Screaming

[spork92]

I have had my lovebird (Marley) for 3 years this summer, she was rescued from outside and we never found her owners. She is not your ordinary lovebird, she is very mean, you can't touch her at all even after all this time, and she is around loving people all day. She won't eat anything given to her besides seed and avicakes, no human food. She has a huge cage and lots of toys which i move around. she has plenty of "out" time, where i let her fly around and follow me doing my activities. The problem is her screaming. I know birds are loud, but sometimes she just goes on and on from sun up to sun down. I'm not exagerating. I try giving her treats, baths, new toys, letting her out, putting her back in, whatever I can to make her happy and she just stands there and screams her head off, very very loudly. I can ignore it for a few hours but then it just pushes me over the edge and my boyfriend (roommate) and I start fighthing with eachother because it just drives you crazy. She already layed eggs a few months ago, a normal thing for her but this summer she seems so much louder than the last two. What could she want? She gets attention almost all day because when i leave for work, he comes home. she's almost never alone. we put her in her travel cage and bring her outside sometimes too. <sigh> i don't know if there is a solution but i'm willing to try, I dont know how much longer we can live like this. I love her very much, i can deal with the fact she bites, i can clean up messes all day, but I can't make her stop screaming and I need help! Will another bird be the answer? or will she hate the other bird? advice please!! :(

thanks Jen and Seth

[BarbieH]

Hi, Jen and Seth;

Where is her cage located in the room? Is she near a window, or in a corner? If you occasionally move her cage to a different room or relative location, it may calm her down for a spell. If it works for a while but she gets really loud over time, you have the option of moving her again.

Also, is there music or the TV on when she goes off? If something is generally on, turn it off and see if it helps. If nothing is on, turn something on. In short, keep trying things.

Please let me know her cage location, and do keep me posted on how things are going.

Best wishes,

[spork92]

She is in front of a big window, I angle the cage so she can go in front of the window or stay out of the sun if she wants. Moving her doesn't usually help. If I put her in a different room completely she seems to get louder. I usually have the radio playing quietly, but sometimes i turn it off if she's too loud cause I think it might be annoying her. thanks

[michael]

Jen and Seth, Although its not really funny, I had to laugh just a little. My male lovebird Goofy can really drive everyone nuts with his piercing peeps. And believe me he knows how to make it annoying. Because when he wants something its different than his usual normal chirpy peeps. And its non stop until he's let out. One unfortunate part of my work includes my home being my office, and usually for short periods at a time. So you can imagine Goofy wanting out every chance he gets, poor little guy. Certain repetitive noise like dogs barking, constant loud music, and my precious Goofy's annoying peep, puts my thinking process in reverse. But, I absolutely love Goofy, love dogs, and thoroughly enjoy music. So, at times I have to cover his cage partially for very short periods at a time or try to occupy him somehow. Well, occupying him really didn't work because we know what he wants. He wants OUT! 24/7. Especially when poeple come to visit. He loves everyone. ...I sympathize with you guys for having to deal with her racket. And being a female lovie does make things a little different. It does sound like any stimulation what so ever is making her react by either warning intruders to stay away, or inviting another lovie as a possible mate. Whether its this or another reason its got to be something, unless she likes to her herself scream. I did record Goofy's annoying peeps one day, and played it back when he was at his peak performance. This actually (warning; could have reverse affect) worked but I'm hoping he's not too confused. He gives kissies now whenever he hears himself plus it sounds like he's mumbling to himself sometimes. When I know its safe, I take him with me at times in the car, and out in the yard while gardening. I hang his cage on the clothes line post where I can see him and he's safe, and can sing his little heart out. This helped to calm him a little when back inside. Anyways, I think there is a remedy or solution, and its worth every effort to find it. She needs the good home you've been providing her for the last three years. Maybe a cozy tent or a darning egg to provide her with something odd to be curious about may help. I wish you the very best of luck and hope you let us know if you have any progress or not.....Take care...Michael and Goofy

[Janie]

