Call or alarm screech?

WinstonToBC

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Winston is settling in to his new surroundings. He is truly a sweet boy. He loves to chatter and each day we hear new words and/or phrases. He isn't a screamer, but I do have a question on one particular sound he makes. I tried looking it up but can't find the exact sound.

Winston does a sound that sounds like a siren. He does not do it all the time but I am noticing a pattern: Sometimes when he first sees me in the morning and again in the evening. He will also sometimes do this same sound when I leave the room. I don't think it is a scared/danger call. He will do it 1-4 times. The only time I have heard a panic call is when he saw something outside as he screamed for a couple minutes as he was looking outside.

Any suggestions on how I can respond to his call without him learning that his call means I go to him? I have read several ways to approach this, but wondering what has worked for everyone here? As I said, he does not scream all the time. I would say he is a pretty quiet, laid back Eclectus. I am more concerned of the noise level as it is ear piercing and it freaks out our dog. The poor thing runs upstairs when she hears it. Of course, it could be that she is wondering why a bird is talking! :)

Thoughts?
 
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Inger

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When Bumble contact calls to me, I say “I hear you!” one time. When she stops calling, I make kissy noises back and forth with her. If I’m not paying attention and don’t kiss fast enough, she’ll start making them at me. But she only does this when I leave the room she’s in.


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ChristaNL

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If you want to change his call - give him something else to use.


Sunny used a single macaw-yell to get attention and also to try to find me if I was in another part of the house, and repeat those once in a while (like every 3-5 minutes).
and I do have lots of neighbours!!
It's an ongoing struggle to get her to replace her WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH with her "HELLO?!".
(I picked one of the sounds she already knows how to make in the vague hope that would speed up the process -- my neighbours collective patience most likely has limits/ though they have been quite understanding and forgiving sofar...)
So: every "Hello?!" gets a response (I "Hello" right back at her, and some more positive sounding things) and every "WRAAAAAAAAAAAH" gets her absolutely nothing...
(I sometimes still make a mistake by looking in her direction if she does it while I am in the room ---my bad! The slow part of 'slow progress' is all on me.)


Like humans: you can not just get rid of bad habbits -> you just replace them as much as you can with (somewhat) better ones.
 

LordTriggs

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yup! Exactly like Christa said. You can change it but you can't stop it. I just went for the simple reward a noise I liked with attention and praise, and ignore the noises I didn't like. Turned a usual Green cheek screech to a little frog croak which is a far better noise to wake up to after a night out!
 
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WinstonToBC

WinstonToBC

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Thank you all so much. I will ignore the screech and reward more pleasant noises. I think he is doing it for attention as I will be in the room and he does it, too. Wondering if moving his cage into a quieter room might help or would it make it worse? He is pretty smart so hoping he catches on quickly. When we first visited him he was used to being on shoulders and taking food from my step-mom's mouth. I knew this was not going to continue with me so I would not let him on my shoulder. After two days of switching hands and not letting him on my shoulder, he doesn't even try anymore. I think he was wanting the shoulder to see what was in my mouth as that is what he was used to.
 
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WinstonToBC

WinstonToBC

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So... how did you guys do the noise change? When your bird made the screech did you walk out of the room but when they said hello or made a pleasant sound you rewarded them? When Winston says hello, I always say it back. Or, when he chatters. :) When he screams, I ignore him. But, if he switches to a pleasant sound I give him immediate attention. How long does it usually take?
 

ChristaNL

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Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
If you are as clumsy as I am... months! :D

But most birds get the idea verry fast - just be very clear and (whats the word again?) consistent.
It really depends on how smart you are and how smart your bird is.

I still get tricked/ outsmarted esp later in the evening, when I am tired and focussed on other things. Parronting is hard sometimes!:18:

(LOL I really love that word- it describes so well what we do without losing sight of the fact that the bird is really a parrot not an ersatz-human-child)
 
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WinstonToBC

WinstonToBC

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If you are as clumsy as I am... months! :D

But most birds get the idea verry fast - just be very clear and (whats the word again?) consistent.
It really depends on how smart you are and how smart your bird is.

