screaming

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Jules

screaming

Post by Jules »

Hello, my name is Jules. I have had a Yellow ring-neck parrot for about three years. ( male) I hand fed him from six months. He is kept in a cage with two cocktials and three parkeets. I don't get to spend as much time with him as I should as I work and go to school but I do try to take him out often. My problem is his screaching. For hours at a time 'bigbird' and screach at full volume. He does not bite but his screaching for hours on end even when he is out of the cage and even on my shoulder can make you wonder how good parrot soup might tatse:just kidding!! :lol:
I had him in a very large cage by himself for years but his screaming got so bad I put him in with the other birds because he seemed to be a little less noizy with other birds. Somethimes my male cocktail and big bird have sreaming matches with force me to put them to bed early.

I have heard the ringnecks are much more well behaved and quieter in pairs, is that true? DO you have any good advice on how to stop the 1000db screaming an hour? Do I need more toys? A new cage I get about fifteen minutes a day with him but I put him back because the screaching hurts my ears. I do love my parrot but he can be cold to me and runs from me when I try and take him out. you must have some advice for me, Please!!![/b]
Jules
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Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 5:52 am
Location: Boston

making changes again might help

Post by Jules »

Well, I brought back the large cage into the room. I took some time

to move stuff around to make them fit. Gave both cages a big cleaning

and split the birds up(not for dinner) :roll: I will give a have an hour of

time to the birds. I gave bigbird some treats out of my hand. He wa very

slow to make friends. Boy, :x I must clip their wings again! I can then

get them much more out of cage time. I promice to buy more bird

toys and I will adress the mouse problem from in the basement with

keeping much more mouse posion down there. I don't know if bigbird will

stop screaming but I think the changes I made will help. I of course did

notwork on my school paper!!!! :evil: Life go on.


Thanks for listening to me!
Peace, Jules
birds are our friends
ringneck
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Post by ringneck »

Aw, yes, screaming! To tackle this question lets look at why parrots scream.

Parrots are very social creatures and need heaps of attention to maintain a healthy social life. Parrots are flock animals and spend large amounts of time with their partners or flock members. Constantly parrots are squawking and making contact calls to keep in contact with flock members.

As I was reading your post, I got the impression that you are attending college or some sort of schooling. As you mentioned, your time has dwindled and you feel you’re not spending enough time with your parrots. Schooling can take up large amounts of time, especially college. I know sometimes it’s easy to get so involved in homework and our parrots get the short end of the deal. Trust me, I know! :wink:

First things first, get the parrot out more. Every morning when you get up to change water dishes, cut fruit, or change the papers, include your Ringneck. Carry him around on you while you get ready for school/work or set him on the counter while you make breakfast. This will be a great help in securing the birds feelings with your absence. This way has already spent time with you and will not panic so much. After work, repeat the same thing, however, teach him a few tricks or sit and watch television with him. This is more bonding time with him that he craves.

Your Ringnecks yelling is his way of getting your attention for interaction or play time outside his cage.

Now that the attention part is tackled let’s get to the screaming part. Screaming is a difficult trait to reverse once it has been established; however, with hard work and persistence it can be done. Screaming as stated above, is usually a way for the parrot to tell you it wants more time with you. So you might be wondering how you can let the bird know that screaming is unacceptable. Simple just ignore it. Seriously! By walking over to the bird’s cage or entering the room to tell the bird to hush or quiet down, you are enforcing this behavior. Let’s look at it from the parrot’s point of view to help you understand why it is enforcing screaming.


Ringneck: I have been alone all day and only see my beloved human in the mornings and evenings. When I do see him, he is doing something with books and paper, what it is I don’t know, but if I were him I would chew it. I wish he would take me out so I can play with him and interact with him. I know! If I scream he might look this way, better yet, he might even take me out to play! Here I go – SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM.

Jules: Shhhhhhhhh. I am doing homework. Shhhhhhhhhhhhh. Keep down.

Ringneck: All right I got his attention. I’ll scream more! SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM!

Jules: I told you, please be quiet.

Ringneck: Wow! I did get his attention! This is a great method. If I keep doing this, then he looks at me! This method is really starting to pay off! Here I got again! SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM.

Hope that helped you better understand it from your parrot’s point of view. Now that you got a better idea as to why he is screaming lets talking about solutions.

First of all as soon as your parrot screams, walk outside the room or go into a different room. This lets your bird know that screaming equals my human leaving. Your parrot will soon catch on and you’re heading in the right direction. When you are inside the same room as your Ringneck and he is quiet, go to his cage and take him out. Praise him for it and continue to do this until screaming is to its minimal. This really does work!

