Can Somebody Help? - Screaming

KLD95

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I’ve had Jed for 3 weeks now from previous owner. He was not hand reared or tactile. I have spent lots of time with him which he is now stepping up and spending time on my lap snuggling and also sleeping. Jed will eat out of my hands mouth etc he shows signs of affection. One thing he does not stop is screaming. I can’t understand why? He has plenty of love and attention, he is out of his cage regularly, he has the correct foods and treats? He does not make a sound when it’s bed time but the minute he’s awake he is continuously screeching?
 
A Great Senegal. He had very few feathers when we had him but he have grown lots and is looking a lot better
 

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I've had my Sennie nearly 15 years (I think). He's always been a screamer.
He screeches when he's happy, he screeches when he's over excited, he screeches when he's bored, he screeches when he wants attention, he screeches when he has attention etc etc. He's with me 24/7 and mostly out of his cage. He has bundles of toys, we play games, we dance and sing, have lots of cuddles and he has a good diet. He talks a lot but does prefer to scream at me. I think he's a narcissist and likes the sound of his own voice.
I was told Senegals were a quiet bird. Mine forgot that.
I know it's hard - but try to ignore and give positive reinforcement for when he's not screaming. Also try to distract. We play a "whisper game" and that calms him down. A bath also does the trick.

Bear in mind he's still settling in and sorting out who is boss. Also he could be hormonal or be itchy with the new feathers coming in.
Good luck.
 
some birds yelling is the default position....its pretty common. Rain is giving good advise and hopefully someone else will have ideas... me I've never cracked it- if my Sophie decides she wants to sing and kick off I just accept it now as nothing much will persuade her otherwise.. pretty common with parrots
 
Oh my goodness The screeching literally vibrates my ear! I’m finding it difficult as when we have visitors it is just too over powering, the continuous screeching is sending them home lol. He have made such fantastic progress in all fairness to him. From going not to being handled to being handled, strokes, chatting away. Picking up new words and even names. He’s so charming. The only thing that lets him down his screeching. I’m trying the ‘whisper’ thing at the moment. He seems to be calming. He’s absolutely brilliant with me. Thanks for the reply it’s sonreassuring to know it’s not only me!
 
Has he had a check up at an avian vet?
Just to give you peace of mind that all is well really - and that his screeching is behavioural, rather than due to discomfort anywhere.
Plus is he getting enough undisturbed sleep? My Ri is obnoxiously loud if he is over tired.
You're doing great with him. It's all new to him right now, so he may just be testing you. Stay strong. ;)
 
Thank you @sunnyring Its so reassuring to know I’m not alone and it’s not out of character for Jed. I totally understand he’s still settling in just didn’t want to give up so soon. It’s even driving the neighbours nuts unfortunately! @Rain hes all well and good. The vet was not happy with his condition so when we went back for a check up he was then pleased as he could see the condition of Jed had improved and he had gained weight and is now following a healthy diet :)
 
He's like a kid testing his boundaries. Mine knows he's the boss of the house, so acts like a spoilt brat. A rod I've made for my own back unfortunately.
Hope he calms down soon. I know how shrill the little buggers can be.
 
He knows his place in the pecking order as he’s attacked my partner good and proper! He has stopped lunging at him in the cage and is now taking treats off him whilst in the cage. Jed didn’t like it when i was sat next to Matthew on the sofa. When I sat away from Matthew he was fine. Another question, sorry to be a pain I’m new to this parrot malarkey; Jed doesn’t bother with his toys, swing or perch? He’ll use the one perch but would rather sleep on the edge of his food/water bowl? I’m trying to introduce them to him but he’s just not bothered?
 
So you are to be his chosen one? Maybe a little jealousy going on there - especially when you have visitors. Maybe even insecurity (settling with a new family), so will want all your attention. He's calling to his flock (you) and making sure all is well. My Ri is extra loud when I have someone here. Can't work out if he's just showing off, or he wants me all to himself. He's like a little guard dog - checking that new people are ok and not a threat.
They're funny with new things - it can take them ages to even go near a new toy or perch. And God forbid should I rearrange them.
Sometimes they have to be shown how to play. If you take an interest in their toys, then you can bet they'll want in on it, sooner or later.
It's a lot for Jed to take in at the moment, so he's just checking it all out - and parrots are stubborn little sods sometimes and will only do things when they decide. Just give it time - it seems like you're doing everything right.
 
