Too noisy. Need help!

[minijulius]

This is getting way too bad. He is so noisy that I have to leave my door closed when I go out (his cage is in my room). He squeaks and screams.

What do you do when you bring your bird out of the cage? Do you play with him the whole time or you just let him have his own time?

I usually let mine out when he desperately (screaming non stop) needs to get out or when I have time to supervise him, I'll let him out. But once he gets nippy, I'll put him back straight away.

I thought of getting a small carrier and bring him out whenever I go out, it's convenient for me because I drive whenever I go out. And partly it's because I don't want him to disturb any of my family members and neighbors as well. But what if he scream even louder when I bring him out?

He will only stop screaming for about ten mins after I bring him out and put him back when it's times to do so.

[Glam]

He may have learnt that if he screams loud enough, and for long enough he will get let out of his cage. Birds are amazingly quick learners and responding to any behaviours they have good or bad, indicates to them what happens when they do something.

Hard as it could be, ignoring the noise might help teach him that you are not going to acknowledge him when he behaves like that. When he calms down, and is quite... then go over and play with him or take him out. THat way you are teaching him the noise gets him ignored, and the calmness is rewarded with attention. Even if you have to go out the room and close the door when he's making a fuss, that still counts to him as being ignored.

I'm sure more experienced birdy mom and dads will be along soon to advise some more.

[bookworm0550]

when mine are out, they can be on me or doing their own thing, i leave it up to them. joey and jada are the only ones who would be on me 90% of the time while the others are more independent.

is he noisy cuz he wants to be w/ you? how much out of cage time does he get? how much time do you spend w/ him? do you live in a house or apt? is he in your room alone? maybe he's contacting calling because he can't see anyone? they are extremely social creatures so it might be contact he's seeking. how old is he? i feel like younger birds are more vocal than adults.

sorry, i'm no good on noise advice as i have 12 lovebirds. i find that if i am playing music or tv kinda loud, they get louder to match the noise i'm making. i also find that right around 1 pm, they get real loud, but that's just my flock and their habits. i don't know why but that's the time they just do and sometimes you just gotta let them get it out of their system. they are pretty vocal birds.

[minijulius]

when mine are out, they can be on me or doing their own thing, i leave it up to them. joey and jada are the only ones who would be on me 90% of the time while the others are more independent.

is he noisy cuz he wants to be w/ you? how much out of cage time does he get? how much time do you spend w/ him? do you live in a house or apt? is he in your room alone? maybe he's contacting calling because he can't see anyone? they are extremely social creatures so it might be contact he's seeking. how old is he? i feel like younger birds are more vocal than adults.

sorry, i'm no good on noise advice as i have 12 lovebirds. i find that if i am playing music or tv kinda loud, they get louder to match the noise i'm making. i also find that right around 1 pm, they get real loud, but that's just my flock and their habits. i don't know why but that's the time they just do and sometimes you just gotta let them get it out of their system. they are pretty vocal birds.

He get to come out as many times as I can allow him to. But as soon as he start to bite, I will put him back. I don't know how old is he but the black part on his beak is almost gone. He screams even when I'm in the room. And I stay in a house.

[bookworm0550]

ok, so to me, it sounds like he is still young and going through a beaking phase where he nibbles hard and whatnot. that is very normal. when he does that, give him a toy or something to nip on, something to distract him with. the beaking phase is never fun w/ babies. i endure countless bites and hard nibbles, but this is also the stage where they'll learn to bite if you don't teach properly. i honestly don't think putting him back in his cage teaches him that what he did is a no no. or he could just learn that to bite you means you return him to his cage so he continues to do that rather than go back to his cage on his own.

as far as the noise issue, i guess i'm unsure what you mean by him screaming. is it a loud, sharp, shrill alarm call? or is he just chirping loudly at the top of his voice? i have 12 lovebirds so i'm sure i've heard all the calls one can imagine, i'm just not sure if your version of a scream is my idea of just chirping loudly.

have you tried to put him in the living room or some place where he's not alone all day? not to be nosy, but who lives w/ you? if you have kids and they're loud or other pets who are loud, i'm sorry, but parrots do tend to be louder when their environment is loud.

sorry, i don't really have any concrete advice on noise levels. i have a dozen lovies and i'm used to them and whatnot so most of the time i tune them out. but they do have their moments where they are really loud for no reason in particular.

here are some articles that should help you a bit

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-behaviors/constant-calling-or-excessive-vocalization.aspx

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-behaviors/bird-excessive-screaming.aspx

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-behavior-and-training/bird-behavior-issues/bird-noises.aspx

they have great articles you can search for too.

