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How many times are you going to post this?

Did you joined us to complain about your Casper or threaten us with doing what ... with him? Just what did you expect prior to Casper coming to live with you? Did any of US (here at Up @ Six) sell him to you? Did you miss the BIRD 101 class when we were taught about Toos?

Look AAAAAMY there is no magic bullet or remedy to owning a U-2. You have simply the most loving bird ever to live with humans. Sure there are some quarks that come with living in the same house as a Too. You either step up and put your big girl panties on learn to deal with the noise or ?????????????

I have had a U-2 for over 21 years (a female) and yes there are times in the day when I hear her go "off" but then again there are those times when I sit and watch TV and she cuddles under my chin "pants" because she loves me so much. Truly I think she can hear my car (or motorcycle) coming for miles because when I pull up on the block I can hear her also! Yes even over the mufflers on my Harley.

But in all of my birds (28 of them to be exact) I have only two companion birds that I hold everyday (the U-2 and my African Grey male) the rest are breeders. I could not go through a day without loving each and every one of them, and yes, hearing them. Because AAAAMY after a while that noise you are upset about passes.

Looks like no one is in the mood for a pity party...
You can't pick and choose what you like and don't like about most parrots.
It's the whole thing, or none at all.

Wow. U people are really rude. This is why i don't join chat rooms. What happened to the people out there that offer some kind of advice. If you have had cockatoo's for years and years don't tell me you didn't pick up some tips or tricks that may or may not work in my situation. Instead you all write rude comments. What is this site for? To make everyone feel worse about their situations???????

aamy1077 wrote:Wow. U people are really rude. This is why i don't join chat rooms. What happened to the people out there that offer some kind of advice. If you have had cockatoo's for years and years don't tell me you didn't pick up some tips or tricks that may or may not work in my situation. Instead you all write rude comments. What is this site for? To make everyone feel worse about their situations???????

What was said above, no pity party here AAAAAMY. We want you to stand up and act responsible not just wave an magic wand. It is obvious you did not preparation before you got your U2 (on your own) and now you are asking (almost demanding) that we appear and answer your demands.

Read the other replies and go find those big girl panties and use them.

Hi.....I want to say, I sympathize with you and understand.....depending on your living situation, it can be hard or unbearable living with a screamer.

Parrots scream......cockatoos in particular scream. That's not to say they can't be trained to curb their vocalizations, however, if this bird came to you as adult, no way of knowing how long the bad behavior has been reinforced. Any animal, worked with can be turned around, that includes the screaming, however, it takes a considerable amount of time AND work. I do sympathize especially with you because my female Amazon is a screamer and had 7 homes before me that I was told of. While her behavior has vastly improved, to this day, almost a decade later, she'll still occasionally have melt down tantrums of screaming. Luckily with all the years of research and work I did with her, she's nothing like she was when she came home, but I have to stay on my toes and if I get tired or busy and lazy with using the right techniques, we backslide (I say WE because it's a team effort.) But we do backslide sometimes and the neighbor's are treated to me and the parrot, having a screaming match with a lot of "be QUIET!!!" and even some "shut UPS!!!!" I don't recommend that, but the point is, it's not a perfect road working with a screamer, we're only human, so your aggravation is completely understandable, I've been there, but it can be done. (my amazon screamed pretty much ALL time time when she first came home and the first week, I had to put her in a pitch black bathroom to sleep where she'd scream for a while before falling asleep. Those days are LONG GONE.....THANKFULLY. But believe me, I KNOW!)

1 year is not a very long time to work with a cockatoo, particularly one that came to you with a screaming problem. And the issue might never be "perfect," but that doesn't mean it cannot be made to be tolerable enough that all his wonderful qualities make it worth it. But an issue like a screaming parrot cannot be answered on a chat board.....you have to bring in a REAL behaviorist, you have to make an effort on your own to read up on different techniques (positive reinforcement is the most effect in my opinion, look up a book called "Don't shoot the dog," and you have you family on board to contribute to the training (it's no use training an animal, if they live with other individuals that send conflicting messages to the animal,) and most importantly you have to be PATIENT. There are techniques you can look into......when he's screaming because you're out of sight it might be a contact call......I know someone who's trained her bird to whisper back to her and makes it a game. Or in our house, there are times when the music is blaring, hubby singing along and the parrots are all screaming as loud as they can.......it's a screaming session and when it's over, we're all quiet. A cockatoo might just have to scream for 15 minutes a few times a day.....but you can work with his natural behavior so you stay sane.

