Hormonal screaming.... losing my mind

[Jaguar]

Ugh. I've been really trying to tough this out and not make this thread, but Phoenix's nonstop screaming is driving me NUTS. He's clearly hormonal, as he's attempting to mate with my hands multiple times per day (which I DO NOT allow or encourage at all) but none of the hormone management techniques I've tried are helping at all. It's been over two straight weeks of him screaming 8+ hours a day - no matter how much time I spend with him, how much I try to distract him, or how many toys or entertainment he has in his cage. It's stressing me out, it's upsetting my partner, and my landlords are not impressed by it either.

I know there's not a whole lot I can do about it other than wait it out.... but how much longer is this going to last? I don't want any further conflict with my landlords...

 

[birdle]

unfortunately, I never did find a way to make my tiel stop screaming. So I will be watching this thread to see any new ideas. So far, I make sure she has lots of foods she likes so she eats instead of screams but sometimes she screams while eating.. of course there's always the standard reduce daylight, don't feed soft/warm foods, give him less baths (to reduce hormones), make sure they have a cage full of toys they enjoy etc. Try all those, If you haven't already. Let me know if they work! So far, my screaming tiel has stayed a screaming tiel. I wish you luck

 

[Jaguar]

unfortunately, I never did find a way to make my tiel stop screaming. So I will be watching this thread to see any new ideas. So far, I make sure she has lots of foods she likes so she eats instead of screams but sometimes she screams while eating.. of course there's always the standard reduce daylight, don't feed soft/warm foods, give him less baths (to reduce hormones), make sure they have a cage full of toys they enjoy etc. Try all those, If you haven't already. Let me know if they work! So far, my screaming tiel has stayed a screaming tiel. I wish you luck

I did this all from the beginning They get 12-14 hours of sleep per night, very little soft/warm foods, no nesty stuff, no inappropriate touching, etc...

 

[birdle]

I think some cockatiels are just very noisy! I feel for you though. My best investment ever was a pair of earplugs, even though they don't really cancel her out its makes the pitch less harsh. But it sucks having a bird that won't stop screaming in an apartment. Sorry! wish I was more help

 

[Stormcloud]

Ugh. I've been really trying to tough this out and not make this thread, but Phoenix's nonstop screaming is driving me NUTS. He's clearly hormonal, as he's attempting to mate with my hands multiple times per day (which I DO NOT allow or encourage at all) but none of the hormone management techniques I've tried are helping at all. It's been over two straight weeks of him screaming 8+ hours a day - no matter how much time I spend with him, how much I try to distract him, or how many toys or entertainment he has in his cage. It's stressing me out, it's upsetting my partner, and my landlords are not impressed by it either.

I know there's not a whole lot I can do about it other than wait it out.... but how much longer is this going to last? I don't want any further conflict with my landlords...

Just be aware that by going to him when he is screaming may be reinforcing the behaviour (whether it be hormonal or not)...in effect you may be rewarding him. Bird wants you, bird screams, you come, bird thinks, "Wow! Dead freaking easy...lets do it again". Irrespective of his hormone levels, if the behaviour becomes established through inadvertent reinforcement, the unwanted behaviour can be very difficult to rectify. More often than not it takes more self-control from the bird keeper than it does from the bird. You need to keep your normal routine, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Jaguar]

Just be aware that by going to him when he is screaming may be reinforcing the behaviour (whether it be hormonal or not)...in effect you may be rewarding him. Bird wants you, bird screams, you come, bird thinks, "Wow! Dead freaking easy...lets do it again". Irrespective of his hormone levels, if the behaviour becomes established through inadvertent reinforcement, the unwanted behaviour can be very difficult to rectify. More often than not it takes more self-control from the bird keeper than it does from the bird. You need to keep your normal routine, nothing more, nothing less.

I don't, trust me. I know that much by now. I put my headphones on, crank my music, and ignore it. He doesn't stop... it's hard.

 

[msplantladi]

I so feel your frustration & so wish I had a magical answer as when my two macaws get going in the screaming the earth moves. Have you tried removing the bird to a different rm and half cover the cage, and just talk to him quietly for a few minutes. Not sure if this is allowed but I have used Auicalm for my birds and while you don't notice a huge change right away it does help. I bought it from amazon. I babysat a sweet cockatoo for a mth. the owners were hoping I would want to keep him but the constant crying (unless he was being held) was just to much for me.I wish you all the luck & please let us know if you find something that works.

 

[Jaguar]

I so feel your frustration & so wish I had a magical answer as when my two macaws get going in the screaming the earth moves. Have you tried removing the bird to a different rm and half cover the cage, and just talk to him quietly for a few minutes. Not sure if this is allowed but I have used Auicalm for my birds and while you don't notice a huge change right away it does help. I bought it from amazon. I babysat a sweet cockatoo for a mth. the owners were hoping I would want to keep him but the constant crying (unless he was being held) was just to much for me.I wish you all the luck & please let us know if you find something that works.

Yeah, I am considering moving him to an area of the house where the sound wouldn't be as loud for the people upstairs, like under their spare bedroom or something. But I don't know if that would make it worse, since they've always been in the living room with me

 

[msplantladi]

It takes alot of patience's and a couple days of showing them they only get the attention if they are quiet. Sometimes mine are only quiet for a minute but thats when they get praised. Sometimes a change is just what they need-to re channel the brain waves.

