Prior threads:
Week 1
Week 2
Monday
Screaming/Calling
We're having a brilliant start to the week. I moved her cage outside as soon as I could upon getting home from the gym (~7:15am). She did one outburst of continuous screaming that lasted for 45-60 seconds while I was pooping and weighing Cord. Once she paused to take a breath, I waited a few seconds and then went into her room and moved her.
In her first hour, she briefly yelled once, took a 20-minute break, briefly yelled a second time, took a 20-minute break, and is now doing some marathon yelling. Still, it is much better than before.
Her biggest morning yell session took place from 9am-10am, but was still better than before.
Unfortunately, what started as a really peaceful day had a strange turn around 3:30. She started screaming again and wouldn't stop. It was disruptive to my students and myself, so she was relocated to the porch (where she didn't say anything).
New Development!
She bathed in her water dish! As soon as I noticed her trying, I put a casserole dish with water in the bottom of her cage. I tried everything I could to lure her down there, but she wasn't having it. Unlike Cord, she is very cautious with new things. That casserole dish was not passing the smell test.
I didn't want a stinky cage and wet mess for the whole day, so I was hoping she'd hurry up and finish the (completely ineffective and pointless) bath. Removing the bowl didn't turn the switch off, but I eventually had the idea to try my water mister. While she wasn't a fan of it initially, she quickly got in the spirit of the mist bath and clung to the side of the cage with her wings open. I emptied the entire thing, and she still wanted more!
Unfortunately, I was down to 5 minutes before my first student arrived, so I wiped down the bars, changed the paper in record time, and got her wheeled into place.
It was a couple hours after the bath that she started up with unprecedented afternoon screaming. I would have expected her to be relaxed from it, but not so.
Training
She has been happy to come out to the door and occasionally climb to the top. She was not okay with the stick today.
Bird-bird Interactions
We brought Cord out for 5 minutes to see Bea while Bea's cage was in the kitchen and we were preparing dinner. Cord was very curious; Bea mildly curious. Cord landed on the cage at one point, but Bea couldn't see her through the top seed tray and thus, didn't seem to care.
Tuesday
Screaming/Calling
I can't conclude that anything I do is effective in curbing the calling, because no day has yet been the same as any other.
This morning's experiment - I rolled her out to the living room/kitchen. I immediately opened the door and did some touch training. She is always a little 'out there' first thing in the morning. Very stressed, swinging/clinging to the top side walls of the cage. It took a free snack to get her attention and then she was happy to engage for a little while.
This led to her standing on top of the door and us working on some step-up training. Unfortunately, since the door moves a little, she got spooked at some point and flew/glided across the room. This was AWESOME for her to get some air time and, hopefully, to remember the joy of flight.
She slid-landed on tile and couldn't stop, so she slid into the kitchen cabinet. Shortly thereafter, she tried to fly back to the bedrooms, got maybe 5 inches of vertical ascent, glided/slid 15 feet and came to a stop with the help of another wall. It took her 6 minutes to get back to the cage. While she was a little nervous at first, I think she enjoyed walking around the exploring.
So the day began with ① training, ② an impromptu flight, and ③ breakfast served right up at her preferred level to make sure she ate and to reduce stress. The combination of those things resulted in zero screams/calls this morning.
I gave her a pistachio in a foraging toy when I moved her out to the porch. Both birds are out there, and I haven't heard a peep from either one of them.
Training
We're holding steady at 'one foot on hand'. Stick is once again a scary object.
Wednesday/Thursday
Screaming/Calling
It is so bad, it's unbelievable. I imagine some people would say, "Birds are loud. You knew what you signed up for."
Except that my conure is only loud about certain things, and the new bird was never loud during my visits at the park. There were/are loud birds at the park, who scream all the time. She wasn't one of them.
I've tried several things - porch right away, breakfast right away, leave her in the room, etc. I'm leaning toward leaving her in the room so that I don't feel like my attempts are just failing right and left. Why go through the trouble of hauling her big, heavy cage everywhere if she is going to scream no matter where she is? At least if I leave her in the room, I can shut her door and slightly dampen the impact.
I wish she could exercise in a more intense way, because I tend to believe exercise helps everything. Her climbing around the cage is better than being a perch potato, but the stress climbing seems to feed the stress.
The only thing I haven't tried is the two birds together. I suppose I'll try that in a week or so.
To be honest - for others who might be going through the same thing (or considering it), this morning screaming is having a huge impact on my well-being and is very hard to deal with. If you're sensitive to noise or have a short fuse, I'm beginning to question the wisdom of a rescue parrot. I thought I was adopting a quiet individual. Wrong.
