upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

I recentley aquired a 2 year old female ducorps.She is a wonderful loving companion.She only screams when I leave the room,for example,to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom,and occasionally she will scream to let her out of the cage when i first get home from work.I did some research on these beautiful birds berfore i got her.I know I have read its not recommended to show them attention when they are screaming,but its sooooo hard not to.If anyone has some advice for me it would be greatly appreciated THANX

Yes, you need to replace that behaviour with a more acceptable behaviour. You need to reinforce another acceptable sound. For example, my goffin learned how to say "ha ha" in a sing songy voice instead of screaming for something. Or you can replace that behaviour with another behaviour. They can't do 2 things at once. Is there lots of things for this very, very active bird to do in his/her cage? People expect birds to just sit in their cages and do nothing or to stay on a playstand when there is nothing there to interest them. You need to make his environment interesting. Make him work for food. Hide it in several places in the cage instead of just in the bowl. Buy that foraging DVD by Dr. Scott Echols. I might have that name wrong but I'm close. Help this bird burn off some energy with a little one on one aerobics. I put on the Village People and Zazu and I work out. She loves disco. Is there plenty of stuff to tear up, to figure out. Zazu has puzzle toys, climbing toys, a toy box full of different stuff to destroy, wood toys, in her cage and they are replaced or changed frequently. I mean think of how you would feel if someone stuck you in a room with nothing to do and left you there all day. Pretty soon, you would be tearing your hair out. Boredom is a terrible thing for creatures as intelligent as a parrot.

Hope this helps a little.


Bev

This is definitely a keeper....always good to have a reminder about what they need to do, have etc....Thanks Bev...

PS...and for the foraging toys...they don't have to be expensive...a lot of times..I'll get an untreated wicker basket...scrub it...and fill it with nuts wrapped in paper...meat wrapping paper is good..you can get a big roll of it at Sam's really cheap...make 'em work for their treats....gives them a purpose....

Bingo, my G2, has taken to screaming when my husband leaves the room. We took some pieces of destroyed toys and strung them together with ss rings, and the ss deals that toys hook to the cage with (I can't remember what to call them). There are things like ss keys, bells, thick plastic rings and beads, etc. One end of the toy will have a large item on it that can't fit through the cage bars. When we leave the room, we take the toy and drop it on the roof of the cage. Bingo immediately starts trying to pull he whole thing into the cage. It keeps him busy until we get back in the room.

We have cockatoo haven in my home and the NO SCREAMING is pretty funny now. My male goffin has started saying WHO IS SCREAMING when i walk into the bird room. Now it could even be quiet, but when they see me appear, he says WHO IS SCREAMING.....Cockatoo's can be tons of fun but then there are times ..........lol
3 goffins
1 umbrella
2 mollucans
2 amazons
Think we have alot of sounds in our home????

My birds didn't just scream when I would leave the room, ALL four would make the sound of the Trash Truck backing up. Now when I leave I tell them I'll be back soon, and when I get to the room before their's I yell Mommie's home. no more back up truck noise thank heaven. parrotsmama1940