Rosella - are they unhappy caged, better in aviary?

Did I mention it was 5am??? I didn’t even react to him, I just went in, added a second bigger blanket, and left back to my bed!! But we are a terraced house so I’m so concerned about irritating the neighbours. You can for sure hear him from the garden and if I can hear next door’s kid yelling, they’re definitely hearing him screaming
 
We made “perching stations” for girls at home and it helped with them not sitting on curtains or places we don’t want them to sit, although Bluey took long time to getting used to it, because she never had it in her previous homes, we have swings in the windows or boing ropes and one sisal rope hanging from ceiling in the living room… they have some toys attached to swings, Bluey have set of herb buckets on the rail in the kitchen with toys bits and pieces, she often sit there and throws everything out until she finds perfect thing to chew, yes it creates lots of mess but I rather have her doing that then screaming ( I used to plant herbs but she was determined to dig plants out and was throwing all soil around so I gave up and then actually converted buckets to something she could use)
 
Roz said:
Can he accompany you in the other room, perhaps on a play stand?
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Unfortunately not, as we have a cat. I could maybe get one of those birdie backpacks? But is that too much time together, I’d be really worried if he just screamed the entire time when I was away for a weekend and had a pet sitter, for example.

And as it is with me working from home, he has me from about 9 until 6 and he’s out of his cage for most of that time too.

Most screaming is still when I leave for a cup of tea, use the loo, lunch, finish for the evening. I went back a couple of times this evening to try refill his foraging box, he had no interest, but after putting some seeds in his puzzle toys he seemed to keep quiet.

My partner says his screaming has not increased but has not noticed a decrease. I’ve noticed a slight decrease during the day as I’m able to redirect his energy to activities. But the morning and separation screaming are really getting to me, probably as I’m focused purely on him now 😅
 
You could try shaping calm behaviour or playing as you walk out of the room. For example, get him to play with a toy, take one step towards the door. He continues playing so you come back and give him a treat. Then take 2 steps towards the door. He continues playing. You come back and give him a treat (the treat is reinforcing calm behaviour each time). And so on until you reach the door. Then try opening the door without leaving the room, shutting it again and come back and give him a treat. Work up to actually going out of the door and then briefly shutting it so that you’re out of view for a moment. Then immediately come back in and treat. Then work on lengthening the time you are out of sight.

If he starts screaming at any point, you’ve gone too far too fast. Back up to the previously successful step and break the following ones down smaller.

I’m wondering too if he’s hormonal? Maybe don’t give him a box that he can get into. Does he seek out dark spaces? Regurgitate? Want to be on you a lot of the time? Hormones can keep a bird ramped up.

Keep reinforcing the sounds you like and completely ignoring the ones you don’t like. The screaming has worked for him for a while, so it will take time to counter condition. Good idea not to put him to bed too early!
 
OR 😁….

Kobe (Pionus) used to scream when I left the room when he was still very young. At that point he could say “hello”. So I used to get him to repeat hello as I practiced walking out of the room in small steps like above but the reinforcement here was me just turning back to look at him and saying hello back then continuing my journey. Sometimes I would rush back to say hello which he loved so was a big reinforcer. In the end I could leave the room with us shouting hello back and forth. It was a lot better than screaming. And eventually the hellos naturally fizzled out.

Just another idea that might work with a noise that is acceptable to you. 😊
 
Thank you for the tips @Roz ans @Wendy Cooper-Wolfe ! I will try the slow exit and conditioning. I whistle back to him when I am there if he does the nicer noises - not the scream!

He has been doing much better when I am in there with him, the screaming is minimised for sure. And I don’t know if it can be eliminated fully if I keep going (I’ll try!) but having it lessened and working strategies to mitigate it when I’m working are so helpful. Although, when I have a meeting at 3 and set up the foraging box and then it’s moved to 3:30 that does mess things up a bit!!

We have some new foraging/puzzle toys arriving today as well as some different chews, I think he needs to be taught about which toys can be chewed on to keep that beak busy.

