Help, My Parrot Is Screaming, And I Don’t Know What To Do??? (long article)

[Monica]

I’m sure that many parrot owners have come across screaming parrots before, or may know someone who has a screaming parrot. So, if you have a screamer, what do you do??? Here are some things to look at first, and try.

First off, what type of environment is the bird in? Are there any little kids running around screaming? Neighbors yelling? Dogs barking? Loud music? Or the television on too loudly??? If so, you need to put the bird into a calmer environment, or a place of less activity. If there are any loud noises, you need to figure out how to keep them quiet (such as turning down the TV, telling the kids to calm down, not shouting at them, calm the dog down, etc). If your attitude, and everyone else’s attitude in the environment are calm, and the atmosphere is relaxed, we can go on from here.

Second, look at the environment itself, look at the people, pets, or yourself. Is there anything that could be scaring the bird? Maybe some clothing you are wearing? Strangers or some member of the family? Maybe the wild birds outside, or a pet within the household? Have you changed the environment around or added something that the bird is not particularly fond of? If so, try to make sure that all the things that may scare your bird or disturb them are removed. You may try a more remote room, or covering the cage up to three sides to help your bird feel more secure where he or she is.

It may be possible that your bird is screaming as a reaction to something else. Try keeping a diary of what happens when the bird screams. If you can figure out why the bird is screaming, you can eliminate the reason to scream. An example might be when someone moves too quickly and it frightens the bird, so he screams.

As a pet owner, you also need to look at the birds needs. Does your bird have fresh food and clean water? Is he or she on a healthy diet that includes lots of fruits, veggies, pastas, cooked eggs and meat, etc? Some birds lacking in nutrition, minerals, and calcium may scream. Does your bird have plenty of toys as well? All birds need toys to stimulate the brain. You can try wooden toys of various softness or hardness, rope toys, cotton, sisal, or leather toys, plastic toys, or even acrylic toys to try to stimulate the brain! Look for toys the birds can chew up and destroy, make loud noise with (such toys with bells), or stimulate their brain to get a desired treat. Try to provide your bird with enough toys to stimulate him throughout the day with (at least 5) and change the toys every 1-3 weeks.

Does the bird have a large enough cage? Frequently, many birds are housed in cages that are far too small for the birds to move around in. Try to be sure that your bird can easily flap its wings in. Smaller birds should be able to fly within their own cages from one side to the other. With any cage, if these birds are pets, they need to have out of cage time with you, exploring the room, or out on a stand or play-gym. Some birds may scream to come out of the cage and will not be quiet until you let them out. They should be able to have one on one time with you for at least an hour a day. If these are more aviary type birds (not tamed and flighted) these birds should be in the largest cage that you can afford.

Is your bird in a clean environment? Is the cage cleaned? Be sure to remove any house infestations (mice, ants, etc), do not smoke in or near your bird but rather outside, keep your bird environment clean, such as cleaning the carpet or tiling, and keeping everything clean and orderly. Be sure to clean the cages completely, including toys and perches, at least once a month. Be sure to clean food containers and the bottom of the cage every day. For the bottom of the cage, use black and white newspaper, printer or blank paper, wax paper, paper towels, or something similar at the bottom of the cage to keep it cleaner, and change these daily.

When handling your bird, keep an upkeep mood. Parrots are very sensitive to our moods and emotions. If you are angry or upset, the bird may react and scream, especially if you are doing so. Keep yourself in an enlightened mood and never work with your bird while you are upset or angry, as you’d only get even more frustrated and the bird would as well.

When your bird screams, how do you react? Do you come running to see what the problem is only to find that nothing is out of the ordinary? Do you yell at the bird to shut up or hit the cage? Reacting to a birds screaming can only make things worse and teaches the bird nothing. If you have a close bond to the bird, you can do one of two things:

1. Tell the bird where you are going, and how long you will be. Birds enjoy being with their flock and do not like being separated. They may scream for you to come back. Whenever you leave, tell them where you are going (is it to work? Or is it just another room?) and what you are doing, for how long. If the bird screams, reassure them where you are.
2. Completely ignore the bird. If your bird screams, do not react. This cannot happen overnight, however with patience, and earplugs, over time your bird will learn that screaming isn’t getting him what he wants. After your parrot has been quiet for at least 2 minutes (up to 5 minutes), go to your bird and praise them for being quiet, maybe give them a treat or toy. Over a course of several weeks, increase the amount of time that your bird is quiet then reward your bird. This teaches the bird that it gets attention with he or she is quiet, not when they are loud.

Is your bird’s environment enriching enough? If your parrot does not keep himself occupied with his toys, then you need to teach them how to play, and reward them for playing with toys. You may need to go as far as playing with the toy yourself, getting hyped up about how the toy reacts or the noise that it makes, and when your parrot becomes interested, become jealous and possessive of the toy. After a couple more times of being possessive of the toy, give it to the bird to see how he reacts. You can also shower your bird daily, or at least 3 times a week. Wet parrots don’t normally scream. You can bathe your parrot via a shower with you, with lukewarm water, outside in the rain (with clipped wings/harness/inside the cage) or with the hose outside, letting the bird have a dish inside the cage to bathe in, using a mister inside/outside on the bird spraying above the bird, or even turning the kitchen sink on and letting the bird go crazy!

