# Please Help - Screaming WILL NOT stop.



## louisvillelou (May 9, 2013)

I've posted this problem once before, and I feel like I've tried everything. My wonderful boy, Flip, will not stop screaming. Ever. I can't leave the room for even a second without him losing his mind. I can't use the restroom, make dinner, do laundry with out him screeching until I sit down right across the cage from where he can see me. His cage is always open, he gets plenty of time out, always has food and water, has an appropriate amount of toys, but the screaming will not stop. I rearranged his cage (several times) to prevent boredom, tried giving him longer nights, and many other things. I really am starting to lose my mind with this, and I'm sure soon my neighbors will stop being so understanding. He really is a very very sweet boy and I don't want to have to get rid of him, but it seems to be taking a turn in that direction. Someone PLEASE help, I'm at the end of my rope.


----------



## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

louisvillelou said:


> I've posted this problem once before, and I feel like I've tried everything. My wonderful boy, Flip, will not stop screaming. Ever. I can't leave the room for even a second without him losing his mind. I can't use the restroom, make dinner, do laundry with out him screeching until I sit down right across the cage from where he can see me. His cage is always open, he gets plenty of time out, always has food and water, has an appropriate amount of toys, but the screaming will not stop. I rearranged his cage (several times) to prevent boredom, tried giving him longer nights, and many other things. I really am starting to lose my mind with this, and I'm sure soon my neighbors will stop being so understanding. He really is a very very sweet boy and I don't want to have to get rid of him, but it seems to be taking a turn in that direction. Someone PLEASE help, I'm at the end of my rope.


Is he clipped? Sometimes our (extremely loud, extremely ill-behaved) birds will scream when they want to be moved, because having clipped wings makes them feel like they can't handle things on their own. It sounds like Flip is extremely dependent on you and feels like he needs to have you close by. Is he young and/or not too far removed from a living situation where he was in the company of a lot of other birds?

Be glad that he's still extremely sweet -- ours are noisy AND aggressive.


----------



## louisvillelou (May 9, 2013)

I've had him over a year now, he has both been clipped and unclipped. He was an only bird when he lived with the lady I got him from, and has been an only bird up until recently when my boyfriend got a parakeet. (Who lives in a separate cage, of course.) The problem started long before the parakeet came into the picture, so I know it's not that. Flip gets just as much attention now as he did before the keet came home when the screaming started. When he is clipped he generally gets around just fine on his own. He can glide down from his cage, walk over to where we are, and loves to climb up the sides of the couch. He does enjoy having me around, but he has hissed at and bitten me several times lately. The times where he's bitten me have been close to bed time, so I just chalked it up to being tired and grumpy.


----------



## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

louisvillelou said:


> I've had him over a year now, he has both been clipped and unclipped. He was an only bird when he lived with the lady I got him from, and has been an only bird up until recently when my boyfriend got a parakeet. (Who lives in a separate cage, of course.) The problem started long before the parakeet came into the picture, so I know it's not that. Flip gets just as much attention now as he did before the keet came home when the screaming started. When he is clipped he generally gets around just fine on his own. He can glide down from his cage, walk over to where we are, and loves to climb up the sides of the couch. He does enjoy having me around, but he has hissed at and bitten me several times lately. The times where he's bitten me have been close to bed time, so I just chalked it up to being tired and grumpy.


OK, so I wonder if it's a hormone thing. I always feel like it's a flippant answer when people are like "oh he's hormonal, give him longer nights" in response to a plea for help regarding an agitated bird, but in this case I wonder if he's desperate for a mate and is making as much noise as possible in the meantime. Is it possible that he wants the parakeet as a mate? (Not that they should be caged together.)

A few people here have indicated that when birds really are acting up they may be imbalanced due to dietary/nutritional deficiencies. What is he eating?


----------



## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I recently went to a parrot behavior class. The man at the class said when your bird is screaming you should very calmly and softly say shhhhhhh. And repeat until your bird stops and quiets down with you. I don't know if it works as fortunately my tiel doesn't scream. I know it sounds simplistic but this is from a man who has kept many types of birds for years. It's worth a try...... (And if your tiel is biting he might be hormonal?)


----------



## louisvillelou (May 9, 2013)

Yeah, hormonal has come up a lot, but the longer nights didn't seem to help. 

Funny thing, I decided a little while ago to actually put the parakeet (Judge) in with Flip and he quieted down right away and actually started singing to him. (They've had supervised playtime before, but I've never done it in an effort to quiet Flip down.) So I suppose loneliness really could be the issue. The only thing is, they obviously can not be left alone in the cage together all the time. Do you think, if he really does just want another feathered buddy close by, that frequent supervised play time will keep him quiet when we're not around or if I'm elsewhere like cooking dinner?

Oh, in regards to food he eats the colorful ZuPreem pellets with a little bit of seed/dried fruit and an egg (made from) supplement. I also put some vitamin powder in his water.