I have actually been setting up some of his existing puzzle and forage toys with seeds and some millet for when I leave the room and encouraging him to use it before leaving, but the majority of the screaming is still happening right after I finish work and leave the room for the evening. I’ve also set the radio on so it’s not total silence but will need to test if that’s actually keeping him too stimulated?

The later bedtime has been much better the last two days (if I jinx it again I’m never mentioning bedtime again) with no wake up calls, thank god!!

@Roz hormone wise, I don’t think so. No regurgitation, he’s only intermittently interested in the foraging box (seriously, I’m trying to teach him that he has to keep digging for the goodies and not just skim what he can see off the top 😂) and doesn’t have a hidey hut or anything. No dark spots I guess except the cardboard box he likes to climb on/in and chew to pieces, which he goes in less anyway now that I’m setting up other spots for him to play and interact with.

I am also hoping that starting target training will keep him entertained and occupied and “tire” him enough as well as give him enough direct attention, but more evening strategies are welcomed.
 
Oh another benefit that I also hope I haven’t jinxed - he had been chewing on his cage bars sometimes (another reason I’m going to try get him more interested in chewing his toys. It’s not like he doesn’t chew; he goes for wood frames, wood dowel perch edges, and my WALL PAINT sometimes which is terrifying!!). The chewing behaviour had worn away some feathers just above his nares (that chew stop spray stuff never worked) but having more redirected behaviours and his foraging box alternated in/out of his cage (depending on where he is) has truly minimised it.

That along with redirecting the chewing I hope helps, so I hope they grow back soon!
 
Might have identified a trigger. I keep the window blinds open obviously, to let light in. I have window perches for him.

Now, it’s not the only time he scream beeps, but definitely more when the blinds are up and he can see outside?? It’s mainly gardens of the neighbours, sometimes some pigeons and the rare magpie.

I like the enrichment it gives him, he’s definitely interested in watching the world outside! But he does clearly yell at it when the blinds are up. I don’t want to take this away from him?
 
Blue_Seas said:
Might have identified a trigger. I keep the window blinds open obviously, to let light in. I have window perches for him.

Now, it’s not the only time he scream beeps, but definitely more when the blinds are up and he can see outside?? It’s mainly gardens of the neighbours, sometimes some pigeons and the rare magpie.

I like the enrichment it gives him, he’s definitely interested in watching the world outside! But he does clearly yell at it when the blinds are up. I don’t want to take this away from him?
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Are you able to put in a net curtain or a mesh for the window? He will be able to see out when he's at the window but otherwise, activity outdoors will be less obvious and in his face, if that is triggering him.
This works well in the bird room (formerly, my lounge).
 
Lozhinge said:
Are you able to put in a net curtain or a mesh for the window? He will be able to see out when he's at the window but otherwise, activity outdoors will be less obvious and in his face, if that is triggering him.
This works well in the bird room (formerly, my lounge).
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A net or mesh curtain - something he would LOVE to shred?!! 😂 he already won’t leave the blind pull beads alone!!
That’s not a bad idea though. I know you can get frosted film but that would completely obscure outside. Something that partially obscured it could help
 
Blue_Seas said:
A net or mesh curtain - something he would LOVE to shred?!! 😂 he already won’t leave the blind pull beads alone!!
That’s not a bad idea though. I know you can get frosted film but that would completely obscure outside. Something that partially obscured it could help
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My friend alerted me to Flat Cats mesh. She has an African Grey who shreds anything that doesn't move but the mesh is unmolested. Could work.
 
Net curtains are cheap so I will try those first!

Lots of new toys introduced but I think he needs help learning they can be chewed through. I’m hoping a large part of getting him to stop yelling on his own is reduce triggers, yes, but have him able to entertain himself.

