Please Help?!

Hello, I am a 16 year old sophomore in high school living with my grandparents. About 9 years ago, my grandmother rescued an abused Citron-Crested Cockatoo, Ayla. Nobody wanted her, so my grandmother took her in. Soon, Ayla began to attack everyone but me. Ayla is scared of men and very fearful. Her non-stop screaming has led to many complaints by neighbors. I leave for school around 6 am and return around 4 pm. Ayla screams non-stop until I am in the room with her. She screams all day, even when she is let out or squirted with a water bottle. She also throws all her food. Unfortunately, I cannot be with her all day and my grandparents are losing patience. They cannot take her screaming and attacks anymore. We are also moving and do not want to get kicked out of our new house. My grandparents are ready to find her a new home or take her to a bird rescue. If this happens, I will be absolutely devastated. When she is with me, she is a great bird. She is very affectionate, silly, and just wonderful.I love this bird, but my grandparents are done. If anyone has any advice or suggestions, please let me know. Ayla has bonded to me and I cannot see her doing so with someone else. Thank you.

Wow this is hard im sorry for you.Heres my advice - I have a LS2 that came screaming. Maybe tell your grandparents that this has to be a whole house effort [and its not going to change overnite] I would say you need to do a 180 with her . You make it sound like shes in a room by herself when your not there.If she is Im sure thats not helping. I would say have her in the busiest part of the house. If shes already there . Change her location [for new scenery.] Change all her toys. Mine has a cage FULL of toys but what keeps her happy is newspaper.I ball it up and put it on top of her cage [while shes in it ] and pulls it down through the bars and shreds it. Have your grandparents try to have some sort of relationship with her .if that means just walking by the cage and talking to her. If they have a time when they can do that. Praise her and see if she will take a treat.[Keep trying] Dont spray her or cover her up .It will flip her out more. Its to bad you couldnt give her a bath before you leave. To intially give her something to do [like preening and wearing her out] when you first go .Also I hope your giving her time out in the morning.Then with your grandparents watching for anything positive and praising her. We did this with Belly and when she made a pretty sound [we made a big deal] She doesnt scream anymore.Good luck to you

Ok first off never squirt your birds with a water bottle, it is my opinion and many others that this is wrong and doesn't fix a thing.

Secondly try this and some may disagree with this but this has fixed my cockatoos from screaming And many others I've worked with or shared this method with. It goes of the one two three method. You'll need her cage or a time out cage And a large blanket to cover her complete cage for no visual stimulation.

It goes like this she gets three warnings so an acceptable amount of screaming is about 15-30 minutes in the morning and at night this is a flock calling behavior and is acceptable. So now to the method. Every time screaming becomes excessive after this you give her a warning, one, then two, then obviously three. Then after all that ether out her in the time out cage or in a cage and cover her for 15-20 minutes. If she still screams after this ignore it never give verbal praise for screaming that is what they want.... Repeat this over and over it will not fix the screaming over night. It took my salmon crested cockatoo over 3 months to learn screaming got him no where. This is a matter of repetition and doing it every day, teach your grandparents how to do it so they can do it when they are home or it won't work completely to your advantage. Never ever yell back or give her a response to the screaming this will just make it worse.... To do this method you must keep your cool and expect some testing the waters in her end. Once she realizes this isn't a game and it is seriously punishment which may take a couple days. Her screaming will slow down more and more until you get it to that acceptable amount.

Finally this is a method that has worked for my three toos and I'd say thirty other peoples cockatoos so if you disagree ok, but it is better then a bird ending up in a rescue when it truly loves someone. I know many people are opposed to a time out, but In My expirences it works..

Another note don't cover her for over twenty minutes this is not acceptable, you can't use the cover to escape the screaming as it will start over again if you don't do it in increments. She will just get used to the cover and scream with it on.