To be frank, this problem won't go away overnight, but to also be frank, if you took on the responsibility of this parrot, you should know that screaming cockatoos are quite common and people are not lining up to take them as pets. Every shelter and rescue out there is inundate with them. And I know sometimes people like to just dump them on the few people who are willing to take them, but keep in mind that for every kind hearted person that really has the time, resources and ability to take care of them, don't clear your conscience too easily because there are plenty of crazy hoarders that take in too many animals and then the animals don't really have the quality of life they deserve. If you pass him on to another home yet again, you are most likely going to increase in insecurity and YOU ARE GOING TO ADD TO HIS ISSUES. Make no mistake about it, you will be compounding the problem.

That said, I understand that not everyone has the time, effort and skills to work with screaming cockatoos (that's why there's so many thrown away.) I guess you have to make a choice if you want to do it. Truthfully, chances are you didn't "socialize" him at all and he probably lost his last home due to screaming, he was social to begin with and someone lied to you. That's pretty common. If he was insecure or shy at first, it's probably because the last love of his life couldn't deal with his screaming either and gave him away.

Teaching a U2 not to scream is like trying to teach a lion not to roar.

It is their nature.

It is impossible.

All of the posts above do not specifically quote a Cockatoo.

In fact I've owned a Cockatoo longer than one of the posters above has been alive.

Take this request into the Cockatoo forum and you'll get the sad realization that it is "The Human" that has to change in this.

P.S.- Behavioral Parrot Training is a crock, that and clicker training belong under the heading of Hocus Pocus, Abracadabra, and Witch Craft. Some people believe in it others rely on science and education to solve their problems. I guess you can tell which side of the fence I'm on.

You don't have to OWN a cockatoo to know about them.......animal behaviorists don't OWN one of each animal they are working with. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. And animal behaviorists are working within an accepted science......but I guess to you zoologists and other scientists that study animals might as well be dancing around a cauldron. Not that every person out there calling themselves a "behaviorist" is one........but there are individuals that have studied and worked with species of animals for an extensive period that know what they are doing. The trainer in the zoo that works with the elephant so it can get medical treatment with less stress, doesn't have to have a pet elephant at home. Just because someone "OWNS" an animal, that doesn't indicate any level of knowledge or expertise. Any jerk can go buy an animal, it doesn't mean squat. Nor does age.

Yes, screaming is part of their natural behavior.......I didn't say she'd be able stop the screaming, but work with it......people have done it. But then you are contradicting yourself. You were quick to shoot down the young woman who pointed out how poorly these animals fair in captivity and how the shelters are overrun with them, but then you point out it takes a "special" person to live with a 'Too.

Yes, it's "special person"......someone DEAF or who lives in a huge house where they can retreat when the screaming starts........someone with no job, friends or life, since these animals are with their mates 100% of the time in the wild....to give them what they need, (not alter their "natural behavior" as you put it,)you should be there all the time too. And someone who is able to maintain this lifestyle their entire life. I can see why breeders and the pet industry continue to breed them.......because they "LOVE" these animals, right? Not because they are an easy sell as babies and then they can just look away from the misery as the animals either die young or live long, tormented, lonley lives. Because who doesn't know a ton of people either stone cold deaf or with mansions and absolutely no life or social commitments or job that are just waiting to offer these birds a loving home?

I'm personally, baffled at how you could have seen flocks of these birds in the wild AND THEN decided to keep one as a pet.......I mean most people get suckered in at a pet store and then after living with them realize what they've inadvertently contributed to. And yea, you hear the foolish excuses of "they are protected from predators," but anyone with a brain and a heart realizes it's just a lame excuse and they are hardwired to deal with the excitement and can fly hundreds of miles a day. Somehow, you have selective memory, you realize that they have natural behavior that cannot be changed, but only when it applies and fits your situation.

Amy, Applied Behavior Analysis is the science of behaviour, or another name might be operant conditioning which would be what clicker training is. It is a very good tool to use when dealing with problem behaviours. People can call it whatever they want but the fact is it works. I have 3 dumped birds, 2 of them goffins and you can bet they didn't come to me with perfect behaviour. Last November I adopted 17 year old goffin that was labelled a "screamer and a biter". She is none of those things. She is a bird who was inadvertently taught these things by people who did not know any better. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment so you can see how screaming might be a problem for me. As soon as I got Nikki I set her up to succeed. She has lots of new things to do in her cage, foraging is a big one. Nikki is a joy to have around and I love her to pieces.

