How to make cockatiel less loud

[Kreigan]

Hi,

My male cockatiel is now around 7 months old and is going through his first moult.
We have been slowly bonding for the past 4 months, and everything seems good. Not perfect (doesn't like fingers and only steps up to run to the shoulder), but reasonably good.

Now the problem is that while chatting (doing peekaboo, wolf's whistle and other cute noises), he sometimes screams like crazy. Or laughs like a very loud monkey. Or whistles so hard that I feel my head exploding.
Apparently, it almost always happens when I'm coming back from work (my wife says that he is mostly calm during the day) - he starts to chat and jump around.
I think he is showing that he is happy/trying to communicate this way, but it gets TOO LOUD (to the point of literal headache and worries about our neighbours).
We have no idea where he learned the sounds, but the scary thing is that more of them (the loud ones) appear with time.

Any ideas on how to reduce the bird's volume? I've tried letting him listen to quiet whistle melodies/songs. Switched on a loud air purifier near him (white noise).
I am mostly ignoring him making sounds, and when he starts to get too loud - leave the room. Never rushing to "calm him down" or reward the behaviour in any form.
He also does that outside of the cage, not only when he is locked in.

Thanks

 

[Tiel Feathers]

It sounds like he is very happy to see you and gets excited when you’re around. Does your wife interact with him during the day? Maybe if he can burn off more energy in the daytime, he won’t be so active when you get home. You can try foraging toys, flight time, training, etc. Also, birds are usually more active in the mornings and early evenings. Do you interact with him when you get home? Playtime first thing would be a good idea. That might help him to relax for a while. What time does he go to bed/wake up? This sounds like just normal bird behavior tbh, so ignoring him might not be the way to go. It doesn’t sound like he’s screaming. Maybe a more structured routine when you get home. You can try giving him a special dinner in the evenings. My birds get sprouts and freeze dried veggies about an hour before their bedtime. That keeps them busy for a bit, and then they preen and are mellow until bedtime. Also, 5-8 months or so is when males start experimenting with their voices. He might quiet down in time.

 

[aooratrix]

Psittacines are always going to make some noise. You can only try to replace a vocalization with a preferred one or distract the bird.

 

[Xoetix]

He’s still pretty young! From what I’ve read/heard, a lot of times they’ll get a little quieter as they get older. Tteok, my tiel, sings or talks pretty much constantly. I don’t think he’s capable of shutting up unless he’s sleeping, but even then I’m sure he sleep talks.

The loud sound you’re describing sounds like probably a flock call. Is it loud and shrill, and kind of sounds like a referee whistle?

 

[WinniePooh]

Hi,

My male cockatiel is now around 7 months old and is going through his first moult.
We have been slowly bonding for the past 4 months, and everything seems good. Not perfect (doesn't like fingers and only steps up to run to the shoulder), but reasonably good.

Now the problem is that while chatting (doing peekaboo, wolf's whistle and other cute noises), he sometimes screams like crazy. Or laughs like a very loud monkey. Or whistles so hard that I feel my head exploding.
Apparently, it almost always happens when I'm coming back from work (my wife says that he is mostly calm during the day) - he starts to chat and jump around.
I think he is showing that he is happy/trying to communicate this way, but it gets TOO LOUD (to the point of literal headache and worries about our neighbours).
We have no idea where he learned the sounds, but the scary thing is that more of them (the loud ones) appear with time.

Any ideas on how to reduce the bird's volume? I've tried letting him listen to quiet whistle melodies/songs. Switched on a loud air purifier near him (white noise).
I am mostly ignoring him making sounds, and when he starts to get too loud - leave the room. Never rushing to "calm him down" or reward the behaviour in any form.
He also does that outside of the cage, not only when he is locked in.

Thanks

Whats his name?
My cockatiel is 7 months old and i have been bonding with him the last 4 months too!
I think Winnie is a he too!
Winnie wolf whistles, is attempting to say 'Whatcha doin', tries to whistle along to september with me, and random cute noises. He is quite touchy feely but a bit nippy and hormonal and grumpy. How did you get him to play peekaboo?

 

[Kreigan]

Thanks, everyone for the replies!

