Help with Squawking

gopack041

New member
Dec 3, 2010
45
0
Raleigh, NC
Parrots
yellow-sided Green Cheek Conure, Jonah.
So I have a green-cheek who goes absolutely crazy when I leave his sight. If I go to the bathroom, which is RIGHT beside of his cage, he squawks like crazy! The thing that bothers me is that I live in an apartment, and I was walking beside of my building today and could actually hear him squawking from the outside! I can only imagine how loud he is to my neighbors.

My roommate said that he is this loud pretty much whenever I'm not with him. So how can I reduce this squawking for the sake of my neighbors and roommates? Should I just start out small with going into the bathroom and rewarding when he doesn't go crazy?

The only alternative I can think of is turning off the lights when I leave so hopefully he'll go to sleep instead of squawking all day.
 

greys4u

New member
Jan 31, 2011
2
0
How old is your conure? How long have you had him? I have a gc and he was the same, I learned to let him know where I am going, he doesn't understand what I say but he has my attention and thats what matters. You are his flock now. I have also found that if I talk softly to Punkin he stops his screaming or any other bad behavior So, reassure him, have one on one time, just dont answer every time he screams, he will train you well! This is going to take time.Hope this helps,
 
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gopack041

gopack041

New member
Dec 3, 2010
45
0
Raleigh, NC
Parrots
yellow-sided Green Cheek Conure, Jonah.
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Hey, thanks for the help so far. He has lots of toys, but he doesn't really play with them. I also leave the radio on and I'm usually not gone for more than a couple of hours.

He is 7 months old. The tricky thing is that when I'm with him he is the quietest bird! He chatters and makes noises but at a low level. It's when I leave his eye sight that he turns to screaming. I've tried to ignore the screaming and not run to him every time, but it's hard since I have neighbors.
 

Printer bird

New member
Jan 4, 2011
268
1
Calgary, AB
Parrots
Dipper, 8 year old WC Pionus
RIP Charlie, Green Cheek Conure,
Lelu, parrotlet and
Poe the budgie.
My green cheek squawks and squawks if we are out of sight but he knows we are around. However, if we ignore him for a bit, he'll start playing with his toys or snooping for food. He's fairly quiet once he's pretty sure we're gone. He used to call quite a bit when he was in his cage and not out of the cage, but now he just kind of says "Charlie" a lot (his cue that he wants something) and will set to playing and chewing after about ten minutes or so. When we first got him, he would just pace and bounce and call. It took, maybe a month? before he got comfortable enough with his cage and us that he started playing. I was worried at first about this.

I might recommend trying a simple puzzle toy. We have a little pot with a lid on a chain that we hide bits of almond in. Once he's in his cage, he goes right to the pot to see if there are almonds in it. The lid is partially closed (if there are treats in it) and he has to work to get it off to get at the almonds. Maybe try some foraging toys like this to occupy his attention better when he is in the cage?

Your intuition about starting small is a good one too. Start by sitting by the cage. Then move a few feet. Then move a few more feet, each time being sure your green cheek is comfortable and not yelling. Reward him after moving a few "sets" where he doesn't squawk and eventually work your way further and further and then work on staying out of sight for longer and longer (duck out of sight for a second at first and then reward him or just pop back into sight. Eventually, make it five seconds, then ten seconds etc, I'm sure you get the drift). This has helped us a bit but when I don't have time to work my way out of the room slowly (ie I have to make supper) he still yells. Oh well, they are all learning learning as they go :) and so are we!
 

enfysmoon

New member
Dec 20, 2010
8
0
Australia
Parrots
Green Cheek concure - Silver
i had/have the same problem with my conure (and i live in an apartment too).. he would start screaming whenever i left his sight but has calmed down a fair bit. i was worried about him screaming while i wasnt home but after moving him into a really big cage, leaving the radio on i can come home and hear him just happily playing with his toys. as soon as he hears my key in the lock he starts making kissing noises which is cute... i managed to get him to calm down n stop screaming by ignoring him when he started, or covering his cage for an hour and it worked...

the only time he screams now is if i dont say hi the second i walk thru the door, or when there is food around (which i think is a case of monkey has food, monkey wants food lol)
 

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