hyperactive cockatiel/screaming while I'm gone

[LittleMissHess]

So, I posted this question on the cockatiel board, but I wanted to add another section about the hyperactivity. Lately Hess has taken to running around her cage in a very energetic way. She races up the bars, jumps to her perches, then races back down and jumps onto the cage floor. Sometimes she tilts off her perch and spreads her wings and fans her tail, then races around again. She does this if I let her out to sit on top of her cage...she races around the perch crest spread and feathers flattened. Often she starts singing and making noise, which gets louder and louder, and sometimes escalates into screaming. I've started giving her a bedtime and I moved her cage into my bedroom which is a less-active area of the apartment (she can still hear and see things going on in the living room...yeah, we have a small apartment. )

That leads me to my other question that I posted on the cockatiel board. My roommates have said that she screams when I'm gone... this is something that is really starting to bother me... I have trouble with anxiety already, and this is starting to send me off the deep end. I think it's because I have no way to work with her in that situation because I'm out somewhere. It's getting to the point where I feel bad if I go out to the grocery store or to visit my friends for awhile, and I worry about my upcoming classes in the fall. How can you correct a screaming problem when you aren't there?

[jenseits]

Hmmm... can you tell us a little about your 'tiel's cage setup and the room she's in? It's possible that she's screaming for attention if she does it when you leave the room, but if she's doing it for hours on end when it should be fairly clear that you aren't there, the screaming might mean something else.

Two things that come to mind are that she could be bored or that something is scaring her.

Boredom - Does she have toys and enrichment items in her cage? Things that can occupy her mind when she's alone? Is her cage big enough? Do you leave music or some other "entertainment" on for her when you leave?

Fear - Could she be reacting to something? I don't recall from any previous posts if there are other pets in the apartment. Do you have a cat who sits in front of your bird's cage when you're gone? Is she making alarm cries at things she sees outside the window?

And is she really screaming nonstop when you're gone or only making normal vocalizations that your roommate is exaggerating?

Give us any other details that you think might be relevant and we'll see if we can come up with some ideas for you.

[NotEnoughTime]

I would like to know what your roommate is doing while you are away (eg. Playing music? Talking on the Phone? Interacting with the bird? and so on)... Screaming usually does not come from no cause...

Just my 2 cents....

[LittleMissHess]

Her cage has lots of toys (about 5 or 6 small to medium sized toys) and she has enough room to spread her wings. I try to rotate her toys and purchase new ones on a weekly basis. Her cage used to be in the sitting room but she kept getting scared and worked up by the kitchen activity (I live in a small apartment and the kitchen is essentially in the living room) and by people coming in and out constantly. She gets scared easily by noises...cars honking in the street, the garbage trucks outside (those are pretty loud and obnoxious) kitchen noises, people outside, etc. I moved her to my room so she wouldn't be right in the flow of scary activity. I'm moving in 9 days to a new apartment where the kitchen is separate from the living room, and where the people (my 2 best friends) will be more conscientious to her needs. The sitting room is in the middle of the house, away from the street, so it should be more quiet. There are no other pets living here now, but our place is very active with people. There will be a bunny living in the house with us when we move, though.

This morning when I uncovered her she started singing and chirping and running around...I read on another board that it's just a sign of a happy cockatiel, and that it could also be that she's an energetic young bird (she's about 6 months old). When I left the room, she did start screaming but I ignored it until she was quiet. I came back into the room and talked to her, and then left again. A friend called so I was on the phone with her in the other room for awhile. During that time I heard Hess start screaming again, but she eventually quieted down on her own. She's sitting with me now (trying to chew on my keyboard lol) and she hasn't made a noise since.

Maybe the roommates were exaggerating? They made it seem like she was screaming for a long time. I guess I'd just like to know what to do anyway if she does start screaming while I'm gone. I think it's just because I've left the room, and maybe because of scary noises coming from the street. Other people have suggested the roommates, since she's always really calm when she's with me and it's just the two of us here.

Sigh, it's hard to be a new paront! I get worried about every little thing lol... I just want my little baby to be happy! :)

[LittleMissHess]

Okay, here's an update... I got back from the grocery store today and she was screaming... She's in my room right now, still screaming. I popped in a few times to say hi but she starts screaming again as soon as I leave. I only go in while she's quiet. I don't want to get her out right now because my roommates are around and I'm about to start cooking dinner... what to do?

[FloorCandy]

I had the same problem several years ago, my tiel screamed when I left to go anywhere, and screamed until I returned. He made the smoke alarm going off sound for HOURS on end. I bought new toys, rotated them, I bathed him before I left so he had to spend time preening, I hid treats around the cage, put him in front of new windows, nothing helped. The neighbor downstairs said he was gonna call the landlord and complain, so I had to rehome him. In his new home, there was a larger household, and people home more often, I am told that he hardly ever screams there. My neighbor across the hall had 2 tiels and they never made a lot of noise, so I had thought he would be a perfect apartment pet.

[NotEnoughTime]

I would recommend reading: Screaming in Parrots to see if anything applies to your situation.

Since she is quite young is she getting lots of exercise? I tend to believe that a "tired bird is a good bird" so I like to engage in lots of play for 20 minutes to half an hour twice daily...

Good luck!

[LittleMissHess]

Well, I'd rather not re-home her if possible, but if it continues I might have no choice. I can't expect my roommates to tolerate the screaming if she does it all the time. I think she just misses me specifically...she never screams when anybody else leaves the room and someone other than me entering doesn't stop the screaming. Sometimes if I let her sit on her perch she starts whistling and singing and screaming whether I'm there or not. My goal is to get her used to and somewhat bonded to my two roommates so she will feel more at home with them there and feel less lonely.

I read the screaming in parrots a few times and I'm trying to work with her on it... I've been trying to go into my bedroom while she's quiet to talk to her and praise her... I'm finding it's very hard to be consistent though...sometimes she stops screaming for awhile then as soon as I'm about to go back in she starts again, or I don't go in immediately after the screaming stops, etc.

Sigh... I'm just ready to move to the new apartment! There will be less commotion there, she'll have her own corner of the sitting room, and she'll have a quiet, separate room in which to sleep.

As for getting her exercise, I've started trying to clicker train her a bit (she will pay attention for about 2 seconds then try to climb up on me, or on the hand offering the reward, or just fly away lol) but I'm not sure about other energetic activities...I put toys on my lap and let her chew on them and let her wander around on the couch a bit...but I'm not sure what to do about other activities. Any suggestions?

It's so funny... I didn't think I'd have to deal with screaming with a pet cockatiel, but I guess I was wrong. :)