[bookworm0550]

i do hope you read the articles and search the site. it will really help educate you!!

[minijulius]

as far as the noise issue, i guess i'm unsure what you mean by him screaming.

have you tried to put him in the living room or some place where he's not alone all day? not to be nosy, but who lives w/ you? if you have kids and they're loud or other pets who are loud, i'm sorry, but parrots do tend to be louder when their environment is loud

Thanks for the links. I'll definitely make good use of it. When will he stop beaking?

There are a few noises. Soft chirping (really happy) like he's talking or mumbling to himself. Loud monotone, hen won't stop at all when I leave the room, it's like he's calling me back. And when he's playing on my table, sometimes he will slip or fall off the edge and I will grab him gently and he sort of 'cry' (mixture of squeaks). I will upload video if you want to know more.

I live with my parents and older brother. I have three dogs at home. Ziggy make noise even when they don't bark or when they are sleeping. And even late at night when I go to the toilet, he start his loud monotone call again.

[bookworm0550]

beaking is hard to say. depends on the bird. pepper was the first one of the 5 babies i had this past fall to start beaking and he was the first one to stop. and they hatched in sept. even though i would give them a toy to beak on rather than my finger, they always went back to the fingers for some reason.

i do want to see a video! not for the chirping but for the cuteness :)

it's ok. mine chirp at night when i get up to use the bathroom too. well, not all of them, i think it's joey that does it, but he'll do a loud chirp. i think it's to tell me to keep it down or he's curious what the racket is all about. who knows.

[Chickobee]

Lovebirds will even make noises when they are napping during the daytime. I call this "nap-chirping". It is something they do in the wild to make predators think they are awake and alert. These noises are usually not really loud, but when you have several to many birds it can be pretty noisy. (18 at our house right now) I love it when our birds are doing this.

Lovebirds live in flocks and your family is now the flock for your lovebird. When a single bird is separated from the rest of the flock they will continue to make contact calls until they are reunited with other members of the flock. In the wild a baby lovebird would never be all alone and the flock provides both companionship, protection, and teaches survival skills.

Your lovebird is still very much a baby if it still has any black left on it's beak. It is still adjusting to a new "flock" (you and your family), a new environment, new cage, new food, and missing it's clutch mates. It is probably feeling very insecure and could be afraid of something, or many things, in your room. If your baby was handfed it may also still be begging to be handfed because some handfed babies will revert to that during the stress of moving to a new home.

The time, patience, and love you show to your baby at this time will pay benefits for years. There are many excellent books on the care and training of lovebirds, and this website is a wonderful resource where you can ask specific questions.

A lovebird is not a rabbit or a kitten and most of them do not enjoy petting or being confined in hands. Many will enjoy head scritches and love exploring "their person". If you are patient and let your bird explore you on it's terms and as it feels safe you can develop a wonderful relationship. Teaching your bird to step up onto a perch or your hand is something you can be doing now.

Baby lovebirds do go through an adolescent beaky stage, but if this is handled correctly it will generally pass. Any lovebird will occasionally bite but with most well-loved birds this is rare--with the exception of some nesty hens, and usually only during breeding season with most of them.

1) Watch your bird's body language. They will give signals before they bite.
2) Birds use their beak as a hand to stabilize themselves or to test a perch to see if it is safe. These little bites do not hurt and if you jerk your hand away you will teach your bird that your hands are not safe, and you are not to be trusted.
3) Distract your bird when you think it may be about to bite you. Have a toy handy or a piece of millet spray. By avoiding bites in the first place you will not reinforce biting behaviors.
4) Don't reward your bird for biting you by jerking, screaming, or responding in any way your bird will find entertaining, or a reward such as getting to go back to it's cage. Ignore bites. I will repeat this. Ignore bites. If you must, gently put your bird down and go have a fit in another room but don't react in front of your bird.
5) Don't reward a screaming bird by paying attention to it. Don't entertain it by yelling at it. A screaming match is something you will never win.

[minijulius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9SJj1HLgkc

The cage is usually on a stand but the stand broke, waiting for the new stand to arrive. Meanwhile, the cage is on the floor. With or without stand, Ziggy is still as noisy.

Ziggy's black on beak is almost gone. Still have a tiny bit left but it's disappearing day by day.

