.

Since Skittles is used to me having different things going on in mid-afternoon, he adjusts well to that. So I plan my naps, errands and appointments within that window. But if I change things around at say 6p, he'll wonder whats going on and screech. So thats an occasional nuisance, but I don't put him in timeouts for that. I reassure him instead.

So what I do now, is every so often I purposely make a change at an odd time and reassure him and go right back to normal. That way when a odd timed change happens he'll figure out ("okay, this is one of daddy's mystery trips") and I try to bring back a special treat for him. If I don't, I find one in the house.
 

YSGC

New member
Jan 6, 2019
205
0
USA
Parrots
Pico, gender unknown, is a hand-fed Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure, born 2015.
...

Often times, I end up waking him up when I go to sleep (which is between 2a-3a). He does his "tap tap" on the side of the cage and I 'knock' back on the dresser where his sleeping cage sits. Its our way of 'checking in'. lol. He's such a riot. ...

Pico does that.
He gets put to sleep in our bedroom in an aquarium under a dark cloth a few hours before we go to sleep.
When hears us going to sleep he first taps on the glass.
Then he starts mumbling to himself.
Then a cute little whistle.
Then he'll say his cutest things, but in a quiet little cute voice.
I think he's trying to seduce us into letting him be with us. :07:

Conures surely are chock full of personality.
 
OP
Skittys_Daddy

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #17
They sure are! I don't know how I went over 20 years of having birds and never knew a thing about conures.

Then again, I talk to several people on the bus who've owned conures and they don't even pronounce the name right. lol. One of them calls them "conureds" (con-yerds) and the other calles them "cunoors". lol.


If I sleep too late and he's in his sleep cage, he actually won't screech to wake me up. Instead he will 'drag' his beak back and forth & back and forth along the 'grate' at the bottom of the cage really loudly until I get up. lol
 

KawaiiTori

New member
Aug 3, 2019
171
Media
5
7
Poulsbo, Washington, USA
Parrots
Tori - Pineapple Green Cheek Conure
They sure are! I don't know how I went over 20 years of having birds and never knew a thing about conures.

Then again, I talk to several people on the bus who've owned conures and they don't even pronounce the name right. lol. One of them calls them "conureds" (con-yerds) and the other calles them "cunoors". lol.


If I sleep too late and he's in his sleep cage, he actually won't screech to wake me up. Instead he will 'drag' his beak back and forth & back and forth along the 'grate' at the bottom of the cage really loudly until I get up. lol

Ha! That reminds me of the old tin cup on the jail bars routine! LOL!
 
OP
Skittys_Daddy

Skittys_Daddy

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2014
2,172
63
Lewiston, Maine
Parrots
Neotropical Pigeon - "Skittles" (born 3/29/10)
Cockatiel - "Peaches" (1995-2015) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sammy"
(1989-2000) R.I.P.
Budgie - "Sandy"
(1987-1989) R.I.P.
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #19
Pretty much! Maybe I should get him a tin cup? He'd probably bang it up and down in the middle of the night. lol. He'd probably "go to battle" with it, like he does with a number of things (including his jungle ball- he just declares war on that thing! lol)
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top