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Screaming grey

Bluscraps

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Mandi
Help. I have a 17 year old Congo Grey that I've had for almost 11 years. I am his third home and forever home. Up until about six months ago we have not had any problems or issues from him. But over the last six months he has has developed a screaming issue. When he screams all he screams is Stella lay down which is our boxer dog. . Now for some reason he has been choosing to scream and I've tried to ignore him I've tried to cover him and at this point I do not know what to do. What I have noticed is when I put his UVA UVB light on he seems to scream or it seems to be more prevalent. Is there a chance that this light is bothering him to the point of screaming? Any help would be greatly
 

Aves

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Ephy

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Im so sorry you relationship has been a struggle.
Has anything changed in the last few months?
With covid, life at home has gone through many stages of change, at some points it was some not pleasant.
In the end we learned to communicate and are better for it.
What has changed for your bird? Are there other ways to communicate with each other, that might help?
 

Ephy

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Help. I have a 17 year old Congo Grey that I've had for almost 11 years. I am his third home and forever home. Up until about six months ago we have not had any problems or issues from him. But over the last six months he has has developed a screaming issue. When he screams all he screams is Stella lay down which is our boxer dog. . Now for some reason he has been choosing to scream and I've tried to ignore him I've tried to cover him and at this point I do not know what to do. What I have noticed is when I put his UVA UVB light on he seems to scream or it seems to be more prevalent. Is there a chance that this light is bothering him to the point of screaming? Any help would be greatly
i think there is alot of controversy around sun lamps. Too much, that In my opinion i wont use them.
All you can do is remove them and see if it helps?
 

Lady Jane

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Here is an article by Pam Clark a well respected avian behavior specialist.

 

macawpower58

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If the screaming is new behavior, I'm guessing there's a reason for it.
Has he seen a vet?
Is the UV light new?
Have you tried removing it from his area?
Have you changed anything? Hair, nails, etc..?
Any recent scares?
Any cage movements?
Different work hour?
New people?
There is usually a reason if a bird drastically has a behavior change.
 

Snowghost

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hmm now that is odd. Paco rarely screams, but sometimes he will let out a blood curdling scream at his bell. He has a cylindrical one in his cage that he has had since I got him. I'm so glad it has only happened a few times in 2 years. I will admit, I don't know much about sun lamps but I would think they would be intense. I would stop using it, maybe its causing stress? Also do you and other family members yell at the dog to lay down? Is the bird imitating you? Paco has started to growl lately but I think he is trying to say wow, so I have been encouraging him. They are so intelligent and pick up on so much easily. Let us know how its going with the light.
 

Tazlima

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The vet is my first thought. If your bird is sick or hurting in some way, all the training in the world won't help, so Step 1 is getting him checked out.

After that, can you give more details? Does the screaming happen at a particular time of day? Is it a short burst or does it go on for a long time?

In addition to the possible causes already mentioned above, given the intelligence of greys, I'd also wonder if there was an incident with Stella, where the dog, intentionally or not, frightened or angered him in some way. If he's fearful the dog will jump up at him and knows "Stella, down" will make her move in the opposite direction, it would be logical for him to start yelling those particular words. Alternately, it could be that "Stella, down" is normally said in a louder or firmer tone than normal conversation in the household and he's just latched on to that phrase as being a good choice for yelling. Regardless, it can't hurt to keep an extra close eye on any interactions between the two.
 

MnGuy

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I won't repeat too much of what others have said, but is someone yelling at Stella to lay down? My CAG also gives my dogs commands and it is always in my tone. I know birds are individuals, but my CAG does not amplify anything beyond its original volume/tone/feeling.

Is the UVA/UVB bulb new? This sounds crazy, but I've watched some YouTubers who keep large reptiles (monitors, tegus, etc.) and they say natural UVA/UVB outside will cause their reptiles to flip out because they see the world differently in natural UVA/UVB. Maybe the UVA/UVB is affecting your grey's vision?

Good luck.
 

Bluscraps

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Thanks for the replies. So a little back history we are Sam's third home we have had him 11 years now . His second home was a pretty rough one from What We Gather . He was in a small parakeet cage and was not let out of the cage for over 2 years . I can tell you that cage had not been cleaned in a long time and he had no toys or stimulation . Sam was recently at the vet 2 weeks ago for his annual checkup along with blood work and everything came back great . Yes I did have someone in the house yelling at Stella to lay down and it does seem to be in that person's voice . There had been a lot of uncomfortableness in the home for about a year and about that time as when he picked up the screaming and it is just progressively gotten worse . Sam and I have moved out but he is in the same cage with the same setup. What he has not had in the last few weeks that he was used to is outside time in his outside cage. Which I do plan on doing again but the weather here in South Texas has been iffy. He does scream at all times of the day whether I'm home alone or have company. He just does seem to scream more when the lamp is on him. The first week in our new home I think was an adjustement and he was perfect. Now that he's settled in the screaming has returned. Im just at a loss
 

Tazlima

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Aww, poor fellow. Birds are so sensitive to their environment, and he was undoubtedly upset by the uncomfortableness in the home. Glad you're in a better place now.

If the lamp seems to be a trigger, it's definitely the place to start. Is it set up in such a way that he can get away from the extra light when he wants? (A barrier that would act as a shade, or having the lamp shine on only part of his space)? Does the lamp generate heat that might be making him uncomfortable?

WRT the rest of the environment, are YOU (and others in your household) calmer now? Not just quieter, but genuinely more content? I find when my birds are getting stressed, if I look at myself, I'm often stressed too. They pick up on that and amplify it. I make it a point to take some deep breaths and truly relax (can't fake it... they can tell the difference), and they'll generally relax along with me if I lead the way.

On the other hand, if the new place is significantly quieter than the previous home, it could be the quiet that's freaking him out. Birds are comfortable in a noisy, busy environment. Silence and stillness in the wild means there's a threat nearby. In that case, playing music may help.

That should be enough to start with.
 

MnGuy

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I'm sorry about the difficulty you two faced, and am glad you're in a new situation.

It sounds to me like your grey is still processing/purging the trauma, and is also stressed out by the new environment. You said he was perfect the first week, but a lot of the times parrots (and other animals) seem "perfect" in a new situation because they're nervous, scared and adjusting. And then once that is over, they start to exhibit behaviors more true to their state of mind. I've experienced this adopting a 17-year-old Meyer's, adopting my CAG when she was 6 and fostering four dogs. I would not interpret the first week as the true state of your grey and the current behavior as out of the norm.

Where is your grey's cage located? Is anything in the home or outside visible through windows bothering it? Does it have plenty of space and toys to keep it busy? Who else lives there and what are their relationships to the bird?

Is it possible that seeing your dog is triggering trauma in your grey? I think you should try building positive associations with the dog by giving your bird treats while the dog is nearby. I think it's worth teaching your bird to quietly say, "Stella lay down" (or whatever the phrase was), so the grey replaces the yelling version.

I'd remove the lamp for now, too.


Good luck.
 
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