It sounds like he is very happy to see you and gets excited when you’re around. Does your wife interact with him during the day? Maybe if he can burn off more energy in the daytime, he won’t be so active when you get home. You can try foraging toys, flight time, training, etc. Also, birds are usually more active in the mornings and early evenings. Do you interact with him when you get home? Playtime first thing would be a good idea. That might help him to relax for a while. What time does he go to bed/wake up? This sounds like just normal bird behavior tbh, so ignoring him might not be the way to go. It doesn’t sound like he’s screaming. Maybe a more structured routine when you get home. You can try giving him a special dinner in the evenings. My birds get sprouts and freeze dried veggies about an hour before their bedtime. That keeps them busy for a bit, and then they preen and are mellow until bedtime. Also, 5-8 months or so is when males start experimenting with their voices. He might quiet down in time.

I also think it is normal behaviour. It is just that he has a tendency to experiment towards louder noises, and when I say loud, I mean it. It is way worse than working perforator He sleeps from 20.30 to 10.00, so it should be plenty of time. And his vocalizing routine is a little in the morning (~1 hour or so) and then for 3-4 hours before sleep.

Psittacines are always going to make some noise. You can only try to replace a vocalization with a preferred one or distract the bird.

Replacing with a different sound is exactly what we want to achieve. But have no idea how to do it. So far, despite us talking to him quietly and switching on quiet whistle melodies, he is generating more different loud noises. And their variety seems to increase. (recently, very loud whistles were added). Any advice on how to replace the sounds?

He’s still pretty young! From what I’ve read/heard, a lot of times they’ll get a little quieter as they get older. Tteok, my tiel, sings or talks pretty much constantly. I don’t think he’s capable of shutting up unless he’s sleeping, but even then I’m sure he sleep talks.

The loud sound you’re describing sounds like probably a flock call. Is it loud and shrill, and kind of sounds like a referee whistle?

I don't think it is a flock call. His flock call I learned quite well - it happens whenever he is out of the cage, and I leave the room. The loud sounds we have problems with are always in between chattering and making other more pleasant sounds,

Whats his name?
My cockatiel is 7 months old and i have been bonding with him the last 4 months too!
I think Winnie is a he too!
Winnie wolf whistles, is attempting to say 'Whatcha doin', tries to whistle along to september with me, and random cute noises. He is quite touchy feely but a bit nippy and hormonal and grumpy. How did you get him to play peekaboo?

Rocky
He learned peekaboo (but only the sound, not the actual play) and wolf whistle sound from other parrots at the breeder place. With us he learned some weird whistles (I'm turning on youtube whistle training videos for him) which sometimes sound quite melodic. How about loud noises for you?

 

[Xoetix]

Replacing with a different sound is exactly what we want to achieve. But have no idea how to do it. So far, despite us talking to him quietly and switching on quiet whistle melodies, he is generating more different loud noises. And their variety seems to increase. (recently, very loud whistles were added). Any advice on how to replace the sounds?

Is there one specific whistle you’re trying to teach him? You need to have that one specific one going on repeat, and you need to constantly whistle it as well. Make sure it’s one that won’t eventually drive you crazy.

 

[WinniePooh]

Thanks, everyone for the replies!



I also think it is normal behaviour. It is just that he has a tendency to experiment towards louder noises, and when I say loud, I mean it. It is way worse than working perforator He sleeps from 20.30 to 10.00, so it should be plenty of time. And his vocalizing routine is a little in the morning (~1 hour or so) and then for 3-4 hours before sleep.



Replacing with a different sound is exactly what we want to achieve. But have no idea how to do it. So far, despite us talking to him quietly and switching on quiet whistle melodies, he is generating more different loud noises. And their variety seems to increase. (recently, very loud whistles were added). Any advice on how to replace the sounds?




I don't think it is a flock call. His flock call I learned quite well - it happens whenever he is out of the cage, and I leave the room. The loud sounds we have problems with are always in between chattering and making other more pleasant sounds,




Rocky
He learned peekaboo (but only the sound, not the actual play) and wolf whistle sound from other parrots at the breeder place. With us he learned some weird whistles (I'm turning on youtube whistle training videos for him) which sometimes sound quite melodic. How about loud noises for you?

he isnt very loud for either then when he can hear me in the house and he's locked away.

 

[aooratrix]

You're going to have to reward him every time he makes a desirable vocalization or isn't loud. The amount of time it will take depends on your relationship with your bird and whether or not you can be consistent with the reward timing, so your tiel connects it to the behavior.