When they stop screaming??

[JSyle]

Question about screaming, or specifically the lack of screaming:

Background: We rescued this 6 y/o female in March 2021. Up until October, her normal noise level would be chattering and only screaming like once or twice a day. Then we had our roof replaced in October (we live in essentially a converted attic, the banging was loud, and no we didn't have the chance to move the birds because our landlord never told us when the work would be done we just came home after work to find them there). Since then, the screaming has progressively gotten loud and more frequent. Even when she was out of her cage and sitting on a stand she would be screaming. The only times she wouldn't be screaming was when she was sleeping, when no one was home, when we were holding her, and occasionally when she was eating.

Up to speed: Saturday she was doing her normal screaming thing, Sunday she did not scream once. She was back down to the noise level prior to the roof being replaced. She didn't scream at all this morning either. I checked her weight, normal. I checked her poops, normal. Her eating and activity level is normal and she is certainly more active now than she was a few months ago (she is growing confidence actually flying around). She went from screaming constantly to not screaming at all over night.

Question: What could have caused this flip? I really hadn't changed anything in her schedule. Of course now I'm worried that she isn't feeling well and is sick, I have a vet appointment on 12/21 so a little less than 9 days out. Should I be worried?

 

[Moon-And-Silvia]

Screaming for birds is normal. Heck, Moon and Silvia scream all the time! In my experience, listening to calming music- or birds that are NOT screaming- will help. I read somewhere that if they start to scream, then turn the lights out and leave the room until they stop screaming.

 

[JSyle]

Screaming for birds is normal. Heck, Moon and Silvia scream all the time! In my experience, listening to calming music- or birds that are NOT screaming- will help. I read somewhere that if they start to scream, then turn the lights out and leave the room until they stop screaming.

I don't mean to sound rude, but did you read my post? I don't have poor grammar skills and I don't mean "When will they stop screaming?", I mean what I wrote. Please read the post.

 

[Ria.345]

Question about screaming, or specifically the lack of screaming:

Background: We rescued this 6 y/o female in March 2021. Up until October, her normal noise level would be chattering and only screaming like once or twice a day. Then we had our roof replaced in October (we live in essentially a converted attic, the banging was loud, and no we didn't have the chance to move the birds because our landlord never told us when the work would be done we just came home after work to find them there). Since then, the screaming has progressively gotten loud and more frequent. Even when she was out of her cage and sitting on a stand she would be screaming. The only times she wouldn't be screaming was when she was sleeping, when no one was home, when we were holding her, and occasionally when she was eating.

Up to speed: Saturday she was doing her normal screaming thing, Sunday she did not scream once. She was back down to the noise level prior to the roof being replaced. She didn't scream at all this morning either. I checked her weight, normal. I checked her poops, normal. Her eating and activity level is normal and she is certainly more active now than she was a few months ago (she is growing confidence actually flying around). She went from screaming constantly to not screaming at all over night.

Question: What could have caused this flip? I really hadn't changed anything in her schedule. Of course now I'm worried that she isn't feeling well and is sick, I have a vet appointment on 12/21 so a little less than 9 days out. Should I be worried?

Hello, I read your full post and I can definitely see why you’re worried about the change because when birds get out to their “normal” for them, it can be concerning. So you’re worries are valid and there’s always some investigation to do! Parrots are very sensitive to basically anything. So that being said, it really could be the little changes that she sensed around her even with no drastic schedule change. And I suggest definitely keeping up with that appointment and that’s honestly the only thing you’d have to do right now if everything else is looking normal. Parrots hide illnesses very well and it’s best to be on the safe side and u can always ask your vet this very question of the sudden change. It could possibly be an illness gradually creeping up even if physical signs of health ailments are not present yet. Just keep updating us. Cause? Unknown unless you trace back your steps! Which can be hard honestly as parrot owners dealing with such sensitive creatures. Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[Laurasea]

definitely something to keep an eye on. Glad you checked poop and weight.
When my girl Penny was sick, she stopped screaming to wake me up first thing in the morning. So I get it.

Burds are actually more sensitive to cold snaps than we give credit for. And an exterior wall or window can much colder than the rest of the home. I recommend radiant heat, I use the sweeter heater as found on Amazon, tho it so powerful I have to set back a foot from the cage. But k and h makes a small on to attach to cage. Its a good thing to have regardless

 

[JSyle]

definitely something to keep an eye on. Glad you checked poop and weight.
When my girl Penny was sick, she stopped screaming to wake me up first thing in the morning. So I get it.

Burds are actually more sensitive to cold snaps than we give credit for. And an exterior wall or window can much colder than the rest of the home. I recommend radiant heat, I use the sweeter heater as found on Amazon, tho it so powerful I have to set back a foot from the cage. But k and h makes a small on to attach to cage. Its a good thing to have regardless

Would you be able to link the heater you use? Thank you!

