Help me with the noise

[KentNick]

Hi All,

I've now had Ollie around 4 months and he's 9 months old now. I have an issue with his screaming!

We are a busy household with 2 young children and I understand Ollie gets noisey when my two boys run around, that's not an issue as it is to be expected competing with them. My problem is when I come home from work the moment I leave his sight he goes mad. I try not to re enter the room until he's quiet. Any help would be appreciated as he keeps waking my two boys when they are in bed.

During the day when I'm at work he's usually quiet'ish it just my attention when I'm home. Please help as it's driving my mrs and neighbours mad.

Thanks

 

[JerseyWendy]

Please check out this thread, and hopefully it will be of help. Good luck!
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/48649-screaming-behavior-mods.html#post468351

 

[labell]

I am going to need a bit more info to see if I can help. What time do the boys go to sleep, what time does the bird go to sleep? How much out time is he getting? Is he alone all day? Are there foraging toys and things to keep him busy? Sounds like you are his person, how much time out with you does he have each day?

If it is mostly when you first get home you could try giving him a big bowl of warm yummy food while you eat dinner and attend to the kids then give him uninterrupted one on one time with you.

 

[KentNick]

Hi,

My boys go to bed around 7-7:30pm and ollie gets covered over around 9:30-10pm.

He's always got company at home while I'm at work but its caged as my wife isn't comfortable with him. When I arrive home (5:15pm) I make Ollie some dinner which keeps him occupied while we eat. Ollie is let out around 7pm to 9pm but his behavior is still the same whether he is in or out of the cage.

Once a week take him to work with me where he is out of the cage all day.

His cage is full of toys and different activities but not too many foraging toys which is something i need to look at purchasing.

I need to also consider clipping his wings perhaps as when he flies he ends up crashing in to the walls and I'm worried he might injure himself.

Thanks for your reply
Nick

 

[labell]

2 hrs of out time is really not enough if his cage isn't huge with lots of things to shred and forage. Is your wife willing to work with him so that he can be out during the day?
Clipping is a personal decision but I have and will go on record as saying that eclectus typically don't respond well to wing clipping, might I suggest flight training rather than take that drastic measure right off the bat.
Wing clipping is not a cure all for behavior issues and sometimes will add to them substantially.

 

[KentNick]

Thanks for your reply.

My wife isnt the biggest bird fan so i have a slim chance that she would work that much with him. I will try to bring him to work with me more and the days he is at home I might move his cage to another room where he can have the cage open all day whilst I'm not there. I have ordered lots of new foraging toys for him today. His cage is quite large 48" wide x 34" deep x 60" high.

I agree with you about letting him fly and I need to look more into training him, he wont actually fly from his cage or stand he just does a lot of wing flapping, the only time he does is when he is startled.

 

[labell]

I think those solutions are a good start, taking him to work will help as well as training. Training is not hard with eclectus they love their food so it makes it pretty easy.

Was he clipped as a baby? Sometimes it takes them a while to learn to fly and gain confidence if they weren't allowed to as babies.

 

[labell]

Also as long as you bird proof the room he will be in it should be fine. Mine are out almost all day and I have never had them destroy anything that wasn't theirs to destroy or get into any trouble. Eclectus are not big chewers so woodwork is typically safe. Especially if you provide him lots of stuff that it is okay for him to chew up. If you decide to give him a free room I would do a dry run a few times with you home in case there are problems and your wife can't get him into the cage.
If she doesn't want to make friends with him she should at least work with him to step up onto her hand or a stick in case of an emergency.

 

[Hawk]

Hi All,

I've now had Ollie around 4 months and he's 9 months old now. I have an issue with his screaming!

We are a busy household with 2 young children and I understand Ollie gets noisey when my two boys run around, that's not an issue as it is to be expected competing with them. My problem is when I come home from work the moment I leave his sight he goes mad. I try not to re enter the room until he's quiet. Any help would be appreciated as he keeps waking my two boys when they are in bed.

During the day when I'm at work he's usually quiet'ish it just my attention when I'm home. Please help as it's driving my mrs and neighbours mad.

Thanks

Hi...I should add that Parrots are, by nature, vocal....Sure there is training video's to help in modifying and controlling the screaming, but you will never fully stop the screaming.

Screaming is a means of communication, where the training video's help is to help you understand the "why's" behind it and reading the body language associated with the screaming.

For example, a parrot may not be able to tell time, but guarantee you their internal body clock knows dinner time right to the hour. They will get cranky and mad if your late....lol....Slight changes in daily routine can throw them off, and even objects that are new to a room can set them off.

If the bird is close to high traffic areas , such as your boys running around, can make them a bit agitated..consider moving the bird cage out of the traffic area, but not completely out of site. Birds like to observe from a distance as well, but not taken out of the equation, that'll make them scream as well.

As Labell mentioned, 2 hours out time is not enough, and I agree with that.
Mine have 8 to 10 hours out time. I know....many can't do that with their schedules, But what I have done is they have their own bedroom, 12x13 and are always out of their cage...when it's quite time and nap time, I just close the bedroom door. They know to chill, and have a nap....then it's yahoo vocal time around 5pm....all start screaming for dinner. No video training in the world will stop a vocalized parrot when hungry...Ha ha ha ha...

 

[Grraarrgghh]

Another thing to consider is how much sleep he is getting. 9:30-10 PM may be a bit late to put the bird to bed depending on how early you are waking him up.

Most parrots need a minimum 10 hours a night, and prefer 12. Anything less could lead to stress and behavioural issues (such as screaming).

Eclectus are found in the Solomon Islands, which is along the equatorial belt. In the wild, they would generally have 11.5-12.5 hours of sleep every night most of the year depending on the season.

 

[KentNick]

I appreciate all the replies and taking everything on board.

We are all up around 7am so he gets around 9-10 hours a night. I think I might move his cage in the room at the front of the house where he can see outside and still interact with the family but also have his own space. I'm going to try and take him to work with me 2-3 times a week where he won't have any restrictions at all and will get one to one interaction. I'm going to spend this weekend getting him used to his new surroundings and see how we get on. I'll also buy a Java tree for him to come into the main living area.

Thanks again for your feedback

 

[Grraarrgghh]

I would recommend bedding him down around 8:30-9:00 PM for a week or so and see if you notice any change. Having a guaranteed 10+ hours every night might make a difference.