 

[JLcribber]

Is he doing this from inside the cage or outside the cage? The screaming is not hormonal so much as "frustration".

 

[JLcribber]

Birds are flock animals. If they can't be with their flock they "call". If he can see you, or he just "knows" you're there (from inside the cage) he's going to scream.

They will rarely scream if they "know" you're not there. They are smart enough to know the difference and won't waste much if any energy doing it if you aren't there. So out of sight/sound, out of mind.

If you provide an environment that you can close and pump noise into (a bird room with a tv or radio) then you can fool them into thinking you're really not there even if you are. The open room also helps alleviate the screaming because the "cage" is the source of frustration.

I know big changes to make this happen but you want a solution. This is a real one. It requires giving up personal space and giving it to the bird.

Nothing will change until you and the situation change first.

 

[Sam-wow]

Sammy has been a screamer his whole life ! If we lived in an apartment, we would have been thrown out. I cant imagine the stress that would cause for you and neighbors. Its all about the attention. I try to divert his attention before the screaming starts ( after 24 yrs, you know exactly when its coming ). Sometimes all it takes is having him step up and giving a couple kisses before heading to the kitchen. sometimes nothing can stop it. It is hard to have a conversation without Sam putting in his loud 2 cents before words leave your mouth. That is when it is hard not to give "reinforcing" attention.
Sometimes giving a long, calm "lecture" is enough to baffle him and stop the screaming. That is where some "rewarding" attention seems to help. He seems to understand but can't help himself !?!
He seems to have separation issues with my wife. If he knows she is home, he wants her there with him or he "calls out".
Sorry, no real solution here. The little things I do to divert attention are only temporary fixes. Sometimes he can be an angel but I think he will always express himself by screaming. I am trying to figure out a way to lessen the frequency of it before my wife loses her mind.

 

[Jaguar]

Birds are flock animals. If they can't be with their flock they "call". If he can see you, or he just "knows" you're there (from inside the cage) he's going to scream.

They will rarely scream if they "know" you're not there. They are smart enough to know the difference and won't waste much if any energy doing it if you aren't there. So out of sight/sound, out of mind.

If you provide an environment that you can close and pump noise into (a bird room with a tv or radio) then you can fool them into thinking you're really not there even if you are. The open room also helps alleviate the screaming because the "cage" is the source of frustration.

I know big changes to make this happen but you want a solution. This is a real one. It requires giving up personal space and giving it to the bird.

Nothing will change until you and the situation change first.

It sounds quite different from his flock call... it's not as frantic. This behavior only started when the infatuation and desire to mate with my hand started, which is why I'm wondering if this is just a seasonal thing and will blow over. I wish I had another room to put him in, but I don't. My only other option is putting them in my kitchen/dining room area, but even that's only around a corner and I think him hearing me from there would only make it worse. One day we'll have a bigger place with a designated bird room, but that time is not now.

 

[JLcribber]

It could just be hormones. Then you'll just have to wait it out.

 

[LRous]

Sorry I may have missed it but have you tried rearranging the cage each day? Different toys help too which I seen you tried but rearranging may help. Also I take my girl for a drive when her hormones are going crazy lol sounds weird but she loves the car and really takes her mind off things (of course I dont wait until she being naughty its not a reward), usually early morning is best before they get the chance to kick off there naughtiness for the day! And I also have the luxury of taking her to work for a change of scenery and listening to other types of birds squealing instead!
If he eats fruit or any high sugar/protein food so any fruit will be just fueling his efforts, so e.g. restrict to veggies and pellets.
Depending on how food motivated he is its always good to encourage foraging so instead of having a convenient bowl he can just throw his beak into make him work for all his food, wrap it up in paper parcels, have a shallow tray of paper based kitty litter with his food scattered through it so he has to get down and scratch/push the litter asside. Once birds get the hang of foraging it can keep them busy for hours!

 

[Stitchy]

I feel for you, since Stitchy is a 5 hour/day screamer! He screams every morning for hours, no matter what we try. No attention, positive reinforcement, letting him out of the cage, changing his toys, new toys, same routine, different routine, music, etc......I leave the house for work so by the time I get home he is quiet as a mouse other than his sweet noises. But my hubby works from home, in the same room with Stitcy which is very frustrating for him. I hate to move Stitchy to another room with no human interaction, but it seems that may be our only solution for some peace. Good luck, hopefully your situation will change for the better soon if it is just hormones.

 

[Irishj9]

As a temporary measure, have you tried placing him outside to get some air? ( weather permitting)

No parrot will scream continually outside and attract the attention of potential predators.

And it gives your eardrums time to recuperate

JP

 

[Cara]

Stay strong. Use your earplugs. I'm going through it too. Anything I post will just be a rant about the misery of living with a hormonal GW and a husband who don't get along. It's been 13 years now. Always screaming, but worse at this time of year.

 

[LuvMyBirds]

This of course won't help your ears, however there are some sound reducing curtains and can block it for neighbors. This is way drastic, years ago a friend had a screamer, she had the walls layered in sound proofing stuff, then sheet rocked over it. Hopefully he will stop soon.

 

[mythic55]

Chiming in: I may have missed a few things, but if it is truly hormonal screaming, that is something you can wait out. It would help to see your cage setup.... do you have a image? (whole cage- and if there is a window or cages around it- full picture type)