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I am yes! He regurgitates everything for me if I’m near him bless him. I feel terrible that I can’t take it off him lol. I had to sit by the cage the whole night to keep him quiet. He was happy enough to have me sat there. The little menace. Great, thanks for all your advice @Rain it is most definitely much appreciated. I felt alone in this bird world!! Thanks again, hopefully will speak soon. I shall keep you all updated on our progress. Goodnight x
 
We all feel alone sometimes with our bird's behaviour quirks. I'm still just figuring it all out, after all these years. Night. x
 
Hello and welcome to you and Jed. I have four Sennies and yes they can give a sharp call. Its hard to stop yourself from reacting to his calls but this is what you have to do when they get loud. Only acknowledge the more bearable sounds. you should start trick training to keep his mind off his passionate advance's. it is not a good thing to allow a Senegal to want to love you as they can attack others that visit or live with you. Your bird must of been brought up around humans although not hand reared as a wild bird is impossible to train. you have done well to gain his trust so quickly if no human has allowed him to show his affection. Terry I brought up when he was just fledged bird and that was about 27 years ago. I have assisted there owners in there care and correction of these wonderful birds in the way they can stop bites and attacks and even screaming. there are some points that you should be a wear off that often becomes the cause such behaviour. Firstly Senegal's try to attach to one person and to avoid this allow others to take over the good things like giving treats and food. If your bird is out then do not ignore him. these are extremely intelligent and need interactivity or they are likely to show you there disapproval by a bite (A Sennies bite is not nice as there beaks are very strong and they can crack open a walnut with ease), It is also very important that if the bird is on your shoulder (not recommended by most experts) they may attack the face so acknowledge the bird with stroking and try to get him to step to your arm or hand. I know I allow mine to sit on my shoulder but I have experience of my birds and trust that has built up over years. Training is very important to keep the birds brain active @Roz is the best person to advice on that side and I have found the two best ways of training the Senegal is by clicker or stick. I have had seventeen owners of these birds that I have retrained them and there owners that I have helped and even got two to have confidence with having there bird out again and on them after loosing trust owing to bites. One other important point the Senegal is a flighty birds and can suddenly get scared and just fly off in any direction. glass and mirrors should be covered until your bird recognises them as a place they cannot fly through .
 

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:welcome: KLD95 and Jed! It sounds like you have made some huge progress already!! Thanks for the tag, Michael.

Ask yourself what purpose does the screaming serve for Jed? There may be different reasons throughout the day. Commonly there is the screaming first thing in the morning and/or in the evening. This is the normal dawn or dusk chorus which means it’s good to be alive! At other times the reason could be fear, boredom or joining in with loud household noise (a running tap or vacuum cleaner). Maybe it is separation anxiety or an overzealous contact call. Or perhaps it is being reinforced either by another animal or human. Choose one instance of screaming. Can you pin point what sets the stage for the behaviour (the antecedent), and also what reinforces it /keeps it happening (the consequence)?

If the bird enjoys attention and you go to the bird to quieten the screaming/squawking (consequence), guess what you are reinforcing? Yes, more screaming. You are teaching the bird to scream every time he wants attention. If you then try to ignore the screaming it becomes worse. The bird thinks, "this worked before, I’ll just have to scream louder and longer and eventually they will come running". And what does the human do? The noise is unbearable so eventually the human goes running to the cage. You have just reinforced the louder and longer screaming!

Think of another behaviour Jed can already do that you can reinforce instead. A whistle? Talking (eg. Hello)? Ringing a bell? A whistle or talking is going to be doubly effective as a bird can’t whistle/talk at the same time as screaming. It is important Jed already knows how to do the replacement behaviour so that you can easily put it on cue when required. But do teach him other behaviours anyway... like the whispering already suggested.

Cue the whistle or other more acceptable sound BEFORE the unwanted behaviour is expected to start. And reinforce like mad!!! A HUGE amount of attention (since I am guessing this is the reinforcement for the unwanted behaviour) and maybe even treats too. EVERY TIME the bird makes the more acceptable sound REINFORCE!! You may have to drop what you are doing to come running! Later on you can drop back on the reinforcement and start answering from afar, but when teaching a new behaviour it is vitally important that you put it on a continuous schedule of reinforcement, ie. reinforce EVERY TIME!

At the same time, we need to put the old behaviour on extinction. ie. remove the reinforcement for it. No running up to the bird to quieten him. Wait until a gap in the screaming and cue the whistle. If the bird is screaming with you outside the room, wait for a gap in the screaming before you enter the room again. Then cue the whistle as you walk in and reinforce like mad!

