Screaming To Quiet Quaker Options

[Motoko]

Hey, I'm new here. I just got a quaker who is 4 months old (we named him Momo). When we got him, he was quiet but would make kind of a purring noise and squeak every now and then.

Couple days ago, he started screaming very loudly while holding him or in his cage walking around and I discouraged him from doing it by putting him in his cage or turning out the lights. I just wanted to know is it bad to discourage him from screaming. My mother used to do that when our parakeet would chirp for hours.

I live in an apartment with really thin walls so I did not want to disturb the neighbors. Since we've (my boyfriend and I) been doing this, he has stopped purring/squeaking (which I don't mind if he does) and he only eats and sleeps. He sticks to mostly one perch unless hes getting food. He hasn't shown interest in his toys.

I just want to know if this is from me discouraging him from screaming or if it's because he's in a new place and still not used to it. I've only had him for about a week and I've been taking him out of his cage/teaching him to step up/talking to him/etc. every day. He's definitely a biter and I don't think he likes me very much yet but he will take food from me and step up on my hand.

Another thing...pretty much the only time he moves is to eat or if I'm around his cage. Every now and then he'll walk on one of the perches. I can't be with him 24/7 and I don't want him to be bored when we're not around for him. I want him to be able to enjoy his toys and not have to sleep the whole time we're not with him.

I love my little bird already and any advice you all have would be great.

This post has been edited by DMMoulton: Oct 26 2009, 11:37 AM

Reason for edit: Topic moved to Quaker Parrot Behavior.

[Cacophony]

A week is really not much time at all.... I've adopted a 5 year old quaker named Kiko from a rescue society in my area and it will be two weeks tomorrow. She's JUST starting to figure out the routine, the people, the everything and she's got some experience under her feathered belt already, so to speak, that a baby coming from almost 24/7 attention over handfeeding and whatnot won't have.

Think of it this way - it's estimated that quakers are roughly equivelent to two year old children. How would you expect a two year old to act if you pulled from her familiar surroundings, put into a new house with new people (even the most well meaning and lovable people) and then she had a bunch of things she had to learn to do while she was settling in?

Birds are NOT domesticated. They're not like a dog who's been mentally programmed for generations to hang off of your every word and be grateful for the chance to lay at your feet. They're also not solitary like cats who, depending on the cat, is still basing your continued employment by how fast you can man the can opener. *winks* They're a flock animal that lives in very socially active groups. There is going to be SOME noise - birds communicate verbally. If the screaming is a problem try picking a short and simple tune to whistle that Momo can whistle back to verify where you are in the building. Most birds call very loudly twice a day... Once in the morning to wake up the flock and once at night to call everyone to roost (or go to bed). There will also be times during the day where you'll get alarm calling or if Momo is trying to place everyone in the "flock".

Did you try to figure out what he was screaming AT? Is there something in or near his cage that's freaking him out? That might be why he's suddenly become motionless unless someone is there to "protect" him. Was he just practising like a typical baby would by checking out his vocals? Was he demanding attention at the time? The cause of the noise is going to be really important to figure out what you want to do about it. If he was just pitching a little tantrum then covering the cage for a moment or putting him back in for a little bird "time out" is definately appropriate and you're doing good!

Quick thing about the biting... what's his body language like before he bites? If you've only had him a week you might want to give him some time without directly handling him unless he's asking for the attention. You might be pushing him a little bit too fast and you don't want him to learn that biting is a good way to get himself some space. Again back to the toddler analogy - small children very rarely touch complete strangers with any degree of warmth. =)

I'm sure there are a bunch of other people with more experience with babies that can offer more age appropriate info...

[Siobhan]

Mine aren't babies and I didn't know them then, but they definitely do the Morning Squawk about an hour after everyone's up, and all four (counting the budgies) participate, and somehow they all start at the same time and end at the same time, like someone's given a signal. Probably Benjy, he's an instigator. Then in the late afternoon, off they all go again. Sometimes one of them will start a Midday Squawk and while it's not scheduled, the rest will eventually join in on that, too. It's just what birds do.

You may have confused your bird by covering him and putting him in his cage when he squawked, and now he doesn't know what to do. He's still figuring you out while you're figuring him out. It really takes a good couple of weeks and, depending on the bird, as much as a month for a bird to settle in and feel at home. Bonnie didn't utter a single sound for two weeks after she came home, though Benjy only spent a day or two freaking out. Clyde alternated between loving us and hating us for a couple of weeks, and then changing his mind back and forth about which of us he wanted to be his favorite, and Jade was fine from the first day. As soon as we got her cage set up and put her in it, she was in complete control. They're definitely individuals.

Back off a bit and give your bird time to get settled, and just keep talking to him and reassuring him.

[ScarlettAngel]

One thing I do with Pugsly is a loud singing game. Most QPs probably like to stretch their voices every now and then and let out a good loud scream. To curb this, I am actually the one who initiates "loud time". He could be quiet, sqwaking, doesn't matter, but every once in awhile, I will go out to his cage and he will get excited and say, "what're you doing?, then wisper, "tweet tweet". So I respond, "ok, Pugsly. Let's sing, Tweet, Tweet". Then we both start singing, "tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet", together really loud and fast! After a minute or two, he gets it out of his system and I give him a treat and maybe a bath, and you'd barely know he's there the rest of the day

[Motoko]

Wow thanks for the great responses. I think we are pushing him too much because he doesn't like being out of his cage or our hands in the cage unless we have food for him. We did leave a small bowl of water beside his cage and he came out and took a bath himself. It seemed to calm him down and let us hold him without biting for a while.

And I guess he's just not used to us because my boyfriend said he was on the other side of the room and Momo would start playing with his toys but when he looked at Momo, he would stop. We also put a new toy in and he seemed to like that one better than the others he has because he started messing with it immediately. I fell asleep this morning and woke up to him purring and playing.

I was reading these forums before I got Momo and I just want to thank everyone. I love my little quaker.

[moonchild1970]

Yeah he is just still settling in. They always want tons of attention at first in a new situation they donot want to be left alone. It will get better. There is just always that adjustment peroid to get through until he feels comfortable in his new surroundings.

[iPosha]

You should just give your baby quaker more time. It takes time for them to adjust to new toys, cage, people. My quaker was the same age when i got him and also did not do much first several days. He did not make any single noise during that time and i was so worried if he was ok... I was so excited when he finally started squeaking
I think that it's good that you try to discourage your bird from loud screaming. It's very important to do it consistently and right after unwanted behavior. When your bird starts screaming try to distract him by talking to him or playing and when he stops praise him. I also live in an apartment and iPosha likes to talk, squeak, scream and make all kind of noises during the day. He always calms down in the evening and is quiet during the night.
Just be patient and your bird will adjust very soon. Keep talking to him every day and practice step up, he will stop biting eventually And also i would not introduce lots of new toys or activities at once. Let him adjust to whatever he has first.

[Uncle Zippy]

I always recomend not reracting to screaming.

It's a reinforcement of a bad behavior. They will scream. No way around that. You just don't want to make it a way to get your attention or be a way of communication.

Create your own flock calls with appropriate whistles or other sounds. When you hear a scream, whisper or make a quiet sound back, don't yell or make other loud noises or take him the bird out of the cage, or cover him up. Ignore screaming and reward quiet happy sounds. Its actually quite easy to redirect noise.

Never punish a bird with islolation. That only leads to bigger problems. Birds don't understand punishment, only rewards for good behavior. They love to please.