Bird Screaming Problem

How can I stop my bird from screaming so much?

Many people write me and ask if I can help them with their bird screaming problems. Some birds seem to constantly scream or when they do scream, they do it for minutes at a time. To us there doesn't seem to be a reason, but there really is a reason or the bird would not be screaming.

There are just too many reasons for bird screaming problems to cover everything here. I thought it best to highlight some of the things I have learned and then just present some ideas that might help stop some bird screaming behaviors.

If you are reading this article in hopes of finding a solution to stop all bird screaming, you will not find it here or anywhere. Most birds scream sometime, they are meant to scream and will always find a time to scream if they are healthy.

When is bird screaming normal?

The most common bird screaming time is early morning when the sun starts to rise and in the evening as the sun starts to set. It seems to just be built into birds to greet the sun and then tell it good night.

In reality, we are their flock and they want to make sure all the flock is in there with them when they wake up and then announce that it's getting time to eat the evening meal and again that it is time find a roost for the night.

Instead of getting upset with your bird's natural instinct, plan on it and even encourage it. Maybe even join them and become a part of the flock. (It can really be quite fun!) You won't notice how loud they are when you join in too.

What about the other bird screaming times?

For all the other bird screaming times, you will have to put on your investigator hat and get out your pad and pen. Start paying close attention to exactly what happens before, during and after your bird vocalizes.

If you are really trying to solve a bird screaming issue that is threatening the relationship with your bird, you might even want to spend an entire day at home for this very purpose.

You will need to go about your normal routine and not give the bird any unusual attention to get to the root of the problem. You may have to do this several different days in some cases.

The bird screaming log

Have a log ready for writing on. In the margin of the log put the time of day, and draw three lines down the middle of the page. At the top of each column write, "Before", "During", and "After" so that you can keep up with the bird screaming events.

Then when the bird starts screaming, note what was going on just before the bird screaming began. For instance, "I'm on computer, husband in kitchen and kids outside in yard in view of parrot."

During the screaming, do and/or say what you normally do during the bird screaming events in your house. Write down exactly what everyone does or continues to do during each screaming session. When the bird screaming session ends, write down what everyone was doing and or saying when the bird quit screaming. Don't leave anything out, every detail is important.

Continue to do this every single time there is a screaming session for the whole day, if you choose to try doing this in a whole day, or for several days when you are around the bird.

What to do with your bird screaming journal

Now that you have all these notes on your bird screaming sessions, what are you to do with them? You will be amazed sometimes at the patterns you will find. Because no two households are alike, I will not be able to help you specifically with your bird here, but I can help you look at your situation.

Read down the first column and note any consistencies. Such as, finding that many of the times that the bird started screaming someone was in the kitchen, or someone was dialing the phone. Do the same with the other columns. Then think about what you or others might do differently to help stop the bird from screaming in the first place.

How I stopped our bird screaming sessions

I have a couple of Green Cheeked Conures that used to give us grief several times a day with bird screaming sessions. One day we finally decided it was driving us crazy enough that we would take the time to figure out what was causing it.

At first we would just be careful not to reward the screaming behavior. When they would start the screaming session, we would pretend we didn't see or hear them. This does work in a few cases, but usually you need to figure out what your bird really wants and avoid the issue instead of ignoring the issue.