coco's screeching is killing my life!!

[cocojen]

Hi, sorry this is so long, but i desperately need help.

Coco my IRN is about 2 yo, just starting to get his ring now...i got him from a family member who couldn't tolerate his screeching any longer... i assume there was only minimal interaction there.
i have had him for about a year now and all the things we've tried seem to work for a little while but then he just starts the screeching again. and by screeching, i mean it's really loud and he just goes all day long!!! we've taught him to ring his bell when he wants to come out of the cage, that worked well for a while but now he just screeches AND rings the bell...
i know all he wants is to be with us and he's out of his cage most of the time but sometimes we just can't be with him every second.. if we have him out of his cage and he's sitting on a perch next to us he even screeches then!!
he is an awesome lil bloke, he talks and laughs with us, wants a cuddle and a scratch and has funny lil tricks and interests... he even says 'Cocooooo cocococo' when he's looking in the mirror!. he'll even ring his bell when he's ready for bed!!
we love him so much but the screeching's killing my life!!

we tried a training diet, new toys, different toys, mirrors, ignoring him, covering him up, turning out the light, restricting his freedom (he used to live in an open cage), trying to teach him, but like i said, it only works for a few days then just starts screeching again...
my husband is his lover boy, i tried to spend more time with him hoping it'd help, he now loves me too, but STILL screeches!!
it's when we leave the room, go outside, on the phone, eating dinner, coming home, watching telly, when he seems bored... i just don't know what to do anymore... ignoring him just makes us furious!! it's so hard not to scream back at him, or throw somethng!

funny though, he's been quiet for about half an hour now for the first timetoday!! this is when i'll go get him... maybe i should leave him to enjoy his own company while he's quiet

[cocojen]

ohh... nope... there he goes... that didn't last long

[Joanie]

wow, i don't know what to say. i can understand your frustration, oh my!
hope someone with more experience with these guys can offer some advice. i only had my pair for about 2 months and they were quiet most of the the time which made the occaisional screech not too bad.
i wouldn't be able to stand it either

[xx_sheena_xx]

sorry i may not be much help because iv never been in the same situation as you but i will try
it sounds like he is screeching because he wants your attention, it sounds like you have figured this out as well
could you try talking to him when your not in the room?
if he screeches for you maybe try whistling back to him
leave the radio on when your not with him so he thinks someone is talking to him
if he screeches when your in the room you could try going up to his cage and whisbering to him
not sure if these will help but its worth a try

[bec]

this is going to sound realy wierd ........ but ive used it on a few of my birds & it does seem to work
try when he screams at you whisper or talk realy quietly to him
he will actually quieten down a bit so he can hear what your saying
the screech is normaly a contact call when he does it when youve left the room its because he cant see you & that scares him
irns are flock birds & you & your family are his "flock" so when he screeches coz your out of sight try a quick whistle our just say" im here"
when your eating dinner hes probably trying to figure out why you guys get that stuff & he misses out try keeping some veges for him to eat while your having dinner
irns are totally food orientated so that will make him feel like hes not being left out of the good stuff
hope this helps you

[smallworld]

I'd go with what bec said too. The thing is, he doesnt understand 'you needing your space'. He thinks of you guys as family. So he doesn't want to be left out in any event. What I do, is everytime before I start eating, Echo gets a small piece from my plate. Even if its just 2 grains of rice, he's happy and he doesnt call out to me when we're eating. Of course it has to be something safe for the bird to eat.

[cocojen]

wow... thanks so much guys... i will try the whispering thing and whistling from another room... i didn't really think of him being scared when he can't see us, thats a really good point!!
i usually just give him enough food for a day at a time and just before we sit down to eat i refill his bowl... when i give him fresh fruit or veg he seems to finish it really fast then starts screaming... maybe i don't give him enough. i'm actually worried if i give him too much at a time he'll get runny poo and get sick or something. i don't know where i got that thought from but in comparison to the size of his head, what is a good amount of fresh fruit and veg to give him at any one time?? i usualy give him a piece the size of his beak, maybe a lil bigger.
again, thanks so much for the advice, i'll give it a go and let u know how it goes.


p.s. he is a very very very affectionate boy... he's happiest when he's on us.