Jen, I have no words of wisdom but just wanted to say that I hope some of the others suggestions help. The fact that you love and appreciate Marley, a bird who bites and really isn't friendly, is enough for me to know that you care and want to keep her. You've allowed her to be herself and love her "in spite of" when many people would have been ready to ditch her just on the biting issues. I'll keep my fingers crossed that something you try will help with the noise. :)

[kimsbirds]

I wonder if she is scared of something that she can see out of that big window she's close to?
Other birds, cats, dogs, people, trucks etc might be upsetting her.
My bird cages are located in corners where the birds feel safer and have no view to the outdoors where other things might startle or upset them.
Is it possible to find a different location to see if it makes a difference?
K

[spork92]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciate it. It's really hard to narrow it down, but I think she screams for different reasons. Sometimes to be let out of the cage, but once she's out she stands on top of her cage or on top of doors and screams and runs back and forth screaming, like maybe she's calling for someone or something. I do move her cage away from the window sometimes and its the same thing. I've noticed if I drive away I can often hear her but when I come home and if seth isn't home yet, she is silent until she hears the door open. So maybe it's for attention. Do you think at this point, it would be at all a good idea to bring another bird into the house for her to be "friends" with? I'm afraid she will react badly and be territorial and even worse than before. She does have a happy hut that she used to sit in all day and just preen quietly, but since April when this behavior got really bad, she doesnt do much but sleep on top of it now. I dont know what that egg thing someone mentioned is... I give her lots of paper to chew cause that keeps her quiet, even though make a huge mess for me. but only for short periods of time. I'll keep trying to figure her out, I was just curious if anyone else's lovies were the same way (and i suppose there are a few out there!) and if getting another bird would help or worsen the problem. I wish there was a way to borrow a bird and see how she reacted. sigh....:confused: thanks again!

[Janie]

I have no hen or breeding exp. but I wonder if it's the time of year that is causing her to scream more than usual? Would this be mating time in the wild?????

As far as adding another bird (just to be a buddy and not caged together) it might be the very thing she wants and needs but unfortunately, it might make things worse. It's a shame that we can't know how a buddy will be accepted ahead of time.

[mjm8321]

What do the calls sound like? It sounds like she might be making contact calls looking for her flock (meaning you and yours).

Here are two videos taken a couple of years ago of three of my lovies making contact calls to a male lovebird that was right outside the door to the room they were in.

http://www.zippyvideos.com/67250539350035/girls_001/
http://www.zippyvideos.com/90149092350095/girls_002/

and one more http://www.zippyvideos.com/46538836439395.html

Does her "screaming" sound like that? All of the noise they are making is normal lovie noise. Of course, it can get loud at times, but I guess I've learned to just block out any of the noise unless it's a warning call, completely silent or distress call.

[Janie]

MJ, those video links just made Oliver's day! He's sitting on my shoulder and I'm sure he's thinking, "OMG, she's gotten MORE of those darn birds to drive me nuts!" :lol Those must be the links you tried to send me a couple of years ago, the ones I could not open....a Mac thing I'm sure. Your birds are so adorable! :)

[Z28Taxman]

MJ, those video links just made Oliver's day! He's sitting on my shoulder and I'm sure he's thinking, "OMG, she's gotten MORE of those darn birds to drive me nuts!" :lol Those must be the links you tried to send me a couple of years ago, the ones I could not open....a Mac thing I'm sure. Your birds are so adorable! :)

They got Ditto's attention too. He started with a "hey ladies, over here!" chirp. :rofl:

Ok it was the same quiet little "cute birdy" chirp he always does when he hears lovies.

[Kathryn]

Too cute!!! Yes, I too have learned to tune out some of the loud chatter.
Your Little Lemonhead looks like my Snuggles - Pied Seagreen. I just posted photos in the genetics section.

