Screaming birds. I need help!

[MaraJade]

My house has gotten quite crazy as of late and I’m a little worried about it. My fiancée and I have 1 dog, 1 cat, and now 4 birds. We just got the pair of breeding lovies recently and I posted about them on the breeding forum.

I’m not sure what to do with all of them. We have a condo so it’s hard to have such noisy birds. They were never this bad before we brought the other two home. Now all four of them just screech and screech all day long until we put them to bed at night. It’s horrible. The only time they are quiet is when we are in there talking to them and even then they can be loud.

I know for a fact they are not getting enough out of cage time. I do need to fix that. It’s been so crazy because not only am I dealing with them and hoping the neighbors won’t complain, but I’m also dealing with still trying to house train an eight month old dog. She’s just not getting it. I’m really at my wit’s end here. Plus she tries to jump at the birds when we take them out which means we have to put her in her kennel after she’s arelady been in there while we’re at work so that we can take the birds out. I don’t think it should be so difficult. She can be a very bad dog. I’ve never had another pet want to bite my birds. The cat loves them and will sit calmy as they walk by (under strict supervision of course). But the dog. . .you know that rhyme – there was a little girl. . . and when she was good she was very very good but when she was bad she was horrid. That’s my Pixel pup for sure.

And my fiancée finds absolutely no joy in any of our pets anymore because of all this. I even considered (for about.5 seconds) finding homes for the birds. But I could never part with my sweet quaker Gunther or my lovie single lovebird Gimli. And even the two new ones (whom we have named Quicksilver and Goldmoon) are adorable even if they hate to be touched. I had to give up one of my cats once nearly three years ago and I still cry about it sometimes. I swore I’d never give up another animal, but I just can’t figure out why they’re being so BAD.

Even if we take one out, play and talk to him for a while, and then even add a nice refreshing shower onto it; as soon as we put him back in the cage and leave the room he starts screaming. I’d move the cages into the living room but then what if they scream during the day and now they’re even closer to the neighbors? Should I try the living room? What should I do?

I don’t want to get in trouble and have to give any of them up and I’d really like my fiancée and I to be able to enjoy our pets again. Please help!

[BarbieH]

Hi Jesse;

I understand your problem. Please keep in mind that the birds aren't being bad; they're just being birds.

What do their surroundings look like? What are the colors of the room? What kinds of room accents or decorations are near their cages?

You can start by offering more out of cage time, but I realize you need to schedule this around your other pets. The safety of the birds must come first. They might, however, settle in better if they can have more face time with you by being in the same room together.

The birds might also be getting used to each other, or there could be something physical causing them to react -- or it could be both. We will offer the best advice we can, but keep in mind that there will always be noise associated with the birds.

Best wishes,

[bellarains]

Jessie,

It sounds like you have answered your question in a way. I really think they just want more time with you, or at least near you. Why don't you try moving them into the living room where you are and see if that helps. I know you can't have them out all the time, but maybe just being in the same room will help a bit. Worth a try anyway.

If their behavior has changed that much since the new pair came, maybe they would do better in seperate rooms for a little while, and you can try to put them in the same room a bit later. All you can do is try different things till you find out what helps them be more calm, but like Barb said, there will be noise with birds, and more birds mean more noise of course. I do think you can rearrange a bit though and try to see what works both for you and them to make things a little more peaceful.

Good Luck!!!

[MaraJade]

Thanks guys. Maybe I will try them in the living room. It’s not that they were quiet before the new birds came. They just weren’t AS loud. Now it’s constant screaming. I know that birds are noisy. I totally expected that and I knew that when you add new ones it gets a bit noiser. But this is really bad. Not what I expected at all.

My ex husband and I had an African grey, Gunther, Gimli AND a goldies lorikeet and they never made this much noise together. I guess those lovies really are little lions. : )

Thank you both so much, though, for offering any help you can. I’m literally just near tears writing all of this and that’s not good since I’m at work. They already think I’m crazy what with all the star wars stuff. No need to make them think I’m mentally unstable as well. Lol.

And to answer you, Barb, about the room – it’s a spare bedroom, quite large. We have some furniture in there; a wardrobe, a safe, some boxes. It’s quite organized and we also have our star wars stuff on the walls, but it’s above their cages on shelves so it’s not like Darth Vader is staring at them and pissing them off. ;) Gunther has a couple pictures of other quakers near his cage that he seemed to like when I put them up and besides that the walls are white and there’s a nice big window that illuminates their cages for part of the day.

They hate Pixel obviously. Well, Gimli seems to want to be friends. He tries to nibble on her ears. He swears he’s just helping trim off some of the excess though. ;) The other two lovies hate her and Gunther screams at her because she likes to have “accidents” under his cage. Maybe that is one of the problems too. I have no idea. Maybe he just hates the new puppy. Well, not so new anymore, but newer than him. He’s got no problem when we walk in there and catch Amelie (the cat) asleep on his cage in the sun. But if Pixel goes in the room – queue the screaming.