----------



## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Diet apparently plays a big part in aggression and grumpiness. I am no expert..just going by my own research. 

Try adding vegies to his diet as they need their vegies. Even start with peas, corn and carrot frozen mix if thats easier. 

I generally cook up a patch of bean mash (as I call it) and pasta mix - both of these are in the recipe section. There are some great ideas in recipes section. It is worth it!


----------



## kaitlinpaige (Jan 13, 2014)

I suppose you could always try finding a pal for him? Possible even a mate? If he is an only bird, he probably sees you as his mate, and when two mated birds get out of each other's sight, it usually results in screaming like you are describing. If he had a buddy or mate that he could bond with, maybe he would feel less dependent and attached to you and transfer some of that clingy-ness to the other bird... Just an idea! Of course, if you did do this it's possible that if the two birds DO like each and are very attached, they may scream when out of each other's sight. BUT- if you could eventually get them to be caged together then they would rarely have to be separated.


----------



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I had this same issue with my first cockatiel who was a single bird (my only bird at the time, and he had been on his own before that). He became very bonded to me and would flock-call (shriek) whenever I was out of his sight. A while after I got a second cockatiel, and the shrieking ceased. He was still bonded to me, but became less so, as he bonded with the other cockatiel and over time they became best buds, and absolutely no shrieking occured when I left the room. Both of them became pretty tame with me, but weren't desperately clingy.

However, I do not believe a second cockatiel is the only cure to this problem... though it sure is a tried-and-true one.


----------



## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

If he is eating pellets, I would stop putting vitamins in his water. Plus, there's always a risk of bacteria build up when you add things to his water. Instead, as was suggested, I would try to start adding vegetables to his diet. The first thing my tiel ate- which he still loves- is broccoli.


----------



## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

If the bird hates water you could try spraying him with a mister bottle when the screaming gets real bad. Most of my cockatiels are pretty quiet but my Sun Conure had a problem with screaming, I started with the "shh" thing and when he ignores it he gets misted. That solved the problem for me.


----------



## twopeaedpod (Jan 29, 2014)

We got our bird from someone who had not trained him and he screamed, non-stop sometimes, for about 2-3 months! 

So yeah...I know your pain! I was about out of my mind! 

So, I struggled for a bit on my own and then got tired of it and found some training suggestions for stopping it. This is what worked for us:

I know it's going to be the hardest thing to do, but you HAVE to ignore it. They scream b/c they KNOW IT WORKS. Period. So, here is what we did: Good night's sleep, wake up in the morning and some morning time/snack/care etc. Have everything there so you don't have to leave him. Maybe some out time if he wants it. Then put him back in and go about your business. He will scream, of course, ignore it. The first time he does it, just gently call to him his name and say "I'm right here!" maybe sing a song he knows. Then if he screams more, just be quiet. Wait until he stops and as soon as he stops, rush to his cage and give him attention before he starts again. The point is to REWARD non-screaming and ignore screaming. 

Hope this will help you! It saved our sanity


----------



## CookieTiel (Feb 6, 2012)

Maybe he just wants to be with you at all times and thinks that you're his mate, and gets upset when you leave him. I have the same problem with my Cookie - she screams nonstop whenever I am out of sight, but if I carry her around on my shoulder all day she is the sweetest little girl ever. I noticed that she screams a lot more when her wings grow back, so I always keep them trimmed. Maybe if you keep his wings trimmed and carry him around with you all the time he will improve his behavior.


----------



## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

louisvillelou said:


> Yeah, hormonal has come up a lot, but the longer nights didn't seem to help.
> 
> Funny thing, I decided a little while ago to actually put the parakeet (Judge) in with Flip and he quieted down right away and actually started singing to him. (They've had supervised playtime before, but I've never done it in an effort to quiet Flip down.) So I suppose loneliness really could be the issue. The only thing is, they obviously can not be left alone in the cage together all the time. Do you think, if he really does just want another feathered buddy close by, that frequent supervised play time will keep him quiet when we're not around or if I'm elsewhere like cooking dinner?
> 
> Oh, in regards to food he eats the colorful ZuPreem pellets with a little bit of seed/dried fruit and an egg (made from) supplement. I also put some vitamin powder in his water.


I think this gives a strong indication that you already know the root of the problem...it seems to be loneliness. It's very hard for humans to fulfill the needs of a flock animal on their own, unless they live a lifestyle that allows them to spend all their time with the animal. Some tiels do fine as only birds, some do not. I had the exact same experience as CharVicki, for what it's worth, and I'm very glad I didn't keep poor Juju as an only tiel for long.

You could try moving the parakeet's cage right next to Flip's? That way he would feel like his "friend" was there. But it seems to me he'd be happier with another cockatiel buddy. Of course if his cage isn't big enough for two, you'll have to upgrade it, and it's strongly recommended that a new addition be quarantined in a separate room for 30-60 days.


----------

