Bedtime screaming?

[sunnysmom]

So some of you may know, I'm fostering a goffin Elvis. He's a very sweet and gentle bird. Things have been progressing well with him, I think, but he's started screaming when I put him to bed. The woman who had him before me said he goes to bed between 9:00-10:00 and that she covered him. So I have been trying to keep that routine. With my tiel, I would always sit with him a bit, let him settle down, sing him a "night night" song and cover him. So I started doing this Elvis. However, after I cover him and leave the room, he screams. At first it would just be for maybe 10-15 minutes and I would tell him it's okay, etc. Saturday, I didn't get home until 10:00 so he went to bed at 10:30. And he was up until 1:00 in the morning. Seriously. At around midnight I finally took him out of his cage thinking I could settle him down because he was working himself up into a frenzy. By the time I got him calmed down and he went to sleep it was 1:00. The fiancé said, probably correctly, that I can't do that because he's going to learn that if he screams enough I will let him out. So last night, I let him scream. Which he did for a good hour before he went to sleep- probably around 11:15 pm.

So, is he testing me? Is it normal for too to scream at bedtime? I should add that he doesn't scream during the day. With my cockatiel, I would always tell when he was tired. Should I be letting Elvis stay up longer? I hate to have him up that late but if he's not tired........? Or is he screaming because he is tired and wants to go to bed sooner and is getting overly tired?

Any thoughts? I don't want to mess up with him right off the bat.

 

[Mizzely]

Is there anything new in his cage, or has it been rearranged at all? Bobber does this if he is afraid of a new item or placement in the cage. So I have to find the offending item and remove it. Then he sleeps just fine. Gizmo was the same way. I try to take things slow with them for that reason, but occassionally I still mess up, and I know if he hasn't calmed down in 20 minutes then I moved too fast.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

What time does he wake up? Is his room dark? I think you should put him to bed earlier starting in small increments of 20 minutes or so. He needs 11-12 hours of sleep a night, just like Sunny. I remember my my cockatoo would call for about 30 minutes when I first got him, but he soon realized the routine, and after a week or so he would go right to sleep. I would try to ignore any screaming as best you can, but I think he's over tired, just like a little kid!

 

[Lady Jane]

He could be grumpy because he is not getting enough sleep. I agree with more sleep time. Spring is here too and all the more reason to shorter periods of daylight to help keep hormones at bay. Also try just to partially cover the cage and see if this makes a difference.

 

[sunnysmom]

There's nothing new in his cage since we got him. It is a new cage to him though. It's been a week. I think I am going to try putting him to bed earlier. And have I mentioned before that his screams sound like a seagull dying- violently?

Thanks everyone!

 

[nu2birds]

Maybe a night light or some white noise, or what Dianne suggested above, just partially cover the cage at night.

 

[Tyrion]

Welcome to my world ..lol... I think its just a matter of him getting use to your schedule ...your house and you ...Harley/Ghost is still screaming morning and night and sometimes during the day but its getting better ...I would just stick to your guns and put him to bed and out last the screaming ..really thats all you can do ...or at least thats what they tell me ..and it will get better or at least thats what they tell me ...got to love the lil guys ...I was wondering when the screaming was going to start ..I was thinking I couldnt be the only one

 

[Castiel]

Castiel doesn't like bedtime either. He gets all worked up at night right before bed time and cries out for about an hour every minute or so then finally settles down for some shut eye. I don't pay any attention to him at night and he is learning screaming for attention is a big waste of time.

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to my world ..lol... I think its just a matter of him getting use to your schedule ...your house and you ...Harley/Ghost is still screaming morning and night and sometimes during the day but its getting better ...I would just stick to your guns and put him to bed and out last the screaming ..really thats all you can do ...or at least thats what they tell me ..and it will get better or at least thats what they tell me ...got to love the lil guys ...I was wondering when the screaming was going to start ..I was thinking I couldnt be the only one

And do you think the screams sound like a dying seagull? LOL. I guess the screaming means he's more comfortable with us? I don't know. Or maybe it's partially hormones too. He actually screamed all through a phone call I was on yesterday too now that I think about it. I just assumed he didn't like me paying attention to someone else. Luckily the woman I was on the phone with was a good sport and laughed the whole time at his screaming.

Does Harley/Ghost nap a lot during the day? Elvis definitely does. I had thought it was because he was older but now I'm thinking maybe he really does need to go to bed earlier.

 

[sunnysmom]

Castiel doesn't like bedtime either. He gets all worked up at night right before bed time and cries out for about an hour every minute or so then finally settles down for some shut eye. I don't pay any attention to him at night and he is learning screaming for attention is a big waste of time.

Maybe the bedtime screaming is a goffin thing?