Hmmm, the living room is sounding better and better all the time. I think I may have just needed a sounding board. Thanks. But if anyone has any other suggestions, by all means, share them.

[BarbieH]

Hi Jessie;

It really sounds like Pixel is triggering most of the birds' behaviors. Can you keep him out of that bedroom with something like a gate?

Also, it could be that the room has a lot of reverberation to it. Check out www.soundproofing.org (http://www.soundproofing.org); you might find information there that could help you out.

It's always something, isn't it! Last place you were in, I think it was a mold problem. There's always something. :)

Good luck with this one. :)

[MaraJade]

It's always something, isn't it! Last place you were in, I think it was a mold problem. There's always something. :)

Good luck with this one. :)


I will check out that link. Soundproofing would be great. At least we wouldn’t have to worry about the neighbors.

Yes, last time it was mold, dust, and lack of sunlight. There were NO windows in the basement room we were in. augh. But at least they have plenty of sunlight and no more mold. Dust, yes. But no mold.

[Mummieeva]

You said that you hate putting your dog in the kennel. How about you and fiance take turns in the bird room? One takes dog for a walk or in another room and yall trade off. That way they can get one on one time and dog does not start the think birds out means he/she is locked up.



Steph

[BarbieH]

But at least they have plenty of sunlight and no more mold.

Maybe it would help if you pulled the curtains for a little while each day. A little less sunlight might also help them calm down, at least for a short while every day.

[Sparkette65]

This is just a suggestion, and if I had one of the bedrooms in my house just for my birds...this is what I would do.
I would put a screen door on the room, with birdcage wire on the inside, (just incase they bit a hole in the screen. I would open all the cages in the room and let them out during the day,,,,you could put bird safe plants in there and hang swings in front of the windows etc...
I would keep only things the birds would be safe around in there. That way, if they want to go to their cages they can and if they want to be out then they can also.
Good luck with all your pets!!
Lori

[LauraO]

Jessie: I used to live in a condo and had the same worries as you especially because I could hear my birds screaming (or chirping their loud lovebird chirp :( ) all the way to the elevator. I spoke with several of my neighbors who were very adamant they couldn't hear the chirping while in their condos.

As for the chirping, have you tried putting a radio in the room or can you turn on the television. I know others have nature or classical music they play for their birds. They will still chirp but maybe it will be more relaxing. Of course, more out of the cage time is always the best but at the very least putting them in the living room will at least make them feel like they are more a part of the family. This will also allow you to give them more vocal interaction with you and the family.

I liked Barbs idea about putting the dog in the room as well. You can get a sturdy babygate that will block him in the room but not isolate him like closing the door would.

Good Luck

[MaraJade]

Steph, that is a good suggestion. And we actually do that more than anything. it’s just that my fiancée and I see each other so little as it is (very different work schedules) that we hate to spend all that time separately. Sometimes we’ll both go sit in the bird room with the door closed and Pixel is okay for a while. Then she starts to whine and jump at the door.

Barb, we have these light airy sort of see-through curtains that are closed so that sunlight comes in fully between them and then is filtered through them through the rest of the window. We do try to keep the house as quiet and soothing as possible. It’s hard sometimes with the dog and such. Gunther does a perfect imitation of a puppy whine now. : )

Lori, that is a really good idea that I never thought about before. I’d love to be able to do that but it presents several problems. One; the only place we can put the cat’s food and water (to keep it away from greedy Pixel) is on top of the wardrobe in there. Two; we have a ton of collectibles and that is our Star Wars room as well as our bird room so there’s really no place else for it all to go. And three; I’m afraid if I left any of them out of the cage unsupervised I would come home to find them inured or dead. Gunther is a quaker parakeet so he is bigger than the three lovebirds and has tried to take their toes off on the few occasions they have landed on his cage (at least I assume he wasn’t going to give them a kiss or something). And then Gimli is a sweetheart, but he spends his time yelling at Quicksilver and Goldmoon when they are in or out of their cage so I’d be afraid they would attack one another. And of course if you give them turns and leave only one out they can still fly to the other cages and bite and peck. ::sigh:: It’s a definite issue.

When we have a house, though, I fully intend to use your idea. That is really great. Now THAT is a true “bird room” where they can fly around and just have fun all day. I’d just have to have separate rooms or separations to the room sot that they can’t hurt one another.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Hi Jessie,

It's funny you should post this because I was tempted to post the same topic today! I am taking the week off to get some things done around the house and to *relax* before my work's busy season kicks in later this month. Soooo, knowing that Mommy Needs A Break, my pair decided to scream the walls all morning. Nothing I tried -- and I mean NOTHING -- would settle them down.

