upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

Good Morning,
I have an amazon, he is about 3 yrs old..he is a good bird. about 1 yr ago he decided he does not like loud noise or dogs barking...so now he screachees when the dogs bark or I yell..or if he hears me upstairs .I cant take it any more I cover him and he's quiet as soon as I take the blanket off he screams again...so he spends most of his night after I get home covered....I feel this is not fair to him I cant let him out to often b/c I have a rottie and they dont get along....I am looking for suggestions I cant move him to another room.....I really cant spend to much time with him when I get home between 2 kids and 6 dogs and a fiancee......

any suggestions.........

You are right that it is not fair to him, keeping him covered for so many hours. Your parrot should only be covered for 10-12 hours each night.

What room do you keep your bird in? He may do better in a room where he can see and be part of the family activity. That way, even if he cannot be out of the cage at the time, he will part of what's going on. Talk back and forth with him as you are doing chores, such as cooking, cleaning, etc. Parrots are a flock animal and need to feel part of the flock, which includes you.

Does he have plenty of toys to keep him occupied and entertained in his cage? Is his cage large and spacious?

What about confining your dogs to a room for a short time each night so he can come out? Not sure if you have a fenced yard or not... If so, you could put the dogs outside for a while now that the weather is getting nice.

I thank you for that advise......do birds adapt quickly to new owners? I would gladly give him up if I knew he would be happy....I can try and take him out more...but its hard when you get home from work and your day starts all over again.....I feel the more I talk to him from another room he yells louder....do you know of someone in NY that could give him a good home? It's not a cop out by my situation changed I now have a fiancee and 6 dogs and 2 kids.........

If you were to rehome him, then it all would depend on how closely bonded he is to your family, how he is with strangers, and how the new person is with birds. Some birds will warm up to new owners within a matter of days, while others can take months if not years... and yet others may remain standoffish the entire time.

As far as noise goes... well he *COULD* be competing for noise... if a human screams the bird is going to scream. If a dog barks the bird is going to scream. The issue is is that a lot of birds LOVE competing for noise!

I know with Charlie here I can't have music up to high without him screaming his head off (sometimes its moderate but he still finds it loud). On some rare occasions while I have him outside with me, I'll do a few screams with him. However, he's so much a very needy/dependent bird that he hates not being able to see me, and will scream his head off. Sometimes though, I can get him to be quiet, by saying "Hello" and he'll repeat it back to me. "Hello" is basically our contact call for him to know that I'm alright (which my mother has started using as well)

Charlie used to scream his head off when he saw or heard dogs... and this was especially annoying while trying to go with a walk with him. I ended up mostly curring this by "bumping" him to get his attention away from the dogs and/or comforting him and telling him to be quiet (yet if you were to comfort a dog while barking, you'd be telling the dog that it's "okay" to bark)


Your amazon needs to be in a room where he can be a part of the family.... although it may help to give him a "time-out" in the bathroom for 5 minutes or until quiet (but try for no longer than 15 minutes). Once he is quiet praise him. Or, completely ignore his screaming but when he's quiet for a few minutes praise him. Be sure he has plenty of toys to play with and destroy, or toys that make noise. Give him daily bathes with a spray bottle or however he'll take a bath. During dinner time, if at all possible, make a plate for him (ensuring all food is healthy for him first) and either move his cage near the table to eat with his family or make a place for him at the table.

If you can't confine the dog, take your zon to a bedroom and handle him in there with treats and foot toys. Sing to him. Talk to him. If he knows any words try to establish a contact call.. or any pleasing noise he makes that he'll do if you say something. When he makes that sound go and pay attention to him.

If he's not afraid of new items, go and find some safe trees for him, unsprayed and unfertilised (preferably away from the city and roads) and give him some fresh branches, leaves and all if any!

If you can, have both you and your fiancee work with him... handle him.. give him treats.

My best suggestion is that either you try and make time with him, and work on his behaviors, or consider finding him a home. You can be as choosy as you like if you are to find him a new home.... such as making sure the new owners have an avian vet, know how to care for parrots, seeing their home to ensure that it would be a proper fit, etc.