PLEASE HELP! Crazy Screaming Galah!

[Adam Duxbury]

Hello everyone, sorry I've not posted for a long time!
Hope you are all well?

Please, Please can anyone help and give me advice on my Galah please.
Every time I leave my apartment he will chirp very loudly for a while, so loud I can hear him from down the hall way to the lift.

But the worst is when I come back after an hour or so I can hear him a floor below mine floor in the lift screaming and screaming constantly without a pause.
When I leave the lift the screaming Is so loud and constant its embarrassing and I feel so ashamed and guilty for the people who are staying next to me and I'm just hoping they can't hear him with there apartment door closed?

Please can anyone help, is there something I can do to stop it?

When I leave i sometimes leave the cage half covered so he can still see out. is this good or bad? This time the screeching was very bad was when I left him half covered.
And other times I don't have him covered at all.
I feel bad if I was to have him fully covered or is this ok?

I Just want the horrible screaming to stop or I will have to give him away :'(

Hope to hear from you all soon?

Kindest Regards,

Adam

 

[Chopper]

Hi Adam - I am really sorry to hear this. Has anything changed in your apartment recently? Anything? New TV? New magazine on a table, socks on the floor, etc.? Think outside the box. Did you buy a new cover for your Galah? A new toy in the cage with him, a new perch, a new feeding dish?

How old is he?

 

[sunnysmom]

@Tanya ?

 

[rocky'smom]

@JLcribber

 

[Lady Jane]

Could it be separation anxiety? screaming reasons

 

[Bokkapooh]

What is his environment like? Cage size? Toys? Brightness of room? Any tv or music radio you can leave on?

How long have you had him?

Whats his diet like?

How old is he?

 

[JLcribber]

You have to give us a lot more information/background about your situation if we are going to offer any sound advice. Environment, diet, routine, etc. It sounds like classic anxiety/frustration as Dianne said.

You keep mentioning "leaving". How often are you leaving and for how long?

 

[JLcribber]

I Just want the horrible screaming to stop or I will have to give him away :'(

I'll be right up front with you Adam. Now that the problem is established it will more than likely get worse before it gets better and it's not going to be easy or quick to fix. This bird is not going to just stop. Nothing will change until "you" change the "situation" first. It's going to take quite a bit of time and a LOT of patience and I can hear your patience running out in your post. Birds scream when their needs are not being met.

Screaming 101

We never get rid of a bird. If you realize you have made a mistake then it is your obligation to do right by this bird and find it a qualified and accepting home. You chose the bird. The bird did not choose you.

 

[Lady Jane]

Socialization: The Secret To Treating and Preventing Separation Anxiety
Socialization is critical to the treatment and prevention of separation anxiety in pet parrots. Parrots that are left cooped up for days on end will do anything in their power to gain their owner's attention, including yelling and screaming. On the other hand, exposing your parrot to new sights, sounds and smells will satisfy their instinctual desire to explore; thus, helping to prevent separation anxiety.
Here are some easy ways to socialize a pet parrot:

• Take your parrot out of its cage for a couple hours a day.
  
• Purchase a bird harness so you can take your outside.
  
• Introduce your parrot to new people.
  
• Pull open the curtains so your parrot can look out the window while you're gone.
  
• Take your parrot to the veterinarian for routine checkups and grooming.
  
• Bring your parrot on car rides.

When you're forced to leave your parrot's side, try turning on the radio or television. It's certainly no substitute for your company, but it may help preoccupy their time with some mental stimulation.

 

[Yoshi&Reza]

Oh no, sorry he is starting to scream. He is obviously frustrated with something. I don't personally think it is good to cover a bird during the day. At night it is fine as long as it doesn't stress the bird out.

He hasn't had it the easiest but thank goodness you found him and were able to give him a home.

Wish y'all the best and I hope you can figure out a solution to the problem and just know it will take patience.

 

[Macaw Lover]

Why are you covering the cage when you are leaving? Do you tell him that you are leaving and for how long? When birds know what to expect, they can accept things better.

