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Post by cnyguy on Feb 3, 2015 21:37:44 GMT -5
Gary, I think you are making up stories about Ralph. He is far too nice to behave like that  Sorry if I've shattered your image of Ralph, but the truth must be told.  As I said, his squawky days aren't that frequent-- he packs a lot of squawks into one single day, then goes back to his usual behavior the next day-- a few squawks here and there through the day, lots of clicking and tapping sounds, and a few of the other sounds and words he knows. Maybe the odd Quaker alarm call too (this morning it was set off by the flashing yellow light on top of the snow plow at the apartment complex when it passed by our window). |
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Post by biteybird on Feb 4, 2015 4:28:20 GMT -5
So Ralph is actually being economical with his squawks, concentrating them for best effect. My faith in his etiquette is restored. I wish I could say the same about Bonnie. She's just plain rude every single day. Yes, she's an attention-seeker extraordinare and hates it when I have a conversation with anyone but her (squawk level = "this goes to 11").
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Feb 4, 2015 8:29:12 GMT -5
Mr P is making this new, horrendous noise when I put him back in his cage for the nite. He hangs on the side of his cage and makes the ear splitting screech. The first time he did it, I ran back to his cage (it's in the hallway away from everything, he only sleeps there or is in there when I'm not home)because I was SURE something terrible had happened. I was wrong. He was just annoyed I guess, that I had put him back. Same routine we've followed for over a year now, same time of day, same everything. For the last week he has been making this noise when I put him back, I dont know what triggered it, I dont know why he started doing it and I sure as heck don't know how to stop it. I dont go check on him anymore when he starts but my goodness, I just want to muzzle him.
Up until now Mr P has been fairly quiet, doing a normal flock call noise in the morning when he hears the toilet flush and knows I'm up and an occasional holler when I leave the room.
This is atrocious.
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Post by aaron on Feb 4, 2015 9:38:37 GMT -5
Mr P is making this new, horrendous noise when I put him back in his cage for the nite. He hangs on the side of his cage and makes the ear splitting screech. The first time he did it, I ran back to his cage (it's in the hallway away from everything, he only sleeps there or is in there when I'm not home)because I was SURE something terrible had happened. I was wrong. He was just annoyed I guess, that I had put him back. Same routine we've followed for over a year now, same time of day, same everything. For the last week he has been making this noise when I put him back, I dont know what triggered it, I dont know why he started doing it and I sure as heck don't know how to stop it. I dont go check on him anymore when he starts but my goodness, I just want to muzzle him. Up until now Mr P has been fairly quiet, doing a normal flock call noise in the morning when he hears the toilet flush and knows I'm up and an occasional holler when I leave the room. This is atrocious. Ugh. That sounds really annoying. We have had some success with responding to excessive noise while Cupcake is caged with covering her cage with a blanket for a minute if she is being really loud. If she keeps yelling after being covered I will sometimes give her a few minutes in another room with the door closed. We don't have to do this very often, but Cupcake is rarely in the cage while we are home as well, so I don't know, chances are she would probably revert to the behavior if suddenly we had to test her on it. |
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Post by easttex on Feb 4, 2015 10:31:16 GMT -5
Sharyn, I don't know if this will help you at all, but several years ago my grey started getting difficult about going into her night cage. I had been taking her off her playstand, snuggling for a few minutes, then putting her in the cage. I changed up the routine just a little, adding in something like a mini-tour of the house, or a few minutes in front of the bathroom mirror, admiring ourselves , or some other small thing. She can't be sure which thing we will do, but she knows it's something she'll enjoy. For some reason, this makes her amenable to going in to the cage, even on those rare occasions when I'm not able to indulge her in this. |
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Feb 4, 2015 10:34:02 GMT -5
Thanks. We have to try something. What's weird about this is that Mr P doesnt have problems GOING into his cage at night because he knows he's going to eat dinner. It's after he's finished and it's supposed to be quiet, wind down, get ready for bed time, that he starts this horrific noise. Even Pele is shocked by the noise and just looks at him from across the hallway like he has lost his mind.
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Post by easttex on Feb 4, 2015 10:38:32 GMT -5
Maybe you could try taking him out for a few minutes after he eats? Before he starts screaming, of course. |
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Feb 4, 2015 11:26:11 GMT -5
Maybe, thanks for the suggestions. I wish I understood what was going through his brain as to why this behavior started
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Post by siobhan on Feb 4, 2015 12:36:44 GMT -5
Probably he came up with the squawk and when you rushed to see what was wrong, he decided, "Ah ha! I make this noise and Mom comes running!" and now there's all this. I agree that changing up the routine a bit will confuse him and break the habit. And when I tried having a "night" cage for Clyde when he first moved in, he went absolutely berserk. He wanted nothing to do with it. So until we moved to our present house which has a bird room, his cage was in the middle of everything, which is just what he wanted. Even after I'd cover him and we'd lower the lights and the volume on the TV, he would still make the occasional noise to let us know he wasn't asleep, and we'd answer him, and he'd be happy with that. Have you tried not putting him in the "night" cage and just letting him sleep in his regular cage?
