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Post by asharee on Dec 28, 2010 14:21:03 GMT 10
ollie will NOT stop screaming!! hes been doing it for the past 6 weeks!! weve squirted him, screamed at him, comforted him, loved him, gave him food, flicked his beak, said no, covered him up, put him outside, we've tried everything!!! he starts at 8am and doesn't stop till 8pm. im going to either throw him out the darn front door or sell the bastard!!!
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Post by vankarhi on Dec 28, 2010 16:23:10 GMT 10
well for a start you have reinforced his bad behaviour by doing everything you said you did. When he screamed you did something. To you it was punishment ..... to him it was attention.
My suggestion would be to put ear plugs in for a while and make your whole family do it......and maybe put him somewhere a little out of the way so everytime you come into sight it is not necessarily a reward to him. It might take a few weeks to curb this ....... but honestly you have been reinforcing him without knowing it.
Also if you can ignore him and literally not go near him when he is screaming.......then when he is quiet you rush over and praise him and give him treats.....really lavish him........but you must totally ignore him when he is screaming.
If you can do this you will also find his screaming will probably get worse for a while possibly a few weeks because he is not getting the attention of you or someone coming to his cage to do something exciting to him......so he will almost certainly scream more and louder because it is not working anymore. But really try hard to lavish praise and treats when he is quiet even for a few seconds to start off with. You need to start in small steps and being quiet for say 5 seconds might be your first step and then gradually lengthen the time. It can work but it is going to take some time and patience and it will take for everyone in your house to work together.
Another thing to think about.......has anything new happened ..... anything?? A new pet?? New furniture? New hair colour?? New nail colour?? Changed furniture around?? New toy/s in his cage?? Look back to when it started.......maybe there is a clue there as to what might have started it off.
But honestly squirting him or yelling at him, or covering his cage, or putting him outside all of these things is "someone coming to him and giving him some sort of attention" ........ even if to you it is punishment.........to him it is attention and it is exciting and he "thinks" his screaming is working.
Did that make sense at all???
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Post by vankarhi on Dec 28, 2010 16:26:29 GMT 10
p.s ...... yes I do put Erik outside when his screaming is too much.......but his screaming is not normally a problem unless we are trying to watch tv or something.........so for him a change of scenery is welcome and it doesn't seem to encourage his screaming behaviour........but for you ....... Ollie now has a problem and you will need to work on it with patience and to ignore the bad and praise the good.
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Post by asharee on Dec 28, 2010 16:29:24 GMT 10
new nothng, all i did was wake up to his screaming one morning, he sounds like my sun conure, likes hes mimicing her
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Post by vankarhi on Dec 28, 2010 16:38:38 GMT 10
Well all I can suggest is what I have said in my previous post Ash. It can be done but it will take some time and patience for some reason he seems to think he has been rewarded for his screaming and you now need to teach him that it is not appropriate all the time. Ignore his screams and lavish his quiet times.......even if there are not many quiet times still praise them. He will start to realise there is more exciting things that happen when he is quiet than when he screams. You might need to work with your sunny in the same way too.......because her screaming obviously is encouraging him too. He screams and she screams back which is also reinforcing for him......and vise versa too. So if you are going to work with one bird you might as well work with both. ;D
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Post by lolwutburds on Dec 30, 2010 10:46:38 GMT 10
Also, a busy bird is a quiet bird! Work on foraging toys, even if it's just hiding his seed/pellets in a bowl with shredded paper.
If you don't keep them constantly interested in what's on offer in the cage then of course they are going to want to come out.
Your post sounds like you are at the end of your tether but believe me, we all go through this. Vankarhi had a lot of great suggestions for you to follow. Grit your teeth, read some articles on postitive reinforcement and let us know how you go.
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Post by vankarhi on Dec 30, 2010 11:35:04 GMT 10
Yes foraging is another great idea too. I also find giving them a shower takes their mind off screaming for a while and then they preen for a while. So maybe as a reward for him not screaming.......he might go for a shower?? Then he will be busy for a while preening himself. Then when he is quiet during this time maybe a nice treat. There are also many many cheap ideas for foraging toys too. If you google Brisbane Bird Vet (Adrian Gallagher??) his table at the Parrot 2010 convention gave me a few really cheap ideas for foraging.........but once again he will need to be taught how to forage also.
I think maybe also Jim Mckendry?? Maybe google him too. Maybe just google "foraging ideas" ........ I am sure there is a link on this forum somewhere also. I will try to have a look.
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Post by vankarhi on Dec 30, 2010 11:47:02 GMT 10
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Post by jusdeb on Dec 30, 2010 15:40:36 GMT 10
I know where your at , our Corella had a hissy fit that lasted all day , it took all our will to not strangle him ....anyhoo ignored it straight of the bat and the next day was good .
Touch wood it doesnt happen again soon .
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Post by jusdeb on Dec 30, 2010 15:43:07 GMT 10
Oh and the best toy for keeping a bird busy in my house is balsa wood cut into squares and threaded with wooden beads , they chew it like crazy ...used to dye it but dont even need to do that now.
