# My Tiel Won't Stop Screaming!



## eflock (Sep 13, 2009)

Please help! My cockatiel of 5 years has gotten into the habit of screaming everytime I am out of sight. And she continues for several minutes until she gives up, but then if she hears the slightest human noise, she begins screaming all over.

Sometimes even when I have her on me, she will scream. I just don't know what she wants and I'm moving into a quiet neighborhood soon and I can't have her screaming there.

I love her but I am too stressed out to deal with her behavior


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

This is such a stressful thing to deal with, I feel your pain. It's one of the reasons why cockatiels are given up. I was talking to a bird trainer about this not too long ago. I don't know how much attention she gets but is it possible she gets A LOT of attention? It's really important to make sure she can entertain herself with toys or even just be content with sitting around alone. If we pay too much attention to our birds they don't know how to be alone with themselves. When you leave she may see as her "toy" that left the room. Make sure she has enough toys, especially foraging/shredding ones. When you take her out don't over do it with time, make sure she also has time in her cage through out the day, I would not leave her out for hours at a time or have her come in and out of her cage as she pleases. It should be on your terms. If she screams relentlessly in her cage cover it up like a "time out". Uncover her when she stops. It will take work but it's worth trying for your sanity. Of course, there is always the thought of getting another tiel, but only consider if you are fine with having another one to take care of. It will not guarantee she will stop, but sometimes that may be the answer with some birds. There is a lot of differing opinions on the screaming and I'm sure some may disagree with me. But this is how I have always been with my birds and they have never been screamers. The bird trainer I spoke with in the past about this behavior has an excellent reputation and works with many birds. Can't hurt to try, maybe it will work. Good luck, try to have as much patience as you can.


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## RhiLee (Feb 16, 2014)

I have a tiel that did that. 

We eventually (after a lot of other ideas) used the approach of covering the cage whenever she did that (mainly to muffle the noise - we lived in a quite neighbourhood too, but also to give her a quite/calm environment), and ensured that she had lots of interaction from us daily and entertainment (daily got new branches to chew the leaves off, foraging activities, different foods -seed, pellets and fruit/veg) in her cage. 

While those techniques didn't stop it, they helped minimise the issue a little, and she eventually stopped. It did take time though. However whenever she is stressed about something, she will screech when I leave the room. Thats how she got her name - Madam Squawk. 

Think of the screeching as her trying to communicate something to you. Cockatiels have many needs, and if she is screeching one or more of those needs probably isn't being met. It doesn't mean you are a bad owner, sometimes it takes time to figure out what they are after. 

If you have had her for five years, maybe she is saying she wants more company/interaction from you. Perhaps she is getting bored? I know with my birds we go through times where I get busy, and their activities become less. Maybe try and spice things up (give her some new toys, try a new activity) to entertain her. You could try holding her close and giving her head scratches whenever she screeches whilst on you - try to distract her. 

I am only answering out of my own knowledge with my birds (and the residual knowledge from hours of googling about bird behaviour when she used to screech) but I hope you find something that works.


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## RhiLee (Feb 16, 2014)

Hey again Hellena.

What an interesting idea, that it could be _too_ much attention. If that would be the case, when my bird screeched a lot I probably exacerbated the issue by spending more time with her!


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## eflock (Sep 13, 2009)

Thank you to all for your feedback.

It may be that whenever I'm home, I leave the cage open for her to come in and out as she pleases. Or even that I have been more tired and less entertaining for her. I will try to create more structure and playtime. As for toys, she has many, including shredder toys but she never has played much, perhaps because she sees me as the toy. I am open to all suggestions!


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## slugabed (Jul 27, 2014)

Cassie screams a lot, but only when I'm around. The bird is not completely dumb; when I'm out it doesn't scream at all.

Toys definitely help, but they only last for so long. It's a bit like a video game, each toy buys you a certain amount of time before the Scream Machine returns.


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Cockatiels scream to call other cockatiels in the neighbors. They do that when they are alone and its true. I am not sure why your cockatiel screams cause mine gets quite when I am with it. Well you can keep it busy with things so he would stop screaming.


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

RhiLee said:


> Hey again Hellena.
> 
> What an interesting idea, that it could be _too_ much attention. If that would be the case, when my bird screeched a lot I probably exacerbated the issue by spending more time with her!


Exactly. One of my birds started to get into the habit of screaming and I immediately backed off, quite a bit. Now my birds spend some time in and out of their cages through out the day, a bit here and there. After about an hour back in they go. On a busy day they may only come out 1 or 2 times in the evening. But is only when I am ready for them to come out and it has to be my idea. I never let them come in and out on their own because I feel like that gives them too much control. They were getting very bratty when I allowed this sometime back. Same thing with my kids, lol. They have their toys and I play with them too, but they also have to find their own thing to do including being bored sometimes. I can't play with them all the time either.


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

eflock said:


> Thank you to all for your feedback.
> 
> It may be that whenever I'm home, I leave the cage open for her to come in and out as she pleases. Or even that I have been more tired and less entertaining for her. I will try to create more structure and playtime. As for toys, she has many, including shredder toys but she never has played much, perhaps because she sees me as the toy. I am open to all suggestions!


More structure is a great idea. I would first stop letting her come in and out as she pleases, then have a routine for her with "out of cage" time, playtime with you, etc. That way she knows what to expect over time, but she also has her time to entertain herself in her cage, after all, that is her "house", and she must learn to be in it without needing you. You should be the one to "rule the roost", so to speak.


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

I tend to agree with Helena. I have a structure for my birds with out of cage time and in cage time. I give them attention every day, but have avoided giving them too much because I have heard of problems with tiels becoming too attached to their human. 

My tiels have become very well-behaved. It took some time. My issues were more to do with getting them to go back into the cage when I needed them to.


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Chewy does this, we are in a small apartment and there's not really anywhere else for me to go but the living room, where the birds are, and I have been home all summer so she "needs" me in the room at all times. It drives me insane. I hope it stops once I go back to work next month!


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## eflock (Sep 13, 2009)

I think I've figured it out. My cockatiel has a bit of separation anxiety because there are almost always people nearby. 

I've begun closing her cage when I leave her sight and sometimes even when I'm there so that she learns to feel comfortable being locked in during the day; I drape a towel over the side facing us to help. And to create structure and stimulus, I take her out a few times and offer a birdy bath, treats, or playtime.

I've also decided to only use key words for communication and I give her pet rubs only if I offer first.

It's only been a couple of days but I'm already seeing improvement.

The hardest part is feeling like a monster or like I'm neglecting her, but I realize that this is what's best for the both of us.

It's my fault I turned my bird into a diva lol, so now I'm going to correct it.


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

sounds like you are on the right track. Don't feel guilty, you're doing the right thing by her and fixing something that may have caused you to give her up when you couldn't take it anymore. Happens a lot.


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## slugabed (Jul 27, 2014)

Yea, I've been doing that with Cassie, as it has been getting a little spoilt in the recent weeks. The squawking is heart-breaking, but you need to harden yourself. Like I said, bird is not completely dumb, so don't let her walk all over you!


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