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Feb 4, 2015 13:16:47 GMT -5
The "night" cage actually is his regular cage, it's just in an area of the house (hallway near front of house) that isnt central to everything. Pele's cage is in the same area.
Our daytime routine (since I work from home) is in the morning, both birds come out of their cage and are transported to playstands that are in the room I work in (formerly known as my dining room).
They stay out of their cages all day (unless I leave the house), then at dinnertime, they are transported back to their cages, given dinner, allowed to wind down for a bit and play with their toys in their cage (since they are out all day), then the hall light goes off and they are covered. They can still hear me and the tv and see the light on in the living room but they are out of the way.
Mr P will occassionally holler "douwanna yummy??" if he hears the microwave on later at night or the crinkling of some snack sounding bag after he is supposed to be sleeping but is well aware of the routine and knows the day is done for him when he goes back to his cage. His cage has been in the same area of the house since last April and he and Pele can eyeball each other but have about 4 to 6 ft in between them.
I am 100% sure that my rushing to see what the noise was for accidently reinforced him making it, but that was only a 1 time deal and a week later he is still doing it.
He actually LIKES going back to his cage at the end of the day as he can see me in the kitchen fixing his dinner which is something he only gets at dinner time (usually some sort of whole grain, he has been on a quinoa kick for awhile) and gets really excited when he sees me making dinner.
I actually used to have Mr P's cage in the middle of everything but he wouldnt go to sleep at night until I turned off the tv and went to my bedroom and it was making him a really grumpy bird that bit me many times a day.
This set up has worked fine for 10 months, until last week.
I am tempted to just try to ignore the noise to see if it goes away as suddenly as it appeared but in the meantime, it's highly annoying and very unlike Mr P who has his other issues, but screaming hasnt been one of them.
I should record this and post a video, it doesnt even sound like a normal quaker noise!
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Feb 4, 2015 13:34:27 GMT -5
Here is a pic of my house. I am standing at the back of the house where the french doors are that lead to the enclosed porch looking towards the front door. The cages are near the front door which is rarely used and the guest bedrooms and guest bathroom are in that part of the house too. If you could see to the right of me, that is where my office and kitchen are. A very typical FL home, one "great room" which serves as living room, dining room and center of the house. At the end of the day, birds go back up front to their cages for dinner and bedtime, but they can still hear me and see the light from the tv and living room. BTW, I don't actually burn the candle that is on the table, it was purchased for me before I got Mr P and although I leave it there cause it matches everything, I dont use it  |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Feb 4, 2015 15:33:59 GMT -5
I have one word for you Sharyn - PELE. Mr P's bad behaviour seems to coincide with Pele's new found freedom. Maybe he just wants some reassurance. I know you dont want to reinforce the behaviour but some nights when I put Shah to bed, he screams and carries on so I get him out of his cage, give him cuddles, have a quiet chat to him about the noise and pop him back into bed - takes between 5 and 10 minutes. He settles down after that.
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Feb 4, 2015 16:30:23 GMT -5
That very well could be true, Jan. I did think of that but I would've thought he would have exhibited this behavior a few weeks ago when Pele really started hanging with us during the day. Maybe it was just a delayed reaction?
If all goes well, Pele will have his forever home at the end of the month so that should make Mr P happier. I am traveling for work from 2/8 thru 2/14 so my b/f will have to deal with Mr P and his shrieking! LOL
Today I have to leave the house as soon as I put these guys in for the night but if this continues, I will probably take yours and Easttex's advice and just take him back out after dinner for a little bit, just so he knows he is special.
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Post by aaron on Feb 4, 2015 21:36:26 GMT -5
I should record this and post a video, it doesnt even sound like a normal quaker noise! Yeah, this noise has me intrigued. It sounds like it must be awful. I agree that shuffling up the routine seems like it could work -- particularly in some way that leaves Mr P feeling special. It seems plausible that the noise is coming from a place of insecurity of some sort. |
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Feb 4, 2015 21:41:23 GMT -5
Ok...I will have to hide so he doesnt see me but I sure as heck can record the noise! I missed it today because I left the house to run errands as soon as they went in their cages for the night.
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