Sudden Screaming!

[Nostromo]

Whew!!! My sweet, usually quiet Zeph has decided to show me today what those little lungs can do... dang. Got my earplugs in now but that first KACK! KACK! KACK! KACK! had me nearly falling out of my chair

My poor dog has been panicking for the last hour and hiding under the table. This is the first time she's ever screamed like this (had her 6 months, she's 8.5 years old) and she's done it three times today!! She's out of her cage, just playing around on top and then boom, starts to screech. My guess is it's because my boyfriend, her chosen person, has been on a business trip the past three days. Add to that we boarded her over Christmas. So she's maybe feeling a little abandoned. I've been trying not to react (but OUCH it's hard! haha) and then whistling at her when she's being quiet... I also closed the blinds in case she saw something scary outside. Maybe I'll put a book on tape to give her (and me) something to listen to.

Anyways, just wanted to say WOW, I feel like a real parrot owner now

 

[hedylarue]

My Pi screams like a nuclear fallout alarm and he does it at least once a day. My husband and I are constantly saying we must have the loudest Pi on the planet. Typically his tantrums don't last more than 15 minutes...which sounds long, but in the parrot world is not long..lol.

 

[Nostromo]

@hedylarue I'm glad to hear that it's within the realm of normal! And sorry for your ear drums! I know I am so spoiled to be crying about 3 or 4 shrieks in the total of six months but boy it did wake me up! haha. My boyfriend came home late last night and Zeph was beside herself... she seems much happier today!

 

[Lady Jane]

Your Screaming Parrot and You – Pamela Clark, CPBC

 

[Nostromo]

@Lady Jane I've read this, thank you! I also have a background in ABA for children with autism, so I'm familiar with the "avoid reinforcement at all costs" for non-functional behaviors. So I just pretended like nothing was happening. I think the real issue was that she missed her person though, and unfortunately that's one that I can't solve when he has to go!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

It's a good time to create a distraction that doesn't equal a reward. Giving my male amazon something to do before I started to clean his cage has really settled the "beast" in him. Usually food to forage for or a chunk of wood to destroy. I've discovered the boxes I order stuff for them is more fun than a toy or wood.

 

[hedylarue]

A couple of things that I've noticed help Kody's mood:

Lots of sleep...at least 12 hours but sometimes I think he really needs more.

Alone time during the day. Sometimes I think he gets overstimulated because he'll want to go be alone in another room and rest for a bit. He'll literally fly into the bedroom and sit there for an hour by himself...he comes out when he's ready to face the world again. If he's having a screaming fit sometimes I'll put him in another room and see if he's needing some "Kody" time. If he comes back out in a few minutes, he's usually forgotten whatever he was screaming about.

Baths! If he hasn't had a spray bath in a few days I think he starts getting a bit itchy. I notice the days he takes baths that he is usually in a great mood! So if he's crabby and it's been a few days I give him a spray down. He lets me know if he's not into it. Sometimes I can't believe how much a bath can change his mood! It's possible it cools down his hormonal flares too...I know male Pis are pretty infamous for being hormonal and moody.

And I agree with distractions...I know what usually sets him off so I'll give him some nuts or foot toys and sometimes that helps.

But he still screams at least once a day...lol! He makes a quacking noise that I can tolerate but that nuclear fallout alarm noise...OMG....if you ever hear it you will know what I mean...I can't believe that little guy can make a sound like that!! I wonder if the females can even make that sound. Luckily it doesn't go on for more than a few minutes at a time.

 

[Nostromo]

@hedylarue this is all great advice! I think her sleep might have been a little disrupted, and she definitely was in need of a shower. Especially with the heater on during the night, which I'm sure dries her out even more than usual. So far she hasn't screamed again and seems totally back to her silly, quacking, inquisitive self, and she is a very happy girl to have her husband (aka my boyfriend) back from his trip. Although our smoke detector did start doing a low-battery beep and she was imitating that

I'm hoping the screaming remains a rare event, but it'll be good to have a few tools and ideas to start with should any difficult behaviors crop up in the future.

As for the quality of the scream... it was stunningly loud, although we have a pretty quiet house, so part of it was just how jarring the sound was. But it was definitely on par with some of the screams I've heard from the macaws at the parrot store (I'm sure that's just everyday macaw level noise though, haha). She would be chirping and suddenly beginning bobbing up and down and screaming: a rough, high-pitched, nails-on-a-chalkboard KACK! sound, maybe three or four in a row in quick succession, then quiet for an hour or so.

 

[hedylarue]

@Nostromo Kody does the smoke alarm with low batteries too!! The funny thing is that he ONLY does it when we leave the house and he's alone so it took a few weeks of me running back into the apartment to check the smoke alarm before I finally realized it was him all along!

 

[Begone]

I wonder if the females can even make that sound.

They are much louder. And I have two.. (yes I have earplugs)

Many of those loud screaming is because of anxiety in some kind of way.
Pionus are very sensitive parrots, so less sleep, a change in their daily routine or anything else they don't like they scream more.
And they often do that the day after something has happen to them.

