Help! Sun Conure Screeching All Day!

[DarkMeloch]

I am writing this with a headache. Sigh.....our sun conure, Romeo, has recently started screeching all day long. Nothing will stop him. Not food, not love, nothing. We have had him for six months and he never really did this before. He does not seem sick and I really don't know what to do. Its too much. He has toys in his cage but they are limited because he cannot have wooden toys (He eats them and then gets very sick). I would really appreciate some advice here. I do not want to get a knock at the door from neighbors. The only thing I can think of is 2 weeks ago we moved him to the other side of the room because ants were coming through the window. He still has the ability to see outside though. Think I will try to move him back and go from there.....help!

Oh and I forgot to mention that when you do take him out and hold him he is very aggressive and kisses your lips and nose extremely hard! It hurts!

 

[Kalidasa]

Sounds like its about him being moved. Move him back, it can't hurt. If he quiets down, make a fuss over him with treats and such, and just hang out with him and observe his behavior. If he can't have lots of toys, then at least he needs to be out interacting and keeping occupied.

 

[DarkMeloch]

Well I moved the cage and so far so good. He is more quiet now. But I am maybe starting to think that Romeo is not a boy but a girl. He is about 2 years old and I was reading on the web that around this age the females want to mate and get a little aggressive. Because Romeo continues to bite our lips and noses really hard like its a very aggressive kiss. Thoughts on this anyone?

 

[BoomBoom]

Yes it could be the hormones too, I was about to ask his/her age until I read your recent post.

Besides, that, I agree with Kalidasa on the cage relocation. What kind of ants are going through the window? Black or red stingy ones? I know all about ant problems because I dealt with it last year, before winter. I tries chalk and cinnamon, both supposedly effective natural combatants to ants. It did not deter them.

Spraying vinegar was the only thing that killed them (poor ants, sorry). They still came though, but lessened each day because the area had the lingering smell of vinegar.

Haven't tried this, but I was going to when the ants came. Try to soak a strip of cloth in vinegar and line your window with it. It will dry out less quickly and will always that smell. Now as to your room smelling like vinegar, sadly I can't help you there because I've tries ways to safely mask it (boiling lemon rinds and cinnamon) but it didn't help.

 

[DarkMeloch]

Not sure which ants they are but I have pretty much controlled the issue by cleaning up around the window and moving the bird. With him throwing his food on the ground they had an easy snack to go after. I found some of the holes they were coming through and I put wall plaster to seal it up. My issue with this room is that I have to keep it shut because I have dogs and cats that would love to visit my bird. So anything I use or spray stays in there and I don't want to harm the bird.

On a separate note, since I moved Romeo back to his spot by the window he has stopped screeching. Now lets just hope the ants stay away!

 

[Wdlodge]

Well I moved the cage and so far so good. He is more quiet now. But I am maybe starting to think that Romeo is not a boy but a girl. He is about 2 years old and I was reading on the web that around this age the females want to mate and get a little aggressive. Because Romeo continues to bite our lips and noses really hard like its a very aggressive kiss. Thoughts on this anyone?

Sounds like hormones to me. If you can get past this stage he/she should calm down. Since the bird is biting lips/nose, I wouldn't allow him/her anywhere around your face, but keep working with the bird to continue wirh your bond with it as it goes through this stage. Watch its body language, learn whqt makes the bird tick, Lots of praise when the birds is behaving on a way that is positive and appropriate, ignore the bad behavior. Hope this helps.

 

[DarkMeloch]

OK so I was wrong. He has not stopped!!! I ignore him, give him attention, bought him a new toy, moved him back by the window and nothing! If this is hormones how long will this last????

 

[ShellyBorg]

Is he getting 12 hours of dark a night? Do you use a sleep cage or can you set one up?

 

[DarkMeloch]

He goes to bed around 11pm and wakes up on his own at around 0830. Therefore, no he is not getting exactly 12 hours of sleep. He is in a room with a rabbit and a bearded dragon so I have to go in there to feed and turn on/off the heat lamps for the bearded dragon. He has a little bed in his cage that he goes in by himself. I am guessing I need to put a towel over his cage for 12 hours?

