How to react to screaming?

[jdareef]

Almost every day I wake up because my B&G is screaming for food because he already ate his food from last night. Here's my problem, I know that it is bad to yell back at the bird if they are screaming for attention because in their mind that means "hey, that got a reaction", which will encourage more screaming. So should I apply that same rule to him screaming for food? Would it cause the same negative effects as mentioned above and make him think that screaming will get a reaction for anything?
Thanks in advance,
Joseph

 

[jdareef]

BTW I'm not talking about screaming at the bird when he wants food, I'm talking about giving him food as the reaction to when he screams.

 

[Bobby34231]

Hey JD, the simplest suggestion I can make is to wake up earlier and feed before the screaming starts, if your feeding after the screaming starts then you've already taught him that by screaming he gets what he wants by behaving that way, just as a sidenote most birds scream or vocalize in the morning and in the evening, even the so called "Quiet Birds", if you know WHAT is causing the behavior many times you can work around it without much difficulty, sorry for the simple answer, but it seems like a simple solution......Good Luck

 

[jdareef]

Thanks Bob, I appreciate the quick response. Sounds easy enough to me, hopefully it works.

 

[madparrotwoman]

Have you tried giving extra food the night before?

 

[jdareef]

Have you tried giving extra food the night before?

I thought about it but I try to portion his food well so as he doesn't become overweight. Also, I have another question similar to my first question; I take out my macaw everyday, so he has gotten into the routine of always being let out at least once a day. Sometimes I don't get around to it until the end of the day, so he starts to scream. When this happens, how should I approach letting him out? Should I wait until he stops screaming to let him out?
Thanks again,
Joseph

 

[qplady0831]

Seems to me that he is just hungry. Why not put a bit of extra seed in a dish for him before bed time - that way when he wakes up it's there...just to see if that is why he is screaming.

 

[Bobby34231]

What I would suggest Joseph is that when the bird screams, wanting to be let out, is that you approach the cage and talk calmly to him, usually birds will stop screaming and focus on you, if he does stop, after a few minutes then let him out, this way he doesn't associate his bad behavior of screaming with you letting him out because of it.........

 

[jdareef]

Thanks again Bob, I will try this out and see if it works*fingers crossed*.
-Joseph

 

[Mel]

I know this is no help to your problem but it reminded me of my Galah Cooper. He would scream whenever my daughter came into the room. I made a comment to her about it one day and she replied... "I don't know why he does that to me I'm really nice to him. Whenever he screams at me I give him food!!!" Who trains who?

 

[Gristleboy]

Do you cover him @ night or keep him in a darkened room? We do & they have learned to sleep (more or less) until we get up. It also helps them get more sleep (9-10hrs) on the short summer nights.

 

[jdareef]

Do you cover him @ night or keep him in a darkened room? We do & they have learned to sleep (more or less) until we get up. It also helps them get more sleep (9-10hrs) on the short summer nights.

If only I could find a big enough sheet! The cage is 6' x 3'5" x 3'5". Maybe a Cali King size bedsheet would work...

 

[Mel]

Do you cover him @ night or keep him in a darkened room? We do & they have learned to sleep (more or less) until we get up. It also helps them get more sleep (9-10hrs) on the short summer nights.

If only I could find a big enough sheet! The cage is 6' x 3'5" x 3'5". Maybe a Cali King size bedsheet would work...

Good question GB! I would think covering him up would definately help. One of my cages is really big I use 2 big sheets - they don't go all the way down but it does the trick.

 

[Bobby34231]

My macaw doesn't like his cage covered, but I say oh well, its getting done anyway, if I don't get to the lightswitch fast enough he pulls the sheet off the cage from the inside,he thinks its a game, I go through a couple sheets a month from him biting holes in them, I usually buy mine at the Good Will or Salvation Army as their cheap enough that way to keep replacing

 

[Gristleboy]

We just used an old blanket. Remember a bird will roost about as far off the ground as it can get, so you really just need to cover the upper portion. And close the drapes if possible.
Our B&G used to 'purr' when we would cover her up & she'd be happily grinding her beak in minutes.

 

[Birdamor]

Well, I believe that cages should not get covered, that the bird should fall asleep as night falls and wake up with the sunrise and that cannot be achieved if you cover their cage. If you do, they never have a problem falling asleep. they have a healthy endocrine system and they don't get sexually frustrated

I agree with Bobby 100% on the food issue: you need to get up earlier and feed him early in the am. As to the screaming when you don't take him out all day long, I suggest you establish a schedule that you will be able to follow every single day because IMHO, it's not fair to penalize the bird for complaining when he has been cooped up all day long if he is used to coming out earlier.

Captive birds' lives are full of stressors. Been without a flock is one of them. Living in an unnatural environment is another. Bad diet (and it's not that I think you don't feed your bird right, is that nobody can do it right no matter how hard we try) is a serious one. Lack of exercise (flying dissipates stress hormones), etc. But one thing that makes them feel more in control is to have steady schedules. For some particular reason, captive birds do hugely better from an emotional/behavioral point of view if they are kept on consistent schedules. I know it's very hard for 'normal' people to do this but the alternative could be a mal-adjusted bird and who wants that?!

 

[jdareef]

Thanks everyone for all the input, very much appreciated!
Birdamor,
Thank you for sharing, it was very informative.

 

[jdareef]

P.S.- People are stealing my idea in the photo gallery section! LOL