Help! The Screeching! Ahhhhhh!

[AC04]

Made a lot of progress with Olivia over the past couple of weeks.....maybe too much progress and the result is Olivia is in love with me. Madly in love with me to the point that if I leave the room she screams, if I am in the room not holding her or petting she screams and screech. Tried ignoring her but doesn't seem to work. What is really odd is, that I am never home Mon- Fri. I am out of the house from at least 7-7. I come home and spend about 15 minutes with her before covering her cage around 8 pm. My wife and kids feed her. My wife handles her during the day. My wife says she is relativley quiet during the week but only acts this way on the weekends when I am home all day. HELP, we can't hear ourselves think.

 

[Ladyeclectic]

Just gotta say you're title made me LOL, even though I doubt you find it funny.

Congrats on getting your bird to fall in love with you!! Obviously she's pretty attached to you and desperate for attention - why not give her more? It's great your wife is there to give her affection, but if it's you she's after then she probably won't be satisfied until there's more interaction. Why not take her around with you a little bit? Hang out with her, let her be with you more - either on a perch nearby as you're unwinding or on your shoulder. Give her lovins but if she starts exhibiting mating or mastubatory behavior (how old is she?) try to discourage that.

She obviously loves you, and unfortunately sun conures can be vocal little cusses. Why deny her what she wants, if it isn't hurting anything (except your eardrums when you don't). 15 minutes, despite your wife handling her during the day, probably isnt enough for her, and when you're around more on the weekends she takes advantage. It's also different than your normal pattern too, which may throw her off a bit too.

Hopefully someone else on here can chime in with more wisdom, but perhaps try hanging out with her more during the week: that way your added presence on the weekend won't be such a "Look at me!"-fest.

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Get her out of the cage with you in the morning a let her be with you while you shower and get ready for work

Keep her up till 8.30 and devote that half hour just to her even if your just sitting on couch watching tv with her

Talk to your boss see if you can't take her to work with you one day a week ( in her cage / travel cage of course )

what about constructive toys for during the day things she really has to work at to get the food this keeps her mind and mouth busy
see von1983 post on home made parrot pinyatas

If you provide them for her personally it may help calm her

it's definatly a plee for attention

 

[Von1983]

lol....this is a typical Sunny trait I'm afraid!

Comes with the territory - literally.

Cal still squeaks when we leave the room. When she first got here she'd do the SCREAM. Now, when I leave a room she sounds like a smoke alarm lol. *peep....peep....peep*. Cal's problem is she is with us ALL the time. From wakey time to sleepy time. She's out for 4 hrs an evening when we shut the shop and as a result, get's miffed when you leave her alone in a room inbetween times. (You'll have noticed that Sunny's are the bossiest creatures going lol!)

I started to combat the problem by calling to her from outside the room as that's all Olivia is doing. "Where's my flock?" "Where have you gone?" "Are you ok?". Try and bear that in mind when you hear her scream. Cal is very VERY selfless when it comes to me. I can eat a dinner and she STILL regurgitates....she still preens me over and over...it's love. Bearing that in mind may help you deal with this.

So....I call back if I'm going to be a short time. If I was going to be longer, I'd walk back into the room she was in, go up to the cage and whisper in a low tone on repeat: No shout. This works for a little while as it seems to pole axe them lol. Stunned into listening! So when she was silent, I'd praise her, give her a treat and say: Be one minute (just my choice of LYING phrase lol! I mean, who's "one minute at the supermarket?!). Then when I left, she'd scream again and I'd say: No shout Cal, one minute! If I was in a room where she could still hear me, I'd chatter away in response to her screams. A bit like this.....

C: SSSCCCRREEAAM
Me: Really?
C: SCRREAAAM
M: And then what?
C: Sccccrreraaaammm wrmtswrmts
M: Oh REALLY? What a naughty bunny, I hope you told her off?
C: *high pitched proud peep*
M: Oh hohohoho....and what did she have to say to that?
C: hurburburbur.....

Calms them right down but with EVERYTHING and sunnies - nothing is instant! Be consistant and you'll get results

You will need to do this for a long time, but they're like children, they like to know what's going on so you need to establish an association that all is well and yes, you WILL come back lol.

Sunnies will always scream from time to time. It's their equally endearing/irritating trait. Cal STILL gives out from time to time but it's much much less than the beginning. As I say, my lil "smoke alarm" goes off now instead of the screaming. I just say: Be one minute and all is well lol.

Patience is the key