Screaming is very subjective. What one person finds intolerable, another finds completely acceptable. You need everyone in your family to be on board if you want to reduce/modify the screaming, otherwise, it won't work but rest assured it can be done. It does, however, require time and commitment from the whole family.

If you are interested in implementing a plan then I can help you with it but like I said before everyone needs to be part of that plan otherwise it won't work.

Bev

Well I see purpleheart is his usual sweet self. Amy, yes you can change the amount of screaming your too exhibits. I have a rehomed x3 U2. He came to me as a known screamer. Boy did he scream. It takes commitment and patience by all involved. If all of you do not use the same form of behavior treatment it won't work and will just confuse the bird.
You have to know the diference between attention screaming and flock calling. If you are out of the room and the bird screams in single screams every other second or so it is usually a flock call. Where is my family? They do this in the wild. Gently call to him and tell him it's ok, you are still there. As soon as he is quiet go up to him and say Good boy! and give him a treat right away. You have to be quick and catch him him between screams. Carry a bell with you, if he flock calls you ring the bell. Make sure he has a big pipe bell that he can ring. When ever he is in his cage and you hear that bell, right away tell him good boy and treat. Any time he is quiet treat him and tell him how good he is.
Now for that awlful attention screaming, continuosly screaming with no pause. You have to always ignore it. I know it is hard, I've been there. If you have to cover his cage for a while and then uncover only if he is quiet, and treat. Make sure you give your bird lots of foraging toys, chew toys, things that hold his interest. Make sure you change his toys every couple of days to give him some new excitement.
Remember all parrots scream. I have cut the amount of screaming down 75%. Yes, purpleheart, I said 75%!.
My U2 will scream about 10 mins in a.m. and about 20 mins at dusk. You have to put him on a schedule as to when you are going to take him out and interact with him. Try not to waver from the schedule.
If you feel like you can't handle this get a behaviorist. Barbara Hinderiech is excellent to contact and "don't Shoot The Dog is an excellent book as suggested. (purpleheart I don't want to hear about birds not being dogs. The book teaches how to understand behavior).

Remeber, patience!

One thing to remember here....EVERY bird and situation can be different from what someone else knows experiences and knows. Each bird has his own personality, so what works for one, might not work for another. You just have to try. Separation anxiety is a tough one! Not only in birds. We had taken in a dog that had separation anxiety and we couldn't keep him because he was destroying the house. We did good by that dog though and he ended up in a good home with people who could be home with him all the time. Sometimes things like this happen.....with any animal or bird there can always be surprises or things unexpected that we feel we cannot handle. Big girl panties don't pay for all the damage done to our home by the dog we tried to give a home to! One thing though I think purpleheart may be right about is that this will probably pass. My Ivy is a screamer too....maybe not as loud as a U2 but she can sure scream loud enough! Every morning, it was the same thing, and now she rarely does it. The worst was in the spring time with the hormones and all, then all of a sudden, one day she just stopped! So I figure the hormonal thing probably had alot to do with it. She has just reached her sexual maturity......not sure what age that is for a U2. With Ivy the screaming just seemed like this was something I could do very little about. I tried, but she seemed to get all worked up, hyper and certain things did get her all wound up.....if I sat on the couch and did nothing, she would be quiet, then as soon as I got up to do something, the screaming would start! Now, I can't very well just sit on the couch all day! It would be nice, but I have too much to do. Cleaning the cages also would get her going, as would running water in the kitchen.....all things that I simply cannot avoid doing! so we just made the best of it and if it got to be too much, we'd take her into another room for a while away from everything and I'd leave her in a bedroom or some room further away for a while to calm down. Once she quieted down or after I got done cleaning cages or whatever else I was doing to cause more screaming, then I'd go and get her and bring her back. This seemed to help a little bit, especially for our ears! Ivy still screams from time to time, but very little and not constantly so when she does it now, we can pretty much go on like it's no big deal. I think alot of times with these problems people might give up too soon, and it could just be a passing thing. I realize your too is very loud.....our next door neighbor has one and we hear her over here sometimes too, but I think I would try a little longer to figure this out seeing as he's such a wonderful bird, otherwise he'll just end up in home after home and no one ever being able to deal with him. I don't think anyone out there is going to have the time to spend every waking moment with a too on their shoulder! Best of luck to you!

JUDY LANDECK wrote:Well I see purpleheart is his usual sweet self.

Remember all parrots scream. I have cut the amount of screaming down 75%. Yes, purpleheart, I said 75%!.

