Yoshi and his screaming

[Hannes]

Hey all!

As some might now, we've had Yoshi for 6 months, and he is around 11 months old now.
He spends 95% of his time outside the cage, on a pirch/branch near us or on our shoulder or table.

Now, he has developed a habit, screaming...the kind of scream he let's out when one of us leave the room, kind of like calling us.

He does this eventhough we are in the same room as he is, and he can do this for ours. He stops when i talk to him for a while, but once i leave he starts again.

My girlfirend spends most of the day with him while i am away working, and she says that he does this the entire day, and when i come home he stops.

But, he seems to be doing it eventhough i am home, and even in the same room. It's a high pitched short sound, and he does it over and over and over again.

Yesterday when he did it, i came to him, and spent 20 minutes talking to him, listening to him and he started shirping instead, a much more soothing sound.

Now, i wonder, what are the reasons for him doing this, and how do we go about solving this "problem".

Is it a phase? Is he lonely? does he think he is in charge, and bosses us around?

constructive answers are more than welcome!

cheers,

/Hannes

[Hannes]

p.s.

We have two kids that walks in and out of our room, he hears their voices all the time around the room.

could it be a competitive thing? him vs the kids when it comes to our attention?
is it that it is winter? we have a light close to his perch.
his diet is vitamin enriched bird seeds of a great variety.

could it be that i've started working and am not at home as much as before (leave 7 am come home 6 pm)

d-s-

[Hannes]

So, i found a couple of posts addressing this.

some say, at around 1 year, they would, in the wild, look for a mate, so they get like this becouse it's that time...

some say that when their bird does/did what Yoshi does, they put him back in the cage, and ignore him for a while, then take him back out again...that way they'll learn that that behavior puts them away from the flock...-> negative, and they will eventually stop.


whaddayasay?

[Naurthon]

I don't know much about budgies, but it sounds like a contact call to me. Nikko does that quite a lot, and I've gotten in the habit of just calling back, "I'm right here" when he does it. (Dante has started saying "I'm right here" when Nikko contact calls now! heheh) I respond wherever I am in the house, and I don't bother shouting it or anything. I just use a normal speaking voice. He can hear me well enough without my having to raise my voice.

If he's actually SCREAMING rather than calling, (do budgies really scream?) your best bet is to ignore the screams, and to reward with attention vocalizations that you find more pleasant.

[Shelby]

Yesterday when he did it, i came to him, and spent 20 minutes talking to him, listening to him and he started shirping instead, a much more soothing sound.

It sounds like he is training you! He's figured out that if he makes an annoying noise long enough, you will come to him and hang out for a while. I agree with Naurthon - encourage him to use less annoying sounds as a signal that he wants to play. Ignore the screaming and when he makes the other sound you'd rather hear, go to him and give him a treat or play for a few minutes. He will get the idea. You can also try to develop a less-annoying type of contact call. Birds in the wild use these calls to locate each other when they are out of sight. When he makes the sound, do what Naurthon mentioned and reply "I'm over here" or something. Make sure to encourage him to use different vocalizations for contact and "I want to play" so you know what he wants!

[ColoWin]

It sounds like he is training you!

Reciprocal training

[liz]

Rambo and Myrtle both yell "Momma, where you at?" when they don't hear me in the house.

Trying to take a nap is rough when I have to keep answering that "I'm in my nite nite room". Then they will usually catch up to me for a nap but until then there is no peace.

Whisper to him. He will get quiet to hear you.

[MeanDonnaJean]

Rambo and Myrtle both yell "Momma, where you at?" when they don't hear me in the house.

OMG, how effin' cute is THAT!!!!