Sqwaking as soon as I leave his sight

[Quincy69]

Ok so Quincy is very much attached to me , more then my wife. But recently he has been very much more attached to me for some reason. I mean I can't even go to the bathroom or shower without him sqwaking up a storm. I go out to throw the trash and I can hear him clear down in the parking lot.....lol

On the days I am working my wife tells me that he is the best bird ever. She can uncover him, go back to the bedroom and she doesn't even hear him. She says he's a totally different bird.

So.....is it because I'm away from him for many hours of the day when I'm working? Does he sqwak because I'm not around him and he misses my attention?....or am I giving him too much attention and he's spoiled already?

Thanks for the help!

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[ChristaNL]

Maybe you just encourage it by "taking back" or "making a lot of eyecontact" ?


Just saying this because I make this mistake all the time with Sunny- if she gives one of those mighty macaw-screeches it is hard *not* to look (or even glance) in her direction, because ..well something might be wrong-- even though I know she is just wanting some attention, something I am eating or something the others have.
And it will always backfire in more hollering (*sigh*)


Of course it can be some form of overbonding- but even so you can train a bird not to be quite so vocal about it.

 

[jousze]

Mambo screams all the time when we are in the same room, or near, and I’m not looking at him. What I do is to ignore when he squawks too loud.

It pretty well worked for me. He doesn’t really scream loud when I “ignore him” anymore and when I leave he doesn’t make noises, he just practices his vocabulary.

So, I’m not an expert, but I would just ignore when he squawks too loud, this way you dont encourage him to do it anymore. The only thing he thinks is that every time he screams you’re gonna go near him or look at him!

I hope it helped


Jose

 

[Sunnyclover]

All 3 of my birds go crazy "calling me back" (as I am their mate) when i leave the room. If they hear me upstairs walking around without them they scream their ever living heads off. If they hear me in another room talking to someone or on the phone they scream their heads off...unless I am in the same room where they can see me...they scream their heads off. It's because I am their mate and they are calling me so that I can find my way back to them because they care about me and don't want me to be lost. This is 100% normal and actually a good thing because it means your bird loves you and hates being without you. Just set up a little place in each room where you can bring your bird with you. I bring all 3 of mine if I go upstairs or to the bathroom or anywhere they aren't at. I do sometimes leave them behind too but only if it's for a few minutes. Luckily my living room, kitchen and breakfast nook (where we usually eat since we it's just my husband and I) are an open floor plan so my birds can see me if I am in the kitchen and they are in the living room which makes it really easy for me and makes for a wonderful arrangement for me and my birds as we mostly are in those 2 rooms. Having birds is not necessarily the quietest thing in the world especially if you plan on leaving them in a room alone often. Please consider bring your birdie with you when you leave the room as they will be much happier that way!

They don't care if other people (husband and son) come and go from rooms or if I am not home. However, if they suspect I am home and they don't see me leave they will scream lol.

 

[noodles123]

If my Umbrella Cockatoo (almost 11) screams for attention and I am in the room (but busy with something), I stop what I am doing, walk away--don't even look at her and leave the room completely (sometimes I actually go outside). Then, I don't return until she has quiet for a specific period of time. I started with 15 seconds (had to be quiet for 15 s before I would come back..so I counted to 15 from the time she got quiet and if she screamed after 10 seconds, I started over again until there was a solid, uninterrupted 15 seconds of silence). After 15 s of silence, I walked back in, approached her and said in a whispered tone, "thanks for getting quiet, that was too loud. We have to be quiet" (while putting a quiet sign to my lips). Once she understood that screaming= loss of attention, I began to increase the amount of quiet time required before I would return.
If she screams and I am out of sight/in the bathroom, I don't return until she is quiet...This takes time. Sometimes she would go on for a really really long time. You and everyone else will just have to wait it out. Do not acknowledge the undesired behavior by making eye contact or anything.

On a daily basis, I tell mine my bird what I am doing before I do it and that tends to prevent a lot of screaming-also, an eating bird cannot scream easily.. Back to telling my bird what I am doing-I use the same words every time ("taking out the trash" *show her bags* "be right back") or ("going to work *show bag*, be a good quiet girl, see you this afternoon" or "going to the bathroom").

Sometimes I will say things to her from the other room **BEFORE SHE SCREAMS** so that she knows where I am and that seems to decrease her contact calling. I try not to do this all the time though because I don't want her to be uncomfortable with silence in my absence and in a way, talking room-to-room is the human equivalent of a contact call...so I don't do it all the time...Mostly in the early morning if people are sleeping and I can't afford a scream-fest.

At night, I also play her favorite music and allow her to get really loud as long as it is in-context. If she screams a bunch of random stuff while I am dancing with her, that is fine---that is just her being excited and getting it out of her system. What I do not want is for her to think that screaming will bring me back to her if I am busy or elsewhere.

NOTE:, my bird does have a special scream that she makes when hurt or scared and I do NOT ignore these. I will go over and comfort her because she only does it on rare occasions, and contextually, it is easy to see that it is not to get my attention.

Finally, if you ignore your screaming bird when it screams, try finding an alternative phrase or word that doesn't annoy you as much and provide attention for that. Mine says "Hello my big bird" or "I love you big bird" because I give her attention when she does. Now, she often uses this behavior as an alternative to screaming and that is our compromise.

 

[Davesgirl93]

I've figured out that Comet will squawk if he can hear me but not see me. So, I often do the worst thing possible and allow him to go everywhere with me. He goes to the bathroom, the laundry room, the grocery store, wherever I can sneak him in. But it can't always be that way.

All squawking hell breaks loose if he's in earshot, but not eyesight and he hears even the creaky step make a noise. Covering him and ignoring him doesn't work, it only drives us insane.

I have learned a few tricks, though. A favorite snack carefully placed before I leave a room (whether he's in the cage or in another room) keeps him pretty quiet. A stick of millet or an almond (his absolute fav) or a grape will keep him quiet for a long time! Also, because he likes to tuck in, if I set him on the couch with a folded blanket, he'll spend 20 minutes trying to burrow in it. Unfortunately, Comet has never truly enjoyed toys other than wood ones for chewing. He prefers human interaction (like the tickle game or peekaboo), so I don't have as many options as some others might have!

 

[Sunnyclover]

I like bringing my babies with me everywhere so for me it's not an issue either. On the other hand the squawking doesn't bother me much either but it's fun to have birds about in the bathroom as I get ready ect.

 

[lplummer52]

A delivery guy came in this morning and Birdie was riding around on my shoulder. She did one of her ear piercing Sun Conure calls and the guy said, “Whoa! Doesn’t that hurt your ears?” I guess I’m used to it. She only does it if gets excited about something....like a visitor, or a loud truck going down the street. So I guess I’m like Sunny Clover. I’m immune to it now.