[xx_sheena_xx]

i fill my girls food bowl up with fruit or veggies, her bowl is probaly three times the size or her head
and shes fine

[bec]

i wouldnt worry about giving him too much to eat if hes finishing his dinner before you finish your you will be fine giving him extra especialy if you load a bit more onto your plate then before you sit down give him some more food

[Melika]

wow... thanks so much guys... i will try the whispering thing and whistling from another room... i didn't really think of him being scared when he can't see us, thats a really good point!!
i usually just give him enough food for a day at a time and just before we sit down to eat i refill his bowl... when i give him fresh fruit or veg he seems to finish it really fast then starts screaming... maybe i don't give him enough. i'm actually worried if i give him too much at a time he'll get runny poo and get sick or something. i don't know where i got that thought from but in comparison to the size of his head, what is a good amount of fresh fruit and veg to give him at any one time?? i usualy give him a piece the size of his beak, maybe a lil bigger.
again, thanks so much for the advice, i'll give it a go and let u know how it goes.


p.s. he is a very very very affectionate boy... he's happiest when he's on us.

Don't worry about runny poo with fruits and veggies. This is actually how it normally should be. Fruits and veggies have high water content so this is natural. It's the seed/pellet diet that is unnatural and gives them a more solid stool.

We give ours more then they can eat when it comes to veggies and fruits.


When Hane began to scream, I got earplugs. Ever notice how quiet the animals and children of a deaf person can be? So I would sit right next to him with the earplugs and read or whatever I wanted to do. It always gets worse before it gets better. Different approaches work for different people, but this worked for me.

[cocojen]

ok cool... u guys are such a big help, i'm glad i found this site!! i'll try everything u all said n hopefully somewhere in there will be A solution to the screeching... and i'll start giving him more fresh fruit n veg... is there anything i shouldn't give him?

[bec]

in diet & housing theres a post about good & bad foods its very informative

[effekt]

My Goffins cockatoo is a squawker. She always wants to be held constantly and if I walk away she starts screeching. When she does that, I whistle back or talk to her, or pop my head into the room so she can see I'm still there.

She has quieted down quite a bit now, as I think she realizes that I'm not going to abandon her if I leave the room for a minute or two.

I also tried AviCalm, which is a green tea extract that gives birds a feeling of being calm and relaxed. I think it helped her a bit to ease up. She's a very skittish bird, everything frightens her so I think a lot of her screeching was due to being frightened when I wasn't holding her.

Hope that helps! My IRNs are still babies so they don't make much noise yet, but at least once a day they'll make their cute little squeaks back and forth to each other

[Technobird]

Our IRN Techno has become a bit of a screecher aswell He doesnt talk yet. Hes around 8months old now. I thought his vocals would of developed past screeching by this age. He screeches when we leave the room, when we arrive home, when we eat and when we dont pay attention to him. Im guessing it is as he is a flocking bird and it is his only way of communicating to us. Im just hoping that as he gets older it will subside. I also this He is a She as he has bonded really well with my partner but doesnt bond with me. Even though im the one who feeds him and cleans his cage and talks to him more.

Is there an age where they actually talk? All our seems to do is screech and sometimes he willchcukle away to himself when his head is in his food bowl but other than that, thats it. We leave the tv and radio on when we arent home and our cockatiels and love bird are in the same room as him so he certainly knows he isnt alone at all.

[effekt]

I think I heard that IRNs usually don't start to talk till at least 1 year old?

At least IRNs have a pleasant call. My 2 IRNs are about 3 months old and have such a cute squeak. They are gaining volume every day though. But still a cute squeak. I hope they don't pick up on the volume of my Goffins cockatoo's screech. She's the loud one.