A couple other ways to stimulate your parrot is to make him to some exercise flapping around the room, flapping to you or to the cage/gym, or having the bird on your hand and jogging around the room to make your bird flap. Be sure to make this exercise fun! You can also teach your parrot to do tricks on command by rewarding desirable behavior and giving a cue by hand or mouth. This may be far more complex than training a dog to do tricks, but in the end is very rewarding for you and the bird.

Does your bird get enough sleep? Some birds tend to be cranky if they don’t get enough sleep. Most parrots do not need as much sleep as us humans do, as they tend to take naps throughout the day, however some parrots DO NEED a minimum of 12 hours of complete darkness each night. You can try putting your bird to bed earlier and waking him up earlier. For example, if your bird doesn’t go to bed till you go to bed at 11pm, and wakes up with you at 6am, try putting your bird to sleep at 9pm and waking him up at 9am, or putting him to bed an hour or two before 9pm and waking him up 12 hours after that.

If you have an indoor bird, he or she may enjoy going outside in a cage, harness, flight-suit, with clipped wings, for a couple of hours each day. Aviary birds also tend to scream less than ones kept indoors, so looking for a large cage or aviary to put outside may help benefit the bird getting much needed UV light to help consume much needed vitamins into the body. Many parrots also enjoy the breeze outside, some of the flora outside (plants), and if safe, may enjoy chewing or eating some of it. Parrots may also enjoy having a view of the local wildlife as it passes by. Be careful with predator birds, snakes, local dogs or cats, and any other type of predatory life in your area.

Last of all, is your bird screaming because he or she is sick? Parrots that are in pain may scream. If you cannot figure out why your parrot is screaming, take him to an avian specialist to diagnose a reason for why your bird is screaming. You may need to get x-rays taken, blood panel and fecal exams to test for illnesses, viruses, etc.

[Rue]

That was a very well-done report...

However, I've been reading a lot of conflicting advice regarding sleep...if the bird has enough sleep time during the day, the amount of night-time sleep shouldn't be as critical (provided it's not too short!). Birds that do not get enough day AND night-time sleep are another story...

...but I don't know how species specific sleep requirements are...

...another thing is to provide a lot of positive reinforcement to the bird when it's being quiet (and awake! ;-))...birds seem to react very positively to total silliness on our part...so sing a silly song (off-key is fine!), do a silly dance (like the chicken-dance)...and entertain your bird for being good...

...instead of only awarding them attention for screaming, just like you mentioned...

[Monica]

Thanks! It was a 'quick' report that I had done yesterday with a bit of information gathered to make sure I had covered most of the things that one can do.

For most birds, as long as they get enough sleep at night they don't NEED 12 hours of sleep, especially if they take naps during the day. I have read however that many birds do benefit from atleast 12 hours of sleep each night and tend to be less cranky in the morning, which is why I had mentioned both sides. This of course is on a general basis, not species specific!

As for positive reinforcement, that has been mentioned, but of course what you have mentioned is also a GREAT way to interact with a bird, doing a dance together and singing!

[carriesb]

Monica thanks that was very helpful it's a great article! I'm really going to work on this with Dandy!

[Monica]

I hope that it will help you and Dandy! I wish you luck!

[♥Bobbi٭sMommy♥]

Monica~~
Just a quick reply.... I read your article with great interest...

I found something else that worked for me.. I hope it helps a bit anyway.. to those who are having issues.

I was having trouble with a scream from Bobbi-Gray. I was not sure if it was going to turn into screaming but it was there and it had potential. I have heard this before when I have gone out of the house but did not leave in my car right away... I thought... She might be doing this a great deal when I am gone so I thought I would try and nip it in the bud.

Reading your article, I am doing "all the right things" with her... I am sure I could do better but at least I was able to check off all the do's you put forward.

I read about replacing an undesirable noise, word or whistle with another word or phrase or whistle that is more pleasing. I thought... what the heck, if I positively reinforce this bad scream, I guess it could not be much worse, so I decided to give it a try.

I decided to say, "peek a boo" every time and sometimes more than one time each time she did a scream of any kind. She already plays peek a boo with my hands over my face and says "peek-a-boo , I seeeee you" so I thought it might not be reinventing the wheel.

Within 4 days she was saying peek a boo more often and the scream (which I now think was a call to me) was gone by 50%. That was 2 weeks ago and now calls me 50% of the time by saying "peek a boo"... I am still working on it.. Obviously you cannot do this if you are not home and the scream happens but I am at home most of the time. I wanted to share this with those who have tried everything else.

I don't know if it will work for everyone but I could not read your post and let it go without saying something...

[Monica]

Actually, that is one I had forgotten! Actually whispering to the bird while he or she screams, or making a more desirable sound is one that does work! Of course I'm always looking for more suggestions to add to this so that I can later go back and completely redo the article with more suggestions and ideas!

Thanks for reminding me!

[carriesb]

I also read about the replacement thing but if a bird can't talk or whistle what should you do. If I just whisper something isn't that giving her attention. It's no problem with my budgie because if he want's something he just says hey baby real nice and polite.

[Monica]

Carrie, that is right that it's giving the bird attention, however if you think about it, the bird is screaming, and you are whispering to the bird. If the bird REALLY wants to hear what you are saying, it has to be quiet. It's just one of the options, however.

[Monica]

*Bump* Ow! Think I hit my head on somethin.... errr?