Hope this helps Alittle bit ask if you need other advice

JtBirds I agree with every word of advice you just posted
I actually came here to talk about my experience with my new too and this same issue. Instead of posting to my own thread I will post here so that my experience can be shared
as you know I posted my fear of my new too in another thread and today she was hissing and getting "mean" so to speak. At first I thought this was pure aggression but in the end I think she was DEMANDING attention. I gave her several warnings in a VERY calm voice. When she didn't listen and began repeating the word stupid very very loudly.. I mean ear crushing loud... She got to see me take an authority position for the first time in her short time with me.
I calmly walked to her cage, picked up her cage cover (I did not hold it up and scare her, I held it to my belly calmly), and told her in a stern but not a loud voice "GOODNIGHT" (this is her command that she puts put herself in her cage)

It was an amazing feeling knowing that I felt in command for the first time with her. She froze solid and stared at me with her beak open (not to bite just froze where she had been screaming wings spread mouth open.. you get it..).
She didn't listen at first and held her foot out for me to pick her up (which is what she was screaming in the first place for). I repeated "GOODNIGHT" she slowly put herself in her cage, shut her door and locked it herself. I covered her up and ignored her.

I didn't know she knew what I had done at first but apparently this is what has been used in the past because she pulled the cover back and say .. and this is no joke... "Lilly in Trouble" (repeated this four times).. "Mom Mad" ....."Lilly sorry" (repeated twice)
Then she went to sleep

I will from this point on not be afraid to show her exactly who is boss and what is expected from her.

I hate to hear of birds scared into submission... (yes, I just cringed on the inside) it's not the way it should be... they are not our slaves to do as we demand. They are our companions, to be treated with respect and love. As a companion, communication is a two way street.

There are many great trainers out there and some of them have some great blogs! Others have various media that you can purchase. Not to mention, the bird owners who "get it" and understand how to communicate with and teach their birds.

Training Parrots | Parrot Training DVDS & Books / Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk
Lara Joseph | An avid avian training, behavior, and enrichment enthusiast.
Natural Encounters, Inc.
Written Works: Learning and Behavior - BehaviorWorks.com
Learning Parrots | Empowering the learners in our households
Carly Lu's Flight Blog: Parrot Training, Flight & Recall
Best in Flock - Parrot Blog | Updates and Musings About Life with Parrots
Living With Parrots Cage Free / Living With Parrots Cage Free: Screaming


In the case of a screaming bird, things such as teaching the bird to forage, frequent bathes (that the bird enjoys), exercise (i.e. flight within the house), and allowing the bird to experience more can help decrease screaming.

Before the bird starts screaming, try and find ways to get them active, busy or tired out. When it comes time to scream, they'll be too busy or tired to do so.

That's correct, we don't need to scare them into submission.
You have to remember that our Cockatoo's have the attention span of a two year old child and intelligence of a 3-5 year old. They look at us as a challenge and see what they can get away with. I've trained dogs (mainly of the hunting variety) and people always ask me how I keep them in only our yard and to never,...go into the street, and I ask them,...how do you teach your children from right to wrong, and a bulb turns on.

You just need to keep on them with proper values. I don't mind our Too's yelling, as it's normal, but when she gets angry and screams, that's when she gets a "time out" just as with children. I'll walk up to her fast, pointing my finger and say "that's enough" in a stern voice, but NOT yelling, take her back into her cage roomand tell her when you calm down, I'll bring you back into the family room, so you be good !

Sometimes she'll scream for about a minute then calm down, just like a child. Usually after 15 minutes, she'll say, "hey baby" or (this is so,oooo funny) "I'll be good". lol Then I bring her back to rejoin us.

Most of the time they need one of these things.

They bored or lonely and need attention.
Hungry or want a different food.
Wanting to go to a different room.
Scared of it's surroundings.

Also have your grandparents feed Ayla by placing the food item on their hands, rather than their fingers. It's seen as less intrusive than using fingers.

None of hat was mentioned on here was anything about submission it is about correction and non aggresive correction at that. So id like to know were submission became a part of this.. Unless you mean the water bottle.

I know there are differences of opinion on this thread, but I want to thank everyone who has shared their experiences with a screaming 'Too. Ours has started to scream lately, and I think like children, each 'Too responds differently and you have all given me something to think about & maybe try.

Last summer when we found this 'Too, I posted that this bird was from a bad situation & here with us until he found his 'real' home. But on the chance we ARE his 'real' home, I want to work through this issue. [And if we are NOT his real home, I want to work through this issue even more!]

Thank you and please keep the discussion going.