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awol
Newbie
Posts: 15
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Post by awol on Jan 15, 2011 22:53:37 GMT 10
my corella used to do the same when i 1st got him from sun rise to sun set and i was at the same point with him. but then when he started playing up id take him out of his big cage and put him in his little cage with no toys to rattle around etc then put him in the spare room covered up for half hour or so and he usually realised this sux and shut up and id bring him out give him praise then back into the big cage.it took a while but it did work he now realises being bad means time out alone in the dark boring naughty cage.and i am very glad i persisted with him because i really do love him now  |
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Post by indigo on Jan 16, 2011 0:01:03 GMT 10
Your bird is bored or frustrated from boredom/loneliness - reacting to him the way you described is not the answer. If you have no time for him or can't provide him with plenty of foraging toys and natural greenery/gum nuts to chew on, or give him a companion, perhaps you should consider giving him away to someone who has more time for him. PS. In my own personal dictionary, the word "bastard"does not fit an animal, but more a human. And flicking beaks is a NO-NO  |
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Post by asharee on Jan 18, 2011 2:38:23 GMT 10
indigo, the thing is, i can't give him away, hes bonded to me strongly and i'm the ONLY person who can touch him, and he hates other birds. and i wouldn't give him away at all. i couldn't do that to him and i love the little poopyhead too much |
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Post by Robyn on Jan 18, 2011 7:03:20 GMT 10
Ash has anything changed regarding Ollie's behavior?
The possible reason for Ollie's screeming is he is a matured bird now & looking for a mate.
It has been breeding season & most companion parrots get a bit noisy around this time.
I am afraid He has probably over bonded with you & his needs are not being met. Also it's not that Ollie hates the sun conure it more likely it's a situation that you have created by imprinting Ollie to the point that he is trying to keep everyone away from you sort of like a possessive boy friend. I don't think he has not been socialised very well when young.
As you know i have GCC'S & Sun Conure & I can tell you the noise is shocking at breeding times.
A little trick i have used that has worked for me with the suns, is each time they start to screem i go right up to the cage & whisper sweet things in their ear, true. The little buggers can't hear me so they instantly shut up. Because i do it on a regular basis if they are a bit more noisy than usual as soon as they see me coming they don't make a sound. So instead of getting myself all worked up with the screaming I can actually live with 4 suns & a GCC just outside my back door.
Also look at location of the cage if your birds are kept in your bedroom it's possible they are going nut's looking at the same 4 walls every day.
Something else i have discovered, with my birds anyway. If i ignore them they get louder if i acknowledge their call because that is what it is a contact call. I answer back "what's the matter" & they will go quiet, they know where i am. And that's my aviary birds as well.
The louder they scream at you as you scream back or punish them the worse things will get.
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Post by asharee on Jan 18, 2011 8:37:42 GMT 10
thanks robin and he got well socialised when he was a bub  mum got him out, my bf did, my housemate did, all my friends, and trust me, he does not like the other birds AT all. :/ he hasn't tried humping me yet, which is a good thing..? |
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Post by Robyn on Jan 18, 2011 10:45:14 GMT 10
Well Ash your the only one that know's your bird & what ticks him off. & rehoming him as mentioned by Indigo really isn't an option because as far as i am concerned that is only passing the bird along with baggage (Behavior problems) A new owner certainly isn't the answer for a bird with screaming or biting problems. The thing is you have to work on what & how to deal with it. There are some great sites to Google that could help but you have to be prepared to follow it through to the end. Ollie will settle down in time. Look if i can get a sun conure not to scream surely you can sort Ollie out. Be patient my girl. LOL.  |
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Post by avinet on Jan 18, 2011 11:42:38 GMT 10
Look if i can get a sun conure not to scream surely you can sort Ollie out. Be patient my girl. LOL. If you can get a Sun Conure not to scream you can work miracles. I am in awe cheers Mike |
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Post by asharee on Jan 18, 2011 14:03:21 GMT 10
LOL. can you come live with me robyn??
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Post by meandem on Jan 18, 2011 14:40:29 GMT 10
Look if i can get a sun conure not to scream surely you can sort Ollie out. Be patient my girl. LOL. If you can get a Sun Conure not to scream you can work miracles. I am in awe cheers Mike  |
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Post by indigo on Jan 18, 2011 18:15:01 GMT 10
LOL Mike Totally understand asharee, your bird, your choice As to "rehoming him as mentioned by Indigo really isn't an option because as far as i am concerned that is only passing the bird along with baggage (Behavior problems)" ...I disagree but that is only my opinion. The problem may not be the bird but the environment he/she is in. At least so was the case with my Galah, and she's as sweet as pie. |
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Ollie at 8 1/2 months. 
Rosie at 3 months.
mum got him out, my bf did, my housemate did, all my friends, and trust me, he does not like the other birds AT all. :/ he hasn't tried humping me yet, which is a good thing..?
