Advice for my screaming parrot

emmaeq19

New member
Joined
Mar 5, 2024
Messages
6
Reaction score
3
Parrots
Indian Ringneck
For the past year, my 7 year old Ringneck has been screaming almost non-stop. When he's not screaming, he's sitting still inside his cage or sleeping. His cage is left open for the whole day, everyday. I've gotten him so many toys and foraging, he has a play stand kitted out with anything a parrot could dream of, none of it interests him though. The only thing he shows interest in is food. He will often stand screaming with his wings slightly out and shaking, as if he's trying to fly somewhere or do something.

I've tried everything. I leave the room when he screams, never acknowledge the screaming, I reward him when he's quiet. Nothing works. I try spend as much 1-on-1 time with him as possible but he's apathetic more often than not, after 7 years together I think he still only sees me as a provider of food, not as a part of the flock.

The screaming is so loud and piercing, it's not a flock call, more of a shriek. It's been constant all year long so can't be hormonal. I think it could be loneliness but I'm not in a position to care for two parrots in the case that they don't get along or it doubles the problem from one screaming parrot to two.

I've taken to wearing earplugs and noise cancelling headphones and it still gets through at quite the volume. I work from home and he can only be in the same room that I work, which makes getting anything done so frustratingly hard. He screams frantically anytime anybody else walks into my room which makes having guests or even brief conversations with family members in the same room impossible. I'm at my breaking point. I'm considering rehoming but he's been a part of my family for so long, the thought of it hurts. But living with him right now is torture. He'll have such gentle sweet moments of accepting scritches and whistling songs, only to launch into another hour-long non-stop scream frenzy.

I don't know what to do. I have autism so I'm particularly sensitive to the screaming. Normal screaming is fine, he's a parrot and parrot's scream, he was perfectly fine for the first 6 years of our time together. But this has become incessant and never-ending. I'm moving out next year and I'm not sure how well apartment living would go with him when I can still hear his screaming outside my house and down the street.
 
Is he screaming when you leave the room?

My budi screams occasionally and almost always when it's me and my BF leaving the room.


Some days we are both busy we put on the TV parrot long videos he just watches them.

I have a screaming cockatiel but the other two tiels will actually ask them to stop pretty quickly
 
Screaming is such a challenge. SUCH A CHALLENGE!
The Rb loves the sound of his own shrieks so much that I catch him sometimes just doing a StevieWonder groove, eyes half-closed, rocking and swaying, just marveling at his own volume. Patagonians are, alas, infamous as one of the noisiest creature on Earth. Bone-rattling screams, throughtout the day... happy, sad, bored, blahblahblah... I feel ya.
Ignoring screams and rewarding quiet is the key, most will say, but to the extent that screaming is self-reinforcing (self-pleasing, needing to external encouragement), well... as a behavioral psychologist, I can tell you that punishment is the easiest consequence for those behaviors, and that is cruel, given the species, in my opinion. An alternative... reinforcement of alternate behaviors... "catching 'em being good (quiet)" and rewarding that with treats, attention. So... toys, distraction, fun foods?.
Some species are, just blessedly, quieter. Your species is often a problem, yes.
Screaming is probably THE #1 problem with parrots.
Good luck.
Stick with us.
 
I would attack this as over stimulation and possibly the onset of his first really full blown, head on mating season. Mating seasons are really wierd sometimes. Some are so mild you might not even know he is in heat, others can be so intense it seems like a totally different bird - and l-o-n-g. Me , I'd try

  • Eliminating any sugar bearing foods - fruits and corn and other that are high sugar.
  • 12 hrs of good solid fairly quiet sleep
  • ABSOLUTELY no touching anywhere except head
  • No access to any sort of nesting materials, shreddy type stuff
  • No access to any dark hidey spots

Give this a month or 2 to make any headway. Good luck!
 
Is he screaming when you leave the room?

My budi screams occasionally and almost always when it's me and my BF leaving the room.


Some days we are both busy we put on the TV parrot long videos he just watches them.

I have a screaming cockatiel but the other two tiels will actually ask them to stop pretty quickly
Bizarrely enough he seems to scream more when I'm in the room! When I leave he screams a flock call for a while before entering a 'standby mode' of sorts where he goes quiet. But yeah, leaving the room is definitely a trigger too
 
Screaming is such a challenge. SUCH A CHALLENGE!
The Rb loves the sound of his own shrieks so much that I catch him sometimes just doing a StevieWonder groove, eyes half-closed, rocking and swaying, just marveling at his own volume. Patagonians are, alas, infamous as one of the noisiest creature on Earth. Bone-rattling screams, throughtout the day... happy, sad, bored, blahblahblah... I feel ya.
Ignoring screams and rewarding quiet is the key, most will say, but to the extent that screaming is self-reinforcing (self-pleasing, needing to external encouragement), well... as a behavioral psychologist, I can tell you that punishment is the easiest consequence for those behaviors, and that is cruel, given the species, in my opinion. An alternative... reinforcement of alternate behaviors... "catching 'em being good (quiet)" and rewarding that with treats, attention. So... toys, distraction, fun foods?.
Some species are, just blessedly, quieter. Your species is often a problem, yes.
Screaming is probably THE #1 problem with parrots.
Good luck.
Stick with us.
Haha, thank you. I've actually been considering a second parrot friend for him after all, another asiatic species. I owned a guinea pig that he loved dearly and would sit and quietly watch for hours on end. Unfortunately the guinea pig passed away, and I think now he's unsure of how to pass his time. I try rotate his toys to keep him occupied but he never shows much interest bar his foraging toys which he loves
 
Last edited:
I would attack this as over stimulation and possibly the onset of his first really full blown, head on mating season. Mating seasons are really wierd sometimes. Some are so mild you might not even know he is in heat, others can be so intense it seems like a totally different bird - and l-o-n-g. Me , I'd try

  • Eliminating any sugar bearing foods - fruits and corn and other that are high sugar.
  • 12 hrs of good solid fairly quiet sleep
  • ABSOLUTELY no touching anywhere except head
  • No access to any sort of nesting materials, shreddy type stuff
  • No access to any dark hidey spots

Give this a month or 2 to make any headway. Good luck!
He definitely does carry out some hormonal behaviours from time to time, e.g. making heart wings and slowly prancing for his favourite perch. I mentioned in another comment that he once had a guinea pig friend that he loved very much, his hormones were INSANE with the guinea pig and he would get very aggressive and temperamental during spring and autumn and would do unspeakable acts on his perches. Otherwise he's a very gentle and sweet boy. Now that the guinea pig is gone, those crazy hormones have calmed down a LOT but maybe you're right that they're still in affect somehow. Thanks for the advice
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Back
Top