Stop the Insanity (Screaming)

You jolt out of bed in the middle of the night, awakened by a loud, blood-curdling scream. Every hair on your neck is standing up. You listen intently. You realize that your bird is screaming his head off. Wide awake and fully alert you fly down the stairs and flip on the lights expecting to see your beloved parrot mangled or in some sort of predicament.

To your utter astonishment your bird looks as surprised as you do. He’s happily perched in his bird cage, neck extended, pleasantly screaming with all his might. You can’t figure out what triggered this behavior. You take your parrot out of his cage, and closely examine his wings and feet. But can find nothing wrong with him. After 20 minutes of careful investigation you trudge back to bed, only to be awakened once again by more screaming. This soon becomes a nightly ritual. And before long, you’re not the only one who’s getting annoyed. Neighbors are also starting to complain. Your bird’s behavior is becoming a problem—a big problem.

Birds are Noisy

Parrots are social animals who communicate their needs vocally. Noise is a natural part of bird behavior. You should expect some amount of talking, screaming and other vocal noise during the morning and evening. However, there are times when this normal vocalization escalates to an intolerable level. Incessant screaming is a behavioral issue.

Why Parrots Scream

Birds may choose to scream for a variety of reasons. Here are just a few:

1.      The Bird is Bored.

 Birds need a lot of activity and mental stimulation to stay happy. If they are board, they will find ways to entertain themselves. Screaming may just be one of those ways. In order to prevent boredom, be sure your bird has a wide variety of different toys including perches, hanging toys, swings and ladders.  It is also important that your bird has a large enough parrot cage to house itself and all it’s accessories without feeling crowded. A large bird cage will enable you to fill your parrot’s castle with climbing ladders, ropes, swings and perches. If you own a small bird, a finch cage or Parakeet cage is probably fine. Medium sized birds require a Cockatiel cage or a Cockatoo cage. And larger birds need –well, a large bird cage, such as a macaw cage or African Grey cage.

If you have an exceptionally active parrot, consider purchasing a cage with a playtop. A playtop sits above the cage and allows your bird to move around and entertain himself outside his normal habitat. The great thing about playtops is that they are attached to the top of your bird cage, saving space and making it exceptionally easy to clean up after your bird. Even if you are on a tight budget, you can still purchase cheap bird cages that are beautifully designed and equipped with a handsome playtop.

Another way to keep your bird happily occupied is to house him in a flight cage. This type of birdcage will provide your pet with adequate space to fly around and stretch his wings. The exercise will promote your bird’s physiological health and could eliminate incessant screaming.

2.      Your Bird Could Be Imitating Your Own Stress.

If you live in a high-stress household and find yourself constantly screaming at your neighbors, kids or spouse, it could be that your bird is simply imitating your own behavior.

Birds are a lot like children. They learn more by example than instruction----as they say, “more is caught than taught.” If this is the case, try to de-stress yourself before expecting your bird to change.

3.      It’s Mating Season.

During mating season, birds are much more vocal. This is natural and should be expected. However, if the screaming never seems to stop, you will need to deal with it.

4.      Your Bird Feels Isolated From Family Members.

If your bird is constantly away from family activity, he may feel left out. Place your birdcage right in the middle of the busiest room in the house. Also, be sure to let your parrot out of his birdcage while you are home. In this way he can follow you around and feel like part of the family. You may also want to purchase a playstand. Your bird can roost on his playstand, interact with his toys and still be next to everyone else.

Is There Really a Reason….?

Sometimes, you can’t figure out why your bird is screaming. And it starts to become a real problem. What should you do? Your parrot is driving you bananas with his constant bellowing. You need help. You love your bird. He’s an absolute delight—smart, friendly, and a wonderful companion. But his screaming is getting out of hand. Your neighbors have already called complaining nearly five times this week. Something has got to be done and fast.

The only way to stop screaming is to train your bird to be a little more quite. This can seem overwhelming. Who do you talk to you? Where do you find information? There are some good resources available. The Parrot Training Course offered by birdtricks.com is a suburb resource guide. This course explains a very simple, easy to use formula that can stop screaming in as little as 2 weeks.

Four Don’ts in Dealing with a Screaming Parrot:

·         Don’t scream back. This only makes the situation worse and encourages your bird to scream even louder to make himself heard. Parrots take particular delight in loud, vocal communication. So if you start screaming at you parrot, he will only become excited and encouraged to continue this behavior.  

·         Don’t hit your bird. Hitting will either make your bird fearful or aggressive, which will lead to worse behavioral problems.

·         Don’t shake or kick the parrot cage. Again, this will only make your parrot angry or aggressive.

·         Don’t encourage screaming. Many parrots learn that if they scream when they want something, their owner will rush to their bird cage to gratify their wishes. This is negative reinforcement. Cockatoos in particular are prone to developing this habit. If your bird screams because he wants something, ignore him. When he quiets down, return to his cage and reward him with attention.

5 Tips for Stopping Screaming

1.       Cover the cage as a time out, for very brief periods.

By covering the bird cage, you can help calm an excited or agitated parrot. The cage should never be covered for more than 10 minutes at a time and you should never lock your bird in a dark room as punishment. The easiest way to cover your bird cage is to purchase a commercial cage cover that actually fits your parrot cage. This will eliminate the trouble of trying to keep sheets or blankets from constantly sliding off.   

2.       Give your pet a change of scenery.

How would you feel if you never left the four walls of your house? You’d probably feel like screaming too. Try taking your parrot for a ride in the car. Be sure he is securely placed in a bird carrier so he cannot fly away or escape. You may also want to rearrange the toys in the birdcage, move the birdcage to a different section of the house or invest in an outdoor avairy.

3.       Make sure your bird gets plenty of sleep.

Most birds need 8-10 hours of sleep each night. If your bird doesn’t get adequate rest, he’ll be cranky and irritable, which could promote screaming.

4.       Allow your bird to be close to and interact with the family.

As mentioned earlier, allow your bird to be part of your daily activities. Let him out of his parrot cage on a regular basis. Make him feel like part of the family. Give him lots of attention, play with him and just hang out together. This could make all the difference to your bird.

5.       Learn to ignore your bird.

Sometimes birds scream for attention. They realize that if they scream, you will come running. It becomes a game with them. Birds are smart and manipulative, it won’t take them long to figure out your weaknesses. When your bird screams, simply ignore it. Do not give your bird any attention whatsoever until he quiets down.