HELP! Serious noise reduction needed

[rivera1008]

We have a Blue and Gold along with an Umbrella cockatoo. As usual, they can get pretty loud at times but unfortunately, due to my wife's illness, she's at the point where she can't tolerate the noise any longer and is seriously considering getting rid of them, which would devastate her.

We've tried the most popular methods of dealing with it, ignoring, positive reinforcement, new toys, etc but nothing seems to be working and we're almost at our wits end. The only other thing I can think of is to try soundproofing the room or getting a cage with tempered glass panels on it in the hope that it will reduce the noise enough to make it tolerable.

Does anyone have any ideas on this subject?

Thanks.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Could you tell us a bit more:

How old are they? How much out of cage time and interaction do they get? How long have you had them? Any other recent changes? Is your wife's condition such that she can't have them out of the cage? etc...

Hopefully some of us may be able to contribute ideas, but if the "standard" things don't work then you'll need tools tailored to your situation - so we'd need to know a bit more about it.

I also suspect earplugs are cheaper than soundproofing a room

 

[rivera1008]

We got them as babies and have had them about 4 or 5 years now. They get out of the cage multiple times during the day. The Macaw likes to eat dinner with us as well. I think it's that whenever he knows my wife is around, or when he hears her voice, he starts screaming for her. We've tried ignoring it but it doesn't do much good. There are 5 of us in the house so we eventually have to give in for the sake of everyone else's sanity.

 

[michelle48]

We got them as babies and have had them about 4 or 5 years now. They get out of the cage multiple times during the day. The Macaw likes to eat dinner with us as well. I think it's that whenever he knows my wife is around, or when he hears her voice, he starts screaming for her. We've tried ignoring it but it doesn't do much good. There are 5 of us in the house so we eventually have to give in for the sake of everyone else's sanity.

As I mentioned before I have a very unruly amazon that I've dealt with for over 17 years now. I've learned her language. They are being noisy for a reason, you just have to figure out what that reason is. Mine seem really happy after a bath and tons of favorite goodies. My Amazon Tina really likes spaghetti, eggs, cooked green peas. I gave her container of applesauce with a plastic spoon last night to keep her entertained and that worked for a few mintutes until she started eating the plastic spoon..... She will still scream mostly because she is spoiled and knows I'll do anything to get her to stop so I try to be proactive and load up the goodies before she starts.... I also don't open the blinds to let morning sun in until I have the coffee in me (6 am) because sunlight will make the birds active and noisy. Likewise if I want peace in the evening I'll shut shades (7pm or so) and they all get quiet. No bird is noisy all day you just
have to control the situations in which they are noisy.

Michelle

 

[Cici]

I totally agree with Michelle. My birds get quite when its dark or when i put a blanket over their cage. They know its time to quite down... I've only had these birds for a short time but they are pretty easy to read... for the most part anyway..... I'm still learning. =)

 

[michelle48]

I also forgot to add the power of pizza Just fed mine a slice and she's in heaven. Between the spaghetti and her love for pizza, i really should consider taking the bird to Italy ;-0

On a more serious note. Animals can sense when something is wrong such as their important person being sick.
The McCaws are probably trying to ask in bird language, "what's going on?" The routine is messed up and birds love their routines.
Someone's going to have to start a new one if owner can't do this anymore. This is how i ended up with Tina. Birds also get depressed and mourn so be prepared for a rough time with the birds for awhile. Routines and lots of tasty food.

Michelle

 

[Allyson]

I have been trying the ignore screaming, reward talking approach and it seems to be working ok for me.. BUT, my husband is home during the day and says Kacee gets pretty noisy. I know he's trying to stick with the plan, but the noise gets the better of him. Kacee's new sound is... "Screech" "Quiet"... I wonder where he got that ? !!!

I have found that in the morning if I get him out of his cage first thing after uncovering him and give him a cuddle he's not so noisy. We've only had him for about a month and he's teaching me so much about parrots.

 

[dakisgirls]

I know probably have heard this before but if your wife is really sick then they are probably not getting as much attention as they used to. For cockatoos, they love people and stick to their humans like glue, so try letting ther birds being out most of the day. Let the cockatoo sit on your wife's shoulder for quite a bit of the day and only take the birds out of the cage when they are quiet. Or get a playstand and put it where you usully are. That way they are with you.

 

[chamogirl]

I have a collection of cds and videos that birds like to listen to and watch.
Some good food and they may be quiet for a whild but your Too needs to just cuddle wife for some time every day.