My little mate wont stop screaming!

[neilman]

Hi there,

I have a gorgeous 7 month old Ringneck named Bruce. I think we're over the horrid bluffing hump as he's no longer aggressive and rarely bites (strike that... he just bit me while I was typing this...). Our only issue is is he wont stop screaming! I haven't clipped his wings (I like the fact that he can fly around our large open living area - keeps him happy). He lives in his cage beside the cockatiels cage in the living room during they day while we are at work, and are let out of their cage for about 3-4 hours each day. More on the weekends.

It doesn't seem that his screaming is always related to attention seeking. He does it throughout the day, even when we are giving him our divided attention. He screams when he's settled, when he's in his cage. When he's flying. When he's eating. I think he just does it for fun! I'd be happy if it wasn't so blood-curdling loud and high pitched, but its a little beyond a joke. Ear hurtingly loud..

Our Cockatiels are 2 years old and get on as well as Ringnecks and cockatiels can I suppose. Although Bruce loves to chase them around. They are a joy, and only make the noises that cockatiels are suppose to make. They sing and are pleasure to own. We trained them to stop screaming for attention by covering their cage once they started, and then quickly removing the cover as soon as they are quiet. I was hoping this technique, along with others (e.g. ignoring him when he screams..etc.), would finally help him to stop screaming and finally start talking and making the noises Ringnecks are supposed to make... All he does is scream.....

If anyone could offer some advice, that would be most appreciated. Perhaps his bluffing isnt completely over afterall? Is this a normal stage for developing Ringnecks?

Cheers

Neil

[ellieelectrons]

Screaming can be hard to stop. My guys can sometimes go to town with screaming but other times will be quiet. These links may help:
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2008 ... g-for.html
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2011 ... ounds.html
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com.au/2008 ... story.html

Please check them out and post any further questions.

I think trying to figure out what prompts the screaming will be useful but not always easy to discover. If you can discover it, you can recreate the prompt and start training your bird to not scream when that situation occurs by offering a reward for your bird being calm and not screaming when that happens. I'll leave it at that for now. Feel free to post further questions.

Good luck.

Ellie.

[neilman]

Thanks for advice. We have been trying solidly with the suggestions.

To be honest, it has gotten worse.

We think that it is a dominance, 'chest beating' type behaviour. It's really starting to become a bit much.

[dholari]

i always keep some plastic items , card board boxes etc and when mittu screams i put them in the cage or when he is out i leave them with him and he gets busy biting and tearing them to pieces. another alternative is to cover the cage with a cloth and ignore them for sometime - it works like magic

[ellieelectrons]

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help regarding the screaming. It is a hard problem to solve as it can have many triggers.

We think that it is a dominance, 'chest beating' type behaviour. It's really starting to become a bit much.

When you say you think it's a dominance behaviour, can you tell me what you mean by that and what indicators there are that this is the case? Also, can you tell us more about when the screaming occurs? Night time, day time, when you're in the room, out of the room, whilst you're watching tv, when the bird is in the cage, out of the cage, etc. (that is, if you can identify any patterns)

I've found my two are far more complex than I'd ever thought they were... and to understand their actions is hard. I've changed a number of my opinions about bird behaviour in the short time I've had them.

Ellie.

[MissK]

Best luck to you and your bird.
-MissK

[neilman]

Thanks for the suggestions.

He literally does it all day night. Neighbours says he does it during the day. He does it when we come home. He does it when it's quiet. He does it when it's loud.

We've come to the conclusion that it has become his call. He starts off chattering away, and it always transforms into a scream. It's not behavioural (most of the time), but it's just him keeping himself entertained.

The thing he seems to be responding to is me calling out "ah!" and pointing at him when he starts screaming. I can usually keep him at bay from across the room doing it. All other techniques have honestly increased his screaming.

I'll keep at it, and reward him when he's not making the noise. I think it's going to be a long road. Funny thing is, he's quite well trained. He wins trained to touch the end of a chopstick to receive a treat. And he's Great with the simple step up call. And he's finally started to let me stroke the back of his neck. He can be such a gorgeous little man, but such a horrid terror the next minute.

Thanks everyone

Neil

[neilman]

Hi everyone.

Weeks have passed and he is honestly getting worse. We give him so much attention, and cuddle him (stroke the back of his neck) a couple of times a night. He has plenty of toys and roams free for hours each day.

But he will not stop screaching.... I honestly think my hearing is degrading.

Will this stop? He's probably almost a year old now, and with a newborn baby in the house soon, I'm not sure we can put up with this anymore, which is a real shame. He has really taken over our lives and comfort of living (he lives in the living room).

Can anyone pull out a miracle to stop screaching - aside from any possible behavioural traits??? It has simply become part of his 'chattering'...

Or maybe advice as where to keep him... Maybe we can move him into an avery outside. Is that safe in Queensland? Will he become wild?

Thanks

Neil

[neilman]

Could it be that, in spite of a lot of our attention, he is bored??

Is it because its breeding season? Does he need a mate?

[willowisp71]

Hi Neil,

So sorry to hear of your screeching problems, it must be so disheartening! Our Skittles sometimes get's going also, and it can be quite piercing! We have taken to just ignoring him completely now when he does it, and then giving him heaps of praise when he 'talks' at a more reasonable level, and it seems to be working - at least he doesn't carry on as long as he did when we would try to command him to stop ie we stopped giving him 'attention' whilst he was behaving badly

We've just made a 'Play Gym' for Skittles also - a tree branch in a bin of sand with toys and rope hanging from it.....he simply LOVES it, and pretty much spends most of the day going from his cage to the 'tree' and back to his cage.....I'll post some pics for you - maybe something like this will work for your FID?

I do hope you stick it out, because they can be such wonderful and rewarding pet's, providing the time and patience is given to them. Best of luck to you, hope it all works out



And his cage is close enough for him to hop over to the rope, "Mission Impossible" style (this pic show's his temporary cage we've had him in while waiting for his big cage to arrive, which it did today - I've just finished putting it together!)

[MissK]

Wow, that's a grand tree!