Quaker screaming and bobbing whenever I talk?

[fruitsnax]

Hi! new here and just joined because of some questions I have about my young female Quaker! Whenever she's perched on me or nearby and I start talking, she begins to squawk and bob her head tons! I'm not really sure why, because she isn't afraid of my presence when I'm silent or making clicking noises. Its only when I'm talking normally. She'll return to a calm and normal state once I'm silent. Any advice on what this behavior is and how to possibly curb it in the future? Thank you!

 

[foxgloveparrot]

It could be because she feels you are not talking to her and wants you to.
Birds scream for attention, among other reasons.
Bobbing can also have multiple meanings, the bird may be happy, excited, etc. It can also be a symptom of sickness but if she only does it when you’re talking I don’t think that’s what it means.

 

[StormyPica]

May be hormonal, here's a great article:

'TIS THE SEASON.... (Dealing with a Hormonal Parrot)

It's the same words muttered by so many companion bird families at this time of year. “My sweet bird has turned into a velociraptor! What did I do to make them so angry?” As many of you may be aware, I bred various species of cockatoos and amazons for many years. One of the greatest challenges...

www.pearlparrots.com

 

[fruitsnax]

It could be because she feels you are not talking to her and wants you to.
Birds scream for attention, among other reasons.
Bobbing can also have multiple meanings, the bird may be happy, excited, etc. It can also be a symptom of sickness but if she only does it when you’re talking I don’t think that’s what it means.

Yeah she's not showing any signs of sickness so I don't think its health related! Normally when she's squawking, I'm talking over the phone or on a voice call, so I don't know if its because she's feeling excluded. She does this even when I'm talking directly to her.

 

[fruitsnax]

May be hormonal, here's a great article:

'TIS THE SEASON.... (Dealing with a Hormonal Parrot)

It's the same words muttered by so many companion bird families at this time of year. “My sweet bird has turned into a velociraptor! What did I do to make them so angry?” As many of you may be aware, I bred various species of cockatoos and amazons for many years. One of the greatest challenges...

www.pearlparrots.com

Oh my god I think you're spot on! Sol's is getting a bit older and she has been much more fond of her cuttlebone and paper shredding as of recent. Thank you for showing me this! I'll make sure to set up some new foraging activities with less fruit to try and keep her a bit more engaged and busy while she's getting hormonal. Great help

 

[HeatherG]

I bet she B may want you to talk to and play with her. My Quakers have been very noisy when I’m on the phone. I think they think it’s another bird that I am talking to and they’re jealous to be sharing you.

With my old Quaker, Lucy, I started to tell her to “whisper” and then I made a whispery noise. She learned to do that noise when I said ‘whisper’. So I’d remind her to whisper when I was on the phone and she’d make the quiet noise. She would tell the other birds or me to whisper if we were being loud. She really knew what it meant.

Quakers are ver smart birds. If you can get her to understand what you want her to do, she may well do it to please you. But if she’s lonely, when you talk on the phone she will be loud. So make sure she gets enough attention otherwise and maybe teach her to “whisper!”.

 

[Laurasea]

Hello and welcome!
How old is your quaker? And we would love to see a picture. We even have phot of the month contest.

Young quakers Bob for attention and food from their parents.

Newly weaned may bob in a new home as they can revert and need a few comfort feeding.

This can carry over to adults, my old girl Penny bobs when excited and when I'm talking to her. My other 2 Bob if I Bob to them or I'm handing them a treat.

Quakers are very prone to screaming. But many species want to scream when we are on the phone. They do know we aren't talking to them and they want our attention.. you can try to recondition this response to the phone. If you know of a phone or video conference time, try sbd set her up with a snack or activity like foraging fir a snack, or encourage a bath. Right after a bath they are usually quiet for a half hour or so.
And do lots of fake phone calls and give treats for being quiet , and keep redirecting and interrupt when she makes noise. Trying fir a pattern of being quiet.

And because they like to be vocal they make noise when we make noise. So try and get them to say a word or whistle or as mentioned quieter noises. And reward those lavishly.

A quaker with not enough to do will give themselves the job of screaming.

They do need a lot of one on one and out of cage time. You can set them up with their own stuff near you.
Like this ,

Enrichment ideas, share yours

I'm often posting how I use ceiling hooks abd heavy weight fishing line to create what I call an aerial gym. I attach foraging stuff, stuff to chew, and treats to find to keep my flock busy. So now I will share examples to inspire you. Hopefully you all will share yours to inspire me too! this...

www.parrotforums.com

And you can try and pattern quiet times. I worked very hard to have a quiet cage time after lunch for an hour or two. I started with just short cage time with treats like 10 min and got them back out before they would scream and slowly made the time longer. Untill it became a routine and pattern. But thus works because they have lots of out of cage time ( I'm home so 6-8 hrs out) and they get at least an hour of cuddling can be split up during the day.

They also forage and eat lots of veggies morning and evening that takes up a good hour of time in morning and evening.

I have not found that ignoring a screaming quaker helps anything. Instead I work to prevent, redirect, interrupt and random praise and treats only when quiet.

 

[StormyPica]

Oh my god I think you're spot on! Sol's is getting a bit older and she has been much more fond of her cuttlebone and paper shredding as of recent. Thank you for showing me this! I'll make sure to set up some new foraging activities with less fruit to try and keep her a bit more engaged and busy while she's getting hormonal. Great help

You're welcome

 

[fruitsnax]

Hi! I'm unsure of her age since her previous owners weren't sure of it either but we guess that she's at least 4 years old. Thank you so much for the training tips! I have a perch near my work desk that she likes to sit at around noon time to preen herself so I'll try doing some fake calls there. I highly appreciate the detailed advice It's really helpful to have a step by step plan from someone who's dealt with the same situation!

 

[Laurasea]

Oh man I took on behavior problem burds on purpose tget put me through it for sure.

It takes time to modify behavior. You can start seeing some leaps and improvements, but takes awhile to make new patterns and break habits.