 

[Emeral]

Question about screaming, or specifically the lack of screaming:

Background: We rescued this 6 y/o female in March 2021. Up until October, her normal noise level would be chattering and only screaming like once or twice a day. Then we had our roof replaced in October (we live in essentially a converted attic, the banging was loud, and no we didn't have the chance to move the birds because our landlord never told us when the work would be done we just came home after work to find them there). Since then, the screaming has progressively gotten loud and more frequent. Even when she was out of her cage and sitting on a stand she would be screaming. The only times she wouldn't be screaming was when she was sleeping, when no one was home, when we were holding her, and occasionally when she was eating.

Up to speed: Saturday she was doing her normal screaming thing, Sunday she did not scream once. She was back down to the noise level prior to the roof being replaced. She didn't scream at all this morning either. I checked her weight, normal. I checked her poops, normal. Her eating and activity level is normal and she is certainly more active now than she was a few months ago (she is growing confidence actually flying around). She went from screaming constantly to not screaming at all over night.

Question: What could have caused this flip? I really hadn't changed anything in her schedule. Of course now I'm worried that she isn't feeling well and is sick, I have a vet appointment on 12/21 so a little less than 9 days out. Should I be worried?

I think your girl is learning what is associated with what. Human can explain that x cause y, easily. But birds have to experiment in order to learn which x cause which y.

She was finding out which screams get what reactions. Afterwards she can adjust, accordingly. Everything is a process of socialization. Hence one day she does one thing, get certain reactionssssss. Then she repeat the same thing, to see if this will get a few reactions. And repeating until this one scream, will get a single reaction. This way she can communicate with you.

For example.....

We notice that Emerald repeat her action again and again while watching our reactions. We even discussed that we should be consistent with our agree upon reactions. This set of accquired rules became a social norm here. Through this experimental process....our family find that Emerald communicate with us like this.....

1) short scream as contact call. Our family agreed to answer with yes yes. Then she stop.

2) Some times, she scream for attention. This goes nonstop. So our family took turn to went to look that she is ok, then let her be. No one go to look again in 10 minutes. This works, it stop her scream after she learn that she only get one person peeking.

3) lounder and non-stop scream out of fear, she does when she see a few strangers in uniform approaching the house. I think this is either fear or she tries to call for help or she is trying to drive the men away. I don't know.

Once in a while, we have a few men to come to work outside, she used to screams very lound and non stop. But after seeing this a few times in 5 months, she stop screaming when she see them.

So I think bird react certain ways, until they changed their mind (and react the other way) and yes it is normal. No, your bird is not ill. Sick bird don't scream. Not even with a broken bone. I would not worry. They are no doubt, very clever little ones.

Please let us know how your bird turn out, perhaps with a photo? so that we can all be happy for you. 😊

 

[Laurasea]

I canty link Amazon as it just takes you to my account. But you can find on Amazon, or places that sell chicken supplies. This was originally sold by avian tech years ago just for parrots. I have the smallest size they offer and its more than enough. This radiant heat panel has helped me save many sick parrots over the years!!+! And mine like to sit by it after a bath, I also use it when it gets chilly .
I'm just going to link the company website

Applications | sweeterheater

www.sweeterheater.com

This k&h is not one I have ever used, but many members here have. I think the only complaint is they really have to snuggle up to it to feel tge warmth

K&H PET PRODUCTS Snuggle-Up Bird Warmer, Small/Medium - Chewy.com

Buy K&H Pet Products Snuggle-Up Bird Warmer, Small/Medium at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

 

[WingDing]

Laurasea has a good point.
Our boy gets very quiet and still on chilly days. Earlier in the week, It was colder in the house (68F/20C) and he was very quiet. He ate and pooped normally but didn't play or forage much. Today the weather is stupid-warm in Texas (80F/27C) and Toby is pretty much his normal self. He asked for a bath as a matter of fact, saying "Water... brrrrrrr!" until I took a break from work and took him to the shower. He slays me sometimes -- I can't help but obey the little green bird.

 

[Moon-And-Silvia]

I don't mean to sound rude, but did you read my post? I don't have poor grammar skills and I don't mean "When will they stop screaming?", I mean what I wrote. Please read the post.

I did read the post, I just think my brain was foggy.. sorry about that! Sometimes birds will scream for fun then stop once it doesn't become fun anymore.

 

[Moon-And-Silvia]

I did read the post, I just think my brain was foggy.. sorry about that! Sometimes birds will scream for fun then stop once it doesn't become fun anymore.