[wilkiecoco]

those videos are great!! kiwi actually got real quiet, trying to figure out who those interlopers were.

kiwi goes through periods during the day where he will chirp, one loooooong, high pitched chirp, over and over again. it is ear piercing, but it doesn't last too long. it seems to be over excitement, and once he gets it out of his system, or when i finally figure out what he is so excited about, he calms down.

i'm not sure what you can do about it. it is what lovies do, like pooping all the time, but i have learnt to ignore it. getting a buddy is always a crapshoot, cause you could end up with two noisy birds that don't get along. i wish i had more helpful advice - you are a great lovie owner to put this much thought into keeping her, and i truly hope you can find something that helps you manage to cope with the noise. :)

[michael]

Well, the first vid got Goof's attention and he made circles around the laptop occasionally looking over the edge. Then I wasn't allowed to touch the keyboard! The other two drew looks of curiosity. The more I played the first one, the more excited he became. None of them sounded like screams but they sure got his attention. This pretty well helps confirm a mate of some sorts is definitely in his future by the positive response he has towards hearing another lovebird.......And oh boy, lemon head is a beauty!


Oh yeah, about the egg I mentioned. While I do admit to certain amounts of idiosyncrasies, the egg came from wondering what my lovebird would do with an egg much larger than normal. Well it did keep him busy for quite some time and occasionally he likes to push it around like he's the boss. Of course other times its a mere poop target. He did, for awhile there, peck on it a bit. Hmmm, maybe I'll try the next size larger..........Michael and Goofy


P.S. I only share my idiosyncracies with poeple I really feel comfortable with and care about. The rest of the time you wouldn't know me from any other normal person.8) 8) 8) :D

[spork92]

Well, the video could be deceiving (sp?) but those lovie calls are nice to me, her screaming is almost intentionally annoying as loud as she possibly could be. most of the time its a set of 3 very loud high pitched chirps, "beep beep beep"pause "beep beep beep" pause etc... over and over and over. then sometimes what I think is the alarm call which is the loudest and longest, but that isn't as often as the other one. I would think its a contact call but she does it when im standing right there. she also does it when I'm doing anything with laundry or bedding. she hates when i fold clothes or make the bed. i think because i towel her once in a while to try and hold her, scratch her head etc. and while she usually ends up liking it, its a process everytime. i'm curious how she will react to the videos, i'm going to go get her up now and see. BTW, how long do your lovies sleep? where do you keep them so they have quiet? I read that they are supposed to get 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. She is covered for that long, but I don't think she sleeps for more than 7 or 8 hours. She is in our bedroom so when we go to bed she hears us, when we get up she hears us, and when the sun comes up she is awake, I wonder if she's over tired, although you think she'd be quiet and sleepy during the day. :confused: man i'm rambling now....

[saxypanda]

My one lovie Daisy is the same way!! She would non stop scream all day and nothing could stop her! I assumed it was my fault cause she is one spoiled baby and she knows it. After awhile I thought as well she needed someone to play with and so thats when I adopted my other lovie (also named Marley!) and he will not let Daisy anywhere near him but they will scream to eachother from the different rooms they are in. Its kinda cute at first but after the first hour it's double annoying! The place where I got Daisy from told me to buy a coffee can and put some change in it. When the bird gets too loud shake it and she claims that her lovie is no longer a screamer cause they hate that loud sound. Now I have not tried this (to me I think Daisy would get even more loud hearing that..not to mention scared!) but who knows maybe it will work.

[Janie]

Your description sounds like a contact call to me, too. My birds do this sometimes even when I'm standing right there but I think they are calling to my outside birds, specifically to the Blue Jays. The only outside birds that seem to interest my three are Blue Jays and they go nuts trying to communicate with them when they hear them squawk. Must remind them them of their homeland?

[michael]

When Goof doesn't get a good nights sleep, 8-10 hours, he's generally more quiet than usual and will fall asleep in my hands when I let him out. He does manage on 6-7 occasionally, but thats pushing it.
The mention of being noisey when making the bed may be that they get towels and clothing confused with wings flapping. That movement may mimmick what appears to be other birds nearby. I've noticed many other birds react the same way and will even attack them.....Thats why I keep my wings tucked way back so's nobody can see em.;) .....Michael and Goofy's sleeping