Parrot ear piercing screaming!

[Bystef]

Hi! Ive been a new bird mom of a female ekkie for about 3 months now, I’m having a new problem since a little over a week my bird has been screaming like crazy and I don’t even know why, I tried changing her cage to see if that was the problem, if I take her out of the cage and she is not with me she screams, if I have to leave and put her back in the cage she screams, if I take to long to chop her veggies and give them to her she screams, if she sees me in the room and don’t get her out right away she screams and is a scream so loud that even my dog starts crying. She wasn’t like this before and I don’t know if I did something to reinforce this behavior, before she would scream from time to time (if it put music or when she looks through the window) but she is a parrot so for me it was a normal screaming. Any advice? Please


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[noodles123]

How old is she?
What is her diet like?
How much sleep nightly and do you cover the cage etc at night?
what do you do when she screams?
Do you ever just let her come out of her cage on her own?

 

[Bystef]

How old is she?
What is her diet like?
How much sleep nightly and do you cover the cage etc at night?
what do you do when she screams?
Do you ever just let her come out of her cage on her own?

She is 6 months
I give her like 60% pellets 40% veggies chopped
She sleeps around 12 hours
Honestly is from different things but she screams the worst when she feels I stopped paying attention or I left her on her own
Yes but that’s when she screams the worst for attention

I honestly do my best to ignore her when she does it but she’s kept doing it anyways and it’s just been recently so I’ve been trying to think what I did differently


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[noodles123]

Do you enter the room, look at her or talk about her (or yell) or anything when she screams or does anyone else in the house?
YOU MUST IGNORE 100% across the board (family too)...It sounds like, "do my best" means you might sometimes NOT ignore her, and if you sometimes don't you are creating a situation like a slot machine---and we know how much people like slot machines...
It's called intermittent reinforcement and it is the most powerful and lasting (when you reward a behavior randomly after not rewarding for awhile)...so don't fall victim there.

ALSO--- make sure the cage is located in the social hub of the house...
Consider playstands...


Here is a post a made for a cockatoo, but the idea is the same (roughly):


1: talk to your bird BEFORE the screaming starts.

2. Use key-words to help them anticipate what you are doing and time-frames. If I will be gone for 1-3 hours, I say "going to the store". If it will be the majority of the day, I say "going to work"--I do this every time.

3. Once the screaming starts (excluding fear screaming which has a totally dif sound), DO NOT attend to your bird in any way until it stops for a set period of time. Start with 5 seconds. Do not look at her, do not talk to her, do not talk about her, and do not re-enter the room if you are not already there. When there is a break in screaming, count 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3, Mississippi, 4....5..... If you get to 5 Mississippi and she has been silent that whole time, immediately return, praise and say something like "thanks for getting quiet-- using a quiet voice yourself. Do this for a week or 2 until it's not THAT hard to get through the 5 seconds. Then up it to 10 seconds (or start at 10 if 5 is too easy). Any screaming in between 1-5 and/or 1-10 restarts the count completely.
Plan ahead so you aren't having to go back in the room to get things because you do have to wait it out--coming back in (even to grab your phone) mid-attention-scream fest is rewarding that behavior. You might also invest in some silicone/putty earplugs because 10 seconds can be a challenge initially...at least it was for mine.
Now, at least at my house, she never does the hour long scream-fests she used to do when I got her if I left the room.
Everyone has to follow the same rules--- don't ever tell a screaming bird (who is screaming for attention) to be quiet or anything-- even eye-contact tells them that by screaming they got your attention.

4. Also, make sure your relationship with your bird is not inadvertently sexual. This can increase their "obsession" with you but it can also lead to screaming, aggression and self-destructive behaviors long-term. Pet only on the head and neck and do not allow your bird to access shadowy places in or around the cage (hormonal triggers). Do no allow under blankets, clothing, piles of paper, in boxes etc.

5. Make sure you are teaching your bird to play--model the behavior (playing with toys etc) and reward your bird with attention and a treat whenever you see him/her playing with a toy...at least initially while they are learning.

Remember- it is natural for them to flock call, so you need to give them a lot of attention in general and try to prevent screaming ahead of time, but the attention screaming (assuming they get plenty of time with you during the day/time out of their cage etc) will not work well long-term in a home...which is why you have to tough it out this way.