I cover my too and it works well. I give sydney about 5 mins if he decides to be bad and then ill walk to the cage not say a word and cover him. He'll give one more outburst for about 2-3 mins and then he's done. The only time it doesn't work is if there is a ltbof noise going on and at that point is whenb your families cooperation comes into play..my family refuses to be quiet and leave the room when sydney is yelling for attention which is not good. Has anyone had any luck saying "no" in a stern voice and covering or anything or the sort. I have to believe they can pick up on voice intonation

Oh boy.....Our Java is a BIG time screamer!!!!! But once we got the bird room finished, we moved him in there, at the beginning he screamed a lot but he learned if he kept screaming I just ignore him and walk away. So now days he is much quieter and enjoy me being around him and doesn't scream at all. He still have his moment, but nothing like he was. He likes being talked to, rubbed, etc. He really like to use his feet to grab at you while you rub his tummy. He loves to be petted. We leave music on for him to listen to all day when we're not around and there's other birds with him so he doesn't feel lonely. They LOVE baby toys!!!! Get some toys to keep him occupied!!!

I did not yell at Lilly or hold up her cover in a threating way. I simply picked it up and said "Goodnight" I did so with a serious voice rather than my normal baby talk voice. I did not get a spray bottle or anything with her.

This was the first time I had told her what to do, before this I had let her do as she pleased.

As of today though she is coming to me and loving on me and no more aggressive behavior. After I stopped allowing her to do as she pleased (Ex: throwing toys at me and hissing) she has started to bond with me and comes to me by walking across the floor.

I never threatened her or scared her.

KBEquine said:

I know there are differences of opinion on this thread, but I want to thank everyone who has shared their experiences with a screaming 'Too. Ours has started to scream lately, and I think like children, each 'Too responds differently and you have all given me something to think about & maybe try.

Last summer when we found this 'Too, I posted that this bird was from a bad situation & here with us until he found his 'real' home. But on the chance we ARE his 'real' home, I want to work through this issue. [And if we are NOT his real home, I want to work through this issue even more!]

Thank you and please keep the discussion going.

Click to expand...

This is a good point . I would rather take in help from 2 owners that have had this problem than look it up on the internet. Out of the birds Ive had Im most familiar with 2s. As 2 owners we know their loud and can be demanding. But after having a depressed 2 [that didnt make any noise which was horrible] I dont mind the loud calls morning and nite and happy to be alive ones. Ive had a screaming 2 but not as excessive as this poor girl. IMO alot of times I feel when their like this you have a insecure bird.Maybe they used to be more important and now their not as much,and these guys feel it . I think a big part of the solution is the whole family needs to help. I like to take in everyones experiences and apply the ones that make sense to my birds [ keep trying dont give up ]

I don't know if this suggestion would be okay to try or not since I'm a new 2 owner....and if I am completely going in the wrong direction someone with more experience please correct me.
But what about sitting a mirror next to your baby while you are gone?

It would be acceptable, but if you start to notice some odd behaviors toward he behavior then the mirror would need to be removed. Some birds get very attached to a mirror supposedly I haven't ever had the issue bu have heard of it.

blstandifer said:

I don't know if this suggestion would be okay to try or not since I'm a new 2 owner....and if I am completely going in the wrong direction someone with more experience please correct me.
But what about sitting a mirror next to your baby while you are gone?

Click to expand...

Its funny you mention the mirror thing.Ive been redoing my birdroom and had a mirror by my zon that I hadnt put back up yet [he really missed it and was letting me know] It gave me an idea to put them by my birds that are not close to windows.So far so good .I think if this botherd your bird it would let you know.

This is why I said to only do so while the too is alone. As soon as you are home remove the mirror and provide A LOT of one-on-one time and play time with lots of treats and attention that way she will know that you are coming home but while you are gone she will have the mirror and won't be alone.

also have you tried sitting her where she can see out of the window or watch TV when alone? If I ever have to leave my too for more than an hour I leave the TV on and place her where she can see both the TV and the window.

Well if you give her a mirror you could always just let it there full time, I mean she won't get attached to it if you are there. She will pick you over the mirror. I think it is a good idea I personally just leave music on for my guys when I am not around they love music, espically my macaws and cockatoos.

The Problems with Mirrors


To each their own....