 

[ShellyBorg]

It may help. If he is not getting 12 hours the hormones can kick up.

 

[Wdlodge]

He goes to bed around 11pm and wakes up on his own at around 0830. Therefore, no he is not getting exactly 12 hours of sleep. He is in a room with a rabbit and a bearded dragon so I have to go in there to feed and turn on/off the heat lamps for the bearded dragon. He has a little bed in his cage that he goes in by himself. I am guessing I need to put a towel over his cage for 12 hours?

Birds are generally up with the sun and down with the sun. The latest my parrotlet is up is 7:30/8:00. Also are you feeding your bird twice a day? They fill thier crop in the morning and in the evening no more than an hr before going to bed. What I do is I give my bird access to pellets and water 24/7. But feed her in the morning a mixture of cooked beans, brown rice, quinoa, carrots, corn (prepare a head of time) to that I add, broccoli, a little raw oatmeal, a little pellets and some seed. Mix it up. I heat it up slightly, a allow to cool a bit. That is her breakfast and dinner, oh I will also add fruit if available at the time. You can change out the ingredients add to it, take a way from it. Etc.

Feed in the morning, allow time 1 hr. then discard what's left. Then repeat this process in the evening (dinner time) allow time 1 hrs and discard.

Here is a really good article: Feeding the Companion Parrot by Pamela Clark

It's a bit long but makes good sense.

 

[DarkMeloch]

My bird is a bit picky. He constantly wants his food dish filled so he can eat off the top. I feed him Fiesta Max for Conures which has a variety of seeds and dried fruits. I have tried fresh fruits, meal worms and he eats nothing.

And he keeps screeching. Trying to give him at least 12 hours of sleep. See if this helps.

 

[Wdlodge]

My bird is a bit picky. He constantly wants his food dish filled so he can eat off the top. I feed him Fiesta Max for Conures which has a variety of seeds and dried fruits. I have tried fresh fruits, meal worms and he eats nothing.

And he keeps screeching. Trying to give him at least 12 hours of sleep. See if this helps.

Try vegetables, cooked pasta, cooked beans, brown rice, quinoa, carrots, brocolli.... Mix in a little seed and pellets. Do this twice a day, once in the morning, once at night no less than 1 hr. before sundown. Only leave the food in the cage for 1 hr. but leave pellets, "not seed" and water in the cage 24/7. Repeat the am/pm schecule until he gets it. He will get it and it should be satisfying.

Make sure he get plenty of undisturbed sleep, at sundown.


How much out of the cage time does he get per day?

I think that I need to stress that you have to meet the needs of your bird. This requires research. I hope you get to read that article that I posted on feeding the companion parrot.

Ps... Seed is very high in fat, which is fine if the bird is allowed to fly around all day. If not, then too much seed can hurt your bird. Im not saying no seed, but too much is not good. If he is screaming all day he may be in distress and you should take him to an avian vet to get checked out.

You need to switch to pellets. In addition too fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, pasta, beans etc. something that I learned from that article is that the more ingredients the better, so when you switch it up the bird doesn't know.

 

[RiahWillow]

Not sure if this will help but with the ant problem, it is possible that you have termites in your home. When ants are marching around a house and in and out of doors and windows it usually indicates the start of a termite infestation. I had the same problem last summer only to find out that we had a small colony of termites. We got a termite treatment in the basement and have not seen another ant since. From what I understand termites and ants are mortal enemies and they wage war on each other all the time. You could get a free check of your house from a termite company to be sure. If it is termites then you can treat it (not cheap, but it will save larger expense later in structure damage). If you treat then the ants should leave with the termites.. If it is not termites, and you just have an ant problem, a friend of mine uses eucalyptus oil on the doors and window openings (just paint it on) and it seems to not only keep out ants but also other bugs that are a large problem in apartment complexes.

Hope this helps,
Riah