Too closely bonded?

[josh_]

Hi all. I've been reading these forums since I got a ringneck (a few months ago) and it seems like you all have a lot of knowledge so I'm hoping someone can help me with this!

I got Cosmo from my mum at about 14 months old because she was out of control (biting, screaming, refusing to go into her cage at night, etc) and mum couldn't handle it anymore. I've managed to get her under control to the point where I hardly ever get bitten (although she still bites mum when she visits) and she goes back into her cage with a minimum of fuss.

However, we have a problem as of about a week ago. I had her trained out of screaming so that she was only making good noises or screaming perhaps once a day but she's now started standing on the bookshelf or TV, turning her back to me, spreading her tail feathers and then screaming over and over again in quick succession. I obviously ignore her and praise the good noises but leaving the room for a few minutes isn't making a difference like it did before. I can say 'no' and she'll sometimes stop but it doesn't take long before she starts again. The screaming is causing major problems with the dog who is running around destroying the house every time she screams.

So, my question is: what's going on? Some research tells me that the tail spreading and putting her head back with her body flattened out is mating behaviour but I'd be happy for someone to tell me I'm wrong. If I'm right and we are bonded too closely, is there anything I can do to reverse it? I've considered getting her a mate in the near future when I have the money to spare but I never expected to have one parrot, let alone two!

I'd be grateful for any advice anyone can offer!

[josh_]

Hello Josh, and welcome.

Thanks

Does she allow you to pet her? How and where do you pet her and for how long? If she does indeed see you as her mate here are some great articles that might help:

http://parrotisland.mainsecureserver.co ... cles_id=58
http://www.rationalparrot.com/tease.html
http://www.rationalparrot.com/screaming.html

Yes, she definitely lets me scratch her. I usually pat her on her head but lately she's been flattening her body out and pointing her head back so I scratch the back of her neck. As far as I'm aware, as long as I don't scratch her back when she does this, I'm fine. Is this correct?

Thanks for the help! I'm going to read those links and find all the things I've been doing wrong