# Luffa screeching and walking around nervously



## Thelastkiss19 (Jan 11, 2013)

Hello everyone! 

I brought a cockatiel home 3 weeks ago, I named him Luffa. He (I think it's a male because he's constantly speaking and whistling) had been living in a pet shop for the past few months (approx. 9 months) with no toys, changing partners, and his cage being in the middle of the shop where everyone was passing and where kids were screaming and knocking on it. So I decided to take him home and 'rescue' him. (I had a tiel for 8 years before him, Zazou passed away in December 2012.)

So Luffa was quiet and shy for 3 days after I brought him home, but ever since then, he is very talkative, always singing and whistling. One thing that bothers me is that every morning he is welcoming a new day (which is perfectly fine with me, I love to hear him sing), but he gets so into the singing that all of a sudden he starts screeching and acting aggressively/nervously. Banging the cage, walking around in the bottom of the cage nervously, from side to side... He gets VERY worked up and doesn't react to anything. Not even to me leaving the room... This basically only happens in the morning (I always give him around 10 hours of sleep), when I am walking around getting ready. I thought that the walking around part was making him nervous, but today I was just sitting in my bed with my laptop and he did the same thing. He showed this behavior maybe once in the late afternoon, but other than that it's only in the mornings (quite often actually, almost every day). 

Other than this he seems to be getting used to his new environment. I talk to him a lot and sometimes read to him when I run out of things to say. He is okay with my hand being in the cage changing water, food, etc, or just resting on the door of the cage, he opens his beak a little, but he doesn't attack or bite. But he is not ready for me to touch him so I mainly try to gain his trust through talking. He answers and sings and talks beautifully whenever I am just in the room or when I am talking or reading to him. He gets tired and quiet later and just hangs out in his cage. I keep opening his cage for an hour or so when I am around and I can watch him but he never comes out of the cage.

I am very patient because he has been living with other birds for months before, in a very busy pet shop in a mall with lots of bright lights and people walking around (but no hands trying to tame him). I feel like he is warming up to me though because whenever I get home, after a few minutes he starts to sing and talk. When I leave the room, he stops and becomes quiet. He sometimes screeches... then I leave the room not to assure the negative behavior. But he is mostly talkative.

My problem at the moment is this 'angry/nervous screeching combined with cage banging and nervous walking around' in the mornings. How can I calm him down? I am thinking about moving his cage to a part of the room that I don't have to pass by when I am getting ready (I go to the closet and bathroom passing by the cage in the morning). Is this a good idea? Do you guys have any other advice? 

Thank you for your help in advance! I appreciate every piece of information!


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## Shayla Fortune (Nov 29, 2012)

My mom has a 'tiel that is pretty high strung like that (minus the screeching) even though she has a cage mate. I think some 'tiels are like that, but adding in some new toys might help. If he paces on the same perch all the time, maybe replace that with a rope perch so that he won't get his feet rubbed raw?


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## Thelastkiss19 (Jan 11, 2013)

Thank you for the reply! The thing is that he is not pacing on the perch, but on the bottom of the cage. He is okay when on the perch, but gets worked up, goes to the bottom of the cage and that's where he starts pacing back and forth nervously, along the sides of the cage.

He had 5 toys but when I put in the fifth I could sense that he was scared of that many stuff (never having any toys before) and he didn't approach them but was sitting very far from them looking scared, so I took out 2. He has only played with one toy, and only a few times. He hasn't touched the other ones yet. He likes to use his beak scratcher (sorry don't know the proper English name for it) quite often though.


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Pacing, in my experience usually means they want out of the cage, my female screams and paces when she wants out in the morning. 

Cage banging sounds like it may be "beak banging" which is a normal male behaviour, males will bang objects with their beaks, its a territorial behaviour. 

Screaming when you leave the room is called "flock calling", and its actually a good sign, it means he considers you part of his flock. Its a call used to communicate with a flock member that vanishes from sight to make sure they are okay.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

Tiels can be very active, loud and hyperactive in the mornings. They tend to settle down in the afternoon. He seems to be exhibiting male behaviour, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. It sounds like he is a bit cage-bound and would probably benefit from out of cage time. He is probably settling in too - it sounds like a massive change in environment for him. 

Probably best to limit 1-2 toys in his cage for awhile if he's not used to them. Introduce new toys by not putting them in the cage at first, but perhaps pretending to play with them yourself and put them near the cage where he can see them but they're not so intrusive. Perhaps give him something he can shred or chew, like some seagrass toys - or some food that he can chew such as corn on the cob hanging on a kabob which will help to entertain him. Keep working on him and perhaps you'll get him out eventually and using all that extra energy on playing with toys etc  Keep us posted!


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## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

Does Luffi screatch arround the time when the shop used to open? He may remeber the crowd of people storming in ........ this is a thought of mine.... eventually with talking calmly to him he may stop screatching.

According to toys or new things for his cage it is the best not to put them in straight away but leave them outside the cage in his sight, so he can get used to them. 

He's a very lucky bird to have you, that you gave him a loving home


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## Thelastkiss19 (Jan 11, 2013)

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, it is very helpful!

So I guess it's settled: he's a boy, just like a thought! In the pet shop they said he was a female... I'm not even going to comment on that...

I searched for beak banging on youtube (my previous bird, a female, Zazou never did this) and yes, this is exactly what he is doing.

He is not flock calling me though because he is screeching whether I am in the room or I go out, no matter what I do, it's just constant screeching. Only in the mornings. It is a very good thought that maybe it's because of the pet shop and because of it opening in the morning and people rushing in... And I honestly don't even think he ever got 10-12 hours of sleep at night because the mall is open 0-24 all week, and even though the pet shop closes at 8 p.m., it has a glass storefront, and the whole mall is bright with lights all night.

He has actually been out of his cage twice already. Once when I first opened the cage door, he came out instantly (after being cage bound for months) and started flying around in circles like crazy. Then settled down and sat on the ground, when I went closer he got very defensive. I brought his cage next to him so that he could just walk back home but it took him at least 30 minutes. The second time I wanted to wash the cage inside-out so I just put the cage on the ground and took off its upper part from the bottom part of the cage (hoping that he would come out) and he did fly out and flew around a little (I was afraid that it would be traumatic if I forced him out but I had to clean the cage. But it was alright, he came out in like a minute). Then he climbed up on his cage holder and was chilling there calmly while I was cleaning.

I will try the trick with the toys (putting them closer and closer to him and playing with them), thanks!

Lufi and I thank you for the kind replies! I will keep you posted on our progress, and will post a picture of him soon!


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## Thelastkiss19 (Jan 11, 2013)

If I did this right his picture should be in my signature:


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## Thelastkiss19 (Jan 11, 2013)

*Update on Luffa*

Hey guys, just a quick update: Lufi stopped the nervous walking around thing. He still talks and sings a lot and sometimes a few screeches get in there but the morning nervousness just stopped. I basically didn't really do anything differently, kept spending time with him, and I try to wake him up gradually (he is partially covered for the night because I am up until midnight usually and I want to give him the sleep he needs). So in the morning after around 10 hours I take the cover off the cage in two parts, first I just fold it in half on the cage and second time I take the whole thing off. This has been working so far and the nervousness stopped. Maybe the bright lights after being covered were too much for him, or maybe he just started to be more comfortable around me. Either way, the nervousness is gone!  On to the next project... (handling, convincing him to play with his toys, to come out, etc... we have things to do!)


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm glad to hear things are going well with Luffa! Thanks for the update.


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## JennyLynn (Feb 13, 2012)

yes, glad to hear everything is working out


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