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Parrot Behavior - Changing Noise

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Parrot Behavior - Changing Noise

Postby Jeneenie » Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:28 pm

Hi, my name is Jeneen Miller and I have adopted two bird… a Meyers Parrot, Tico and an Eclectus, Rio.

My Eclectus was adopted a week ago and he is an 18-year old which is good because he has been trained to be well-behaved! He doesn't bite at all even when he is terrified.

I am wondering if you can help me with an issue between Rio and my roommate's German Sheppard, Amigo. Amigo gets "freaked out" when he hears Rio making a high-pitched shrieking screech. He's fine with the bird (although Rio shakes at times when he sees the cat or the dog). It's the noise that Amigo has anxiety with to the point where he runs for his life into the garage. Last night, he went out the doggie door into the freezing cold and opted to hang out in the shed as opposed to being in the house with the bird. He is that terrified of the sound.

It's to the point where I am willing to move out so Amigo can have peace in his home. Rio is not an obnoxious bird at all. He makes these noises on occasion.

Again, Amigo is fine when the birds are around him in their cage or on the tree. He is calm and can even sleep but when the bird makes that sound, he shakes like a leaf.

Can you help us? Thank you so much! :irn:
Jeneenie
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Re: Parrot Behavior - Changing Noise

Postby Navre » Sun Nov 19, 2017 9:35 am

The bird may be making the sounds to see the reaction of the dog. If the bird is scared of the dog, and knows that by making that noise the dog leaves, I’d suspect that this will increase, not decrease.

I hope others will have more helpful advice.
Navre
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Re: Parrot Behavior - Changing Noise

Postby Pajarita » Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:47 am

Welcome to the forum! There is something called a thunder shirt that people buy for dogs that are terrified of thunder - Amigo's owner should get him one because it will help. But it will not be enough by itself and I think that what you need to do is to desensitize the dog to the screams BUT this needs to be done very gradually and it requires a person being there all the time - and I don't know if this is doable in your case. If it is, you need to start by always keeping the dog in a different room with the door closed at all times between the two rooms as this will reduce the decibels. The other thing is to always have Amigo's owner with Amigo and, as soon as the bird screams, he/she needs to hug the dog and comfort him with the phrase he/she uses for this purpose. I have different phrases for my dogs, there is the generic "It's OK!" repeated several times in a firm but very calm tone of voice and usually followed by a "You are a good boy [or girl]" but I use other phrases for more specific situations and, in a case like this, I would use a specific 'bird phrase' - maybe something like I use for scary loud noises coming for the TV for which I say: "It's a movie! It's just a movie!".

The whole thing will take time and it will be very gradual but you should not have them in the same room until the dog is completely oblivious to Rio's screams. I have 8 dogs in my house right now and they don't react at all to the parrots screams - not even the cockatoo's and I can assure you that an ekkie's screams are nothing compared to a too's :lol:

Now, I hope you don't take this the wrong way because I don't want to offend you but I was actually quite upset when I read that poor Rio trembles in fear when he sees the dog or the cat... I LOVE birds, all birds, mine, yours and every single one out there and, sometimes, I am a bit tactless when I give my opinion to bird owners because I tend to put the birds wellbeing and happiness before their feelings so, please, bear with me on this and just think about what I am going to say: Ekkies are EXTREMELY fragile when it comes to their health - much more so than any other species of parrot -and this is no exaggeration! This is because they have a VERY specialized diet in the wild, a diet that we have not been able to reproduce in captivity so far [Laurella Desborough and all the early importers and breeders of eclectus did this species a HUGE disservice by making them part of the pet trade - so much so that she was called Cruella Desborough' in rescuers sites :lol:] The very inadequate diet causes their liver and kidneys to suffer tremendously as well as their cardiovascular system to the point that they all die way before their time. A parrot that size should have an expected lifespan of around 50 years but there has not been a single ekkie that has lived more than 30 years and that was a wild caught kept in a zoo in its country of origin! In captivity, they all die in their twenties. Taking into consideration that stress depresses the immune system and that fear is the greatest stressor... well, you add it up.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Re: Parrot Behavior - Changing Noise

Postby Navre » Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:12 pm

We had a female Ekkie, Hope, who could give a single shriek that rivaled the Moluccans in shear volume. She was usually quiet. It was like she saved up all her noise for the day and belted it out in one scream.
Navre
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Types of Birds Owned: Turquoise Green Cheek Conure
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Re: Parrot Behavior - Changing Noise

Postby Pajarita » Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:42 am

Yes, they can scream loud. People usually talk of them as one of the 'quiet' species but that's only because they are not frequent vocalizers.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Parrot Behavior - Changing Noise

Postby liz » Thu Nov 23, 2017 10:53 am

I was stroking the beak of a Macaw when the Cockatoo behind me screamed. The Macaw chomped on my finger and mashed it hard so that blood came out from under my finger nail. I do not react to pain. The pet shop owner did not know until I asked for a bandaid. The shop owner got very upset but I told him it was not the Macaw's fault.

They scream loud and react to screams too.
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liz
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