and more screaming.

[LovelySydney]

O is the most mellow bird EVER. He so quiet you wouldn't think we had two birds. The only time he makes noise is in the morning when the sun first comes up and at night when the birds outside are making their night time noise, other than that he sits there and preens and sleeps and is adorable. & of course if Gus is bothering him he gives a little warning squawk.


& then theres my first born, Gussy. Gussy is a grade A screamer. When O was first here (it's been a week now) Gus started settling and calming down a bit, the screaming had completely stopped. He still did normal bird chirping which is fine because he's a bird and we get that, but it was not the ear peircing screaming anymore. We thought, great! O has become a welcomed partner for gus. Well, this weekend proved us wrong.


The screaming is back and worse. It starts in the morning and ends when the sun goes down. it is horrendously ear peircing and very VERY unpleasent - it's honestly hard to think. I tried everything this weekend. I held Gus with me for a few hours, I left him alone for a few hours, I let him play with O - I tried out different scenarios but the screaming always comes back. It sounds like he's trying to call someone miles away.

My boyfriend was sick this weekend and we just didn't know what to do. It's caused some tension, I just don't know if it's a behavioral thing or a temporary thing or what. It goes on for 10 hours a day and I am not exxagerating. I love my little Gus but I am desperate to find a solution for this. He sleeps now and screams while sleeping!!:(


I know I have posted about this before and PLEASE I dont want people to think I am just complaining and being annoyed about Gus I just really want to find a solution for this problem, if there even is one. We understand that he is a bird and he is going to make noise this just is so extreme, so loud and so constant we can't help but think somethings wrong:confused: We love our Gussy very much, were just trying to help him. I worry because my boyfriend, after 3 days of Gus screaming, is sort of ready to see Gus go to another home. This is not an option for me. I understand his frustration because I feel the same way, but there just has to be a way to fix this without having to lose a family member.


= (

[Flapjack]

Oh my! Screams while sleeping???
Poor little guy... :(
Is he ok when you hold him? I mean, if you touch him all over, does he act like something hurts?

Maybe he's just asserting himself- making sure you don't forget about him now that there's a cute new guy in the house? Maybe he's so infatuated with O that he doesn't want to be away from him, even for a minute.

I know how much you love him, 3 days, in the scheme of things, really isn't that long. Hopefully you all can work it out and deal with it until he calms down a little.

Oh- believe me- I know the tension a loud bird can cause. My caique is an ear driller. My husband was dead set on my getting another bird. I told him he wasn't going to be really loud, and OMG was I in for a shock. He picked up a car alarm sound at his last home, and began to do it every time we left his sight. My husband has been home for several months during the day, and I've got to tell you- he is P****D at me! Nokomis is getting a tiny bit better each day (incremental amounts, mind you).
DH is actually being uncharacteristically patient, though. I've got to hand it to him, but we've had some words about it.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with it, too. I'm sure you'll make the best decision for all of you.

[LovelySydney]

yes, screams while sleeping. This is only during the day though, when he's napping. He tucks his tiny little head in his feathers and screams. My bf and I stood there and watched him do it because we couldn't understand what was going on.

When I hold him or when he is on my shoulder he is quiet & I know he is healthy. However, now we have the added bird in the house, so if I take him away from O, he is calling for him. I refuse to re-home, I just will not do it so it's not an option, but yes, the tension right now is massive, so hopefully this week goes a little better.



I just wish I knew of a technique to make Gus calm down.

[Flapjack]

Your situation is a bit different than mine- I'm not sure why Gus is screaming, but I know Nokomis does it if he can't see us.

I've begun to teach him a contact call that is acceptable, rather than the all-out electronic alarm. It took many days for him to start picking up on it, and I didn't think it was going to work, but it really does!

Caiques are more into mimicking than lovies, so I'm not sure if you could do it. Maybe someone else here knows?

[michael]

O is the most mellow bird EVER. He so quiet you wouldn't think we had two birds. The only time he makes noise is in the morning when the sun first comes up and at night when the birds outside are making their night time noise, other than that he sits there and preens and sleeps and is adorable. & of course if Gus is bothering him he gives a little warning squawk.........................& then theres my first born, Gussy. Gussy is a grade A screamer. When O was first here (it's been a week now) Gus started settling and calming down a bit, the screaming had completely stopped. He still did normal bird chirping which is fine because he's a bird and we get that, but it was not the ear peircing screaming anymore. We thought, great! O has become a welcomed partner for gus. Well, this weekend proved us wrong.

The screaming is back and worse. It starts in the morning and ends when the sun goes down. it is horrendously ear peircing and very VERY unpleasent - it's honestly hard to think. I tried everything this weekend. I held Gus with me for a few hours, I left him alone for a few hours, I let him play with O - I tried out different scenarios but the screaming always comes back. It sounds like he's trying to call someone miles away.

