Having Trouble

[thespaceprince]

Hey there everyone! I've been having some trouble training my male cockatiel. A little backstory:
I got my first tiel named Baby just a little while ago (back in July 2015) from a friend at work. He said she was too loud and he didn't want to put up with it anymore. I had researched a ton on training prior to getting her, so I was confident that I could end her screaming problem. It took quite a while, but I managed to do it! She's now a quiet, well-mannered cuddle bug~
In comes my newer male tiel, Hugo, who we recently bought from a pet store. He had the same screaming problem but amplified x100! I thought at first I'd be able to deal with this problem just like I did with Baby, but he doesn't respond much to any of the positive reinforcement that worked with her. He doesn't like treats or millet much, he doesn't care when I don't pay attention to him when he screams, and he definitely doesn't like being petted. His constant screaming is driving us crazy and we don't know how to stop it!
Any advice is greatly appreciated <3

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum! How long have you had your male? Do you know how old he is? Is he housed with your female or separately?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

When does he scream? Does he scream when he's in his cage? Does he scream because he wants to see you or your female cockatiel? If it's when he is in his cage and wanting attention, you can make sure he is on some sort of a routine. If he knows when to expect to come out that might help. Also, does he get enough sleep? How big is his cage? I think we need more information about the screaming in order to help.

 

[thespaceprince]

Thank you for responding!

To answer the questions:
When does he scream? All throughout the day at random intervals. He's even woken me up a few times from screaming at 2am (not from a night fright thankfully).
Does he scream when he's in his cage? Yes, he screams in and out of his cage.
Does he scream because he wants to see you or your female cockatiel? I'm actually not sure. Since he's still a little new, I'm hesitant to put them in the same cage, as I'm not ready to be a grandpa to a bunch of teeny cockatiels! He may be, I'll have to look into it more.
Does he get enough sleep? Unfortunately, probably not. I'm really bad about staying up late (I'm a night person and I take night classes) so I myself don't get a ton of sleep. I'm trying to be better about it though, because even Baby is starting to get a little cranky sometimes.
How big is his cage? About 16" wide, 20" long, and 26" tall.

Edit: Sorry sunnysmom, I somehow missed your questions!
We've had Hugo since August of 2016. He's 7-8 months old and he and my female are housed separately.

 

[sunnysmom]

Can they see each other? I'm wondering if he wants to be with her. Do they get out of the cage time together. And definitely sleep could be an issue too. Tiers need 10-12 hours of sleep/darkness.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

So he screams even if he is out of his cage and can spend time with you or the other cockatiel? I don't think they need to be housed together, as long as they can see each other and have out time together. I would try at least 10-12 hours of fairly dark, quiet uninterrupted sleep. My vet recommends 12. Has he seen a vet for a well check up? Can you post a video of what the scream sounds like? Could he be in pain or have a broken feather? I'm not sure why he would scream so much if he has plenty of out time, toys, etc. Besides more sleep you can try more enrichment activities such as training, foraging, and distracting him with toys. You can try to catch him when he's being quiet and give him a lot of praise and attention, and ignore him when he is screaming. Also, you can try to substitute his behavior with something positive, like whistling.

 

[Sky&Sunshine]

Hey! I have the exact some problem!! Except i think my new cockatiel is missing his friends. hes terrified of hands too. Altho i found something that works. i have a couple of certain songs that they like as soon as i put them on the birds go quiet. they love them! and it quietens the cockatiel and sorta calms him.