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How to untrain a noise not related to specific behavior?

KoopsNest

Checking out the neighborhood
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2/9/20
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So I have had my CAG Kooper since August. He has displayed a variety of wonderful and obnoxious sounds in the many months I've had him. The problematic sounds have mostly been linked to specific behaviors, for instance he makes a loud annoying slide whistle whenever I leave the room. But those sounds are usually specific to a certain situation.

He has started making a really piercing sound at random times now that doesn't seem to be linked to any specific behavior so I don't know how to work on getting him to do it less. If it was related to wanting attention or food I could try and work with that but he will make this sound for pretty much any reason. If he hears the dogs next door, screech. If I pick him up to go to the living room, screech. When I uncover his cage, screech. When I leave the room or even look at the door, screech. I think I know where the sound came from but I'm at a loss as to how to get him to do it less. Nothing has changed in our daily routine, he gets the same amount of attention and time out of his cage. The only thing that has changed is that he is becoming more hormonal again with the days getting longer and he has been growing in a lot of feathers.

Does anyone have advice on reducing unwanted sounds?
 

Fuzzy

Rollerblading along the road
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The unwanted sounds will have been reinforced somehow or else they wouldn't continue - you may not know what is reinforcing them. You can't unlearn a behaviour, but you could work to replace it with another more ear friendly sound. What sound would you like him to make that he already knows? If he's got something he can say, for example, "Hello!", cue that sound BEFORE he does the unwanted sound and HEAVILY reinforce it!! An animal will choose to do the behaviour that is the most reinforcing... hence why you need to HEAVILY reinforce the new sound. It is important that the new sound is already something he knows so that you don't have to waste time in teaching it.

With Kobe, he can make a god awful noise in the morning, but he knows "oh.....BOY!" So I wait for a gap in the noise and cue "OHHHHHH?" and he immediately finishes with "BOYYYYYYY!" and we carry on and on because just the interaction with me is highly reinforcing for Kobe.
 

LynnInColorado

Meeting neighbors
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I’m interested in this as well. Our 24 year-old CAG does some very loud whistles makes eye contact with me and does it again and again... I’ll calmly say “Be quiet.”, avoid eye contact and praise her when she is quiet for a bit. She’ll frequently say “Be a good bird. Be quiet”, etc. We have a portable perch next to her play area that she spends a lot of time on. I move it and her to the nearby laundry room, close the door and set a timer for 10 minutes. Now she imitates the sound of the timer ahead of the 10 minutes. Fooled me once. She usually settles down after a time out. Other ideas?
 

LynnInColorado

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...I wait for a gap in the noise and cue "OHHHHHH?" and he immediately finishes with "BOYYYYYYY!
I will try this. Thank you!
 

Lady Jane

Ripping up the road
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Unwanted bird sounds are best ignored. If you react in any way as said you are only reinforcing this behavior.
 
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