When it comes to screaming you must find out what kind of scream it is.
At the moment both mine are hormonal, and when they are they are more sensitive.
So when they scream I often answer back.
It is only screaming for attention I ignore, but both mine don't scream for attention, they scream when something is bother them or to warn me for something.
So just to reply, - Yes I also saw that big hawk, or to go near and talking to them in soft and calm voice is helping.
To ignore if something is bother them or if they alert something dangerous will make you to a very bad flockmember.

 

[nightfly]

Mine sort of 'barks', or yaps like a small dog at strange people outside his window. I occasionally hear a high pitch smoke alarm type noise, but it's not common; it's also interspersed between the yaps when there is something unusual going on outside. He'll keep it up until I come to see what's going on. My gray will talk to him to calm him down the same way I do, to 'cut it out', and 'it's okay', 'It's alright'; sometimes it works. I don't know if my gray has better memory of who he's seen outside, or just better judgement about what's going on.

 

[Davi]

Honestly, I feel that if you live with a parrot or multiple parrots and don't own a good set of ear plugs, you're putting your hearing at risk . My crimson-bellied conure, Julio, does this sound that I can only describe as a "monkey shriek to announce to the whole forest that a meteor is about to hit so you need to run for your lives NOW NOW NOW". My neighbors down the street can hear it. One of my two dogs gets highly aggravated by this and I have to help her calm down. If you're near him when this happens and you don't have your ear plugs in, good luck! Then, 10 minutes later, his attitude is more along the lines of "oh hi, how's it going? what's new with you?"

 

[hedylarue]

Mine sort of 'barks', or yaps like a small dog at strange people outside his window.

Kody does this too...looks out the window and complains to me about what he sees and hears.

 

[MyPiOwnsUs]

We've had Cricket for 10 years (age estimate: 15-20) and she's never been a loud caller (I don't like the term screaming, because Cricket doesn't do it when she's frightened), but suddenly, earlier this year, she discovered her lungs and WOW, even though she's really small (165lb WCP), she can really belt it out. In the past, she'd only loud call when we were making noise in the kitchen while she was trying to sleep in the bedroom, so, no problem, we'd wait an hour or so to do the dishes. But this year at the start of breeding season (of course), for some reason--after being pretty much quiet for the entire 10 years we've had her--Cricket started regularly loud calling, sometimes with a reason (she wanted us back in the room, or weren't being fast enough with her dinner), but sometimes for no discernible reason (we call those "rando" calls). But then, mid this year, we moved (into an apartment of all places), and of course worried about Cricket's sudden affection for loud calls. And she did continue the loud calling a little bit here and there in the apartment (especially because we have a flock of wild conures outside that I think Cricket was telling to shut up), but then one day it just stopped. So I'm not sure if it's the Portland, OR, weather that inspired her to shout to the heavens or what, but here in West LA, California, she's her quiet self again. So I hope your situation is temporary as well.

 

[jh81]

There’s this time a day when i play music REEEAAAALLLLLYYYYY loud because, well im a singer and i need to practice.
Recently ive began stimulating my parrots to join in the fun! I hope this will limit the amoutn of screaming while still give them the chance to be a parrot

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

There’s this time a day when i play music REEEAAAALLLLLYYYYY loud because, well im a singer and i need to practice.
Recently ive began stimulating my parrots to join in the fun! I hope this will limit the amoutn of screaming while still give them the chance to be a parrot

The up side to playing your music super loud is that you'll be hearing impaired in a few years and won't hear them screaming and they'll be parrots in full glory! The down side is you might miss listening to music because you can't hear as well. Sorry, it came to mind and had to write my thoughts! What type of music do you play? It would be fun for you to post a video of you singing!

 

[Wannabird2003]

To Kody's owner- yes the females do it too. Jade will belt it out when I go to my bedroom or bathroom and don't invite her and am gone awhile. She starts with the contact call which I return, but if I don't come back to her right away, I get the LOUD 3 alarm fire call. What gets me is even if I return to her view, she still carries on. I never know whether it is better to ignore or yell at her to stop.

 

[jh81]

The up side to playing your music super loud is that you'll be hearing impaired in a few years and won't hear them screaming and they'll be parrots in full glory! The down side is you might miss listening to music because you can't hear as well. Sorry, it came to mind and had to write my thoughts! What type of music do you play? It would be fun for you to post a video of you singing!

Well not THAT loud ;-) but close enough!
I said i sing, i didnt say it was nice to hear ;-) just pretend im a screeching too

 

[Begone]

I never know whether it is better to ignore or yell at her to stop.

I do neither.
Eliy does the same and I go to her and pretend she's not screaming and asking if she will do something.
That screaming they do when they are upset.

 

[Begone]

I said i sing, i didnt say it was nice to hear ;-)

But if you post a video/mp3 we can judge that.
I'm sure of that you is a great singer.