Help - Noise

[Lawrencl1]

Hi I'm a newbie, 1st time owner of a bird. I talked my husband into buying what was advertised as a quiet 14 week old Conure How wrong could the advert have been. As soon as we got him home he has done nothing but squawke! We have only had him a week and my husband is beside himself and so am I too be honest. Is there anything we can do to teach/train him to be quiet? Even when he is out, which is the majority of the time he is so loud. He will sit with me and let me pet him but he still makes a lot of noise and it goes right through me. As we have only had him a week and because he was described as a quiet bird my husband wants me to take him back. But because I've bonded with him I feel guilty and feel that maybe there should be more I could be doing but cannot find any help anywhere!

Is there anyone that can help? I'd appreciate any help,I will be going to the shop tomorrow! Thanking you in advance

[Xen]

What type of conure is he? Did you not research conures before bringing him home? While some are considered louder than others... as a general rule they are all pretty vocal.

You might find a few tips from people that will help make him less vocal ALL of the time, but you'll never have a totally quiet bird.

[Lawrencl1]

Thanks for replying. He's a GCC, we spoke to the people in the shop about them and expressed concerns re noise and they told us conures were quiet. Stupidly and already in love with him we took their word for it! How stupid do I feel?!

[Xen]

I have a sun and she can be pretty loud when she wants to, but I just don't seem to be sensitive to it. She tends to be most vocal n the morning and when I get in fom being out... she's just pleased to see me.

Don't forget that he's still a baby and in a new environment. He's getting used to you as much as you are to him. Maybe being a first bird and not having done much research you're just ultra sensitive to it?

It's going to be hard, but when he's screaming... ignore him. He doesn't need to learn that screaming gets attention. When he's out and screaming... time out! Back into his cage, this should hopefully teach him that screaming means less outside time.
Make outside time fun. Occupy him with all types of toys and games... he'll soon figure out it's in his best interest.

But do remember that birds squawk, scream and make a bunch of other noises... it's only natural behaviour and not fair if he's getting told off constantly for only doing what comes naturally. You really do have to suck it up and get used to some level of noise though, this is all part of having a bird.

[Lawrencl1]

Thanks for this Xen, I've been sat here and doing the research that maybe I should have done before I fell in love with him. Like you said I need to reward the good behaviour and ignore the bad. Just need to talk the husband around! Thats going to be easier said than done! The little tyke is totally quiet at the moment but I have covered the cage and it is very dark here. Tomorrow is another day but if he doesn't stay quiet for Dr Who (I don't know if you are from the UK but Dr Who is a Sci Fi program that my kid loves) there will no doubt be trouble! Thanks again for replying, I will let you know how things are going tomorrow.

[Xen]

Yeah I'm in the UK... Crawley.

Does he have a cosy hut/happy hut type bed? Conures love 'em! Lily knows bedtime, she'll take herself off to bed and settle for the night.

For Dr Who... get him the type of toys that will keep him occupied. Foot toys... Lily loves wooden cubes or sticks that she can hold and break up. Paper toys that she can spend time shredding. Also there are toys that have hide (like dog chews) Lily will bite and soften these up for ages too. Give him cardboard boxes filled with things to forrage and rip/tear. There are toys that you can hide food and treats in... these occupy Lily for ages too. It's a case of trying all types of toys out to see what he enjoys... and fingers crossed they'll last long enough so that the fave tv shows can be watched in peace.

The husband will come around in time. It's hard not to fall in love with parrots!

Deffo keep us updated and pm whenever. I'm deffo no expert, but it helps to vent and share tips/tricks sometimes...

[Bellco]

About 3 weeks ago I brought home a baby gcc. Now I have a blue crown so the noise I was used to. She has been very chatty but each week seems to be settling in more and more. At first any household noise set her off. We live in a apartment and also have cats which at first was a issue because my cat likes to meow at night for attention at like 3am and this would set her off too. Luckily my neighbors do not hear her but not my favorite thing to wake up to. She is still a chatterbox in the morning and a few times during the day. I would just give your baby time to adjust its probably just excitement and wanting to get to see everything going on.

[Monica]

Is the cage the GCC in large? (I'm saying larger than 2' x 2' sq - length better than height) Does he/she have plenty of toys to play with? (5-10) Does he have fresh food given to him daily? This is in the form of seeds, pellets, and vegetables...

You could always try playing soft music... and make sure he gets daily exercise till he is winded.... i.e. if he can fly, encourage him to fly! If he is clipped, hold him on you arm and drop it quickly but not too fast forcing the bird to flap his wings... or run around the house with the bird on your hand until the bird is winded.

A busy bird is less likely to scream, bite, and pick!

[jenseits]

Monica brings up a great point, that I often forget: just like with kids, a tired birdie tends to be a quiet birdy

[mabird]

Hi. Don't know if this would help with a GCC or not, however this was told to me just in the event that my cockatoo was a screamer... I was told to bark like a dog (or any less annoying sound) and just do it every time he screams and hopefully he will then copy you and replace the squaking with cute barking or maybe even meowing!!

Good luck!