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Tyrion

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All I know about his past is he was kept in to small of a cage and they told me that he was to energetic for the old owner ...he is DNA sexed so for sure hes a male and he is 13 yrs old ...I have given him foraging toys with food in them and he just throws them to the bottom of his cage ..I havent tried shelled nuts yet good idea ...Ill check out the foraging blocks and the links but I think Barbaras is the one I watched on her webinar ...Ill leave the radio on as well and see if that helps he does have white noise from the air purifier but a radio would be good for him ...yeah my daughter is just going to have to where he music more ..she is counting the days until quarantine in over ... :)

My biggest problem is knowing he isnt happy and thats what all the screaming is all about ...I know I have to give him time to adjust to everything ...he is just so out of sorts ...he is biting out of excitement when I come in to reward him for good vocals and so manic he climbs all over the cage when I come in to visit jumping all over it ..I know part of the problem is the cage is to small I wonder if it would be worth it to take the hinges off the door to make the other cage fit in the room for him ..do you think in a bigger cage he would be more happy and less manic ...he just runs around that cage like something is chasing him some times ...I dont know maybe its all just waiting for him to calm down and get with the routine and start trusting me he has been moved allot lately ..from his home to the rescue to me ...that allot for a lil guy .... :)
 

iamwhoiam

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This is the type of toy that is great for a Goffin's. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/70/9c/c6/709cc65e3bd379829d39664961c41b52.jpg
Unfortunately the company closed down and it's no longer available but maybe you can find or create something similar. Maybe you can find something similar or perhaps you can create your own busy box using stainless steel parts and attaching those to a thick piece of pine and then bolting that to the side of the cage. Goffin's like to take things apart.
Maybe Doris (AS) can come up with something.
 

JLcribber

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You've got to have patience in order to have patience. :)

I can tell you this right now. This bird will push you to your limit because he can. You will either discover patience you never had or you will learn it and it's going to be hard but you have to. This is a mind game. Nothing more. You must outlast him.

When I said you could not take on a bigger challenge I meant it. Dig in. This is cockatoo ownership.

About this quarantine. Being in the same house with the same air system and not practising "clinical" cleanliness between environments, the quarantine was effectively broken when the bird entered. IMPO you're putting yourself through needless stress/heartache.
 

Tyrion

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Well, unfortunately, breaking quarantine may not solve the issue, so you might do it for nothing and put your other birds at risk. I think he just needs to settle in and hopefully he will before the QT is up and if not, after. Do you spend one on one time with him for a while each day? If you make it at the same time, at least he will know when to expect your attention. A radio might help as others have suggested.
Yes I spend one on one time in the morning and after I get home from work on the days I work and the days I dont work I try to do it several times during the day when he is not screaming ..plus his out of cage time I spend part of that time in the room with him ...but as soon as he starts screaming I leave ...but its not really set in stone on the times I spend with him cuz of the screaming Im trying really hard not to reinforce it ... :)
 

iamwhoiam

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Can't predict whether or not a larger cage would help. Would give him more room but another change could upset him even more. Continue to the best of your ability with what you have been doing. Time and patience are the keys. Do realize that although the screaming will fade over time it won't ever go away 100%. Yesterday night there was a screaming match between my Goffin's, Bare-eyed and YNA. Went on for about 30 mins. I quietly closed the door to the bird room and went about my business and they finally stopped. I think it started because I turned on the light in the bird room but didn't pay enough attention to Keno, the Goffin's. When one of them screams the other two like to join in and help out ;)

This AM the 3 of them are quiet. :)
 
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Tyrion

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You've got to have patience in order to have patience. :)

I can tell you this right now. This bird will push you to your limit because he can. You will either discover patience you never had or you will learn it and it's going to be hard but you have to. This is a mind game. Nothing more. You must outlast him.

When I said you could not take on a bigger challenge I meant it. Dig in. This is cockatoo ownership.