 

[cassiesdad]

When Cassie (LSC) came to us, she would scream when we would cover her for the night...and yes, she sounded just like a dying seagull! We found with experimentation that she HATED to be covered up and she didn't like it completely dark, either.
So we ended up covering up only half the cage...and putting a night light off to the side of the cage where she could have some indirect light around her cage.
The other thing I did was every time Cass screamed...I would say "good night". Eventually, the dying seagull was replaced with "good night", which was much more pleasant, believe you me.

I believe that when Cassie was banished to the basement, her former owners (probably the wife) would turn off the lights when she began to fuss, thereby cementing the screaming behavior in response to "lights-out"...and to her dislike for women...

 

[Castiel]

Maybe the bedtime screaming is a goffin thing?

I read somewhere that Goffins are afraid of the dark.

 

[Tyrion]

And do you think the screams sound like a dying seagull? LOL. I guess the screaming means he's more comfortable with us? I don't know. Or maybe it's partially hormones too. He actually screamed all through a phone call I was on yesterday too now that I think about it. I just assumed he didn't like me paying attention to someone else. Luckily the woman I was on the phone with was a good sport and laughed the whole time at his screaming.

Does Harley/Ghost nap a lot during the day? Elvis definitely does. I had thought it was because he was older but now I'm thinking maybe he really does need to go to bed earlier.

Sometime it sounds like a dying something thats for sure ..I never thought of a seagull...I think with Harley/Ghost its part hormones cuz he has tried several times to masturbate on my hand while I was holding him ..yuck..I tried to give him something else but all he wants is my hand ...the things our birds do ...yes he does nap during the day but so do my others birds ...Ghost is 13 yrs they told me ...Ghost screams at 7-7:30 am ..then when I leave for work ..when I come home ...at supper time ...when my daughter comes home ...when he feels like it and when its bed time ...we are having a real hard time ..but its getting better I say all the time ...and it is ..it just doesnt feel like it some time ...

Edit ..maybe we need a Goffins support group

 

[Begone]

We found with experimentation that she HATED to be covered up and she didn't like it completely dark, either.

That is also what I think. When they screams for so many hrs and not at all in day something is bother them.

 

[iamwhoiam]

My Goffin's, Keno, screams when it's bedtime. So does Bare-eyed Cody although she generally starts screaming when she thinks it's time to go to bed letting me know she wants the lights turned off. Even though the lights are off and Cody is covered they will both continue screaming. Sometimes I ignore it and sometimes I will tell them "Goodnight" again and they will quiet down. I gave up on putting a cover on Keno's cage a long time ago since she just makes holes in the covers and peeks out.

I used to leave a night light on in the bird room but stopped doing that. I don't know if that will help with the screaming, though, since they even screamed with the night light. Sometimes the screaming lasts 1-2 mins. but can last up to 15 mins.

 

[sunnysmom]

When Cassie (LSC) came to us, she would scream when we would cover her for the night...and yes, she sounded just like a dying seagull! We found with experimentation that she HATED to be covered up and she didn't like it completely dark, either.
So we ended up covering up only half the cage...and putting a night light off to the side of the cage where she could have some indirect light around her cage.
The other thing I did was every time Cass screamed...I would say "good night". Eventually, the dying seagull was replaced with "good night", which was much more pleasant, believe you me.

I believe that when Cassie was banished to the basement, her former owners (probably the wife) would turn off the lights when she began to fuss, thereby cementing the screaming behavior in response to "lights-out"...and to her dislike for women...

But then Cassie found you and her world turned to wonderful.

 

[sunnysmom]

I'll have to experiment. I would always leave a fairly large gap in Sunny's cover with the night light on since tiels are prone to night frights. Since I thought Elvis liked being covered I have been covering him almost entirely, with just a few inches at the bottom not covered and then leaving a light on across the hall. So it's not complete darkness. So I guess I'm going to have to figure out if it's too dark- and I should leave more of his cage uncovered or not dark enough........ Sigh. I wish he could just tell me. Or is it just that he likes to scream at bedtime? I can deal with the screaming since it's only at bedtime. (Fingers crossed.) But I just don't want to be stressing him out if it is that he doesn't like the light/dark.

Thanks everyone. It's helpful and interesting to learn what everyone else's birds do at bedtime.

 

[Lady Jane]

Oh one more thing. I know you know this but when he is not screaming at night give him an almond or other treat if you have found any. They always understand treats.
I partially cover my bird cage because the budgies seem to fall if its totally covered.

 

[Pikatoo]

Sounds like my tiel! What I did is I put a little night light in the cage (a bird safe one) and he stopped the screaming. If it's not the fear of being left in the dark, he may be asking for more attention so just leave him be and let him scream it out or he'll learn that if he screams, he gets out

 

[Lady Jane]

Have you tried saying goodnight to Elvis and then let Howie put him to bed in his cage? Could be he does not want you to leave him when you put him down for the night.