screaching!!

[konceppt]

Hi all,

I was looking for some advice with my senegal.She is now 8 months old and has a really bad habit.Everytime either myself or my wife leave the room (particularly to go upstairs) She screaches a really high pitched scream pretty much until you come back.It is getting very annoying and my wife is also pregnant and is worried about the parrot waking the baby if she leaves the room.

Anything i can do?

[cml]

Hi all,

I was looking for some advice with my senegal.She is now 8 months old and has a really bad habit.Everytime either myself or my wife leave the room (particularly to go upstairs) She screaches a really high pitched scream pretty much until you come back.It is getting very annoying and my wife is also pregnant and is worried about the parrot waking the baby if she leaves the room.

Anything i can do?

Yes!

From your writing, you are doing a common mistake. By actually coming back when your senegal starts screaming, you have reinforced the screaming so much that the bird will think its a good thing to do! Regardless of how hard it is, you have to stay away until it stops screaming, anything else will just make it worse in the long run.

Also, this will probably not work by itself if the screaming is reinforced too much. My advice is then to replace the screaming with some other sound you like better. This could be a whistle, something he says, or any other sound you like that he makes.

I will quote myself from an other thread, with someone who has the exact same issue, its a common mistake to make:

Listen to Naurthons advice about changing the sound for something else. It requires you to REALLY promote the good sound (like a whistle or something else your bird does that you like), with lots of attention (not just a minute), and treats. It also REQUIRES you to respond to it immediatly, repsond with praise and RUN to him, to show that the good sound produces extraordinary results. Ignore the screaming completely, shut the door if you can.

[Michael]

Hi all,

I was looking for some advice with my senegal.She is now 8 months old and has a really bad habit.Everytime either myself or my wife leave the room (particularly to go upstairs) She screaches a really high pitched scream pretty much until you come back.It is getting very annoying and my wife is also pregnant and is worried about the parrot waking the baby if she leaves the room.

Anything i can do?

Yeah. Don't come back.

[GlassOnion]

Yep, you've been teaching him that throwing a tantrum gets him what he wants. Same as parenting a child.

Don't come back until he is silent entirely or encourage a whistle or a pleasant sound and when he makes it, praise him. In my opinion, replacing the scream with a cuter sound works better.

If you ignore his screaming 99 times and then give in the 100th time, you just taught him that screaming for 99 times will get him what he wants. You have to be consistent or you will have a permanently screaming bird for life.

[konceppt]

Sorry i realise i wasnt that clear.I have tried to only return when she is quiet but how long does she need to be quiet before i return?

She tends to only get down to about 10 seconds between screams.I have tried whistling to her and she has changed to the whistle but all that really seems to have happened is that she just does the whistle noise at screaming pitch!

Should i return the whistle every time she does it? or should i just try not to make any sound and only go back if she is completely quiet?

[Michael]

Basically ignore (and by ignore, we mean don't change what you're doing just keep doing your own thing) screaming and unwanted behavior. Reward pleasant vocalization. If the bird says a word, go over and give some attention.

[konceppt]

Is there an ignoring technique?

E.g) if i wait until the bird is quiet for 5-10 seconds,Is that a waste of time?

Does she need to be completely quiet for a considerable amount of time (5-10 mins say) before she actually recognises thats its the quiet that brings me back?

[Michael]

Ignoring means not changing your behavior in any way as the result of screaming. The one thing to change is if you were about to walk in and the bird started screaming, then don't. Even though it's a coincidence, the bird will think screaming was successful. Here's another thing to do to reward being quiet. When the bird is just sitting in it's cage quietly, it's easy to forget about it compared to when it's screaming. Well put a special effort into coming to take the bird out when it is being quiet rather than when it is noisy and getting your attention.

[GlassOnion]

Ignore as in pretend you never heard any screaming and go about your own thing. 10 seconds of quiet isn't enough... at least 10minutes. She might scream for an hour or more, but keep ignoring until she's either entirely quiet or makes a really cute sound such as a word or a quiet whistle.