[DallyTsuka]

hes testing out his voice! man, you should hear my two D: they can give me migraines with them also going with the tiels!

[Chickobee]

I watched your video and it sounded to me as if there was a shower running as background noise. Is that correct? Our birds always become very vocal whenever they hear running water, the television, or when there are guests in our home.

Also, are those the sounds that are bothering you? They sound like the noises of a normal happy lovebird to me. Those noises all indicate that your bird is happy and just chattering away to amuse itself.

If these are the sounds that you don't like then possibly a lovebird is not the right pet for you and you should consider rehoming your bird while it is still young. The normal chattering and whistling of a happy bird (or birds) are sounds I enjoy, but some people find them to be too shrill or sharp for their ears.

Birds are not quiet pets. Some birds, like finches for instance, do make softer noises. Their little peeps and chirps are not as shrill as those of a lovebird. Female canaries are also far less vocal than the males and can be very entertaining pets.

[linda040899]

Interesting analogy, Linda!
Very true statements, too. :) My macaws are at their loudest when I turn on the shower in my bathroom (which is in the master bedroom) or I first come home. Birds are flock animals and want to socialize with those that they consider to be members of the flock.

I've also found that noise will initiate more noise.

[minijulius]

I watched your video and it sounded to me as if there was a shower running as background noise. Is that correct? Our birds always become very vocal whenever they hear running water, the television, or when there are guests in our home.

Also, are those the sounds that are bothering you? They sound like the noises of a normal happy lovebird to me. Those noises all indicate that your bird is happy and just chattering away to amuse itself.

It was raining when I took the video.

Oh no, I love my lovie a lot. Just want to know what's bothering him or if there's anything I can do to calm him down but since he's happy, I shall just let it be. A chattering bird is always better than a quiet bird. Because that's when we will know if it's happy or not right?

Thank you so much for your help! :)

[shadnamber]

It sounds like he is trying to communicate with you. SO CUTE! thanks for sharing, he seems like a happy little bird, keep doing what your doing. :)

[bookworm0550]

if you don't want him, i'll take him. not only is he cute, but he seems pretty happy and that's not that noisy at all. what you think is noisy is pretty normal. you can give him some foraging toys and toys to shred to keep him busy. mine are pretty quiet when they're busy digging for food or tearing a part things. may i ask how big is his cage is?

[bookworm0550]

btw, i'm totally kidding about taking him. i want to share the lovie joy, not take it away :) he's super cute.

[Chickobee]

I totally agree Bookworm! This little one is so adorable and already mimicking part of a wolf whistle. Beware of fidnappers! :happy:

[diljaa]

That is just a little lovie enjoying life! Those are the noises I love to hear from mine, their napping/shower time lazy chirping. Like Chickobee said, if those are the sounds that are bothering you you should consider rehoming that little sweetheart!
I adore hearing my birds making those noises! You should hear them when they want attention!!

[minijulius]

if you don't want him, i'll take him. not only is he cute, but he seems pretty happy and that's not that noisy at all. what you think is noisy is pretty normal. you can give him some foraging toys and toys to shred to keep him busy. mine are pretty quiet when they're busy digging for food or tearing a part things. may i ask how big is his cage is?

I'm not sure how big is the cage though. Not big enough for him? :(

[Carole]

The cage is usually on a stand but the stand broke, waiting for the new stand to arrive. Meanwhile, the cage is on the floor. With or without stand, Ziggy is still as noisy.

Ziggy's black on beak is almost gone. Still have a tiny bit left but it's disappearing day by day.

Just wondering if you know if Ziggy is male or female? When I just played your video, Adagio (who is male) really told Ziggy off, while Dolce (who is female) was listening intently. It was quite funny watching their reaction :)

Carole

[thebubbleking]

Pfft thats not noisy ill post a video of my sun conures then youll count your lucky stars lol.
So long as he gets lots of outside time and can fly around his cage to exersize

[bird-brain]

Yeah Jeremiah, we should do a mix with your suns and my 3 shriek masters and Skye birds constant chatter. They can be a rap group! we'll call them "New Definition of Noise" LOL

[minijulius]

Just wondering if you know if Ziggy is male or female? When I just played your video, Adagio (who is male) really told Ziggy off, while Dolce (who is female) was listening intently. It was quite funny watching their reaction :)

Carole

I think Ziggy is a female. I caught her stuffing paper in her feathers. :)