Screaming

[titandavis]

So I have had my quaker parrot Boogie for about 4 months now and it’s definitely nothing like I expected. She bonded with me almost immediately which was great but she is aggressive towards my other bird, in hindsight I definitely should’ve done more research and now I think the birds not getting along is something I just have to deal with from now on. What I’m struggling with the most right now is her screaming. I know that screaming is just a natural behavior for quakers but she seems to do it a lot. I have her in a fairly large flight cage with many different perches and toys that I add to/switch out frequently. She seems to enjoy the toys but I’m just worried that she might be screaming because she’s bored. I’ve pretty much gotten used to it by now and have accepted my fate but I’m just concerned about the possible issues this would cause if I were to move to an apartment which I am planning on doing in the next 6 months. Again this is definitely something I should’ve taken into consideration before getting a quaker parrot but I truly have no idea what to do now.

 

[NewQuakerMom]

What is happening when she's screaming? I'm not a parrot expert, but I think 2 things:
1. Birds call to each other. That's the screaming. If she can't see you, she's going to call. Perhaps you can teach her to call you with something nicer than a screech. Mine calls me with a whistle or with the name of our dog. *giggle*
2. These birdies are clever. When mine calls, I answer him by name and check on him, and make sure he's where he can see me. If we have to leave, we make sure he can see out a window, has stuff to do, plenty of forage stuff, and let him know we're going, say goodbye, etc. So he knows. They're smart. When we do that (and again at bedtime) he doesn't scream. If we are in a rush for some reason and forget to tell him time for bed, goodnight, etc he worries. And yells for us, like any other little kid would.
Also - I'd say pay attention to times. What times of the day is she yelling? For how long? What else is happening? Maybe she likes to say good morning to the sun. Maybe she worries when you're out of the room. Maybe she doesn't like this pellet, she likes the other brand of pellet. A little detective work, and then catch her being good and head off the yelling. If she always yells first thing in the AM, get up before she starts yelling, greet her, give her breakfast, play with her, etc and change things up so she doesn't get into a set habit of yelling every morning. Stuff like that. I am no parrot expert, but that's stuff that has worked with mine, and works with kids, lol. I think of all the animals I've ever had, my quaker is the most like a human child. Sometimes a feral child raised by wolves, lol, But a human child. LOL!

 

[ILOVEKIWI]

1. Birds call to each other. That's the screaming. If she can't see you, she's going to call. Perhaps you can teach her to call you with something nicer than a screech. Mine calls me with a whistle or with the name of our dog. *giggle*

Not a quaker mom but this is such great advice! Me and my kiwi (conure) do this and its so helpful! Basically when he can't see me but hears my voice he does this cute little whistle I do it back and we keep doing it till he comes to me or I come to him, conures don't usually talk so I can say his name and he'll do the little whistle, our one verbal way of communication I love it so much so so cute and such a pleasant sound. ALOT better than crazy screeching to find me lol.

my quaker is the most like a human child. Sometimes a feral child raised by wolves, lol, But a human child. LOL!

I almost spit my water out! Thanks for the laugh

 

[Laurasea]

welcome to the forum! Congratulations on your quaker girl!

So yes the first thing a quaker will turn to when bored is screaming . They are not tolerant of spending the day caged. They are one of the most rehomed parrots out there because of screaming. Rarely fo they get to a rescue tho.

If you think about wild quakers, it helps explain things. They are a very very active species. They live in huge colonies, in communal nests. So they are extremely social, they need a lot of social connections abd contact time. I'd say mine need an hour of hands on petting a day, as well as a few hours hanging out with me. Ok bsck to wild quakers, they are constant in vocalization. If you are live right on top of your neighbors, then you better be good at communicating!! So they csn just want to make noise all day long.

So a super smart, super social, super active, snd super vocal species.

To fix the screaming, you have to fix the cause of screaming.

Almost always this is having them out of the cage more, aim for 6 hours, more hands on time, teach foraging, eating veggies kerosene mine busy about an hour and half in morning evening. Providing plenty if easy to destroy stuff, yucca chips, birdie bagels, those shredder weave rolls, ect..get them talking or whistle, listening to thst us easier than screaming. Create routine
Ok I gotta go but ill write more later. I've helped 3 screaming quakers, so these is from experience.

 

[NewQuakerMom]

my quaker is the most like a human child. Sometimes a feral child raised by wolves, lol, but a human child. Lol!

i almost spit my water out! Thanks for the laugh

lol!
:04::03:

 

[noodles123]

Make sure your bird is getting 10 hours sleep a night on a routine. This is huge for regulating moods, hormones, screaming etc. As stated above, lot of interaction/out of cage time is also important.


Another thing (on top of making sure you never enter the room while the screaming is happening) is to come into the room when you hear sounds that are not screaming. If your bird associates screaming with getting attention or getting out, then rewarding an alternative sound with attention and letting your bird out (as opposed to doing it for screaming) encourages preferable sounds as an alternative.



You should also help your bird anticipate routines by narrating what you are doing as you do it and by using key phrases to pair with certain events. E.G., "Going to work", "going to the store", "going to the kitchen"...



Before your bird starts screaming, you should try talking to it from the other room. Once the screaming starts, ignore it 100% (no eye contact, no saying your bird's name/talking about the behavior to others, no entering the room, no responses...period). The second the screaming stops, count to 10 Mississippi in your head. If it starts before the 10 are up, wait for it to stop again and restart your 10 s count from 0 until you get that 10 s of silence. At 10 s, immediately go in and praise your bird--- consider letting him out etc (but only after the screaming has stopped for 10). Over time, increase 10 to 15s and so on.



Make sure everyone is on the same page during these scream-fests and that no one goes into the room or provides any attention. If you are in the room when it starts, you can either keep your back turned and continue doing what you are doing, or leave the room.