Sounds like he's calling for his flockmates. If I understand right, despite the quarantine, Oslo and Gus have already been introduced?.....If so, how far apart are their cages?.......Keep in mind, some birds will go through a phase of calling out for attention until which time they become used to their fidparents schedule. Others may simply continue to be quite chirpy. While this could very well be a phase he's going through, I have a feeling there is a relatively minor "contributing factor". ........If I may ask......How old is Guss? Has he gone through a molt yet?

[LovelySydney]

Gus is about 5 months old now I would say. & yes him and Os have been introduced and their cages are pretty close to one another now. They don't really talk back & forth, gus mainly yells at the birds outside (that's what we think at least). They are together during the day when were at work & I am with gus at night (still letting O settle in so we dont bug him too much)

[momo]

I would tell your boyfriend.. you aren't going to re-home him because of his smelly feet.. why should you rehome a bird because he likes to talk!..

Elmo was like that ALOT when she first came home. I have alot of rainbow lorikeets outside of my house and she would constantly call at them. I could set my watch by her and the lorikeets. 8am-12pm... calling out to one another. 12-3pm.. peace and quiet.. involving an afternoon nap.. 3-6pm.. more flock dinner time calling to one another...
And on the tellie, if a show had background noise of birds, she would call at them, regardless of time. Mum and I have become very tuned into hearing birds on tv and had to have the remote in hand to change channels!

Over time with her, it did quiet down. I think once she realised that they werent her flock. and that I was.. she began flock calling me when ever I left the room.

Although I cannot offer any advice, I just wanted to let you know, you aren't the only ones.. I know you can have a damaging headache after their screams, i am still amazed such a tiny bird can make such a LOUD noise.. I think once she begins to see you as her flock she may settle in, and once O and Gus become closer together.. it may quiet down..

[Enko_chan]

I was going to ask about the molt-

since my Odinn has started to freckle, he does this thing for a few hours in the afternoon where he stands up as tall as he can and makes this head-piercing shriek. Its like a machine-gun rapid fire shriek. Etta used to do it- but I thought she learned it from Bad Boy the Sun Conure! She would start to scream at the crack of dawn with the conures, and I would be in my room with the pillows over my head! However, Freyja chirps and they get noisy when they are playing- but since his little freckles have appeared, he's been doing this for a few hours a day. Usually twice a day in spurts. It isn't as bad as Gus, but it seems like he may be trying to tell you that something is wrong. You've already brought him to the Vet since he's been screaming, right? When he fell from the hut? He was screaming then too...

I don't have much to recommend, but I want to help work the situation out. I know how much you love your fids, and wish you all the best of luck. I know 3-4 hours a day of that can get trying when I'm not feeling well... it really doesn't bother me too much after some of the loud birds I've lived with. After Bad Boy, Mary & Etta I probably have hearing loss... The two conures were rescues and they screamed inconsolably until they got used to their new home and eventually bonded with one another- then the screaming stopped. That took months! In the mean time, all I have to recommend is to keep a close eye on Gus- solicit some recommendations from people with more experience to be sure that it isn't something more serious than molting or calling out for his flock- and give Gus and Os time to get to know one another. Bad Boy and Mary stopped screaming when they bonded. They were both old, tough, abused birds and weren't even the same species of conure- so hopefully Gus and Os, being young lovies, will take to one another more quickly and bring down the noise level.

[BarbieH]

Where is Gus's cage located in relation to walls, corners, height, and windows? Sometimes changing the cage position in the room can help a bird calm down. In general, lovies feel more secure with a wall on at least one side of them, and a little bit higher up.

I feel for you, I truly do. When I have traveled for work, I have marveled at how quiet a hotel room is by comparison.

[LovelySydney]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. In regards to him being healthy, he is. He's had all the blood work under the sun and has been checked twice now. He was also checked before I ever got him when he got his sexing from his previous owner. Gus started promptly at 8am this morning and I heard my boyfriend groan. I didn't go out to see Gus until he stopped screaming because I don't want to reward his behavior and have a reverse effect. I open his cage and he will eat (I dont know why he waits until his cage is open, lol) and then comes out and sits atop his play gym for the majority of the day. With Spring in the air, and our home being surrounded by trees, the birds are now out in large amounts singing and chirping and this is what Gus goes by. I told my boyfriend this morning "well I guess if we get rid of ALL the birds outside our home then Gus will be quiet" - joking of course.


Their cages are upstairs in our landing area on cage stands that are level with my boyfriend and I when we stand next to them. There is a door that goes out to the porch upstairs and 2 windows. There's a lot of light and a lot of warmth which is why we chose that spot for our makeshift aviary:)




As much as I am concerned about this, I myself know this is normal and can tolerate it really well - I would love for it to tone down a little but I have more patience when it comes to Gus. My boyfriend is the one who is going to snap - but is it wrong of me not to care? :rofl: Of course I care, but these are my babies so like I told him, "Just go downstairs and watch TV and you won't hear him at all!". I know though that with him being sick it probably wasn't helping during the weekend when he was trying to sleep, so I DO understand.