My lovebird was trained to keep quiet inside the house. Every time he chirped I simply walked outside the room. As hard as it might be to stop what you are doing, do it! Never give in once because if you do then it’s like you’re staring over again. Your Indian Ringneck will catch on quick. Praise him for quiet behavior as well. Your Ringneck will catch on and will remain quiet to get your attention.

Also, if you look at this site listed below, you’ll find some great tips to help keep screaming to a minimal.

http://petplace.netscape.com/articles/a ... artID=3988

Hope this helps and if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask! Welcome to this board! :mrgreen:


I.C.
tzigane
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I can totally relate!

Post by tzigane »

You don't know how "happy" (for lack of a better word) makes me to know that someone else has the same problem I do. I too have a Lutino male IRN that screams. I've tried numerous things to get him to shut up none have worked. I also went onto the suggested website and read the article about screaming. Have you tried this method? What has been your success with it. Currently, the only thing that seems to get my bird to shut up is to cover his cage, I tried the timer thing but he only starts screaming again once I uncover him so I have to leave it on until I'm sure that he's forgotton about his screaming fit. Please let me know via reply how you're making out with this problem. Also, I'll keep you posted with my progress. Otherwise my IRN will be in a new home because my husband will force me to get rid of him and I hate to do that!
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Have a great day!
tzigane
ringneck
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Post by ringneck »

I know screaming can be unbearable! Let me ask you a few questions before we tackle this problem because there are different alternatives for every situation.

:?: Is the bird bonded with you? When I ask this question, I mean not just standing on you. Does he try to escape from you while you are holding him?

:?: When you enter the room, while your bird is in the cage, does he try to get to you?

:?: What things trigger his reaction of screaming?

:?: What toys or other stimulation do you have for him?

:?: Do you keep a radio or noise for him during the day?

:?: Is your voice loud?

:?: Do you have other birds?

:?: Is their an open window by his cage where he might see other birds?

:?: Was the bird housed with other birds, especially other Ringnecks before you adopted him?

I know it’s a lot of questions, but together we can get through this. It’s going to take some time, but you’ll know the progress when you make it! :wink:

Answer these questions and we’ll get to the bottom of this.
8)
I.C.
tzigane
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Answers to I.C.'s questions...

Post by tzigane »

:arrow: Yes, I feel ChaCha is bonded with me because when I take him out of his cage he sings, talks and whistles to me. Also he allows me to pet him on his head and scratch his neck.

:arrow: I thinks so, when I come into the room I talk to him, say hello and even walk over to his cage to see him, but when I walk away, say to open the blinds he squawks and bites the bars of his cage.

:arrow: This is the most difficult question. I haven't been able to determine exactly what triggers him to scream. Usually he starts when you want to eat dinner, nap on the sofa, watch TV or sometimes he starts when my husband comes in for the day. One time I have noticed that seems to be consistent is about 7:30pm when he starts getting ready for sleep for the night so when he gets too raucous I cover him for the night and he settles down.

:arrow: I don't have as many toys for him as I would like but I do try to give him something new at least once a month. Since I have other birds I try to switch the toys around between cages so they all don't get bored with the same thing all of the time. Also, I try to make my own toys with things like cardboard tubes, cotton rope, plastic curtain rings and timothy hay cubes I bought at the pet supply store.

:arrow: Since I'm out of work right now I'm usually home all day so the TV or radio is on all of the time. Also, ChaCha's cage is located in our sun-porch so he can see outside.

:arrow: I don't think that my voice is unusually loud compared to the average person, so I would have to say no.

:arrow: Yes, I have 4 cockatiels. 3 are in one cage together and 1 is separate because the others just heckle the poor thing to death. Sometimes while out for play, ChaCha will go over to the big cage & visit with the other birds. He talks to them, whistles and tries to get them to play with him. Sometimes they all even nap together.

:arrow: ChaCha's cage is located in our sun-porch so there are windows all around that he can see out of. Also, when the weather permits I take him outside in a travel cage so he can watch the birdies in the feeder in the backyard. When he sees them he chirps, squawks and talks the whole time he's out there. Seems he's most interested in the pigeons!

:arrow: When we adopted ChaCha he was housed alone. The folks we adopted him from didn't seem like they paid lots of attention to him. They weren't even sure what kind of bird he is! I researched it on the Internet to find out. They thought that he was South American. How sad, huh? Anyway, they apparently got him from a young age but I don't know exactly at what age and they weren't even sure of his age at the time of our adoption.

