Stop Screaming

How do we train Bella to stop her high pitched smoke alarm sound. She does it all day if we are not around and sometimes even if we are home and just not holding her.

I cant help you with training but I do have a question. When you're home and not holding her is she locked in the cage and is the cage in an active area or not?

Might be as simple as moving the cage to a more active part of the house so at least while you're home she will feel close to you.

How old is Bella?

Generally speaking you have two routes to take, preferably simultaneously.

it’s a combination of leave the room if she makes the noise, and come back when she’s stopped. If you’re in the room, leave then come back when she’s quiet. If you’re not in the room when she goes off, come running to her room when she suddenly gets quiet, with her most favorite treats in the world. BIG FUSS.

Simultaneously, reward the ever loving hell out of ANY other noise. Anything...

Chris-md gave you good advice. First, the ugly noise needs to have a negative result, meaning something Bella doesn't enjoy. Leaving the room isn't necessarily it ... for example, Gus screams when he sees someone get on the phone, and I think it's because it makes drama. People rush out of the room, and that's a kind of reward. He made something happen. So whatever response you choose to the noise, it should't be anything remotely dramatic or entertaining.

Second, the replacement technique is great. You pick any noise, any noise you don't mind hearing, and reward that. Make a big fuss about it, like Bella just told you the winning lottery numbers. Be dramatic and surprising. Have another person make a sound or say a phrase that you get excited about and reward. Bella might choose to create an interesting result.

You have to be stone cold careful about responding to the bad noise. Parrots have good U vision and I suspect they can see subtle changes in our faces that reflect increased heart rate and the like. I saw recently where even ordinary video can capture tiny changes with the heartbeat, and there is talk of using this technique to distinguish fake video from real. So even if you are't reacting dramatically, don't let her see your faces or see you cringe if you can help it!

Socalguy said:

How do we train Bella to stop her high pitched smoke alarm sound. She does it all day if we are not around and sometimes even if we are home and just not holding her.

Click to expand...

Our Mochi makes the most SAD, PITIFUL, "Ewah?":smile040: noises when in her cage and she can see us sitting on the couch or hear us bustling in the kitchen. It is SO pathetic lol. And heart-racking, before we developed some mediocre level of willpower and learned to ignore it...sometimes.:sly: I have no idea how she learned it, Mango's only mode is contentedly quiet, with some soft cluck-quacking, or AIR RAID TORNADO ALERT.

Like the other posters said, leave when Bella's alarm is going off, and return when quiet. Quiet = good, rewards, out-of-cage time. Alarm = nope.

My eckie is just starting to learn to throw tantrums when we have to leave the room for a bit.

If she's out of her cage and making the ruckus, I leave the room and remove the ability for her to follow (E.G closing the door). I sit outside and wait until she is quiet for a minute or two. When she's quiet, I open the door and come back inside, and give her a snuggle before leaving again. If she repeats, I do the same thing.

No idea if it's working yet but that's going to be my technique.

I've also noticed she's learning the contact whistle we've been using with her, so I may also couple the 'leave the room' technique with rewarding the whistle more intensely (if she uses it).

I found that her insane high-volume yelling occurs
* When we leave her and she isn't sure where we went (and can't fly after us)
* It doesn't happen when I put her in her cage, she seems to accept that OK
* Mornings and evenings, she seems to like yelling at everything outside.

That seems kinda normal for a parrot but I'm still working on changing the sounds to ones I like more.

Good luck, hope this helps you too OP

Great advice given above.

If Bella is anywhere near weaning age, though, even up to a few months past, the vocalizations aren't exactly unusual. A lot of ekkies around that age tend to crank the volume up for a while. It's a phase they eventually grow out of, but it can be rough on the eardrums when in full swing.

What I do whenever I get the nasty noises is literally act like they're not there based on the idea I was told that sometimes leaving is the reward. I keep on doing whatever I'm doing until an acceptable noise is made, then I interact with them, normally starting off with a "you done now?" Just to alleviate what little sanity I have left

just a potential idea

LordTriggs said:

What I do whenever I get the nasty noises is literally act like they're not there based on the idea I was told that sometimes leaving is the reward. I keep on doing whatever I'm doing until an acceptable noise is made, then I interact with them, normally starting off with a "you done now?" Just to alleviate what little sanity I have left

just a potential idea

Click to expand...

Nearly extinct is he bird who screams to get you to leave. There’s a reason they talk about line-of-sight screaming, especially in conures.

Screaming is pretty much always going to be attention SEEKING, whether it’s contact calls, neglect, learned behavior, or hormonal. Parrots call attention TO themselves, not away from.

I had to do that with Jasper! If he started screaming like a crazy person I'd leave the room. Once he was quiet/switched to talking or whistling I'd come back and make a big deal about how he was a good boy.

Didn't really take long for him to catch on Now if I leave the room (for any reason) he immediately says "Come here!"

katie_fleming said:

I had to do that with Jasper! If he started screaming like a crazy person I'd leave the room. Once he was quiet/switched to talking or whistling I'd come back and make a big deal about how he was a good boy.

Didn't really take long for him to catch on Now if I leave the room (for any reason) he immediately says "Come here!"

Click to expand...

And this is how they learn to be closet talkers

Great advice above.

And then there's self-reinforcing behavior... behavior the subject enjoys doing, independently of any rewards/punishments. Punishment or time-out can help but...

I won't punish, and there's no such thing as time-out with a bird as flighted and fast as he is. Can't catch him!

The Rickeybird LOVES the sounds of his own screams (in addition to his dulcet 125-decibel running commentary), especially at dusk, dawn, ad sometimes for no apparent reason.

I have an idea: get a Patagonian. Then you'll hardly notice any other noides! Kiddin'!

Yeah, noise is a real parrot-thang!