Continuous screaming for 10 hours a day

[hawker]

Guys I need a little bit of help , my grey all of a sudden started screaming around 6 months ago maybe more and I can not get him to stop. It’s not even left the room I’m still in it. On the weekends when we’re both at home it’s from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to sleep and it’s exhausting. I’ve tried absolutely everything that everyone is saying to do and have had no joy. I’ve ignored him and he continues to do it. I’ve left the room but that doesn’t worth either. I’ve trysd putting him away and covering him up but still no joy and loads more. I’m currently stuck and do not know what to do. I saw someone with a strobe light to distract them when they scream but I don’t know if that’s a wise move of not.
Someone must of had this before. He’s such a sweat little bird when he’s not screaming and being cuddley it’s like he’s got a split personality 😂

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Hi Hawker! Love your name But getting to the point...

Have you taken him to a vet for a check-up? What's the size of your grey's cage? What kind of toys (and how many) does he have in there? How much time does he get outside of the cage? How much interaction does he get? Has anything changed in his environment - construction noise nearby, shifted furniture, new looks on his humans, family member move away or added, etc?

We need to first find what's causing him to scream like this. As members say around here, "it's always the human's fault." So we need to figure out what's triggered this action/reaction of his. Check out what other members have posted about behavioural changes in their companions - it can be the strangest of triggers!

 

[hawker]

Hi Hawker! Love your name But getting to the point...

Have you taken him to a vet for a check-up? What's the size of your grey's cage? What kind of toys (and how many) does he have in there? How much time does he get outside of the cage? How much interaction does he get? Has anything changed in his environment - construction noise nearby, shifted furniture, new looks on his humans, family member move away or added, etc?

We need to first find what's causing him to scream like this. As members say around here, "it's always the human's fault." So we need to figure out what's triggered this action/reaction of his. Check out what other members have posted about behavioural changes in their companions - it can be the strangest of triggers!

Nothing has changed and that’s what we can’t get our head around. He has a lot of toys to play with and a lot of them are foraging toys. He has them in and out of his cage. He is out of his cage pretty much all day long on weekends and during the week he’s out for an hour or two in the morning before work and then out as soon as I’m home from work until he goes to bed. He gets a lot of attention off of the both of us we make a fuss of him when we get in from work and reward him for good behaviour. We just can’t seem to put our finger on it. He comes into the shower with the two of us and loves it in the bathroom it’s jusy random screams all the time. He will chat to himself and then scream for no reason we just can’t work it out

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Oh! From my ignorant POV, he sounds almost normal. I hear others have had success with teaching calls to replace screeches. Like saying, "I'm here. Where are you?" since he might be calling to communicate his or your presence (sort of a "Marco"-"Polo" situation); eventually, he might pick it up instead if you're consistent enough.

Or that might be how he is, screaming occasionally as a form of his talking. I'm sure others can weigh in more.

 

[ChristaNL]

If you find *the* answer, let me know
My grey Japie got himself kicked out of his former house for being just as annoying ...
(and there are days I am tempted!)


He learned a combination of a persistent baby-wailing/fire-alarm kind of sound (a infant screaming his head of only an octave or so higher - on repeat).
He came from a household with 5 very noisy adults/ teenagers where the norm was: make *more* noise if you want to be heard.
Well, was he in for a shock!
So everytime he reacted to a sound by getting louder - I would tone down my conversation with him to a whisper- and he had to stop yelling to be able to hear me - or miss out on al the fun.

(I learned how the subtitles on my TV work in the same period.)



Here ends the succes-story.


Making that particulair sound is just one of his favorites- even though I do not reward him and wil lavish attention, treats etc.etc. if he stops it and does something else.
But it is like sucking a thumb or twiddling with hair -> is does something for him and he is not willing to give it up esp. when he is upset about something or it is time for him to be asleep .. whining away he goes.


Since he has an amazing repertoire of glorious human whistling and what sounds like a complete petshop or a small zoo and probably every command or sound he ever heard - I wish you could set a playlist!!

 

[Billdore]

Sometimes my Timneh will get excited and start screaming like she’s testing her own lung power. But it doesn’t last very long usually. Have you tried whispering so he has to quiet down if he wants to here you? Do you guys have a communication whistle that you use. Timneh and I whistle back and forth all day. Sometimes I’ll hear a random whistle while
I’m out and about and whistles back. Lol

 

[wrench13]

Welcome Hawker and be welcomed. SO first thing you should do is make sure that ****** ( the name of your Grey please) visits a truly qualified Avian certified vet, and have a full set of tests run, any thing the vet can think of, to assure you both that the screaming is not something medical in nature. If it is not, you have gotten some good suggestions above.

1) Only reward positive things, so when he switches to singing or talking, he gets praise and treats.

2) Try to distract him with a song yourself! ( we use this with Salty when he gets a bit too Amazon, singing his favorite songs to him. He will usually switch gears and sing instead of shrieking ).

3) If medical or psychological causes have been ruled out ( Psychological could be as simple as him seeing a hawk kill a bird in his view out a window), you must examine the people who have access to your parrot. Are all friends with him? I read of one bird who started doing this because a son did not like the bird and would actually torture it when no one was around. The poor thing developed a phobia about every one in the house and would scream incessantly. Make sure on this point.

5) Greys are so wickedly smart you really have to think hard on what might be causing him to do this. Rack you brain to find ANYTHING that might have changed just before this all started. New pictures on the wall, new arrangement of furniture, painting a room a different color, new appliances.

6) Any change to you or your families schedule? One that might affect his feeding time or outside cage time?