I would start by telling him that you are only going to be gone for a couple of minutes. Go out the door and then come back within a few minutes. Praise and tell him how good he was while you were gone. Do this often, doing it for longer periods and praising him and giving him treats for being such a good little boy. He needs to learn that you will be coming back as it could be a fear that he as with you leaving.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

But make sure you don't come back and give him a treat while he's screaming, because he will think the screaming brought you back.

@Lady Jane had some good ideas. Also, don't forget foraging toys, and a loose routine will help him know what to expect. How big is his cage? How much time does he get out of his cage interacting with you?

 

[Lady Jane]

Have we helped you to understand from a birds point of view?

 

[Tanya]

Oops... It appears hat this did't post when I wrote it a couple days ago. My bad.

What I wrote on Friday:
Since you found him as an adult it's hard to know what bad habits he picked up with his former family. It's now up to you to encourage positive behaviors.

On the bright side, the honeymoon period is definitely over. You're getting to see his true Galah self!

Rhubarb screams when she's happily playing. And when she's scared. And sometimes in the morning or evening. For the most part though, she's relatively quiet. Not silent, but chips and calls that don't reach the definition of "screaming" in my book.

I like to think this is in part due to LOTS of positive reinforcement. We started when she was young. After she finished eating breakfast I'd keep an eye on her and when she was well into post-food preening, I'd come over and give her scritches while saying "Good Girl, Quiet Girl." If I ever saw her chewing on a toy quietly, I'd do the same. I'm happy to have her get loud a few times a day (it's a healthy behavior!), but she never gets rewarded for it from me. She DOES get lots of attention when she plays quietly (here quite means with little squawks and squees instead of full screaming). She seems to know what "Quiet" means now, as she has trained us that "Kiss, kiss" is a beak bump with a chirp, and "Quiet kiss" is a beak bump only.

The other half of the coin is being consistent when you leave. When I'm leaving for the day, I pause, look right at her and say "Bye, bye" before I close the front door. She seems to know what "Bye, bye" means and will sometimes say it back to me in the morning. She ALWAYS gets scritches and praise for saying her cute little "Buh, buh" even if it means I "leave" two or three times in a row. According to Husband, she really doesn't scream after we have had our little farewell routine. If I'm going for only an hour or so, I tell her "See ya' later" and if only for a moment "I'll be right back." I don't know for sure that she's completely figured out the other two (they're a bit newer than "Bye, bye"), but I know she squawks a lot more (and louder) if I tell her "I'll be right back" and don't reappear within a few seconds.

Keep in mind that Galah's are part of flocks that number in the hundreds to THOUSANDS. A lonely bird is a dead bird in the Australian bush. It might be useful to work on a better contact call with him, like a soft whistle or quiet word. I use a low tongue-click sound followed by "You're ok." or "It's ok, good girl." This is a reassuring way to let him know you hear him when he's scared and Galah's will frequently match your energy/loudness. Avoid all reinforcement if he's being loud to get attention. It's easy to ignore a bird when they're being good. But that's the most important time to engage with them.

 

[aooratrix]

And you're going to have to reward the bird A LOT for independent play and behavior before the bird catches on. You might provide a desired, labor-intensive toy for your bird when you're leaving, as @Tiel Feathers suggested. Galahs are ground feeders, so maybe you could provide something like a small planter with sprouted seeds growing or one of those grass planters available for cats and rodents? I'd just be sure the soil was sterile.

My BTM is very people-oriented when out of his cage. He'd rather be with a person than playing with ANY toy. So I'm constantly getting up and treating him for independent play. There are no quick fixes to be had.

 

[Monica]

I must wonder if your bird screams the entire time you are away, or only when you get back home and your bird somehow knows when you get home before you get into the lift?

 

[BigMacWonder]

They are very smart. I would create a situation where scream=ignore, silent=treats, that's how I communicate with my macaw and galah. Or place a buffer cage that stuffed with news paper for him to shred. That will shut him up for some time if you have a chewer. I agreed that it will take a long time to change an behaviour. We took about 6 months to help Elmo understands, biting caused pain pain hence no pat pat. Even that he argued, everybody bites.

I wish you all the luck in the world and patience and determination of a size of an elephant.