Treats hidden in foraging toys plus treats from target training means he is basically ignoring his pellets now 🙄

I’ve put a cardboard and soft/medium wood long chew in there that I just know he should be going bananas on, and yet he isn’t. Like dude these are your favourite things!! He only wants to shred them when they’re things outside his cage that he shouldn’t touch 😂
 
Hello all, thanks for all the help so far! He is doing great, enjoys target and clicker training a lot and is largely quiet during my working day which is great! He will even do heart wings and happy clucks at me if he got lots of attention during training. The evenings are a mixed bag, sometimes he is happy and other times he will keep calling. The later bedtimes work a treat to stop morning calls.

He adores his foraging box. I’m worried he could get bored of it - is it the same as other toys that need rotating in and out?

Still need to encourage in-cage toy use, I think it would help a lot with the calling for me. If there’s any tips on that it’d be great.
 
I make some of my own forage kind of style boxes MrP my double yellow head amazon is very partial to an egg box stuffed with scrunched up paper balls in which treats are placed but not all balls contain treats and he's figured out that the treats are not always in the same ball of paper :naughty2: a bowl of shredded crinkly paper works great for hiding random toys and tid bits in as well but it has to be just deep enough for him to not want to stand on the rim (he's a big heavy lump of a bird!) otherwise the bowl pings over and lands on his head!
Henni (44 year old grey) does love a good place to secretly hide and trash so she has one of those rabbit hay / straw constructed huts which she drags toys into and then chews her way out of instead of using the door. Busy beak is an occupied brain in this house. Tuppy another of my greys is very clever she has treats or random small chew wood stick / toys hidden in one of those Trixie wooden draw boxes pull string to open.
https://www.trixie.de/en/productworld/bird/bird-toys/toy/snack-cube-1001095020-1001091877 could make your own that's easier for a smaller powered bird to work out how to open. Doesn't take much to make little cardboard boxes yourself.

Cardboard tubes with something in the middle but stuffed ends cause a lot of fun as well :) don't use a loo roll though use something like a kitchen roll tube.
 
I really don’t understand birds sometimes…

Things he doesn’t want to chew:
  • Cardboard (his fave thing!!) and medium wood dangle chew
  • Birdie bangles
  • Colourful wood twist with lots of skinny pointy-outy-bits
  • Pine cone
  • Crepe wrapped wooden “sweets”
  • Wooden ice lolly (he did love picking the sprinkles off)
Things he does want to chew:
  • My webcam
  • The wire for my webcam
  • The cord for the blinds
  • The screen protector on my computer monitor
  • The Velcro strip I wrapped around my monitor to stop him chewing the screen protector
Like!!! If I could figure out the safe parrot toy equivalent for these actions I’d be golden 😂
 
Hey all, just thought I’d share an update!

So during the day there is a lot less yelling. He really loves his new foraging box, and I recently added a puzzle ball that he loves to go through. He is happy to head back to his cage himself in the late afternoon to play with these, and I can mitigate inopportune screaming sessions like for when I need to take a call. It doesn’t work every time, but it’s getting better!

Doing clicker training occupies his mind, and he bends down flat doing chirps and heart wings at the praise (unsure if that’s hormonal!!). He’s great at stepping up now, and is travelling further distances to target the stick.

He’s still not very big on any of the chew toys in his cage, which does leave him bored when he’s on his own. Turns out he loves the crinkle paper I put in the foraging box, and he will hold that with his feet (in strips or if I tie it in rings) to chew on it. I will continue to try with these toys outside his cage and see if we can generate interest.

Evenings have gotten a little better, weekend mornings where I’m not in the office have not. And it stresses me out to hear him yelling and calling, like he is frustrated or alone, but I can’t spend every minute in there with him.

I know there was an idea before about slowly leaving the room to lessen the calls, anything else to try? I do not call back to the loudest piercing ones, I ignore them when we are in there together. I call back to the nicer ones.

I’m unsure right now if it’s about training out the loud calls, or training up an independence in using toys. I think he now gets way too many seeds in his various foraging and puzzle toys as he ignores his pellets, but he’s so occupied and happy with them I don’t want him to not use them!
 
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