Thanks again everyone.

[LovelySydney]

I also wonder if Gus would be happier with O all the time, because they are certainly content when they are together - but Gus is very good outside of his cage. He stays on his play gym or he stays on the perch that is connected to Gus's cage. I don't want to bring O out until we can watch him enough that I know he won't fly out.

We let O out over the weekend and he ended up flying down to the ground and wasnt sure how to get back up - so it's things like that that I need to be looking out for and making sure O can do before I let him hang with Gus a lot.

I bet that would curb the screaming though - I did wonder if Gus was freaking out because he had no access to get into O's cage and it bugged him. It makes sense!!

[Enko_chan]

Aye- both O and Frey scream bloody murder if one is out of the others' line of sight.

I can distract them and get them to calm down, but only for so long, and only with so exciting a distraction.

BTW- Guess who is hanging out with me today? Freyja! Odinn went to preen himself alone in the cage, and Frey wanted to spend some time with me, I'm honored! They usually keep to themselves this past week.

[thebubbleking]

My lovebirds and tiels call for each other or when i am walking around and its dark ("there he is, now hes there" etc)
I would be happy to post a video of my sun conures screaming to make your significant other be happy it's just a love bird call lol

[momo]

I am amazed that sun conures aren't deaf...

In terms of sleeping.. I kinda adjusted elmos sleep pattern to be in line with mine. and I find that if I do not cover her cage completely, no light shining through. and if she doesn't go to sleep in her happy hut then she will wake up early. But if I need to wake up at say 9pm.. I won't put her to bed until about 9/10pm. That is her normal time for going to bed and waking up anyways. :)

[michael]

I also wonder if Gus would be happier with O all the time, because they are certainly content when they are together - but Gus is very good outside of his cage. He stays on his play gym or he stays on the perch that is connected to Gus's cage. I don't want to bring O out until we can watch him enough that I know he won't fly out.........

Even with constant access to Oslo, Gus may still protest whenever he's placed back in his cage. He may even protest regardless who's cage he ends up in! The result may be, that as long as Gus is out and about, all will be fine. Or, who knows?..........Regardless though, whether you ultimately decide to cage them together, or only allow them together during the day, this still requires plenty of supervision until your absolutely certain neither one harbors any territorial or personality issues.

When you say..... "I don't want to bring O out until we can watch him enough that I know he won't fly out".....Does this mean he may escape out of doors?......:(......Or just onto the floor?.......:)........Although the floor is NOT a good place for a lovebird, with the exception of totally escaping, is there a way both can enjoy joint supervised outings? Seems to me they already do quite well together.

Currently with our two lovies, while they have yet to decide each others company is worth prospecting, still, they manage to do quite well together as long as their well supervised (and also get no closer than 4 inches apart). Although our first lovie Goof, for the most part, went through the "I need attention 12 hours a day or else !" routine, he eventually overcame his insecurities by realizing all his noise making received absolutely no attention. Now B.B (our newest), while starting out unusually quiet, has recently taken towards letting everyone distinctively know he's ready and willing to come out of his cage at any given time. You could say it is all out heavy metal rapid fire chirping for him!.....I think he's even prompted Goof to join in on the "chirp fest"......:rotfl......Really, I think he makes a darned good watch dog. Make any move what so ever during the night and he lets out a huge PEEEEEEP!........:omg:.........:)

[LovelySydney]

Michael - what I meant was that if O landed on the floor he would be able to get back up to his cage. Gus, if he gets on the floor, can fly up to his cage with ease and I want to be sure O is also self-sufficient in that way for safety reasons. The landing is an über safe zone - no open windows or doorways and completely blocked off from the dogs. There is one loveseat (MY perch, LOL) that I read on.

[Enko_chan]

You could say it is all out heavy metal rapid fire chirping for him!.....I think he's even prompted Goof to join in on the "chirp fest"......:rotfl......Really, I think he makes a darned good watch dog. Make any move what so ever during the night and he lets out a huge PEEEEEEP!........:omg:.........:)

Sounds like Odinn... his fully automatic assault-rifle chirping only gets Freyja going occasionally, but usually its all him...

and when I try to peek in on him in the night... I look in at sweet Freyja sleeping like a rock, and Odinn staring at me from his sleep position- Gotcha! When I don't go over to the cage, he'll let out a few half-asleep PPPEEEEEPS!

[LovelySydney]

I am now sick:very_sad: Something is going around and it is TERRIBLE. My head feels like its going to explode. I was in bed playing with O this morning when Gus was taking his nap and he was just playing on my hoodie string and napping now and then. Then the "quiet cycle" broke and the screaming began.

So we realized (by watching) that Gus is screaming because he can't get into O's cage. We don't let him do this because he bothers O - yesterday he kept biting his toes and O was giving me the "please put me in my cage!" look. I think that maybe I should put Gus back downstairs, that maybe I brought them together too quickly??? I would love for them to be out together but Gus is being a little tyrant>:


Any thoughts??