Rescue Sun keeps screaming

[gary horder]

We took in a sun conure from our local rspca about two months ago, we already have a sunny and a few other birds in the flock, we have no information on the new sun, we think he is still pretty young ( approaching a first molt maybe )



He was a brought in as a lost and found bird, spent 3 months in an out door aviary, as they wrongly thought he wasnt hand tame ( which he is and loves cuddles and scritches )



Our main problem is his incesant screaming and scare / flight, we have our birds out of their cages all day, he is well fed and looked after, i have tried to have him in a separate cage, moved him to another room with some tiels, re brought him into the main flock but give him time outs with myself around the house.



But he still has this flight / fright reaction for no apparent reason.



any advice we are getting to the end of our tether with him

 

[Von1983]

Awwww bless......

Well, as you already have a sunny, I'm sure you've tried everything you know.

When is it he actually screams? I taught Cal my sunny "No shout" by initially giving into her demands so that when she was quiet, I'd lavish her with praise. Now she "talks" rather than screams when she wants something. Whispering also works well because conure's are SO nosy, that once they realise you are talking, they stop to hear what you're saying lol.

I can't be of much other help as I have only the one bird and I suspect that your problem stems somehow from the other birds in the house. Cal is the bossiest bird I have ever met so I'm guessing it's a common trait with all Suns. That being the case, if the other birds aren't reacting accordingly, it may be the cause? I think you and he just have to find a routine that suits you both. Perhaps if you've moved him around a lot, he's unsure of his "place" in the home?

Maybe some of the other members will be able to help you better. There are some very very experienced members and they're so knowledgable that the Britanicca's have nothing on them lol.

Best of luck.

 

[gary horder]

Thanks for the reply, yes i use the whisper technique ( admittedly with a shout or two occasionally as he is so LOUD ) he mixes well with our other birds and actually lives in a cage with our sun Tic Tic and her boyfriend Dexter the tiel ( weird combo i know )

He had a week of perfection a week ago and i thought we had cracked it, he then seemed to start to revert to his original scared/ flight state.

this behaviour causes our other birds to react, causing mayhem

hopefully somebody has some other ideas

 

[Von1983]

I'm positive other members can help!!

There must be a pattern to the screaming though....? However loosely? Cal is good but at times she still screams. The number one time being when she knows you're on your way over to let her out so she can cuddle with you. She screams when we are in the kitchen and someone comes into the shop. Sometimes for no apparent reason, she screams for about 10 seconds and does a little dance inside her cage. I think she's just saying: Life is goooood, I just enjoyed those grapes so I will SQUAK! lol. I call these her "maddy's!"

If you can pinpoint the cause you should be able to find a solution. Even if it's just giving him his favourite thing ever and then when he's quiet, praise, praise, praise. I can't help but feel there's a trigger somewhere. It may just be he's mischeiveous and loves causing the mayhem noise of the rest of the flock!

Oh, another thing that never fails to get Cal's attention is a little fluffy toy with a squeaker inside. She hears that, she stops immediately. Maybe something similar might do the trick?

 

[Spiritbird]

here is a link that may be of help to you

Parrot Behavior Problems | Positive Bird Training

 

[gary horder]

Thanks guys for all the support and advice, some days it feels like a massive mountain to climb, i at present walk around the remainder of house with him on my shoulder as this calms him some ( obviously this means he is bonded with me now ...unfortunately ) i also spend some alone time with him away from the main flock, trying to give him reassurance and showing him i mean no harm in my actions ( as in hand movements etc ) he is a lovely baby when he wants to be and allows me to tickle every where and scritch his pinnies ( unlike our female sun tic, who just bares neck and chhek scritches before a bark and nip ) another problem we are finding is cosmo only comes to me and wants no part of the other family members ( he seems extremely scared of their hands ) he does fly and sit on julies shoulder, but any attempt for a step up causes flight.

The screaming can be constant, a very high pitch parp parp is the only way i can explain it this is normally followed by an anxious flight and continues parping gradually getting louder and faster, i cannot pin point anything in particular that causes this, he can be calmly sitting preening when he decides to fright / flight, be secure in his cage ( alone or with cage mates ) in another room with me for quiet time.

surprisingly we had a week a while back where this did not occur this is what makes this all so frustrating

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