Training
We've had a few stick touches again. Her hand touches are going well. She's also doing better going to perches on command. We tell her to "Go to your perch" and tap the perch; she's getting pretty reliable about following directions.
Early stick training:
www.dropbox.com
Bird-Bird interactions
We brought Cord out to the kitchen during the human dinner prep and fed the two birds their dinners at the same time. Both ate well, and the interaction (at a distance) was fine. Cord flew to the top of Bea's cage a few times; Bea didn't seem to care at all.
Friday
Screaming/Calling
We left Bea's cage in the main room last night, so she was already out there in the morning. Before she could get fully committed to being a disturber of the peace, I brought Cord out for poop/weigh time. Immediately afterward, I did some touch training with both birds - one at a time and Bea in her cage.
Training
The Model/Rival technique definitely works. Both birds were highly motivated. The only problem with working with Bea in the morning is that she is wayyyy worked up. So clicking and reinforcing her physical behaviors (e.g. touching) while she is amped up and nearly pissed off is reinforcing that emotional state as well. After two successful foot-to-hand requests, she gave me a quick nip. I wasn't hurt or surprised, and my suspicion was confirmed. She's really not mentally there. She's 'out to lunch'.
A high point in our day/week/relationship!!!! - We got a secure, confident step-up, twice! Each time, I immediately stepped her backward onto the perch she had left. (Both were from inside the cage, and I only moved her an inch or so away from the perch.) She is certainly clumsier than my conure, but she understands what is being asked. In fact, based on the number of times I've heard her say 'Step up!' I'd say she was regularly told that cue before she went to live at the rescue.
These step-ups happened in the evening after Cord went to bed.
Cage
We have a new awesome crepe myrtle branch that we're going to put in the cage this weekend. It's been near her cage all week, so it's time to make the transition. She's going to be upset about it for a couple of days, but she'll be so glad to have the new perching surfaces once she gets over it.
Saturday/Sunday
Screaming/Calling
This has not improved. She started up earlier than normal on both weekend days. I'm not surprised, given that we're home on the weekend, rather than at the gym. Saturday, she screamed without stopping from 6:30-7:30am. She then went to intermittent noise making until she was quiet for long enough that we felt it was okay to put her outside. No noise from the porch.
Sunday, she started at 6:15 and hadn't stopped when we left to hike around 7:15. She started up again when we got back around 9:15 and continued even after rolling her onto the porch (which we did during a short interlude of silence).
Interestingly, after rolling her out on Sunday (and listening to her scream for 15 minutes), I went out with the dog to throw the frisbee. Once the dog decided she was done, I went over to socialize with the birds. Bea immediately shoved her foot through the cage to do her 'pet/grasp me please' routine. I don't know if it was because I chatted to Cord first or if because she's feeling tormented and lonely. Or maybe my occasional touches are keeping her hormonally amped up and contributing to the screams. Now there's a thought.
So do I stop allowing her to grasp my hand (and perhaps contribute to her loneliness during this transition) or do I continue to allow her to grasp my hand (and perhaps contribute to her screaming)? What a conundrum.
Training
My husband thinks I sometimes pursue her too much. That might be the case. I sometimes offer my hand/fist and she backs away. I then immediately back away. She then immediately advances and lifts a foot. So while I agree she might be reacting to my advance (by backing away), she then, right away, demonstrates the desire to continue interacting.
This, along with the screaming, seems to indicate she feels a lot of doubt and confusion.
Cage
During the screaming fit on Saturday, I advanced the perch several feet toward her cage and ended the night with it touching it.
Then, when she was out of her mind on Sunday, I leaned it into the open door and later, put it all the way in the cage. She must have noticed it, but it didn't change the sound of her 'song' at all.
After reading more about foot health, we've decided it isn't big enough for her anyway. I believe it was on the I Love Amazon thread where it talks about really big perches for Amazons. This branch is maybe an inch wide at the base and then it forks into two smaller branches. I think I'll use it for Cord's cage instead and find Bea something thicker, even if it doesn't have the cool branching.
We're going to try some different destructible toys this week, namely paper towel and toilet paper tubes. She does forage periodically in her foraging toys (which are also destructible), but she isn't taking anything apart. Maybe she'll scale back the screaming if we can find something for her to really tear apart.
Bird-to-bird interactions
The new routine is that both birds are out during dinner prep. Bea's cage door is closed and Cord eats on the island where we are making dinner.
I don't see a problem with putting Bea's cage in Cord's room, except that it is further away and more difficult for relocating to the porch.
For now, I suppose Bea will continue to be based out of the living room with her days spent on the porch. It works for her screaming, but it is very minimal human contact. After 2-3 hours on the porch, Cord is in my office and gets to see me and come out throughout the day. Bea feels far away, all by herself outside.