Good Luck! We have some very experienced Grey parronts here, seek thier input.

 

[SilverSage]

1) VET! NOW! Not just any vet, am Avian Cartivied Vet. Get gramstains and blood work at the VERY LEAST.

2) so the last six months... thats breeding season. How old is your grey, abs what is his diet?


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[wrench13]

LOL Sage - "Cartivied" ??? Able to perform operations on food carts?

 

[SilverSage]

Oh dear. Certified lol.


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[lplummer52]

Birdie imitates the neighborhood mockingbirds and the gravely screech they use when chasing something away from their nests. She does this sound when she wants to come in off the porch. She only makes Sunnie calls when she's happy, or greeting us in the morning or when we arrive home. There have been times when we're watching the TV that she carries on that mockingbird sound, or pesters us with ear nibbling. We'll usually stop the TV and give her our full attention until she calms down, or give her a favorite toy, then turn the tube back on. They're like 2-year old toddlers! Me, me, me!

 

[EllenD]

I'm going to reiterate...CERTIFIED AVIAN VET NOW!!!! At the very least you want Cultures/Gram Stains and baseline-Blood Work done...He could be in CONSTANT PAIN!!! If he's truly "screaming 10 hours a day", and it's actually "screaming" and not simply a call/sound that he's mimicking, then he could be in constant pain from something...Blood Work with show an infection, liver or kidney issues, etc. THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL AT THIS POINT!!! And only a Certified Avian Vet, not an "Exotics" Vet...

Also, do you know his real age? How about his real gender? (meaning you have had him DNA tested)

 

[bigfellasdad]

Ive never had this happen so im guessing here.

CAGs are so intelligent and extremely inquisitive, and also creatures of habit. Assuming you have thought of any changes that may have occured, maybe even trivial things (to you).

My CAG gets very broody with me, over bonded, and when she does her 'chicken dance' or regurgitates for me i will immediately find something to distract her.... a piece of wood or pencil, a small cardboard box, some yoghurt....literally any thing to hand will distract her enough to stop as long as I also pay an interest to the item.
As mentioned, positive re-enforcement is key with birds/children etc, so offer treats and excitement when she does well, and no treats and no interaction when she screams.

hth

Andy

 

[DRB]

These birds are very sensitive and many times to colors, maybe there is something you wear or have placed in the bird's sight that you are unaware of that is freaking the bird out?

 

[ChristaNL]

Just curious... have you seen a vet yet?


(Not trying to be 'an nosy neighbour' but pure selfinterest of course, if your vet finds something mine may have overlooked - I get to benefit as well )

 

[Tami2]

I’ve read through this thread and you have gotten a ton of very good advice.
However, many members have advised getting to the CAV Vet ASAP. Yet, you haven’t said that you have done that. I would have immediately taken my Levi to his Vet if he started doing something out of the ‘norm’.
Something is very wrong & you need to find out ASAP.

 

[Dopey]

I’ve read through this thread and you have gotten a ton of very good advice.
However, many members have advised getting to the CAV Vet ASAP. Yet, you haven’t said that you have done that. I would have immediately taken my Levi to his Vet if he started doing something out of the ‘norm’.
Something is very wrong & you need to find out ASAP.

If it is the same bird as in the other forum it has been to the vet twice.

 

[Tami2]

I’ve read through this thread and you have gotten a ton of very good advice.
However, many members have advised getting to the CAV Vet ASAP. Yet, you haven’t said that you have done that. I would have immediately taken my Levi to his Vet if he started doing something out of the ‘norm’.
Something is very wrong & you need to find out ASAP.

If it is the same bird as in the other forum it has been to the vet twice.

Oh? Please tell us, what did the Vet say?

 

[Dopey]

I’ve read through this thread and you have gotten a ton of very good advice.
However, many members have advised getting to the CAV Vet ASAP. Yet, you haven’t said that you have done that. I would have immediately taken my Levi to his Vet if he started doing something out of the ‘norm’.
Something is very wrong & you need to find out ASAP.

If it is the same bird as in the other forum it has been to the vet twice.

Oh? Please tell us, what did the Vet say?

Oh - sorry. The vet was telling them to leave food in the cage all the time. (My birds have pellets or foraging nuts all the time.) The vet thought it might be hungry. After weeks of not doing that they have made food available at all times in the cage and on the stands.

Here - Believe it or not, one thing our vet just recommended sounds very weird to me but who knows, she wants us to OVER feed him (make sure there is a surplus of feed even when he is done/full at all times) in his cage or on his perch, to almost "distract" him from yelling with food I assume, and take away and chance of him being (or THINKING), he is hungry..

The was also an attitude adjustment by trimming the beak.

 

[Tami2]

If it is the same bird as in the other forum it has been to the vet twice.

Oh? Please tell us, what did the Vet say?

Oh - sorry. The vet was telling them to leave food in the cage all the time. (My birds have pellets or foraging nuts all the time.) The vet thought it might be hungry. After weeks of not doing that they have made food available at all times in the cage and on the stands.

Here - Believe it or not, one thing our vet just recommended sounds very weird to me but who knows, she wants us to OVER feed him (make sure there is a surplus of feed even when he is done/full at all times) in his cage or on his perch, to almost "distract" him from yelling with food I assume, and take away and chance of him being (or THINKING), he is hungry..

The was also an attitude adjustment by trimming the beak.

Thank you dopey :smile049:

I always leave pellets in Levi’s cage. Just in case he’s up early and is hungry. Or something happens and I can’t tend to him right away. I make sure he has fresh food & water at all times.