Some birds seem to scream constantly or when they do, they do it for minutes. There doesn’t seem to be a reason for us, but there really is a reason or the bird wouldn’t be screaming.
There are too many reasons why birds scream to cover everything here. I thought it best to highlight some of the things I have learned and then come up with some ideas that might help stop some bird Screaming behaviors.
If you are reading this hoping to find a solution to stop all the bird screaming, you will not find it here or anywhere. Most birds will scream at some point, they are destined to scream and will always find a time to scream if they are healthy.
Causes of screaming Problem In pet birds
Here is a short list of some things that I have found that cause a screaming problem with bird cries:
- Hormonal times
- Peanut allergies
- Allergies to artificial vitamins
- Allergies to chemicals and food coloring in food.
- Other food allergies
- Lack of attention
- Stay out of “folk” activities
- Need to go to bed
- Want more food or water
- Wanting a bath when listening to water run or rain outside
- Boredom, need for new toys, training or foraging activities
- Loneliness
- Perceived danger to themselves or the herd”
- Want peace and quiet
- Don’t like someone who has offended them
- Jealousy
- Member of the “flock” leaving the room or house
- Member of “flock” that returns and does not join them
- “Flock” eating without them or not sharing their food
- Change of diet, wanting what they are used to eating
When is bird screaming normal?
The most common time for bird screaming time early in the morning when the sun begins to rise and in the evening when the sun begins to set. It seems that it is embedded in birds to greet the sun and then say good night.
We are actually their flock and they want to make sure the entire flock is there with them when they wake up and then announce that it’s time to eat the meal, and again, that it’s time to find a place to sleep for the night.
Instead of getting angry at your bird’s natural instinct, plan for it, and even encourage it. Maybe even join them and become part of the herd. It really can be a lot of fun! You won’t notice how loud they are when you join in too.
What about the other times of the screaming of the birds?
For all other bird screaming times, you’ll need to put on your investigator hat and pull out your notebook and pen. Start paying close attention to exactly what happens before, during, and after your bird screams.
If you are really trying to solve a bird screaming problem that threatens your relationship with your bird, you may even want to spend an entire day at home for this very purpose.
You should continue with your normal routine and not give the bird any unusual attention to getting to the root of the problem. You may even have to do this on several different days in some cases.
The record of the bird’s screaming
Have a record book ready to write. In the margin of the record put the time of day, draw three lines in the middle of the page. At the top of each column, write “Before”, “During” and “After” so you can keep up with the birds’ screaming.
Then when the bird starts to scream, observe what was happening just before the bird’s scream started. For example, “I’m on the computer, my wife in the kitchen, and the kids out on the patio insight of the parrot.”
During the screaming, do, and/or say what you normally do during bird screaming events in your home.
Write down exactly what everyone does or continues to do during each screaming session. When the bird screaming session is over, write down what everyone was doing or saying when the bird stopped screaming. Do not leave anything out, every detail is important.
Continue to do this every time there is a screaming session throughout the day, whether you decide to try to do this for an entire day or for several days when you are around the bird.
What to do with your pet bird screaming record
Now that you have all these notes on your bird cry sessions, you must wonder what you are supposed to do with them. You will be surprised at the patterns you will find because no two homes are the same and I will not be able to help you specifically with your bird here, but I can help you see your situation.
Read the first column and note the consistencies. For example, finding that many of the times the bird began to scream when someone was in the kitchen or someone was dialing the phone.
Do the same with the other columns. Then think about what you or others could do differently to help prevent the bird from screaming in the first place.
How I stopped my bird screaming sessions
I have a couple of green-cheeked conures that used to give us grief several times a day with bird screaming sessions. One fine day I finally decided what was driving us crazy enough to take the time to find out what was causing it.
At first, we should be careful not to reward screaming behavior. When the screaming session started, we pretended we didn’t see or hear them. This works in some cases, but usually, you need to find out what your bird really wants and avoid the problem rather than ignoring it.
After taking note of what we were doing, where everyone was in the house, and where the birds were in reference to our locations, we quickly discovered the problem from our birds’ point of view.
Most of the time our birds had screaming sessions, someone was in the kitchen, or someone had disappeared from the site. Most of the time, one of us was in the kitchen when the bird screaming began.
We solved 80% of our bird screaming problem by taking them to the dining room, next to the kitchen, when one of us was going to be in the kitchen for more than a few minutes. When we did this, they didn’t scream.
When we forgot, they would scream all the time. Our birds thought that part of the flock was feeding on something and they were staying outside.
By taking them to the play stand in the dining room and giving them some healthy snacks, they felt like they were looking for food along with the other member of the herd.
When we forgot and the screaming problem of the birds arose, we managed to make whoever was in the kitchen leave the kitchen without recognizing the birds and did not return until the birds stopped screaming.
Then we would move them to the play stand and the person could go back to the kitchen.
We did this in that order so the birds weren’t rewarded for their screaming session. We don’t want them to think they can start screaming and make us go looking for them. By waiting until they were quiet to come to get them, they didn’t get any rewards.
How to use your screaming bird journal to help you
Once you find a few patterns, there may be more than one problem that is bothering your bird. You will want to find solutions to avoid bird screaming situations.
You can think of ways to prevent the situation that causes the bird to start screaming. For example, move the cage to where everyone is, spend time with the bird a few minutes every hour, provide foraging activities, have short bird training sessions to help the bird get some rewards for pleasing you.
Clicker training is helpful at times.
Reinforce all good behaviors. Pay close attention to the bird when it is calm, playing with toys, eating its healthy treats, and doing the behaviors you want to continue.
Consider some bird training techniques. Clicker training has helped many people stop the crying behavior of birds. Even teaching the bird to step forward or say hello can help. Spending time with your bird every day, training the birds, and then following up with some healthy treats in your bowl will often satisfy the bird for quite some time.
Clicker training for birds can help your bird screaming problems fade away and be replaced by positive behaviors you want to encourage. Getting a full spectrum light for your birds can make a real difference in the attitude and health of your birds.
Buy pellets and mixes that do not contain peanuts, artificial vitamins, or additives. Many birds have stopped irritating bird screaming behaviors simply by eliminating one or more of these items from their diet.
What is ‘Clicker’ training?
Clicker training is a gentle way to communicate with your bird. Clicker training has been used to train all types of animals and has proven successful for birds as well. Basically, you help your parrot understand what you want from him in a fun way.
Clicker training is never a punishment. If the parrot feels that when the clicker comes out, he or she is in trouble, then you might as well forget about the training session.
Clicker training always uses food as a reward, as all animals see food as a good thing. So when your pet parrot sees that clicker, he or she should squawk with happiness knowing that a treat is coming soon.