Although I like to have our sun conure, Kiwi, out of the cage to enjoy its branches and sunlight during the day, the little guy can get loud and start sqwalking.
One thing I've noticed about Kiwi over the years is that it never gets loud just to be annoying.
Here are some of the reasons and ways we respond.
1) Feels abandoned/concerned. The sqwalk is like a shout, where are you? What we do to address this is we have given ourselves short 2 syllable names. When Kiwi starts to sqwalk when we leave the reoom, we say our nicknames, and rather than sqwalking, kiwi says its name. Like such parrots communicate in the wild we just reassure one another with the short pinging conversation. Kiwi says its name "Kiwi" and I respond "bapu". Everyone in the "flock" has their own name and it works most of the time when people leave the Kiwi's field of vision.
2) Wants to bathe. Usually sqwalks when sees someone at the kitchen sink. Solution is to let the conure have some faucet time.
3) Sees a favorite food. Will sqwalk until it is hidden or he is given some.
4) Is molting. This is very uncomfortable so usually needs a hot shower and a humidifier.
5) Is Irked/protective. Looks out the window and sees birds of prey or other fearful sight. Close window shades for a while. Or just wait. Usually temporary.
6) Is tired. It gets too late and Kiwi hasn't been put into the sleeping cage. Solution, needs to be put to sleep early enough.
7) Mystery sqwalk. Now this one is the reason I joined the forum and decided to post. All the other reasons and solutions you may already know. However, sometimes for a mysterious reason (maybe construction sounds, perhaps boredom, or some other unknown cause), Kiwi will start sqwalking. What really works to calm Kiwi down and stop the squalking was playing "Relaxing Ragas", "Healing Ragas", "Sitar Meditation", or the like on a bluetooth speaker. Kiwi listens and mutters rather than sqwalks and I can tell he's engaged in the multilayered, peaceful sounds. The rhythms vary a lot and there's often a jungle background with sounds of streams and birds chirping to accompany the sitar, tabla, and drone.
I really hope this helps all the Sun Conure owners out there who have struggled to address the needs of their boisterous little friends.
Let me know if it works! Especially if music helps you and your parrot with the difficult to manage "out of the blue" sqwalking!
One thing I've noticed about Kiwi over the years is that it never gets loud just to be annoying.
Here are some of the reasons and ways we respond.
1) Feels abandoned/concerned. The sqwalk is like a shout, where are you? What we do to address this is we have given ourselves short 2 syllable names. When Kiwi starts to sqwalk when we leave the reoom, we say our nicknames, and rather than sqwalking, kiwi says its name. Like such parrots communicate in the wild we just reassure one another with the short pinging conversation. Kiwi says its name "Kiwi" and I respond "bapu". Everyone in the "flock" has their own name and it works most of the time when people leave the Kiwi's field of vision.
2) Wants to bathe. Usually sqwalks when sees someone at the kitchen sink. Solution is to let the conure have some faucet time.
3) Sees a favorite food. Will sqwalk until it is hidden or he is given some.
4) Is molting. This is very uncomfortable so usually needs a hot shower and a humidifier.
5) Is Irked/protective. Looks out the window and sees birds of prey or other fearful sight. Close window shades for a while. Or just wait. Usually temporary.
6) Is tired. It gets too late and Kiwi hasn't been put into the sleeping cage. Solution, needs to be put to sleep early enough.
7) Mystery sqwalk. Now this one is the reason I joined the forum and decided to post. All the other reasons and solutions you may already know. However, sometimes for a mysterious reason (maybe construction sounds, perhaps boredom, or some other unknown cause), Kiwi will start sqwalking. What really works to calm Kiwi down and stop the squalking was playing "Relaxing Ragas", "Healing Ragas", "Sitar Meditation", or the like on a bluetooth speaker. Kiwi listens and mutters rather than sqwalks and I can tell he's engaged in the multilayered, peaceful sounds. The rhythms vary a lot and there's often a jungle background with sounds of streams and birds chirping to accompany the sitar, tabla, and drone.
I really hope this helps all the Sun Conure owners out there who have struggled to address the needs of their boisterous little friends.
Let me know if it works! Especially if music helps you and your parrot with the difficult to manage "out of the blue" sqwalking!