Hope these answers help you to help me and ChaCha! Thanks ever so much for your advice; it's been a long time coming...I've had ChaCha for about 3 years and I've been seeking advice to this problem all along and trying whatever I can think of to change his behaviour. Let me know if you need any further information.
Have a great day!
tzigane
ringneck
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Post by ringneck »

The questions you answered are great! I don’t think I’ll need anymore information. :wink:

Assuming with the information you provided, your Ringneck has bonded with you, let’s work with a negative reaction every time he screams. It’s not abusive or intended to inflict harm. I’ll explain in a moment. Ringnecks can scream for various reasons; however, mostly are to get the owner’s attention. While reading responses to the questions I asked, it seems the previous owner neglected him. They might have left him in his cage for hours. This confinement might have been the culprit of his screaming habit. All too often, many owners who do not know about parrots abuse them by throwing things at the cage, yell at them, or put them inside dark rooms. More than likely is was easier for them to ignore the bird and leave him to his cage. Any negative action taken towards his screaming only promotes this behavior. I’ll explain. No matter how they dealt with his issue of screaming, the bird always won. He got their attention, which resulted in something harsh, but still, he got their attention. The bird might have seen their reactions as a victory and figured; screaming equals some sort of attention. Good or bad, it still did the trick.

Alternatives

Now that we have some background into your bird’s problem, let’s talk about how you can deal with it. Firstly, you need to look for things that trigger a reaction from him. Birds are smart and will identify gestures with certain actions. They might identify keys with leaving, or human talking with flock socialization. Look for something that upsets him and makes him scream. Once you do find a cause of his screaming, look for an alternative way of going about your business. Just be careful to not let your bird get an idea of what’s going on. An example of this might be, suppose every time you leave, you pick up your keys and your bird starts screaming. He knows it’s time for you to go; the jingling of the keys are his warning of you leaving. So then he starts to scream in hopes that you will not leave. Rather then pick the keys up nosily, keep them in a rag or grab them firmly without making noise. Also, you said your Ringneck squawks while watching the pigeons, maybe this might be a trigger. You might want to think about relocating the cage. Little things like this will keep his anxiety down and really help to keep screaming to a minimal.

Stimulation

The cockatiels might also be a problem for him. He might try to communicate with them by making a loud contact call. How can you deal with that problem? Keep the cages closer together so the Ringneck does not have to call as loudly to get the cockatiels attention. Just make sure there is a 3 - 4 inch gab between the cages; mainly to prevent bitten toes. If you allow the cockatiels time out of the cage, include the Ringneck with them. Just make sure you supervise their visit. This will help curb his desire for attention, which will also help to keep the screaming down. By including him with the cockatiels, it might help deal with screaming. He will feel more confident and less vocal.

Negative reaction or screaming

Here comes the discipline part. Now it’s obvious we don’t hit birds or yell. Those methods do not work. Like puppies, birds hate to be left alone. Every time you leave the house, I can bet that your bird gets really upset. Only difference is birds do not whimper or have anyway of showing their emotions as well as dogs. As a matter of fact, birds have no facial movements whatsoever to express emotion. Dogs can wag their tail to express happiness, whimper to express sadness, growl to express anger, etc.. Ringnecks can flash their eyes and scream. That’s about it. See my point?

Now that you know that, let’s talk about how you can deal with his screaming. Every time he screams, I want you to leave the room. No matter what you are doing or how much it interrupts your activities just get up and leave the room. In the beginning this can be difficult and bothersome, but stick to this rule. Never ever give in once. If you do give in once, it’s like you’ll be starting over again. We are going to show him that screaming equals my human master leaving. Remember, he is using screaming as a tool to get your attention. So now we are trying to reverse it.

Once you have left the room I want you to remove yourself so your bird has no clue where you are. He will speculate as to where you went. He might start to scream, which can be expected. I want to you wait out his screaming fit until it is silent. Once he is silent walk up to him and praise him for being quiet. Make a huge deal about it. Give him a treat that he really enjoys. Each time he screams again, repeat the same process. Each time wait longer and longer until the gaps of silence increase. Continue to do this. In time I believe you will minimize the screaming immensely. Your Ringneck will catch on. It might take weeks, days, or months. The key here is persistence and patience.


Hope this helps and thanks for answering the questions! Also, I must commend you for keeping this bird for three years and dealing with his screaming. Most people tend to give up on their parrots and do not do any research. Ringnecks in general are pretty quiet, occasionally you might come across the Ringneck that’s a screamer. Like in your case. Hope this helps and please keep us updated! I would love to hear your progress!

