Shouting

[hondafireblade]

Hi Paul my name I have a blue fonted amazon he has started tv screem a lot he just two years old is there any way of stoping this. thanks Paul

 

[labell]

Parrots scream. They scream to greet the day, they scream to say goodnight to the sun. Sometimes they scream for the sheer joy of it. If it is constant there could be lots of other stuff going on. Is the bird getting a lot of out of the cage time, does he get new fun interactive toys rotated so as not to become bored? Stimulation in their environment? Time spent with you? Is there something in the environment that could be stressful or scaring them? Are they getting enough good sleep? Good food.

Whatever you do please don't yell shut up back at them or some such thing. All you are doing is reinforcing that the screaming gets them attention. In the wild parrots vocalize to keep tabs on the rest of their flock, or to warn of danger or to announce a good feeding spot, it is natural. Most of the time what people think is constant screaming is not, if you actually timed it is normally much shorter duration than you think but because it happens at times that are inconvenient to us, early morning or while a favorite tv program is on it suddenly seems excessive.

First address when it is happening, is it normal greeting or ending the day times, sunrise, sunset, while playing? Make sure you are doing what's needed to make sure the parrot is happy and environmentally stimulated.

 

[Kiwibird]

Well, a certain amount of noise is to be expected with a parrot, and while both are LOUD, there is a HUGE difference between vocalizations and screaming. It is YOUR job to figure out why your bird is making noise at any particular time, and address that in the appropriate way, kind of like when a baby cries. You will also learn over time to distinguish between their noises, because each thing your bird is trying to communicate has a different sound to it (no joke, just takes a discerning ear. Learning to decipher parrot screams is like learning a foreign language). The first type are vocalizations known as "contact calling" or "flock calling" which is the bird trying to make sure their flock mates are safe. This type of vocalizing comes in VERY LOUD, short bursts, typically in the early morning or early evening. It's how they make sure their flock is all there an safe when they wake up and go to bed in nature, so it has to be loud to pierce through dense jungle. Typically this type of vocalizing only lasts a few minutes (or may only be a few loud calls) and is done. These vocalizations should not be discouraged, it is natural and just one of those things parrots do. Some parrots will quiet right down if you establish a contact call back to them to let them know your safe (such as a whistle or cue word). We usually have Kiwi with one of us whenever someone is home, but when you do have to leave the room without him, he will let out some calls and you can whistle back and he quiets down.

The second type of vocalizing is when the bird has no other means to communicate a need- they are bored, hungry, tired, scared ext... Obviously, if your bird is making noise for one of those reasons, you need to correct the situation. Give them more food, put a new toy in the cage, half cover the cage so they can nap ext... The key is to have an idea of what our bird is upset about and needs you to do for them so you can quiet them down.

Behavioral screaming is a whole different ball game than natural vocalizations. Behavioral screaming typically comes from long term neglect of their emotional or intellectual needs, which some people do not even realize they are doing. I have no idea how you function with your bird, so I'm just giving examples, not suggesting you do these things, but these are some of the scenarios that can lead to behavioral screaming- The bird is not mentally stimulated. This could be from not having toys frequently rotated, being in a low-traffic room in the house, and not having 1 on 1 interaction time with their family doing activities that are fun for the bird. The bird is emotionally neglected. This could come from the bird being locked in the cage most of the day, the "favorite" family member is home less than everyone else, the "favorite" family member does not go out of their way to spend time with the bird when they are home ext... They can also learn to train you. As in, if they scream and you come back to the room (even if you're upset), they have just trained you to come running when they start screaming. That can become a really "fun" game for a bored, starved for attention bird.

Until you figure out WHY your bird is screaming, there is no cut and dry answer on how to modify the behavior. Think hard about why the bird might be screaming. If it's a natural vocalization, you work with the bird to establish more favorable verbalizations so it can communicate in a more pleasant way. If the bird is not having needs met, you have to start meeting those needs. If the bird is plain unhappy and starting behavioral screaming, that starts with meeting needs consistently before the bird screams and ignoring it when it does. All that said- can you give some more details about what times of day your bird screams, what precedes the screaming, do the screams sound "different" at different times/scenarios, the birds social interactions with the family and how often toys are rotated That would help us help you better.

