Screaming!!! Did I mention screaming?

[Tulqa22]

Ok so I have a sun, and he is about 1.4 yrs old according to his seller he was 8 mo. when I puchased him back in March. He tends to be very moody and temperamental...one day he loves me to rub his neck and chin, the next I get warning nipped and SCREAMED at. I really would like to understand why he does this as he has not yet reached sexual maturity...and I really try to work with him nicely. Secondly he calls ALL THE TIME. I have a joke that he is my watch bird. He hears my car he screams before I'm even up to the door outside, someone knocks he screams, any person who doesnt live with us comes over...bet you can't guess...yepp he SCREAMS! How can I stop his constant calling/screaming.

 

[Rio Mom]

The scream when you touched his neck, is he molting? If you touched a pin feather that's still pretty new, it hurts, and can make them yell. That, or it could just be that he's a sun conure, and they're kinda famous for being loud. Don't give him attention if he's screaming for you. Ignore him until he's quiet, then give him attention/rewards etc. You can also try to teach/encourage speaking instead of screaming.

 

[lene1949]

They quickly learn the sound of your car... They are not screaming, just recognising you and saying 'hello'.. It's just their way of greeting..

 

[melinda]

Suns are well known for being mouthy both loud and nippy. You will need to teach him a contact call for when you are at home. Start including him when people come over. When her is screaming don't even walk into the room until he has stopped for at least 30 seconds. Making the time a little longer after he gets used to it. Don't speak to him either. If he makes the contact call answer him. Learn his body lang. he will let you know when he is wanting to be loved on. Conures are a higher energy bird and have a hard time staying still for long so he may just want to play with you.

 

[Spiritbird]

I have come to understand conures are very needy birds. They need and crave your attention all the time. You did mention if you have taken this bird to the vet for a baselline exam. I have a friend with a GCC that was screaming very loudly. Taken to the vet and found to have a large case of harmonal influence. Vet treated her and she is fine now. True your bird is too young for this but not for a vet exam.

 

[Scotty T]

My girl seems to have gotten the point that when shes quiet she can come out, but then there are some days that she is just over excited and can't help herself. When visitors come over she gets really excited.

Sometimes you have to let them let you know they are alive, and some times you have to realize they are looking to train you. Make sure you keep it the other way around.

 

[nofearengineer]

Sun Conures are evidence of God's sense of humor. They are arguably the most strikingly beautiful bird out there, yet their behavior is sometimes not so wonderful.

There is that freakishly piercing shriek.
Add to it their self-perception that they are 500 lbs and 10 feet tall.

If Sun Conures were easy, everyone would have one.

You probably haven't done anything wrong. Some birds are more like this than others. Individual personality counts for a lot.

Is your house noisy? Do you have the TV, kids, and other pets all contributing to the noise? Parrots can learn quickly that they have to shout to be heard (in their minds). They often discover they can command everyone's attention with those awesome pipes.

While my house is pretty quiet anyway, I like to do "quiet time" with Bitty. I whisper to her, to let her know that sometimes we have to be quiet to interact with each other. It calms her down when she's spazzing out.

But then again, Bitty is not a Sun Conure.

 

[goalerjones]

My Jenday George who passed this last year was this type of loud. When I came home, opened my car door-SCREEEEEEAM. When he heard me get up in the morning in the other room-SCREEEEEAM. you get the picture.

I had to do what was suggested here and NOT give attention for the screaming. I would take him into another room and cuddle and speak softly to him to not make him compete with household noises.

I also had to re-inforce the husband-wife bond as more important than the husband-bird bond. I would always go to my wife first when I came in the house and the bird SECOND, so he would know his role in the house.

Personally I didn't care if he screamed 24-7, but I was the only one in the house who felt that way.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I do a lot of rehab, and a lot of 'toos.... this often means that at any given point I have at least 2 endless screamers I am working with.... Currently a male goffin and a female umbrella who both scream to no end... the goffin screams after dark until around 2am... I always put rehab birds in the house (not the aviary), and I put them in a room that has no ther purpose then just keeping rehabs in. Meaning if I don't want to go into that room, I don't have to I feed first thing in the morning and I wear earplugs with my ipod.... that way there is absolutely no chance that they can scream in my ear and get a startled reaction. The only time I will go into that room is when they are quiet. So, if it's quiet I will go in and play with the birds... if they start screaming I leave. Additionally the use of a radio or tv left on in the room will put the bird at ease and they will be quieter as a rule. Teaching them a call for you is very useful, but can at times become as irritating as screaming if the boundaries are not clearly set. I would bring the bird out when he is quiet (even if company is over, and put him back when he starts screaming). The bad news is that all birds will scream, and some level of it is gonna just be the norm... but at least you can get it a bit more tolerable and so on.

As far as screaming when you get home... well that's just him being very excited that you have returned.

 

[Tulqa22]

Thank you all for your advice and comments! @ Goalerjones Ozawa(my sun) does the screaming in the morning as soon as he hears my feet hit the floor above him lol @ Rio mom he is in a molt but im very careful bc i know all to well how pin feathers can be a great source of pain. When i got him all his tail feathers molted at once and he broke two full sets of blood feathers leading to painful plucking by the vet I try really really REALLY hard to ignore his screaming but seeing as my house is fairly small and only has three large rooms downstairs (kitchen, living room, and dining room where his cage is) and he can see me from his cage in any of those rooms, and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs it makes it a bit difficult to isolate him from us when he's screaming. I will however try not to give him direct attention while he is screaming. Goalerjones made me think of another thing...he is severely nippy (bites the hell out of) with my 8yr old daughter but will happily fly and land on her head and shoulder, groom her hair etc...she is scared to work with him bc of the painful bites he inflicts and is inadvertently giving him exactly what he wants by leaving him alone after every bite...any suggestions on how to help them get along withOUT subjecting my daughter to mauled little fingers?
Again thank you for all the comments/advice it is appriciated!

 

[Winston1Smith2]

I think eight is probably a bit to young to be interacting with a bird that has a biting problem. I would just keep your daughter and the bird seperate until you get the biting problem of your bird under control.

 

[Tulqa22]

There is no "biting problem" as he is friendly with most ppl but she has inadvertently conditioned him to think "if I bite her she will leave me alone!" I respect your opinions but my 8yr old is very good with animals and is a part of this household that comes before the bird and he needs to understand that biting her is not ok... He tried this same thing with me but I'm more tenacious and a great deal less afraid of his bites though I've gottens some whoppers from him. My not lettin his bites scare me off worked he only grabs my fingers and pushes them away now rather than inflicting pain or he nips but not nearly as hard as he once did. Regaurdless I'd like her to be able to not fear him and him to think of her as a SAFE flock member.