Best wishes, :wink:

I.C.
tzigane
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Thanks I.C.!

Post by tzigane »

Thanks for the advice. I will try it -- the hardest part will be to get my husband to stick to it! :D Everything else that I've tried hasn't worked so I've got nothing to lose and will make every effort to make this work.

Just a little note of progress: I have been letting ChaCha visit with my cockatiels everyday for the past week or so and that does seem to limit his screaming. Also I have his cage just far enough away from the cockatiels' cage that he cannot get over to it but he his only about a foot away. But when everyone is out to play I put a perch between the two cages and ChaCha and the cockatiels can go back and forth as they please, although ChaCha seems to like being in their cage more than his own. :!:

As for the pigeons, they are in the back of the house and his cage is located in the front of the house so he is able to see out of the windows and watch the people and cars going by all day and get lots of sunlight, which all of the birdies seem to love.

Thanks again for the advice and I will definitely keep you posted on my progress. This site is great. I've gotten more information from this site than I have doing research on my own since adopting ChaCha! Also, I sure hope Jules is checking back on this site because I think that some of the advice you've given me will definitely help him out also.

On last comment...your ringneck pictured in your avatar is beautiful!
Have a great day!
tzigane
ringneck
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Post by ringneck »

Great move on your part. I am sure your Ringneck will love the interaction with the cockatiels. :wink: See, all he wanted was a little interaction. Also, I know that if you keep the noise level down inside the house that should help. I once had two conures and every time they heard something loud like sirens, they would both compete for noise level! Let me tell you, the noise is unbearable! But though trial and error we worked through his little dirty habit.

Thank you for the kind comments about this site. I am really trying to provide more information for these marvelous parrots. It seems they’re over looked inside the avian world. Mainly because most people can’t deal with the testing stage after weaning, which I must admit, it’s difficult.

Aw thanks :) . Yes, I do love my Ringneck very much! I will try to post a new photo of him – a more recent one. I would love to see a photo of your Ringneck as well!

Thanks & Best Wishes

I.C.
tzigane
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Your introduction post...

Post by tzigane »

Jules, I was looking over some of the postings in the intro section and came across your story with your IRN. I too am having a screaming problem so I am therefore no expert on the problem but I've been working on it for years with IRN, ChaCha. Seems to me, now remember this is only my opinion, that your IRN has started screaming because things have so drastically changed for him/her. I didn't recall seeing all of the changes you noted there in your post about screaming. Not only do you now have a smaller home for your birdy to get used to, you've clipped his/her wings, and are going to school!

It's not that you're a bad birdy parent, just a distracted one! Therefore, you birdy is wondering what the heck is going on: you used to spend tons of time together now you spend hardly any. Your birdy is asking "What's wrong with me that you don't love me anymore?" Even if you don't have lots of free time just letting your bird be with you in a room while your doing daily activities that have to do anyhow (like dishes or laundry) will go a long way in earning back his/her love for you. In the past when I've been in the kitchen doing dishes, for example, I let my bird ChaCha sit on the back of a chair and talk to him while I'm doing my thing and even offer him a treat or something new to play with that he gets at no other time. Also, when I'm taking a shower he loves to sit on the curtain rod and sing. Perhaps you could let the bird sit on the back of your chair on the one next to you while you're working on your schoolwork. This has definitely helped my situation with my own IRN's screaming habit. It's not perfect yet but we're working on it!

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.
Tzigane
cassandrajanee
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Re: screaming

Post by cassandrajanee »

my indian ringneck saphia is 12 weeks old i have had it (not sure what sex it is yet) since it was 4weeks old everything was going fine untill it rached the 8week mark :( . it has started to scream and bob its head up and down everytime i walk into the loungeroom even before i leave my room it just knows im about to come out ,it doesnt act like this with my boyfriend or hes nan and pop or anyone else in fact, i cant even leave the room or walk past the the cage without saphia screaming :( when i do give in and bring saphia into my bedroom to watch tv with me she sits on my chest and screams and bobs its head at me constaily :? im not sure if it is coz its hungry becoz i give her freash fruit and veg everymorning i stoped steringe feeding her at 10weeks becoz i dnt want her to releye on me she is eating the fruit and veg i give her .i have to go away nxt year for a week and my boyfriends nan and pop will be looking after saphia ,im worry she will threat while im away
please help me :cry:
ps while i am writing this post saphia is running around my bed bitting at my laptop,tv remote, an ps3 contoller :cry:
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