screaming orange winged amazon

[georgeandcharlie]

Hi everyone i hope someone can shed some light on georges`s behaviour at the min...cause she is driving me mad..george is 6-7 years old, is out of her cage all day well sat on top with her toys with a big bay window to look out of!, she has new and old toys a good diet loads of love...but she wont stop screaming at the min for some hours of the day she just goes on and on..ive ignored her, loved her, told her off, put her in her cage, i cant work it out?? is this normal behaviour or is she after being mated? please help...ive told her she is going in the oven if she doesnt behave!!! JUST KIDDING!...thanks shelley

[magdalena]

My solution is earplugs and the occasional, 'Don't make me slap you!' Waiting for Zooo to start saying that. :D Does she talk at all? Often you can redirect the screaming to conversation. When Zooo goes into a beepathon I usually will start repeating a word over and over LOUDER than her until she is too tired to try to win and then we will have a chat. Not sure I'd recommend that with a screamer just what I do with my beeper. And her beeping doesn't bother my ears just makes me insane a little.

Sometimes I ask her to dance or really asking her anything makes her shut up to stop and think. I also use her beeping time to offer her a shower, which she both loves and hates and afterward spends quite some time quietly preening. Not a punishment shower, just a mist! I ask her if she wants a shower and she runs away and then runs back for it and usually gives the spray bottle a SMOOCH and runs back and forth for a while getting wet.

[georgeandcharlie]

you know you might have a point it could be the shower thing...she loves being washed...the screaming isnt a pleasant beeping or chatter like my cag its an earspliiting scream..she doesnt talk much just her way of saying "do it" which is flapping..i`ll try the shower thing...ive been laddering her which she hates and that calmed her down and re adjusted the boundaries..i just want to know im not missinhg something obvious

[chapala]

Originally Posted by georgeandcharlie

Hi everyone i hope someone can shed some light on georges`s behaviour at the min...cause she is driving me mad..george is 6-7 years old, is out of her cage all day well sat on top with her toys with a big bay window to look out of!, she has new and old toys a good diet loads of love...but she wont stop screaming at the min for some hours of the day she just goes on and on..ive ignored her, loved her, told her off, put her in her cage, i cant work it out?? is this normal behaviour or is she after being mated? please help...ive told her she is going in the oven if she doesnt behave!!! JUST KIDDING!...thanks shelley

Well, it sounds like sometimes you give her attention when she screams, and that reinforces the behavior. Even yelling at her is attention. What you can try to do is leave the room immediately when she begins to scream. When she's quiet, for even 30 seconds at first if she's actually screaming constanly, go back in, praise her, maybe get her out of the cage, give her a treat, put her back. You will have to repeat this maybe a zillion times, gradually stretching out the time she's quiet before a reward while she begins to understand why you disappear (screaming) and why you come back and give her attention (she's quiet). Try to pay attention to her when she's being quiet even for a few minutes, and preferably leave the room when she screams. It takes consistency and perserverance to get ahead of this behavior.

Also, you might try teaching her simple tricks. That way she's getting positive attention and treats while her mind is occupied with learning something new.

[debbielabella]

when Tiki starts screaming I start mockingly saying Oh my God, that is horrible in a playful tone and he will start repeating that with me because he finds it fun.

[georgeandcharlie]

thanks everyone..i suppose in a way without realizing it i am reinforcing this beahviour to a degree..i will try the walking out of the room thats something i havent done thanks for the replies everyone!

[DeguMom]

For a Zon, leaving the room, IME, is your best bet. Even a little negative attention is great to a Zon. If you scream back, even better! Exactly what was said upthread - leave the room, and then as soon as you hear silence (even just a brief silence) walk back in and praise.

Don't get discouraged because you probably won't see immediate results - it may take a month or more to even see slight improvements. Just be consistent 100% if the time, and stick with it.

[jenseits]

Agree with what others have said... consistency is key, and if you're even rewarding her screaming just a tiny bit, at irregular intervals, it becomes harder and harder to stop. Do a search for "extinction bursts" too -- might give you an insight into why it's a bad idea to give up on the ignoring tactic if it "doesn't seem to be working". The longer you've accidentally been rewarding her screaming, the longer it will take to extinguish it, so be patient (and be consistent).

One other thought... is it possible that some of the screaming could be due to her placement in front of the window? If she's not feeling safe, or she sees birds outside that prompt the screaming, that could be easily fixed.

[georgeandcharlie]

hi...no she loves the window and screams even more when you move her..thats always been her place...i have told everyone to ignore the screaming...and im not saying yet but she seems to have improved..although i took her in the shower yesterday...she was always scared before but very timidly enjoyed it..which seems to of cheered her up...might use that as some one to one time for the future with her..thanks again everyone for the imput....now training a stubborn grey to step up!!...thats an impossibility as ive been trying for 6 months!

[georgeandcharlie]

managed to get a photo of the naughty offender on!