In a pinch---let's say your bird is on a 2-hour scream fit and you left your keys in that room (which you need), you can hide behind a wall (where the bird CANNOT see you) and toss something VERY small into the room---not to scare the bird, but to distract them from their current scream-fest. They will more than likely get quiet to look at the object and at that point, start your 5-count and if they make it to 5 or 10 (whatever you are using) you can come back in, make a huge deal about how awesome they are for getting quiet etc, and grab your keys (but try not to leave again right away lol! or you aren't rewarding them much). DO NOT DO THIS OFTEN-- this should be a last-resort thing--very infrequent...if you do it too much it loses its novelty and could actually seem like a reward to the bird if they figure out the pattern.

If you can place your bird on various stands within the home, that can cut back on some of the screaming, but you don't want to end up in a situation where you are forced to bring the bird with you EVERYWHERE in order to avoid screaming. The counting method will eventually reduce it, but it can take a few months before you see a difference...It's hard up-front.

It's easy to get frustrated because the hours of screaming make you want to attack everyone in the house and hit your head against a wall until it stops LOL --BUT, the bird hasn't learned that it doesn't work yet and you are fighting an instinct, so while sticking with a behavioral approach, try not to blame the bird, as she is doing what she would be if she couldn't see her flock in the wild..That having been said, it can be decreased and trained to some extent.

The silicone ear-plugs I like are these and you can get them at Walmart-- I use them to sleep, but they are pretty good at blocking noise (while still allowing you to hear muffled sounds). They stay in better than the foam ones and they are much more effective. You could also consider gun-range headphones lol depending on the preferences of those within your home.

I toughed the first few months of screaming out without earplugs, but I was also living alone at the time and I KNOW how stressful the screaming can be when you are living with a family (my bird forgets a lot of her "anti-screaming" (?) training when we go to my parents' house for visits).

Again-- you DO want to listen to the differences in your bird's vocalizations because a scared call is NOT the same as attention seeking, and you DO want to comfort your bird if they are really scared---for instance, mine hates wagons and will lose her mind if she sees one, so I do go reassure her (because I know she is actually frightened and not just after attention).

Bottom line- Catch your bird being good and PILE ON the attention for anything you want more of. Clearly she wants attention, so attention is a reward and none of us do anything at all unless we know we will get something out of it (working for a check, stopping at a light, eating when hungry, etc etc)

Also- unless you have 10 hours a day to spend with your bird forever, I would thin that down gradually....Try to force yourself to leave for short periods just so she doesn't get even more dependent...and remember- use key-words ("going outside" is another that I use). I know she knows them because when I say "going to work" she IMMEDIATELY jerks her head at me and acts all annoyed lol.

 

[Bystef]

Do you enter the room, look at her or talk about her (or yell) or anything when she screams or does anyone else in the house?
YOU MUST IGNORE 100% across the board (family too)...It sounds like, "do my best" means you might sometimes NOT ignore her, and if you sometimes don't you are creating a situation like a slot machine---and we know how much people like slot machines...
It's called intermittent reinforcement and it is the most powerful and lasting (when you reward a behavior randomly after not rewarding for awhile)...so don't fall victim there.

ALSO--- make sure the cage is located in the social hub of the house...
Consider playstands...


Here is a post a made for a cockatoo, but the idea is the same (roughly):


1: talk to your bird BEFORE the screaming starts.

2. Use key-words to help them anticipate what you are doing and time-frames. If I will be gone for 1-3 hours, I say "going to the store". If it will be the majority of the day, I say "going to work"--I do this every time.