About this quarantine. Being in the same house with the same air system and not practising "clinical" cleanliness between environments, the quarantine was effectively broken when the bird entered. IMPO you're putting yourself through needless stress/heartache.
This is what Im thinking and always have about quarantine in my home ...but I thought it was better than nothing ..I do everything last with him and wash but really how much quarantine am I doing when they are in the same house ...I have an air purifier in my room too but I come and go in there to reward the good sounds so really what type of quarantine am I doing ... should I just break it and save myself and him the hassle of all this screaming ...how bad would it be ...whats the worse that could happen ...they are breathing the same air as it is now specially during the winter ...his cage is on the opposite side of the living room ...he got a health cert.from the vet ..they did all the blood work and xrays ... I dont know .... :huh:
 

iamwhoiam

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I would just hang in there and try to keep him separate for now. Even if he is with the other birds it doesn't necessarily mean he will stop screaming.

BTW, in your previous post you write shelled nuts. Did you mean unshelled? Unshelled give him more of a challenge, to some extent. Depends on the nut.
 

Tyrion

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Can't predict whether or not a larger cage would help. Would give him more room but another change could upset him even more. Continue to the best of your ability with what you have been doing. Time and patience are the keys. Do realize that although the screaming will fade over time it won't ever go away 100%. Yesterday night there was a screaming match between my Goffin's, Bare-eyed and YNA. Went on for about 30 mins. I quietly closed the door to the bird room and went about my business and they finally stopped. I think it started because I turned on the light in the bird room but didn't pay enough attention to Keno, the Goffin's. When one of them screams the other two like to join in and help out ;)

This AM the 3 of them are quiet. :)
Oh I know it wont end and Im not looking for that my Lagatha screams morning and night ...just not all day would be nice ...what do you think about what john said about quarantine .. :huh:
 

iamwhoiam

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Oh I know it wont end and Im not looking for that my Lagatha screams morning and night ...just not all day would be nice ...what do you think about what john said about quarantine .. :huh:
Posted about that above...#47.
 

Tyrion

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So sorry to hear this Annette. Did you do like I suggested and try hiding the food? If you still want to use bowls, get multiple tiny bowls and hang them all over the cage-high, low, close to corners. Not under a perch that can be pooped on obviously. ;)
Only put a tiny amount in each bowl so that he has to go to the next. Cover the bowls with a little paper..for dry food you can mix in inedible things (like birdie bagels and finger traps) so the he has to actually search for the food.
Basically you need to occupy him so he doesn't scream, and food is one way to get him moving. The only thing that should be easily accessible in my opinion is the water bowl. If he won't play with his toys hide almonds in them to encourage investigating. You can also put things on top of his cage for him to pull through.
Good luck
Sorry I missed this ...Yes I have changed the way I feed him and he throws it on the ground if he cant find the food right away ..but likes it if I just put a paper over it ...I cant really move the food bowels cuz the size of the quarantine cage ...I am thinking about trying to make his reg cage fit into my bed room any way I can but even with taking the door off and possibly the molding it might not fit ...I havent tried putting things on the outside ..that will be my next step ...:)
 

iamwhoiam

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Can you take the larger cage apart (maybe just remove part of it) and then put it back together once you get it in the room?
 

Tyrion

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Can you take the larger cage apart (maybe just remove part of it) and then put it back together once you get it in the room?
Ill have to see it looks like its screwed together so that might be a possibility :)
 

JLcribber

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Yes I spend one on one time in the morning and after I get home from work on the days I work and the days I dont work I try to do it several times during the day when he is not screaming ..plus his out of cage time I spend part of that time in the room with him ...but as soon as he starts screaming I leave ...but its not really set in stone on the times I spend with him cuz of the screaming Im trying really hard not to reinforce it ... :)

A little experiment for you.

The next time he screams when you're in the room, do not leave. Just stand there/do something but completely ignore him. No eye contact. Nothing. Pretend like it's not happening literally. Stay calm and cool and outlast him. He will stop. Once he stops for 30 seconds you can "look" at him (acknowledging him). If he makes a pleasant noise. Copy it. If he doesn't. Introduce one. If he screams turn away (ignore) but do not leave.

