Screaming, is he spoilt?

[jojo65]

He was in the kitchen where he could get use to me when I got him. So we moved him to the living room he screamed evertime I left the room. I hold him and play with him for a bit several times a day. Do you think he is spoilt and what do you do about the screaming. I got the best info on this site to get him to stop bite-ing. He now lets me hold and pet him cuddle and now it's this habit of screaming everytime I walk out of the room. Has anyone had luck with their method? I read read read but nothing compares to experience of others. I am so thankful I found this site. My Olie is so loving now as I followed suggestions on this site.

 

[TheKomoman]

Best way to train is to not reinforce the poor behavior. If he screams then you have to ignore him completely, even yelling at him is attention and reinforcing the behavior. Then you reinforce when he does things that are OK, like if he whistles or says hello, something positive. Then you give him attention, talk to him, give him a cuddle whatever is appropriate. He'll figure out in short order that when he screams he doesn't get what he wants. It's short term pain for sure, but it's the best way.

 

[ShellyBorg]

I had this issue with Paris for awhile. I started walking over to her cage before I left the room, told her I would be back and gave her a nut. After a couple weeks I would just tell her I would be back and was hit and miss with the nut. Now I can walk out most of the time with no worries of a screaming mac. If she had started screaming I would just walk away with out even saying anything.
They are vary much like a small child and like to be told what is going on.

 

[Birdman666]

That is called "line of sight screaming." If the bird can't see you he calls to you... It could also be a form of attention screaming.

If it get's too bad, you can try the screaming protocols. I.E. if he keeps it up, cover 3/4 of the cage. If he still continues to scream, the entire cage gets covered. As soon as he quiets down, you uncover the front and praise him for being good. If he remains good, you uncover completely.

Or you can move the bird from room to room where he can see you at all times. Then, he might get spoiled.

Some of this is adjusting to his new home.

Once he settles into a routine, some vocalization is normal. Screaming really isn't. Big macs usually go off a couple of times a day, and that's about it.

 

[MenomaMinx]

The screaming may be loud,but the guilting of "you left me alone"is much worse. My Kumiko has that last part down to an art form. She developed panic attacks after the vet visit involving blood withdrawal and micro chipping. The quietest bird in the world actually made loud noises!WTF! I like loud birds, but I like them loud for the right reasons. Obviously unadulterated fear is not the right reason :-(

Having my friend' s cat around stopped the problem, but eventually, we did have to go home, where even going to the bathroom gets me yelled at. The solution is flock calling when the screaming happens in normal situations-- just make sure you decide flockcall and make it something relatively quiet{the one used in my house for decades sounds kind of like a dove cooing, but somehow Kumiko decides it sounds like a growling kind of wild cat purring – which is entirely separate from the actual act of macaw purring that she's done at least once(the whole body rumbles under your hand. It's short-lived, but really cool

Anyway, the solution has been to get Kumiko a pet. I contacted a dog pound that I know has smaller birds I've already have vast experience with – not to mention spare cages for. Waiting for a call back from their foster person so I can get an idea of personality these birds before I decide to go get one{options are cockatiels and budgies}.

The idea is not for these birds to interact physically, but rather for her to have someone physically in the room with her at all times(and these are species that I would get anyway, as I always end up with another one in the house sooner or later in the absence of one.

In other words, if it doesn't work, I'm not put out any except my schedule being thrown off a bit for reacquiring the flock members I'm used to. Originally, I was going to focus on replacing my murdered Congo African grey first – besides, Valentino was a service animal, and did things I need that Kumiko can't. Still, I think Kumiko's mental health is more important. Valentino had pet beagles: why shouldn't the calico macaw have a pet too?

 

[jugoya]

I just changed my bird's call for me.

Using positive techniques.

Now we do a duet... he does the first half of a wolf whistle.. I do the second.

Its quieter.. AND quite funny... as the parakeets have picked it up too.....

 

[Mommajack]

If it get's too bad, you can try the screaming protocols. I.E. if he keeps it up, cover 3/4 of the cage. If he still continues to scream, the entire cage gets covered. As soon as he quiets down, you uncover the front and praise him for being good. If he remains good, you uncover completely.

This is what I do with Rudy when he screams at me. He screams for attention, or when he wants out of his cage.