My U2 will scream about 10 mins in a.m. and about 20 mins at dusk. You have to put him on a schedule as to when you are going to take him out and interact with him. Try not to waver from the schedule.
If you feel like you can't handle this get a behaviorist. Barbara Hinderiech is excellent to contact and "don't Shoot The Dog is an excellent book as suggested. (purpleheart I don't want to hear about birds not being dogs. The book teaches how to understand behavior).

Remeber, patience!

Yes I am unusually happy today, as I've spent the last couple of weeks helping to build a home for a severally wounded Army Veteran. http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/21221671/index.html So the little time I do have explaining the various witchcraft and other practices members on this site prescribe to is actually funny!

Now I'd like to address, what humans tend to impose upon our feathered friends, in hopes of getting them (birds) to do what humans want them to do. Call clicker training, behavior modification, or (insert the latest human imposing their own attitudes upon a bird in this spot) what you want to (I'm a Sociologist so I explain things that way) they are either misleading or contradict known findings. None of which take into account any leading scientific academic advancement that has occurred in let's say THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS!

When we continually impose our human will against a birds natural tendencies there has to be some sort of give and take, and more than likely it is the bird who goes to the point of neurosis (plucking, screaming, and other abnormal behavior.) So you start out with good intentions and wind up with a Frankenstein of a bird. All I am saying, and is compounded by your last remark "My U2 will scream about 10 mins in a.m. and about 20 mins at dusk" is that in most occasions any form of this behavior modification does not work! And the owner of the bird should understand it might be in the birds best interest to proceed along this route, and be aware that in many times you will wind up with a bird worse off then when you started.

Here are some links to support generally accepted methods of learning, but understand this is for humans and not intended for animals of any kind, unless you STILL PRESCRIBE TO "WHAT'S GOOD FOR HUMANS IS GOOD FOR MY BIRD PHILOSOPHY" and superimpose that birds have a "HIGHER INTELLECT" capable of cognitive thinking IN THE FIRST PLACE!

http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/edtech/strategy.html Methodologies of learning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivist_teaching_methods Constructivist teaching techniques >Schema
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_modification Behavior modification

Yes I am a Scientist when it comes to unfounded teaching principles and how they are applied to animals and BIRDS. You may attack me as you wish, but you will have to do it "Scientifically" or continue to look like an old lady in a tea party giving out bad information.

Applied Behavior Analysis is absolutely the way forward like ZazuSally said. You can achieve wonders with positive reinforcement - in a nutshell, reward the good and ignore the bad. As Judy and Greengirrl suggested, do get Barbara Heidenreich's "Don't Shoot the Dog" and any of her videos or other books. Barbara is brilliant! Hugs to you Amy.

fuzzy wrote:Applied Behavior Analysis is absolutely the way forward like ZazuSally said. You can achieve wonders with positive reinforcement - in a nutshell, reward the good and ignore the bad. As Judy and Greengirrl suggested, do get Barbara Heidenreich's "Don't Shoot the Dog" and any of her videos or other books. Barbara is brilliant! Hugs to you Amy.

Well at least you could get the book right? Its Karen Pryor- "Don't shoot the dog"

Here is the following list:

“Good Bird!” and “The Bird Behavior Problem Solver” by Barbara Heidenreich
“Don’t Shoot the Dog!” by Karen Pryor
“Clicker Training for Birds,” by Barbara Johnson
“Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior” and “The Second Hand Parrot,” by Mattie Sue Athan
“Why Does My Bird Do That?” by Julie Rach
“The Pleasure of Their Company” and “The Parrot in Health and Illness” by Bonnie Munro Doane
“Birds for Dummies,” by Brian Speer, DVM, and Gina Spadafori **********************************
“The Complete Bird Owner’s Handbook,” by Gary Gallerstein, DVM *******************************
“The Conure Handbook,” by Anne Watkins
“Bringing Up Positive Parrotlets,” By Sherry Lucciola
“The Beginner’s Guide to Ringneck Parakeets,” by Theresa & Alan Jordan
“A Guide to Popular Conures,” by Ray Dorge and Gail Sibley
“The Consumer’s Guide to Feeding Birds,” by Liz Palika
“Aviary Design & Construction,” by D.W. Pearce
“Holistic Care for Birds,” by David McCluggage, DVM and Pamela Higdon *****************************
“The Human Nature of Birds,” by Theodore Xenophon Barber, PhD *************************
“Parrots of the World,” by Joseph Forshaw
“The Minds of Birds” by Alexander Skutch

All of them are a waste of time except those I put stars after> I have read them all!

And of course anything by Dr. Matthew M. Vriends, PHD. I highly recommend.