In a couple of weeks the screaming will be less. He has to realize that screaming has absolutely no benefit and gets him nothing but more importantly that he sees it does not bug you in the slightest.
 

iamwhoiam

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A little experiment for you.

The next time he screams when you're in the room, do not leave. Just stand there/do something but completely ignore him. No eye contact. Nothing. Pretend like it's not happening literally. Stay calm and cool and outlast him. He will stop. Once he stops for 30 seconds you can "look" at him (acknowledging him). If he makes a pleasant noise. Copy it. If he doesn't. Introduce one. If he screams turn away (ignore) but do not leave.

In a couple of weeks the screaming will be less. He has to realize that screaming has absolutely no benefit and gets him nothing but more importantly that he sees it does not bug you in the slightest.

Good suggestion. That can work. I've done that with Keno. Go into the bird room, ignore her, then I pay attention to another bird or do something else and then when she stops screaming go over to her and talk to her. It has not worked 100% of the time but seems to work more often than not.
 
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Tyrion

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A little experiment for you.

The next time he screams when you're in the room, do not leave. Just stand there/do something but completely ignore him. No eye contact. Nothing. Pretend like it's not happening literally. Stay calm and cool and outlast him. He will stop. Once he stops for 30 seconds you can "look" at him (acknowledging him). If he makes a pleasant noise. Copy it. If he doesn't. Introduce one. If he screams turn away (ignore) but do not leave.

In a couple of weeks the screaming will be less. He has to realize that screaming has absolutely no benefit and gets him nothing but more importantly that he sees it does not bug you in the slightest.
I like it ...Ill try this when I get home and all weekend ...we have nothing but time ...he isnt going anywhere ..he can scream all he wants hes stuck with me even if he drives me crazy :wacky:
 

Begone

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It will be fine! :) :hug4:
And congrats! :starshower1:
 

JLcribber

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I like it ...Ill try this when I get home and all weekend ...we have nothing but time ...he isnt going anywhere ..he can scream all he wants hes stuck with me even if he drives me crazy :wacky:
I've got more tricks. Try that one first
 

camelotshadow

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A little experiment for you.

The next time he screams when you're in the room, do not leave. Just stand there/do something but completely ignore him. No eye contact. Nothing. Pretend like it's not happening literally. Stay calm and cool and outlast him. He will stop. Once he stops for 30 seconds you can "look" at him (acknowledging him). If he makes a pleasant noise. Copy it. If he doesn't. Introduce one. If he screams turn away (ignore) but do not leave.

In a couple of weeks the screaming will be less. He has to realize that screaming has absolutely no benefit and gets him nothing but more importantly that he sees it does not bug you in the slightest.


Very good advice. Sometimes the act of leaving can also reinforce the screaming as it appears that the screaming has affected you.
Birds minds are looking for any reaction that could reinforce there behavior.
 

melissasparrots

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My goffin did a lot of screaming when she first came home. She can still scream when I'm not in the room, but she doesn't carry on very long. More like the occasional experimental squawk to see what happens. IMO, keeping him in quarantine is still a good idea. You don't know if he picked up a disease during his time at the rescue. Also, some very serious diseases are mostly contact spread so just because there is air flow, doesn't mean quarantine is a waste. You know if you take him into the same room as the others someone will fly to his cage or he will fly to their cage and that will be when quarantine effectively breaks. I also make sure to change cloths or only let the new bird out at the end of the day so germs don't get on my cloths.

With my goffin's, I had her in my bedroom. She'd was fine so long as the lights were on. She didn't want to be alone in a dark room. She still doesn't, but she doesn't scream nearly so bad. I've had several birds that went through quite the screaming period when I first brought them home. Most of those are still vocal today but its gotten to the point of being within normal limits for the species. I just ignored mine until she stopped screaming. I never let her out until she quieted down for a period of time. However, I also didn't drive myself crazy jumping up to let her out every time she was quiet. She eventually figured out that I wasn't going to let her out until evening anyway and after coming out was when she could throw her cockatoo screaming fit.
 

greys4u

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O what games our fur babies play :muahaha:
 
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