[jimmyjack]

mine makes an ungodly screech that i could hardly call cute. i think he picked it up off the local natives! but there are other sounds he occasionally makes which definately are. i hope yours stick to the cute ones!

[cocojen]

this avi calm thing sounds good. where can i get it??

Coco started talking when he was about 8 months i think. before i got him. but he only said hello, meow and wolf whistled on top of screeching.

Now i have had him for roughly 1 year he says hello, meow, he has an evil laugh, how ya goin, makes a kissing sound (when you put ur cheek to his beak), coco (in the mirror), hi coco, good boy (only very rarely), stop it (he's only said that once). but each thing he says he has different ways of saying it too... when he says 'coco' he sometimes gets a lil bit carried away and starts going 'cocoooo cococococoooco coco co co co cocoooooo!!' then we laugh at him and he copies our laugh!! that can continue for so long sometimes. it's so funny!!

we're teaching him little short whistling songs too, he's slowly picking it up.

i think u just need to say the same phrase at the same time, eg. when you come home 'how ya goin?' or 'hello techno''. when you look in the mirror say 'sexy techno' or something like that.
worked for us, just need to find a solution to the screeching thing now

[effekt]

That's good advice! Even though my IRNs are only 3 months old I've already started whistling the Pirates of the Caribbean song to them. I'm hoping to have a couple of pirate birds in the future

[Technobird]

this avi calm thing sounds good. where can i get it??

Coco started talking when he was about 8 months i think. before i got him. but he only said hello, meow and wolf whistled on top of screeching.

Now i have had him for roughly 1 year he says hello, meow, he has an evil laugh, how ya goin, makes a kissing sound (when you put ur cheek to his beak), coco (in the mirror), hi coco, good boy (only very rarely), stop it (he's only said that once). but each thing he says he has different ways of saying it too... when he says 'coco' he sometimes gets a lil bit carried away and starts going 'cocoooo cococococoooco coco co co co cocoooooo!!' then we laugh at him and he copies our laugh!! that can continue for so long sometimes. it's so funny!!

we're teaching him little short whistling songs too, he's slowly picking it up.

i think u just need to say the same phrase at the same time, eg. when you come home 'how ya goin?' or 'hello techno''. when you look in the mirror say 'sexy techno' or something like that.
worked for us, just need to find a solution to the screeching thing now

Technos screeching was picked up from the pet shop birds he was caged with unfortunantly We've tried whistling to let him know we are around when he screeches but he just keeps screeching. he loves to copy my partners whistle though. he always comes up to the side of the cage and they whistle together. I might have to look into this Avi Calm thing aswell. We always say "Hi" to him when we walk past or when we come home. He loves making whistle noises...and he moves his mouth like he is trying to talk when we talk to him but no noise comes out.

[effekt]

I'm afraid my Ringnecks are going to pick up the volume of my cockatoo's screech. Not sure how I'll deal with that!

AviCalm is pretty good, the exotic birds store where I got my birds recommended it and I've been very happy so far. Its green tea leaf extract, so it is natural. I would never give my birds chemical stuff. It seems to have really worked for Molly. I've also been changing her routine to keep her occupied when I'm not in the room, which helps too.

Here's the AviCalm web site: http://www.birdsupplies.com/AviCalm-Cal ... s-avic.htm

[cocojen]

what do u mean by 'changing her routine'?? whats this routine u speak of? if it works i wanna know!!

[cocojen]

seriously tho technobird, i know how u feel... it's unbearable!! it's like u give the bird everything you've got till you've got nothing left to do or give and they STILL screech! it's like having a baby that won't stop crying, only much louder!! if we keep taking peoples advice something is sure to work sooner or later... keep me posted on how it's going with techno

[effekt]

what do u mean by 'changing her routine'?? whats this routine u speak of? if it works i wanna know!!

