I'll offer my 2 cents.....
I got a U2 at age 7 months. She was still being hand fed. I continued to hand feed her for several more months. Some are slow to fully wean. She totally bonded to me. She'd climb off her cage, walk across the sofa or floor, climb up on my chair, sit in my lap, on my shoulder or the back of my chair. She was/is super sweet. Life was good.....then when she reached age 4 she totally freaked out. It was like throwing a light switch. She instantly feared me as tho I was going to hurt her. She stopped eating, sleeping & playing. I ended up taking her to the vet for a hormone shot. She went back to eating, playing, sleeping, but still feared me. She will be 23 years old this month & she still fears me. I can get her to come to me by holding a towel down, as she loves towels & will run right into one. As soon as I get close to her she begins to pant. The vet suggests she is so bonded to me she goes into breeding mode, which overwhelms her. My husband can approach her, pet her head, have her step up, etc., & she remains calm. In hindsight I wish I had not handled her so much when she was a baby. It may have made a big difference. We've tried darkness, light, added more & different toys, changed diet, etc. Nothing made any changes in her. There are times I can tell she wants to come to me, but fear keeps her from doing it. I can handle her & she has never bitten me, she remains sweet, but I limit contact to keep her from panting & being overwhelmed/stressed.
Her cage is in my living room. She insists on being covered at night, so we use a full or queen sized dark sheet. During the day she is is pretty quiet. It's more in the evening hours she can get loud. A U2 can scream loud enough to be heard several blocks away & they can do this at a young age. I'd say a U2 can out scream a macaw, except during macaw breeding season. I managed to change some of her loud blood curdling screams to more tolerable ones when she was young. I did this by making a more pleasant sound when she'd scream. She's not much of a talker, but when she'd scream real loud, usually when she was bouncing up & down, I'd say dance, dance. So now instead of the loud scream she makes her version of the word dance, which is ants, ants. She does make a very annoying long drawn out whine sound I've not been able to get her to change. Lately she's also been making this cute puppy whine sound. We have no idea where she picked this up, as we don't have a puppy. TV maybe.
I have a U2, CAG & a B&G Macaw. My birds are basically quiet only sounding off a little in the morning & a bit more in the evening. I'm thankful they are not all day screamers. In spring & summer they get to spend about 4-5 hours outside in our aviary. Winter & fall on a play gym.
You can read, watch videos & ask advice all you want. In the end each bird is different. There is no telling if a bird you get will be loud or quiet. It has been suggested by many in the bird world that you do your best to ignore screaming. Walk away, leave the room, do not respond or even look at the bird. This teaches them that screaming will not get them a positive reaction.
Cats carry a lot of bacteria that is toxic to birds. A tiny scratch from a cat can kill a bird. Their saliva can kill a bird. I had 8 toy poodles when we got our U2 & CAG. The dogs were taught to let the birds alone & they also feared the birds. Not all dogs will be like that tho. My birds never feared my dogs tho. There will be times your bird may be out while your dogs & cats are close, so accidents could happen in the blink of an eye. Being raised in captivity, without their parents, parrots do not know what is safe & what is not. Birds are flock creatures by nature & need to feel included. If they feel alone they can scream more. Perhaps an added screen door with a lock, so the cats & dogs can't open the door, on the birds room will allow the bird to feel more included compared to a closed door.
So here are my suggestions, since you are set on getting a U2....
Sound proof the room so your tenants will have some peace. Start from day one to ignore any screaming. Offer lots of toys to destroy & some they can't like metal toys. This keeps them busy & may prevent boredom screaming. Offer a playgym your bird can be on during the day time hours. Offer foraging feeding. Greet your bird in the morning, feed wet foods (veggies/etc.). Place bird on playygym for 1-2 hours, then back to it's cage, since you work from home. Offer out of cage time in the early evening hours as well. Limit hands on to head scritches. No laps, shoulders, etc. Stick to a routine, but don't be too time strict. Example: You feed the bird exactly at 5PM every day. One day you're an hour or two late for whatever reason (doc appointment, car broke down, bus was late, etc.), bird starts screaming because it wants food. Vary feeding time by one hour a few days a week. All you can do is try to raise the bird to be more quiet & not be an all day screamer. There are no guarantees.
I wouldn’t have my macaw with me now. I credit them hugely for saving his life, when he was just a little guy and terribly abused. I rescued him thinking I’d have all the skills lol because I’m a cvt and worked on macaws in the clinic setting. Huge difference in working on a patient for 30 mins and inviting one to live with you that needs constant, 24/7 monitoring. I’m still learning today in regard to all manner of veterinary issues. I think every single person who’s commented on this thread has only the best interest in both the bird and the persons well being. Some things can only be learned through experience, hardships and heartbreak and this forum has a massive combined experience in all of those things.
