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Post by tillysmom on Jan 1, 2015 19:33:48 GMT -5
Hi, I am a new mom to a Quaker Parrot now 8 months old. She steps up, will take food from my hand, likes to be petted. My problem is the "screaming". Even if I am right there, she tends to scream especially around 6pm. I live in an apt. so this isn't ideal. Sometimes it's difficult to even get a shower or finish dinner (she eats dinner when I do) with out her starting. I had a double yellow head amazon for 20 years who I loved dearly who passed away, and have been widowed for 6 years. At night time also she acts almost anxious or antsy, "running" all over her cage. She spends lots of time out of her cage. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here, but I could use some help. I am disabled and this is becoming a real problem for me.
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Post by cnyguy on Jan 1, 2015 20:53:17 GMT -5
Welcome! Sorry to hear that you're having problems with your Quaker. A common suggestion is to simply ignore the screaming, but that's often very hard to do. There are some articles on the companion site Quakerparrots.com about dealing with screaming, like this one; maybe they'll have some ideas for you. Probably someone on the Forum can offer some suggestions too. I'm sorry for the loss of your DYHA; I had an Amazon for 40 years and miss him very much. He could get rather noisy at times, but would usually quiet down if I covered his cage for a while. |
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Post by biteybird on Jan 1, 2015 22:00:21 GMT -5
Welcome & sorry to hear about the problem you're having with Tilly. Have you had her for long (you mentioned you are her 'new' mom)? If not, the screaming may settle down when she adjusts to the changes and feels secure. It sounds like she is a lovely little bird seeking 24/7 companionship from you! ::)Our quaker, Bonnie, went through a very noisy phase when she started to moult. Also, we found that if we restricted her out-of-cage time (that is, only let her out at the same time each day and not for the whole day) she responded well to that routine. We found it was most effective to ignore the unwanted noise completely - making sure we didn't even look at her or speak to her while she was squawking - and reward her for being quiet (even for 30 seconds' quiet) straight away, with food rewards, words or opening the cage door. I hope this helps. I know it's very difficult when you are going through it... ???Please let us know how you are going. I'm sure others will have good advice when they read your post.
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Post by easttex on Jan 2, 2015 8:07:27 GMT -5
The easiest thing I could suggest would be to try putting her to bed earlier. Don't think of it as punishment - 12 hours, or even more, of bed time is not a bad thing for a parrot. I cover the cages and turn out the lights on mine around 6 pm, and uncover them about 7 am. I try not to vary the schedule much throughout the year. I have the advantage of a separate sleep room for them, so they are not kept up by the TV or by us just rattling around. If you want to take an active approach to changing her behavior, and assuming there's no physical cause for the noise, you do have to stop reacting to the screaming. Every time you give her attention while she's doing this, even negative attention, you reinforce the behavior. You have to teach her to get your attention in another way. When she starts screaming, try turning away, or even leaving the room if you can. If she pauses or makes a more acceptable sound between screams, quickly reward her with your attention. You can try mimicking the acceptable sound back to her, too. You have to be consistent, and it does mean putting up with the noise for a while. It's important that you appear to remain calm, because agitation is easily communicated to Tilly and doesn't help. It may seem to get worse before it gets better, but you can take control of the situation. It will take some time. If you're concerned about your neighbors, perhaps you could let them know what you're doing. Good luck to you and Tilly!  |
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