Wanted to add- when we got our BFA he was a BAD behavioral screamer. I have never heard an amazon capable of screaming loud enough you could hear him a block and a half down the street when he was in the house with the windows shut It is my guess that would be the primary reason he went through 2 homes in 10 years, and it was EXTREMELY hard to train that out of him because it was so ingrained in his behavioral patterns. It is best to learn how your bird communicates and work to modify normal and natural communication patterns than to let it escalate to a point where it is non-natural screaming that drives you bat crazy or worse, you have to rehome the bird. It would have ben *SO* much easier to establish the good lines of communication with Kiwi if we had got him as a young bird. He's very intelligent and I have paid attention to him enough I can tell the difference between a "I'm tired" noise or a "I'm bored" or "hey you left the room mommy, are you ok" noise, and address each one appropriately. You have such a very young bird, do not miss you window of opportunity to address the noise making the easy way, because you don't want to wait or halfass it and go about it the hard way.

 

[hondafireblade]

It's only in morning he out a lot has good food both seed ant veg also other parrots in the room he is well looked after . his name is mr jingles , we also have macaws they also shout we just wanted to know was it ok For him ,

 

[labell]

Morning is a very common time, greeting the brand new day is all.

 

[labell]

I will encourage you however to put many different size and natural perches in his cage. Having the same diameter and using dowels are really not good for his feet.

 

[Sheryl]

Now that my little BFA is gone, that morning greeting to the day is something I miss so much. I wish I loved morning enough to greet it with a glorious shrill! In the beginning we made a game of it at our house rather than let it annoy us. Sort of join her in what is natural for her and when it was over, it was usually over until sundown. Thanks all for the lengthy insights.

 

[Kiwibird]

If it's just in the morning, he's likely just greeting the day. That's a normal time for them to make a little noise. Best to just let him go ahead and get it out so he can be a nice, quiet boy the rest of the day I do agree with Labell that rope or natural perches would be better for his feet than those dowels.

Mr. Jingles is adorable BTW. And what a unique name!

 

[hondafireblade]

He has other perches also he get new branches all the time apple tree

 

[Taw5106]

Shouting??? For such little lungs they have a lot of punch, lol. Mine starts screaming when I leave the room. I don't respond, especially when I'm cooking because it turns into a screaming match "ie "augh", "Buddy", over and over. He'll scream a few times then changes tactics and start calling out "hello", "pretty bird", wolf whistling, all for attention. In the mornings I say good morning and give him breakfast, like fresh fruit and veg. That keeps him busy for a while. I get to drink my coffee and wake up in peace.

I think shouting and screaming is something to expect but it can be managed and reduced. Plus yours is still so young. Enjoy him!

 

[sunnyvmx]

This has been an exciting 3 weeks with ChuChu. I was having a difficult time with his loud squawking and tried the "time out" method to stop it. Two days ago I was disheartened to realize how much time he was jailed in his cage and I was crushed when I resorted to covering it to quiet him. I knew I had to change what I was doing. So I asked myself, "What is it that you want with this bird?" (1) Stop squawking as loud as he can for my attention. (2) Be comfortable with my hands touching and petting him all over. (3) Become bonded with me with love and trust.

It's been two days with my new training and I've had success with all three. First I have to admit that ChuChu doesn't bite. He bit me once the first day. He clamps down, but he knows just how much before I say ouch. So here's what I do when he calls loudly. I immediately stop what I'm doing, go to him and pick him up. I sit with him in my lap and touch him all over with both hands while I'm laughing and saying "Help, help. Bird abuse, bird abuse." Then I place him back on his tree gym. It took a few times the first day, but finally he was convinced that this was more attention than he could handle and when he was quiet I picked him up and let him play in my lap without touching him.

By the third day we had made so much progress that I felt he was ready for a visit to a friends house. I had finished his portable T-stand hung with new toys and she picked us up. He did well on the 5 minute trip to her house on my hand or shoulder. When we arrived I quickly put the stand together so he could poop. He never poops on me or the furniture, but I put him on the gym every half hour so he can and he does. She has two little dogs and by the end of the visit they and ChuChu were relaxed and settled down. He entertained my friends with his whistles and talking and I only had to give him the quiet lesson once and although amused they could see that it worked.

As soon as his travel carrier bag arrives from Amazon.com, I can then take him and the T-stand to visit on the scooter. None of this would be possible if he wasn't so well adjusted and fearless. He's a 2 year old Lilac Crowned Amazon raised with lots of love by his previous owners.