I still get tricked/ outsmarted esp later in the evening, when I am tired and focussed on other things. Parronting is hard sometimes!:18:

(LOL I really love that word- it describes so well what we do without losing sight of the fact that the bird is really a parrot not an ersatz-human-child)

Thanks! I think he will get it pretty quickly. I just walk out when he screams. He will usually quiet down within a minute. With that said, I did see/hear him making this noise for several minutes. He was looking out the window and we saw a hawk. So, making the noise made sense as it was danger danger! I am going to see about moving his cage.

He has been through a lot with losing my dad and step-mom as he was their bird. Then he was with an awesome foster mama for 8 months while I made plans to get to the states to get him. I suspect he is adjusting to all this change in a 2.5 year time frame. :(
 

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Contact calls are different then a call for attention. Contact calls are like "Where are You? I am here! Are we OK?" Salty has one for each member of the family. And we all answer the same way " I'm here! Where are you?" in our own voices and only respond once. He has other calls for when he wants attention and we sometimes will or will not gratify him. He has a "I'm hungry and I see Mom getting dinner ready" call, and a "It's time for our training session" call too.

And sometimes , because he is an Amazon, he has a "It's Great To Be An Amazon" call/song.
 
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WinstonToBC

WinstonToBC

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Contact calls are different then a call for attention. Contact calls are like "Where are You? I am here! Are we OK?" Salty has one for each member of the family. And we all answer the same way " I'm here! Where are you?" in our own voices and only respond once. He has other calls for when he wants attention and we sometimes will or will not gratify him. He has a "I'm hungry and I see Mom getting dinner ready" call, and a "It's time for our training session" call too.

And sometimes , because he is an Amazon, he has a "It's Great To Be An Amazon" call/song.

So cute... It's great to be an Amazon call! :)

I am trying to pinpoint his calls as he does just the one. He "kahs" but that isn't too loud. He has been quiet all afternoon except for his cute talking.
 

LordTriggs

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So... how did you guys do the noise change? When your bird made the screech did you walk out of the room but when they said hello or made a pleasant sound you rewarded them? When Winston says hello, I always say it back. Or, when he chatters. :) When he screams, I ignore him. But, if he switches to a pleasant sound I give him immediate attention. How long does it usually take?

Pretty much what I did, I never left the room or anything. I would do what I could to make no reaction at all so they would be forced to think "oh they don't hear that, well let's try something else" was my logic behind it
 
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WinstonToBC

WinstonToBC

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So... how did you guys do the noise change? When your bird made the screech did you walk out of the room but when they said hello or made a pleasant sound you rewarded them? When Winston says hello, I always say it back. Or, when he chatters. :) When he screams, I ignore him. But, if he switches to a pleasant sound I give him immediate attention. How long does it usually take?

Pretty much what I did, I never left the room or anything. I would do what I could to make no reaction at all so they would be forced to think "oh they don't hear that, well let's try something else" was my logic behind it

I think this is working. :) He hasn't been overly loud today. He greeted me with a hello and a squawk. Then he was out of his cage. He yelled at me when I went in his cage to tidy it up... possessive of his cage perhaps? And, he has been quiet for the past 4 hours. Well, minus the kiss noises and chatting. :)
 

ChristaNL

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Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
See, just do not slip up and you will have a nice civilized bird in no time \o/
Well done you!

(then come over and teach mine, just to make sure you got it right of course ... ;) )
 
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WinstonToBC

WinstonToBC

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See, just do not slip up and you will have a nice civilized bird in no time \o/
Well done you!

(then come over and teach mine, just to make sure you got it right of course ... ;) )

Wahaha... So funny! It is so hard to not slip up as when he screams my natural instinct is to go to him. But, I have been doing really well. He is a smarty pants, so I suspect it won't take him long. He likes people to be near him, so he will learn screaming means no people. Well, in theory this is what will happen!
 

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