We might look more closely at separation anxiety or an overzealous contact call if the excessive screaming starts when you go to leave the room (the antecedent). Separation anxiety is common among social creatures like parrots, especially in those that are hand reared and imprinted on humans. You can still teach the bird to whistle instead of scream using differential reinforcement as previously explained, but it is important to answer the bird’s whistle with your own whistle as you leave the room and from outside the room to let him know, "it’s ok, I am here!"

Teach him to play/forage – he needs to learn how to keep himself occupied. You can do this by providing foraging toys. Nothing complicated to begin with:
Try wrapping his favourite treats in pieces of coffee filter paper (let him watch you do it and leave some of the treat sticking out so that he catches on) and putting them into his dry/seed bowl.
Or fill his dry bowl with beads (big enough so that he doesn’t swallow them) as well as seed/pellets to get him to forage for the food.
Work up to hiding wrapped treats in toys around the cage.
String pieces of fruit and vegetables on a birdie kebab skewer (available from most pet shops) and hang in the cage.
Weave big wet kale leaves through the bars of the cage or hang them from a clothes peg. You may have to start with smaller leaves so as not to frighten the bird.
Fill lengths of coloured paper straws with safflower seed (if bird likes safflowers).
Fill woven "finger traps" with sugar snap peas and tie them to a toy.

Remember you will have to teach him how to forage in tiny manageable steps so that he gets it. Each tiny step he makes towards foraging should be reinforced.

If he is flighted let him fly and exercise to burn up energy and release feel good endorphins.
If you go out, leave the radio on so there isn’t a crushing silence.

Because Jed has learned to scream, he cannot unlearn it, but if we understand the reasons behind the unwanted behaviour we can work towards lessening it and even changing the sound to something more acceptable.
 
Hello there Michael, Thank you so much for the reply and advice. What do you mean by trick train? He have attacked my partner twice. As long as we’re sitting separately he’s fine. Matthew have started to feed him through the cage and try to change his water he is getting better and allowing him to do it. I always take him off my shoulder as the day he attacked Matthew he bit my ear. Not half as bad as what he had bitten Matthew but he still drew blood when biting my ear!. Ill have to look into the clicker training as it is very popular when researching.
 
Trick training is teaching your bird to do things like turning around on the spot or lay on its back and even fetching toys for you. also things like stay or call training when your bird has to find you. this photo is of terry playing dead in my hand. not an easy trick to teach as they will normally play dead on there back as sparky was in my last photoView attachment 26421 I have one when he closed his eyes but this was the first stage of training
 
I’m sure it’s just for attention, to show he’s there. He also screams when the washing machine start, the toilet flushes, a car drives passed, when somebody walks in and out of the door, when i call to Matthew through the kitchen. On occasions it’s as if he’s got to be louder than you or the tv or the closing of the cupboard. I’m distracting him with whistling now every time he screeching so he’s now whistling. Thanks for pointing that out it’s typical textbook isn’t it! Silly me.

Whilst he’s sat quietly minding his own I’m giving him lots of praise whilst saying ‘whisper’ and giving him treats. I’m going to reinforce this and like you said gradually make away from the cage.

This morning I’ve now taking a toy out of his cage and hidden fruit within the wrapper and have put it on the outside of his cage as well as in his food bowl. I was mimicking how to eat the treat from the paper (not actually doing it) and then taking some fruit of the paper and letting him taste, to show him what’s inside.

Only the passed 2 days he’s been flying around exploring. So I’m letting him do that. When he has enough he flys back on my head. I then take him off my head and put him on my arm rather than my shoulder.

I hope you know I’m forever grateful with all of your tips, advise and reassurance. I’m now feeling confident to learn along with Jed Thank you @Roz
 
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Yep, everything that Roz said.
Ri is velcroed to me most of the day, but I know this isn't practical for most. He screams the house down if I should dare to leave the room without him, so I usually take him with me. But, if he does need to be on his own, in his cage, for his own safety - like when I'm cooking, and he can't be in the kitchen ...... I sing songs he likes, so he can hear I'm still there. Plus I know he'll be dancing on his perch and keeping himself calm.
Goodness knows what the neighbours think, as I'm singing Old McDonalds Farm, with the back door open.
You'll get there, KLD95. It's just trial and error for a while.
 
I’ve noticed the difference in him already. He’s whistling more than screeching and speaking long sentences rather than words. He is still screeching but not half as much so I don’t mind. He’s having plenty of praise and I’ve introduced the fruit hidden in a filter in his food bowl. So hopefully it’s a good journey from here on. Haha the joys of ‘parrothood’ I’m singing ‘How much is that doggy in the window, woof woof’ hoping he’ll pick it up
 
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