Someone mentioned moving the birds to the living room; I think this is a great idea if that's where you spend most of your time, and then take them to another room for out-of-cage time, to prevent the dog and/or cat from getting involved, that may work too. You could probably move kittys' food to another room; as long as it's up out of the puppy's reach, and in a spot that's OK for kitty to be, then it should be OK.

As for the collectibles in the room, here's what a friend of mine did. He has a LOT of Star Wars collectibles. He also has a cat who gets into everything as well as a new baby on the way. His solution was to get a display cabinet. He got his from an unfinished furniture store and stained it himself but I've also seen them at thrift stores and antique shops for good prices. He also got a bunch of clear glass domes to put over some of the more valuable ones that he keeps on high shelves (kitty can climb). The additional benefit is that his stuff is not getting as dusty as it would if it were just out on a shelf or something.

There is a solution somewhere that will work for you and your pets; you just have to find it. Good luck!

[MaraJade]

Thanks Jennifer. Those are all good ideas. We considered cabinets. That way we could take the shelves down and put the figures in there. But the only reason we can have the birds in there is because the shelves fit above their cages. . .it's a vicious cycle.

I think the best bet is what all of you have agreed with - move 'em on in to the living room. When we lived in the basement they were right there with us, quite literally we were all right on top of one another in the tiny space, and I don't remember nearly as much screaming.

It's either that or just deal with it. But I think I'll try to convince my fiancee about the move. Thanks a bunch! Not quite as close to crying as I was this morning. :rolleyes:

[mjm8321]

I will check out that link. Soundproofing would be great. At least we wouldn’t have to worry about the neighbors.


Jessie,
Have your neighbors actually complained about the birds? I ask as I thought previously that mine were loud, but asked all the neigbors and they said they couldn't heat them unless the windows were open and they were really hollering at each other.
New surroundings might keep them quiet a bit too...while they get comfortable.

Good Luck!

[butterfly1061]

Jessie,

You'd be surprised at what your neighbors can't hear. I thought the same thing once and asked them if they could hear my birds and they said no. My birds are right next to the wall that joins my duplex to the otherside. Ask your neighbors, you'd just might be surprised. :)

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Ditto to what Jackie and MJ said. Standing on the sidewalk next to my neighbor a few weeks ago, I could hear my birds screaming in the house and she could not. She said it's the same with her kids; she hears them when no one else can. We become more sensitive to the sounds our kids/fids make.

Most people living in an apartment situation are going to expect some noise. Anyone who complains about birds making noise has never lived underneath a karate student who practices his kicks and jumps in his 3rd floor apartment all afternoon. :eek:

[kimsbirds]

I'd go around and speak with your neighbors, you'd be surprised at what they hear at all. We live in a townhome complex, and we have houses attached to either side of us. Our bird room contains 17 birds right now, plus we own 5 cats, 2-70lb dogs and a bunny and a hamster. None of our neighbors can hear a THING from our home! We leave a radio station on in the aviary room and they prefer country music haha. When it's lights out, they chatter for about 5 mins, then all is quiet :) Until brekky that is... :rolleyes:
Kim

[MaraJade]

I’ll have to ask some of the other neighbors when I get a chance. It’s just that we have really bad neighbors and I’d hate to give any of them an excuse to get us in trouble. We BOUGHT the condo, but the association treats it like you’re just renting. It’s not entirely fair but there’s nothing we can do.

The neighbor across the hall said she can hear them in her apartment. But that was only when my boyfriend asked her about it. She’s never complained and she didn’t say they were annoying. Plus she plays her music so loudly it shakes our condo so. . .

The guy downstairs came up and complained one Sunday when they were being particularly horrid. He said he can sleep through “anything” and “what the **** is that noise”? to be fair to us, it was 3 p.m. on a Sunday. Sorry if you have a different work schedule but that’s not my problem. So now he plays his music wicked loud late into the night so that we can hear the bass when we lie in bed trying to sleep.

You can see why I’m hesitant to bring anything upon myself. But the guy downstairs did say he could hear so I guess at least one neighbor can. Augh. The joys of pet ownership.

[butterfly1061]

Dang Jessie,

With all the noise from your neighbors, I wouldn't worry about it. You "own" your place and if they rent theirs, sc**w them. I've rented for 22 years and I figure if I keep my place in great condition and no damage, a landlord should be thankful to me. I'm now house hunting and so real soon "I won't have to worry my pretty little head about it". :D Good Luck!!

[MaraJade]

Yea, I'm not sure who rents and who owns, but a lot of them are really noisy so I try not to worry TOO much. My fiancee worries a lot because he's not a bird person to begin with so he doesn't know that most of the time they're just talking, not yelling.
Happy house hunting. Definitely don't go the condo route. We wasted our money on this place. We should have saved another six months and bought a house. I can't wait to get out of here into a real property. At least our condo is in a very desirable town so I'm sure we can trick some more poor unsuspecting people like us into buying it. ;)