Week 1
Week 2
Monday
Screaming/Calling
We're having a brilliant start to the week. I moved her cage outside as soon as I could upon getting home from the gym (~7:15am). She did one outburst of continuous screaming that lasted for 45-60 seconds while I was pooping and weighing Cord. Once she paused to take a breath, I waited a few seconds and then went into her room and moved her.
In her first hour, she briefly yelled once, took a 20-minute break, briefly yelled a second time, took a 20-minute break, and is now doing some marathon yelling. Still, it is much better than before.
Her biggest morning yell session took place from 9am-10am, but was still better than before.
Unfortunately, what started as a really peaceful day had a strange turn around 3:30. She started screaming again and wouldn't stop. It was disruptive to my students and myself, so she was relocated to the porch (where she didn't say anything).
New Development!
She bathed in her water dish! As soon as I noticed her trying, I put a casserole dish with water in the bottom of her cage. I tried everything I could to lure her down there, but she wasn't having it. Unlike Cord, she is very cautious with new things. That casserole dish was not passing the smell test.
I didn't want a stinky cage and wet mess for the whole day, so I was hoping she'd hurry up and finish the (completely ineffective and pointless) bath. Removing the bowl didn't turn the switch off, but I eventually had the idea to try my water mister. While she wasn't a fan of it initially, she quickly got in the spirit of the mist bath and clung to the side of the cage with her wings open. I emptied the entire thing, and she still wanted more!
Unfortunately, I was down to 5 minutes before my first student arrived, so I wiped down the bars, changed the paper in record time, and got her wheeled into place.
It was a couple hours after the bath that she started up with unprecedented afternoon screaming. I would have expected her to be relaxed from it, but not so.
Training
She has been happy to come out to the door and occasionally climb to the top. She was not okay with the stick today.
Bird-bird Interactions
We brought Cord out for 5 minutes to see Bea while Bea's cage was in the kitchen and we were preparing dinner. Cord was very curious; Bea mildly curious. Cord landed on the cage at one point, but Bea couldn't see her through the top seed tray and thus, didn't seem to care.
Tuesday
Screaming/Calling
I can't conclude that anything I do is effective in curbing the calling, because no day has yet been the same as any other.
This morning's experiment - I rolled her out to the living room/kitchen. I immediately opened the door and did some touch training. She is always a little 'out there' first thing in the morning. Very stressed, swinging/clinging to the top side walls of the cage. It took a free snack to get her attention and then she was happy to engage for a little while.
This led to her standing on top of the door and us working on some step-up training. Unfortunately, since the door moves a little, she got spooked at some point and flew/glided across the room. This was AWESOME for her to get some air time and, hopefully, to remember the joy of flight.
She slid-landed on tile and couldn't stop, so she slid into the kitchen cabinet. Shortly thereafter, she tried to fly back to the bedrooms, got maybe 5 inches of vertical ascent, glided/slid 15 feet and came to a stop with the help of another wall. It took her 6 minutes to get back to the cage. While she was a little nervous at first, I think she enjoyed walking around the exploring.
So the day began with ① training, ② an impromptu flight, and ③ breakfast served right up at her preferred level to make sure she ate and to reduce stress. The combination of those things resulted in zero screams/calls this morning.
I gave her a pistachio in a foraging toy when I moved her out to the porch. Both birds are out there, and I haven't heard a peep from either one of them.
Training
We're holding steady at 'one foot on hand'. Stick is once again a scary object.
Wednesday/Thursday
Screaming/Calling
It is so bad, it's unbelievable. I imagine some people would say, "Birds are loud. You knew what you signed up for."
Except that my conure is only loud about certain things, and the new bird was never loud during my visits at the park. There were/are loud birds at the park, who scream all the time. She wasn't one of them.
I've tried several things - porch right away, breakfast right away, leave her in the room, etc. I'm leaning toward leaving her in the room so that I don't feel like my attempts are just failing right and left. Why go through the trouble of hauling her big, heavy cage everywhere if she is going to scream no matter where she is? At least if I leave her in the room, I can shut her door and slightly dampen the impact.
I wish she could exercise in a more intense way, because I tend to believe exercise helps everything. Her climbing around the cage is better than being a perch potato, but the stress climbing seems to feed the stress.
The only thing I haven't tried is the two birds together. I suppose I'll try that in a week or so.
To be honest - for others who might be going through the same thing (or considering it), this morning screaming is having a huge impact on my well-being and is very hard to deal with. If you're sensitive to noise or have a short fuse, I'm beginning to question the wisdom of a rescue parrot. I thought I was adopting a quiet individual. Wrong.