I'm reading the other posts now and I can see why you think that he might be sick. But my birds (Silvia, I'm looking at you) sometimes go on a screaming streak for a few days to a few weeks then not scream at all the following days. Or my birds just like to scream

 

[Keatz]

My eclectus is quite vocal, and he goes through quiet periods. He recently went through a period for two weeks in which he was quiet. It was heaven.

 

[kme3388]

Hi there, my male ekkie was very quiet the first few months I had him. Then he came out of his shell. Now he’s never quiet, and is very vocal. He screams to be held mostly. He does contact call a lot when I leave the area he is in. I was told ekkies are very quiet, and I did research online that said the same. I would be worried if Nico was quiet as I would think something is wrong just as you did. I also read online that ekkies aren’t active. My ekkie never stops moving. I do think some of it has to do with the individual ekkie, and I also have a male. I hope this helps! What’s your ekkies name? The female ekkies are so beautiful.

 

[cytherian]

Being around 3 ekkies, I had noticed essentially 3 different personalities and vocalizations. The only thing the adult male and juvenile male do in common is the alarm squawk. They sound identical. THANKFULLY, they don't do it a lot.

The female has dropped pretty much all of her vocalization variety, now just making one squawk. A very loud, deeply discordant sound. Most unpleasant. She has two volumes: LOUD and EAR-SPLITTING. The only reprieve we get is when she's nesting. After laying eggs, my roommate swaps out the fresh eggs for fake ones (they look and feel just like real ones). And she'll sit on them for a full month, rarely making a sound.

But lately, out of the blue, the adult male has started to make the same loud discordant squawks that the female makes. It's weird. He has heard her vocalizations since about 3 years ago when she started making them prominently. Why wait 3 years to imitate? Anyway, he doesn't do it at the exact same pitch, but he sure hits the loudness. It's awful. The only good thing is that he's not doing it habitually. Just once in a while, like "flexing a muscle," he tries them out. We try not to give him any reinforcement. If we're socializing with him, we put him away in his cage. Hopefully that will be enough to condition him an "unfavorable" association.

 

[kme3388]

Being around 3 ekkies, I had noticed essentially 3 different personalities and vocalizations. The only thing the adult male and juvenile male do in common is the alarm squawk. They sound identical. THANKFULLY, they don't do it a lot.

The female has dropped pretty much all of her vocalization variety, now just making one squawk. A very loud, deeply discordant sound. Most unpleasant. She has two volumes: LOUD and EAR-SPLITTING. The only reprieve we get is when she's nesting. After laying eggs, my roommate swaps out the fresh eggs for fake ones (they look and feel just like real ones). And she'll sit on them for a full month, rarely making a sound.

But lately, out of the blue, the adult male has started to make the same loud discordant squawks that the female makes. It's weird. He has heard her vocalizations since about 3 years ago when she started making them prominently. Why wait 3 years to imitate? Anyway, he doesn't do it at the exact same pitch, but he sure hits the loudness. It's awful. The only good thing is that he's not doing it habitually. Just once in a while, like "flexing a muscle," he tries them out. We try not to give him any reinforcement. If we're socializing with him, we put him away in his cage. Hopefully that will be enough to condition him an "unfavorable" association.

I've never seen a female ekkie in person. After doing all the research I have for my boy Nico I do really want to meet a female. I've read that they are much more independent from males. They tend to be more cage protective, and possessive (again from what I've read). The females are stunning! They are so beautiful. You get to have so much fun with 3 ekkies. Do they all get along?

 

[Koko_the_fluf]

Question about screaming, or specifically the lack of screaming:

Background: We rescued this 6 y/o female in March 2021. Up until October, her normal noise level would be chattering and only screaming like once or twice a day. Then we had our roof replaced in October (we live in essentially a converted attic, the banging was loud, and no we didn't have the chance to move the birds because our landlord never told us when the work would be done we just came home after work to find them there). Since then, the screaming has progressively gotten loud and more frequent. Even when she was out of her cage and sitting on a stand she would be screaming. The only times she wouldn't be screaming was when she was sleeping, when no one was home, when we were holding her, and occasionally when she was eating.

Up to speed: Saturday she was doing her normal screaming thing, Sunday she did not scream once. She was back down to the noise level prior to the roof being replaced. She didn't scream at all this morning either. I checked her weight, normal. I checked her poops, normal. Her eating and activity level is normal and she is certainly more active now than she was a few months ago (she is growing confidence actually flying around). She went from screaming constantly to not screaming at all over night.

Question: What could have caused this flip? I really hadn't changed anything in her schedule. Of course now I'm worried that she isn't feeling well and is sick, I have a vet appointment on 12/21 so a little less than 9 days out. Should I be worried?

Koko used to scream a lot about a year ago and it was very loud and I just closed the doors until he stopped screaming (note: please do not give your bird attention when she is screaming) and gave him lots of treats when he did not scream for an hour or two.