Morning screamage

[fishstick600]

So sydney my U2 is starting to get very very vocal in the mornings right around 0930..not sure if hes screaming for me or just getting the wild out of him. If I dont walk downstairs and cover him he will do it for a while..I'm thinking he wants me because he stops right when he sees me.. suggestions?? Oh and hes 5 months old still being hand fed (working on weaning right now)

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Birds naturally want to vocalize in the morning and evening, it's just part of having a bird. A good way to distract them is to feed them in the morning and evening when they would normally be screaming to distract them, then by the time eating is over it's past the time they naturally want to vocalize.

 

[fishstick600]

That is a really good idea thanks

 

[Featheredsamurai]

That is a really good idea thanks

Your welcome, I hope it works out for you

 

[lee62]

Every morning I have over 50 Corellas, 20 Galahs and was 3 now 8 Greater Sulphor crested Too's eating on my front yard (I don't feed them) for about 20 minutes and then they go to a neighbour 4 doors up who puts feed out for them. One thing I noticed is that before & after they feed every morning they meet up on the power lines and have a good old chat amoungst themselves with alot of tom-foolery for a good half hour or so. So I reckon morning and evening "noise" is an important part of a Too's socialising make up. Maybe using this knowledge can be an asset ie if they like to make noise mornings & evenings maybe that would be the best times to interact with them for training purpose. Not very good pics but gives you an idea.

 

[sonja]

Wow, Lee, that sounds pretty awesome!

Fishstick-- it sounds like normal cockatoo behavior to me. They are naturally very loud birds.

 

[fishstick600]

I figured this was normal behavior but I have never heard him actually scream yet so every new vocalization is a big ? to me

 

[Lindylou277]

Birds naturally want to vocalize in the morning and evening, it's just part of having a bird. A good way to distract them is to feed them in the morning and evening when they would normally be screaming to distract them, then by the time eating is over it's past the time they naturally want to vocalize.

I'm a new BG owner. I found the time she started to vocalize in the morning and now I beat her by 10 minutes and it prevents it from happening. Thanks for validating the technique.

 

[KatherineI]

Also, I wouldn't cover the bird. Covering is one thing for at night, but covering them simply because they are being vocal, can cause some trauma. And Too's are extremely sensitive. I'd do as suggested, and feed him first thing in the AM. I would never punish a bird for doing what comes naturally to them; Too's vocalize because the sun came up, the sun's going down, they're happy they're alive, they're playing. The best way to get a bird to stop screaming is to ignore them, thereby not feeding in to it. Any type of attention, negative or positive, is still attention.

 

[fishstick600]

Thanks everyone for the advise...the next four weeka are going to be hard on him because I'm going back to days and hes used to being out from noon to four...no one else is really comfortable handling him but I'm gonna try and work with my parents so he can still get some out of the cage time at noon

 

[Kong]

lee62 thank you for sharing the pictures here in the states we are not lucky to have wild too's in our yards and i enjoy seeing the pictures

 

[lee62]

No worries I'll put some more up later when I get my camera from the shops. It is great being able to see that view every morning. Best thing is because of the noise of the wild ones I dont notice nor do the neighbours the noise coming from my Nina. I don't even bother trying to quiet her down as I am so used to hearing it from outside

 

[fishstick600]

So I'm starting to learn when sydney is screaming for attention and just out of being happy or getting the wild out...its hillarious when I put him on his atom and hes yelling away because hes so happy its play time. Hes learning that if hes too loud hes gonna get covered and will shut up once he sees me grab the cover usually.

Off topic question..at what point do I have his nails and beak trimmed. His nails are starting to hurt my skin and his beak has formed a very sharp tip. I'll post a picture

 

[fishstick600]

Heres some pictures

 

[KatherineI]

Off topic question..at what point do I have his nails and beak trimmed. His nails are starting to hurt my skin and his beak has formed a very sharp tip. I'll post a picture

The beak looks relatively normal to me. A sharp tip is quite common. What you need to do is to make sure he has plenty of things to chew up that will "trim" his beak naturally. I know a lot of people who use mineral blocks to help with this, but they're useless if your bird won't use it (my Sugar won't). You can use various types of perches to help keep his nails trimmed. Other than that, my AV recommended every 4-6 weeks, or longer depending on the rate of growth.

 

[fishstick600]

He turned 7 months on the 4th.. ive had him for a little over 2 months and havent had it done

 

[MonicaMc]

A healthy beak shouldn't require any trimming, as the bird should be able to keep it in shape themselves. Trimming it may result in unhealthy beak growth, so it's better to make sure they have plenty of things to chew and try to avoid your bird chewing/nipping/biting your skin.


Tiring a bird out (i.e. exercise), bathing them before they scream, feeding them before they scream and making sure they have plenty to play with and forage are all possible ways to prevent screaming. I have heard of some owners who set a time of day to just scream and be silly with their birds. This is usually accompanied with dancing and hollering while playing loud, boisterous music. Using a harness, you could also take your 'too outside for some 'natural' enrichment for 30 minutes or longer per day. Providing fresh, safe branches with no pesticides is also another to keep a bird busy.

 

[Kiwibird]

All parrots naturally vocalize in the morning and evenings, and cockatoos are among the loudest parrots out there. It really doesn't sound like he's doing anything abnormal right now, just growing up and stretching his vocal cords The key is to make sure normal vocalizations don't turn to inappropriate attention screaming. Vocalizing is a brief period of screeching in the morning or evening, usually only continues for a couple minutes (a couple ear splitting minutes that seems like hours lol) and the bird stops by itself. In nature, vocalizing is a way of contacting the flock and making sure everyone made it through the night or made it back to the roost. Behavioral screaming is persistent, happens at all times of day, and is typically resolved only when the bird gets what it is screaming for (ie, attention, food, getting out of the cage ect...). It does not sound like your bird is behaviorally screaming right now, but you need to be careful not to accidentally encourage him to start by giving him extra attention when he vocalizes. He will just learn screaming gets attention. Leave him alone while he vocalizes.

Growing up, my parents 3 parrots were like alarm clocks when they woke up, and certainly let us know when they felt it was time for bed. Out of the 3 (2 amazons and a goffin cockatoo), the too' was by far the loudest. I mean, he was literally 5x louder than the zons, and he was a small breed of cockatoo. I cannot imagine how loud a U2 must be! However, noise is a part of owning parrots, and with time you learn to tune it out (or maybe you just start going a bit deaf lol). In a few years, you won't even be bothered by the am/pm vocalizations anymore. BTW, I like how you put that- "getting the wild out", I think anyone with a parrot can relate to that

 

[fishstick600]

Ya hes really not that bad usually he isnt that loud in the mornings but around noon he yells for me if I'm not awake since thats his play time. Also hes gonna need a sleeper cage for when I'm gone at work. My dad said hes getting out of hand