Screaming & Stubborn headed :)
Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:03 am
Hey everybody!
I've had this baby IRN for a few months now. He came to me 6 months after he was born. The breeder had him in an outdoor flightcage along with the rest of his family. I'm not new to birds though this is new territory for me. I've always wanted but never had an IRN before. So here's the deal with greenie (his nickname). Since about the middle of February, the sun has been coming out earlier n earlier. So he is awake at a little past 6. Along with this, our little greenie has started a new screaming habit. He screams at the top of his lungs. I thought okay, maybe he is hungry and I wake up earlier n leave some food for him. He only eats fresh food so there is no use leaving something at night for him. My wife and I go to sleep usually around 1am and we'd like to be waking up at around 7.30 or 8 am but not 6. However, giving him some food and talking to him has not been working.
So i thought okay, he wants company. And I wake up, leave him food and talk to him. But that doesnt work either. If i fall asleep on the couch or leave the room to make coffee, then he starts screaming again.There is another parakeet in the room too. He is a red crowned parakeet and well has barely ever screamed. However if greenie screams long enough, then he chimes in too.
We even tried separating them and keeping them in two different rooms for about 3 days but that just didnt work. Sometimes, he just screams for nothing, even when he is walking about the floor or just playing around. That's fine with me, just as long as its not 6am in the morning and the neighbours are still asleep. We live in an apartment and we have extremely friendly and tolerent neighbours but the IRN scream is so high pitched that early in the morning its about the only thing you hear. I just dont want to wear out their patience.
I've watched tonnes of videos on youtube about training IRNs and read alot of webpages even before I bought him. I know that he isnt really a quiet bird and I really like the IRN's in general. We spend alot of time trying to train him everyday but it doesn't work either. He loves strawberries, sunflower seeds and oh he loves red apples. He would take the treats from us but only when he is required not do something. He is clipped so he does sit on my shoulder, while I walk around the house. Actually he really likes that and he sort of preens my hair. He would do 'kiss kiss'. Thats what we call it. Where he takes the treat from our lips. Sometimes when there is no treat and we say kiss kiss and put our lips near his beak, then he just softly nibbles the upper lip for a second. Once he did lick my upper lip and I was surprised how much saliva he has.
Well ok the thing is, he doesnt do anything when we want him to. He only takes the seeds from us because the other bird got some seeds and now he wants some too. Or if he just wants seeds or a different kind of fruit that day, then he takes the treats from us. But no matter what you do, he never even tries to perform a trick. If he knows you are trying to get him to do something, he just turns around and walks away.
He did used to step up but for the past 3 days its been a problem. He has a large cage to himself which we bought about a week ago. He is so content with it, that even when the top n doors are open he rarely wants to leave. If he leaves, then he just wants to take a shower or go to the window or play on the tree but it hasnt happened that much now. The first day or two with the cage, he stepped up but gradually its gotten less. Now he just backs away. When i say 'greenie whats wrong?' then he just stares at me.
I really love this bird (secretly slightly even more than other birds we've kept). But i need to stop this morning screaming and i dont want him to be so stubborn. I would also like to try to see him mimmick sounds or somethin but whistling n talkin hasnt worked so far. Maybe its too early or he is just not interested
We dont cover his cage because the room we keep them in has 3 big windows and I believe that he should get his fair share of natural sunlight. However, if the screaming goes on, we just might have to do that...
I've had this baby IRN for a few months now. He came to me 6 months after he was born. The breeder had him in an outdoor flightcage along with the rest of his family. I'm not new to birds though this is new territory for me. I've always wanted but never had an IRN before. So here's the deal with greenie (his nickname). Since about the middle of February, the sun has been coming out earlier n earlier. So he is awake at a little past 6. Along with this, our little greenie has started a new screaming habit. He screams at the top of his lungs. I thought okay, maybe he is hungry and I wake up earlier n leave some food for him. He only eats fresh food so there is no use leaving something at night for him. My wife and I go to sleep usually around 1am and we'd like to be waking up at around 7.30 or 8 am but not 6. However, giving him some food and talking to him has not been working.
So i thought okay, he wants company. And I wake up, leave him food and talk to him. But that doesnt work either. If i fall asleep on the couch or leave the room to make coffee, then he starts screaming again.There is another parakeet in the room too. He is a red crowned parakeet and well has barely ever screamed. However if greenie screams long enough, then he chimes in too.
We even tried separating them and keeping them in two different rooms for about 3 days but that just didnt work. Sometimes, he just screams for nothing, even when he is walking about the floor or just playing around. That's fine with me, just as long as its not 6am in the morning and the neighbours are still asleep. We live in an apartment and we have extremely friendly and tolerent neighbours but the IRN scream is so high pitched that early in the morning its about the only thing you hear. I just dont want to wear out their patience.
I've watched tonnes of videos on youtube about training IRNs and read alot of webpages even before I bought him. I know that he isnt really a quiet bird and I really like the IRN's in general. We spend alot of time trying to train him everyday but it doesn't work either. He loves strawberries, sunflower seeds and oh he loves red apples. He would take the treats from us but only when he is required not do something. He is clipped so he does sit on my shoulder, while I walk around the house. Actually he really likes that and he sort of preens my hair. He would do 'kiss kiss'. Thats what we call it. Where he takes the treat from our lips. Sometimes when there is no treat and we say kiss kiss and put our lips near his beak, then he just softly nibbles the upper lip for a second. Once he did lick my upper lip and I was surprised how much saliva he has.
Well ok the thing is, he doesnt do anything when we want him to. He only takes the seeds from us because the other bird got some seeds and now he wants some too. Or if he just wants seeds or a different kind of fruit that day, then he takes the treats from us. But no matter what you do, he never even tries to perform a trick. If he knows you are trying to get him to do something, he just turns around and walks away.
He did used to step up but for the past 3 days its been a problem. He has a large cage to himself which we bought about a week ago. He is so content with it, that even when the top n doors are open he rarely wants to leave. If he leaves, then he just wants to take a shower or go to the window or play on the tree but it hasnt happened that much now. The first day or two with the cage, he stepped up but gradually its gotten less. Now he just backs away. When i say 'greenie whats wrong?' then he just stares at me.
I really love this bird (secretly slightly even more than other birds we've kept). But i need to stop this morning screaming and i dont want him to be so stubborn. I would also like to try to see him mimmick sounds or somethin but whistling n talkin hasnt worked so far. Maybe its too early or he is just not interested
We dont cover his cage because the room we keep them in has 3 big windows and I believe that he should get his fair share of natural sunlight. However, if the screaming goes on, we just might have to do that...
We dont really care if he screams during the day. Because he's a bird and a little screaming is alrite. Thanks for your reply
I'd prefer if he got used to not calling the flock like all our other birds. For now though, covering seems to be the only thing that helps.