3. Once the screaming starts (excluding fear screaming which has a totally dif sound), DO NOT attend to your bird in any way until it stops for a set period of time. Start with 5 seconds. Do not look at her, do not talk to her, do not talk about her, and do not re-enter the room if you are not already there. When there is a break in screaming, count 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3, Mississippi, 4....5..... If you get to 5 Mississippi and she has been silent that whole time, immediately return, praise and say something like "thanks for getting quiet-- using a quiet voice yourself. Do this for a week or 2 until it's not THAT hard to get through the 5 seconds. Then up it to 10 seconds (or start at 10 if 5 is too easy). Any screaming in between 1-5 and/or 1-10 restarts the count completely.
Plan ahead so you aren't having to go back in the room to get things because you do have to wait it out--coming back in (even to grab your phone) mid-attention-scream fest is rewarding that behavior. You might also invest in some silicone/putty earplugs because 10 seconds can be a challenge initially...at least it was for mine.
Now, at least at my house, she never does the hour long scream-fests she used to do when I got her if I left the room.
Everyone has to follow the same rules--- don't ever tell a screaming bird (who is screaming for attention) to be quiet or anything-- even eye-contact tells them that by screaming they got your attention.

4. Also, make sure your relationship with your bird is not inadvertently sexual. This can increase their "obsession" with you but it can also lead to screaming, aggression and self-destructive behaviors long-term. Pet only on the head and neck and do not allow your bird to access shadowy places in or around the cage (hormonal triggers). Do no allow under blankets, clothing, piles of paper, in boxes etc.

5. Make sure you are teaching your bird to play--model the behavior (playing with toys etc) and reward your bird with attention and a treat whenever you see him/her playing with a toy...at least initially while they are learning.

Remember- it is natural for them to flock call, so you need to give them a lot of attention in general and try to prevent screaming ahead of time, but the attention screaming (assuming they get plenty of time with you during the day/time out of their cage etc) will not work well long-term in a home...which is why you have to tough it out this way.

In a pinch---let's say your bird is on a 2-hour scream fit and you left your keys in that room (which you need), you can hide behind a wall (where the bird CANNOT see you) and toss something VERY small into the room---not to scare the bird, but to distract them from their current scream-fest. They will more than likely get quiet to look at the object and at that point, start your 5-count and if they make it to 5 or 10 (whatever you are using) you can come back in, make a huge deal about how awesome they are for getting quiet etc, and grab your keys (but try not to leave again right away lol! or you aren't rewarding them much). DO NOT DO THIS OFTEN-- this should be a last-resort thing--very infrequent...if you do it too much it loses its novelty and could actually seem like a reward to the bird if they figure out the pattern.

If you can place your bird on various stands within the home, that can cut back on some of the screaming, but you don't want to end up in a situation where you are forced to bring the bird with you EVERYWHERE in order to avoid screaming. The counting method will eventually reduce it, but it can take a few months before you see a difference...It's hard up-front.

It's easy to get frustrated because the hours of screaming make you want to attack everyone in the house and hit your head against a wall until it stops LOL --BUT, the bird hasn't learned that it doesn't work yet and you are fighting an instinct, so while sticking with a behavioral approach, try not to blame the bird, as she is doing what she would be if she couldn't see her flock in the wild..That having been said, it can be decreased and trained to some extent.

The silicone ear-plugs I like are these and you can get them at Walmart-- I use them to sleep, but they are pretty good at blocking noise (while still allowing you to hear muffled sounds). They stay in better than the foam ones and they are much more effective. You could also consider gun-range headphones lol depending on the preferences of those within your home.

I toughed the first few months of screaming out without earplugs, but I was also living alone at the time and I KNOW how stressful the screaming can be when you are living with a family (my bird forgets a lot of her "anti-screaming" (?) training when we go to my parents' house for visits).

Again-- you DO want to listen to the differences in your bird's vocalizations because a scared call is NOT the same as attention seeking, and you DO want to comfort your bird if they are really scared---for instance, mine hates wagons and will lose her mind if she sees one, so I do go reassure her (because I know she is actually frightened and not just after attention).

Bottom line- Catch your bird being good and PILE ON the attention for anything you want more of. Clearly she wants attention, so attention is a reward and none of us do anything at all unless we know we will get something out of it (working for a check, stopping at a light, eating when hungry, etc etc)

Also- unless you have 10 hours a day to spend with your bird forever, I would thin that down gradually....Try to force yourself to leave for short periods just so she doesn't get even more dependent...and remember- use key-words ("going outside" is another that I use). I know she knows them because when I say "going to work" she IMMEDIATELY jerks her head at me and acts all annoyed lol.

Thank you for all of your advise! She’s been much much better these day and just doing her usual talking which I love! Thankfully haha since I’m new I prefer to ask first about anything


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