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are my birds obsessed with me?

yuaaaa

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Monica
hello guys, i need your help about my two cockatiels that seem to be obsessed with me or like me too much.
i have a male who is 1 year and 6 months old, and a female who is 1 year and 3 months old circa. they both were in heat, she layed empty eggs because they didnt bond in any way since he's so jealous of everything and everyone and he is too aggressive (he doesnt even let us touch him but the head for pats), while she is very affectionate and friendly with everyone. right now, we cant afford a bigger cage, toys or foraging toys, neither we cant let them go out the cage that much (and if i do let them out, i think it will be even worse)
the problem is that they seem obsessed with me, me who has barely changed their water or seeds or cage, i just pet them frequently when i can and i used to let them fly a lot.
since we removed the nest to stop the female from doing empty eggs, they wont stop screaming during all the morning and afternoon because im not there with them. not because they are not in heat anymore, but because when she was laying eggs she didnt scream to call me, but not that she does, he calls me too since the screaming is loud. it's too nerve-wracking for me, i cant stand loud noises or repetitive ones or i would literally start crying and get so mad. i ignore them as i should be doing, but their cage is in the kitchen and my mom wakes to at 6:30am for work and wakes them up, and they start screaming at like 7:30am. they even peek from the kitchen's door to watch me in my room (my bedroom and kitchen are close), so i close a little the door so they wont watch me, i even put a cloth over the cage so they can sleep more (of course i do this when they just woke up, not when they scream), but my family takes off the cloth because it seems like they are too annoyed to listen to me and just fricking let them be so i can at least go one week without my nerves on fire.
the fact is that since they scream all the morning or afternoon, my family come and goes from the kitchen, and stupidly, they go pet them or talk to them when they scream. so yes, they reward them. i told them thousand times but they just dont listen as always, but it just gets so much on my nerves that i get so mad because they are the reason why they keep screaming. and also, when its lunch time or dinner time and i come into the kitchen to sit at the table w my family, they call me when i enter the room, look at me when i pass them by, and scream again when I sit at the table, because apparently im too far away from them lol (im really not)
they also wiggle around as if theyre trying to fly out the cage when i pass them by. i understand the female one since she is very affectionate, but she is the one who screams more loudly, and the male cockatiel is just a bipolar bird who first sings to you and then bites you lol.
what should i do?i literally cant do this anymore, im starting school in less than 2 weeks and i cant honestly wait, but when i will start school i will wake up early and they wont shut the front door lol, and also i need to sleep, i really need it. if you're wondering, i use headphones when they scream so i cant listen to them, but its too difficult to sleep woth headphones in with music on or with white sounds for sleeping, and also i get even more angry when i see my family going to them when they scream, they just dont get it
 
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Zara

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You have a pair of birds who rarely have their water cleaned, cage cleaned, have no toys, no foraging, no enrichment, small cage, no flight time to stretch those wings... I´m not surprised they are noisy. They are bored, cramped and restricted.

Try respecting them and giving them what they need. Clean their cage daily (empty the papers from the poop tray underneath, wipe around with a cloth, and wash the water bowl), allow some flight time, a couple of hours per day for them to fly around, in your living room, or if there´s a problem with the family, in your bedroom will be ok. Interactment, you don´t need to touch birds to interact with them. Talking to them, being near them, feeding them treats, are all interactions you can have. If you worry over bites, feed millet spray, you can then have it long so the birds don´t get close enough to bite, but can enjoy the treat. Then toys and foraging, there´s tonnes of things you can DIY, that don´t cost too much to make, that will help enrich the lives of your birds. The more foraging you offer, the more they will be entertained by that and it will enrich their lives.
Here is a link to DIY forum, lots of ideas of things you can make;
I think this thread on foraging will be ueful to you;

Having birds is a commitment, to give them what they need. If you can´t do the things above, maybe consider rehoming them.
 

yuaaaa

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Monica
i forgot to say this, my sister cleans them, they have fresh water and seeds everyday dont worry !
 

yuaaaa

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i will do one of those diy toys for them and try to let them fly at least once a day, but we already did that in the past and they didnt stop screaming, they just flock called me as usual
 

BirdG1rl

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Zara has made some excellent points above. I have just a couple things to add. Maybe try giving them some veggies or fruits? It can even be kitchen scraps-research the safe ones and give them things like kale leaves and carrot peels-focus more on the dark leafy veggies and orange veggies and fruits. Maybe try buying a cuttlebone for them to gnaw?
Also, my cockatiel Rocky used to have a screaming problem. I fixed it by making sure he got enough sleep and limiting the noise and sensory overload.
@Tiel Feathers?
 

soundsfun

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Some great advice above! I believe it’s crucial that you get your family on board to make things more consistent for your tiels. It’s confusing for them to have everyone interact with them so differently. Have a chat with your family and find a routine and set of strategies that you and they can agree on. If you’re able to do as much of the strategies suggested above as possible, I feel that your tiels will calm and become more settled. :heart:

My budgie was also very attached to me during the first month or so after we brought him home. He was constantly flock calling for me and pacing his cage to ask to come out whenever he saw me. Here are some things I did that have helped him become more independent:

1) We created a schedule for him so that he has a mostly consistent routine. This has helped him to know when he’ll get fed, out of cage time, and when it’s bedtime so he isn’t constantly asking for attention all day long.

2) We placed his cage in the quietest spot in the house at bedtime and ensure he gets between 10-12 hours of uninterrupted, dark sleep every night. Some people even use a separate small cage as a sleep cage, and move their birds to a smaller room or closet to give them this dark, quiet, uninterrupted sleep. We notice that when he gets a poor sleep, he tends to be more nippy in the morning.

3) We “catch” him being good. Anytime our budgie wasn’t flock calling or pacing his cage, we’d randomly give him lots of attention and some millet as a treat. We did this quite intensively for about 2 weeks, until we started to see him become more calm. Now we only do it every now and then as reinforcement.
 

Tiel Feathers

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Flock calling and screaming are two different things. Flock calling can be loud and frequent, but is part of a birds natural behavior, and is very hard to control. A bored bird is more likely to flock call constantly. When your bird flock calls, just say something in response. You have already received excellent advice, I would find a place to put a bigger cage that’s still in the main part of the house. I would put them on a schedule so they know when to expect out of cage time. They should come out to fly for at least 3-4 hours a day broken up throughout the day if possible. I let my birds out when I eat my meals because it’s when I have the most time to be with them. They should have plenty of foraging toys and a lot of human interaction. Try training them to do simple tasks which will strengthen your bond and engage their mind. Look up Barbara Heidenreich training videos. Remember to never force them to do anything but find a way to make it their choice. You have to try and build your relationship with them and not just resent them. Your male only bites because he’s fearful, so you need to respect his body language to avoid the bites. You need to be patient and give them more scheduled, quality attention.
 
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