I try to keep her occupied with doing stuff, and I also try to give her lots of exercise. A tired bird is a quiet bird

What I do to keep her occupied is that I give her lots of soft wood to chew on, and during the times she makes the most noise (morning and evening) I give her snacks and treats, which gives her something to do. I talk to her also, letting her know I'll be right back. It seems to help.

Here's my morning routine (or what I did to change her old routine which made her noisy):
In the morning when I was getting ready for work, she would make her loud contact calls to me because she wanted to know where I was, so instead of letting her hang out on her cage while I'm showering, I bring her into the bathroom now and let her sit on a perch next to the shower. Its good for parrots to get a bit of humidity too, and I'm hoping it'll also get her more comfortable with the shower so I can wash her (she's terrified of almost everything). She stays totally quiet the whole time, just making tiny squeaks, and when I'm finished getting ready I put her back on her cage and then give her breakfast before I tend to my Ringnecks. That keeps her focused on eating her new food while I'm chopping vegetables for the other birds.

It has made a huge difference!

[Technobird]

I think we had a break through with his first word today while he was bust whistling and screeching away. Techno seems to love to whistle into his metal food bowl. Im not sure why..maybe the sound it makes? I will upload a video when i can. Im going to try to get some avicalm for when he is really worked up.

[CalamariBaby]

My Zazu loves to talk into his food bowl, too. Sounds a little like the echo from a bathroom or something.
They are so cute.

[cocojen]

yea, coco does the talking into the bowl thing too, mainly in a glass candle holder i've got. they're funny lil guys aren't they!

i take him in the shower (when it's not too cold) and he loves the warm water! he flaps around and gets so wet!

now here's a thing i'm confused about... i found a young budgie on the road n took it home to revive it, it was only with us for 4 days but in that time coco was really quiet and withdrawn, didn't want anything to do with us, even his screeching quietened down a bit, he's slowly coming back around now but when i give him a scratch (which he usualy enjoys) he's started growling at me! is it possible he's cranky with me for paying attention to another bird? is his memory really that good?
it's like i either get another bird and have him quiet but hate me or just deal with the noise!! i don't want another bird cause i loved the way he was so affectionate but now he seems to be angry with me or something...

[cocojen]

I think we had a break through with his first word today while he was bust whistling and screeching away. Techno seems to love to whistle into his metal food bowl. Im not sure why..maybe the sound it makes? I will upload a video when i can. Im going to try to get some avicalm for when he is really worked up.

what was the word he said?? did u understand it?? it usually takes them a while to pick up certain words, some u can say twice and they copy, some they just never pick up! coco refuses to say 'good boy'! only when he thinks we're not listening, he'll throw a quick one in and then not say it again for the next 4 months!! cheeky!!

[effekt]

That is odd that Coco got all quiet. Many times they don't do well when another member joins their "flock". He may be stressed, and they do have good memories.

Another possibility is that the budgie had a disease and maybe passed it along to Coco? Have his droppings changed at all? Birds hide their illnesses because in the wild, if they appear to be sick the flock will abandon them. So you may want to take Coco by the vet, just for a check up.

Hope he gets back to his old lovable self quickly!

[cocojen]

Oh dear!! i didn't think of that!! i'll take him to the vet right away!!! thanks!!

[cocojen]

i took im to the vet. he's a healthy boy she said to cover his cage when he screeches and uncover it when he stops... she clipped his wings and claws so he's so dependant on us now... he was getting cranky with me touching him cause he's growing new feathers. he's getting beautiful new red and a few blue ones now... he's so handsome. does it hurt when new feathers come?

[effekt]

So glad to hear that he's a healthy bird!

I don't think it hurts them but sometimes it can be uncomfortable, especially when they are molting. Ringnecks are so funny, they definitely have their time when they don't want to be touched or handled. Mine are the same way; they let me know when they want to play with me and they definitely let me know when they'd rather be left alone

Do you have a picture of coco?

[cocojen]

yeah i do, but i was having trouble uploading it... i'll try again

[cocojen]

my files are too big... i will find a way to upload a photo of coco if it kills me... in time