Training
We've had a few stick touches again. Her hand touches are going well. She's also doing better going to perches on command. We tell her to "Go to your perch" and tap the perch; she's getting pretty reliable about following directions.
Early stick training:
Dropbox
www.dropbox.com
Bird-Bird interactions
We brought Cord out to the kitchen during the human dinner prep and fed the two birds their dinners at the same time. Both ate well, and the interaction (at a distance) was fine. Cord flew to the top of Bea's cage a few times; Bea didn't seem to care at all.
Friday
Screaming/Calling
We left Bea's cage in the main room last night, so she was already out there in the morning. Before she could get fully committed to being a disturber of the peace, I brought Cord out for poop/weigh time. Immediately afterward, I did some touch training with both birds - one at a time and Bea in her cage.
Training
The Model/Rival technique definitely works. Both birds were highly motivated. The only problem with working with Bea in the morning is that she is wayyyy worked up. So clicking and reinforcing her physical behaviors (e.g. touching) while she is amped up and nearly pissed off is reinforcing that emotional state as well. After two successful foot-to-hand requests, she gave me a quick nip. I wasn't hurt or surprised, and my suspicion was confirmed. She's really not mentally there. She's 'out to lunch'.
A high point in our day/week/relationship!!!! - We got a secure, confident step-up, twice! Each time, I immediately stepped her backward onto the perch she had left. (Both were from inside the cage, and I only moved her an inch or so away from the perch.) She is certainly clumsier than my conure, but she understands what is being asked. In fact, based on the number of times I've heard her say 'Step up!' I'd say she was regularly told that cue before she went to live at the rescue.
These step-ups happened in the evening after Cord went to bed.
Cage
We have a new awesome crepe myrtle branch that we're going to put in the cage this weekend. It's been near her cage all week, so it's time to make the transition. She's going to be upset about it for a couple of days, but she'll be so glad to have the new perching surfaces once she gets over it.
Saturday/Sunday
Screaming/Calling
This has not improved. She started up earlier than normal on both weekend days. I'm not surprised, given that we're home on the weekend, rather than at the gym. Saturday, she screamed without stopping from 6:30-7:30am. She then went to intermittent noise making until she was quiet for long enough that we felt it was okay to put her outside. No noise from the porch.
Sunday, she started at 6:15 and hadn't stopped when we left to hike around 7:15. She started up again when we got back around 9:15 and continued even after rolling her onto the porch (which we did during a short interlude of silence).
Interestingly, after rolling her out on Sunday (and listening to her scream for 15 minutes), I went out with the dog to throw the frisbee. Once the dog decided she was done, I went over to socialize with the birds. Bea immediately shoved her foot through the cage to do her 'pet/grasp me please' routine. I don't know if it was because I chatted to Cord first or if because she's feeling tormented and lonely. Or maybe my occasional touches are keeping her hormonally amped up and contributing to the screams. Now there's a thought.
So do I stop allowing her to grasp my hand (and perhaps contribute to her loneliness during this transition) or do I continue to allow her to grasp my hand (and perhaps contribute to her screaming)? What a conundrum.
Training
My husband thinks I sometimes pursue her too much. That might be the case. I sometimes offer my hand/fist and she backs away. I then immediately back away. She then immediately advances and lifts a foot. So while I agree she might be reacting to my advance (by backing away), she then, right away, demonstrates the desire to continue interacting.
This, along with the screaming, seems to indicate she feels a lot of doubt and confusion.
Cage
During the screaming fit on Saturday, I advanced the perch several feet toward her cage and ended the night with it touching it.
Then, when she was out of her mind on Sunday, I leaned it into the open door and later, put it all the way in the cage. She must have noticed it, but it didn't change the sound of her 'song' at all.
After reading more about foot health, we've decided it isn't big enough for her anyway. I believe it was on the I Love Amazon thread where it talks about really big perches for Amazons. This branch is maybe an inch wide at the base and then it forks into two smaller branches. I think I'll use it for Cord's cage instead and find Bea something thicker, even if it doesn't have the cool branching.
We're going to try some different destructible toys this week, namely paper towel and toilet paper tubes. She does forage periodically in her foraging toys (which are also destructible), but she isn't taking anything apart. Maybe she'll scale back the screaming if we can find something for her to really tear apart.
Bird-to-bird interactions
The new routine is that both birds are out during dinner prep. Bea's cage door is closed and Cord eats on the island where we are making dinner.
I don't see a problem with putting Bea's cage in Cord's room, except that it is further away and more difficult for relocating to the porch.
For now, I suppose Bea will continue to be based out of the living room with her days spent on the porch. It works for her screaming, but it is very minimal human contact. After 2-3 hours on the porch, Cord is in my office and gets to see me and come out throughout the day. Bea feels far away, all by herself outside.
