Hello from Boston

[Navre]

The bird has started screaming a lot like she used to. Could it be seasonal? She is on a solar schedule.

She is also acting broody. I didn't think that was appropriate at this time of year.

[Pajarita]

How's her diet going? Because I think you were free-feeding pellets but switched after she started plucking herself, right? Could she still be getting too much protein? Is she been exposed correctly to twilight and kept in the dark after sunset? Also, how many hours of out-of-cage time and one-on-one? Because screaming doesn't necessarily have to be hormonal, it could be exasperation from not having enough flying and personal attention from her chosen one...

I don't think it could be the season because mine is fine, no screams, no broodiness, no nothing - nice and mellow and affectionate...

[Navre]

She gets some pellets, but very few. Mostly she is eating gloop, fruit, and millet.

She is out of the cage most of the time. She is with me quite a lot, it can't be lack of attention. Today she is calling to someone or something even if she's on my shoulder.

She's loaded with pin feathers and I have spent a lot of time scratching her head, but I'm not touching anyplace I shouldn't. She likes to lay upside down in my hand, or on my lap, but she has started burrowing into blankets, in between seat cushions, and under the covers that are on the furniture to protect it from droppings.

Her windows face east and south. She gets dawn and dusk. There are dark curtains to separate her room from the others and keep the light out. She rarely makes a peep once she goes to sleep.

The only other changes are the fact that her humidifier/air cleaner is running again now. It is pretty quiet, but it does make some noise.

[Navre]

Okay, this is a good one.

The FiOS box in the cellar had a dead battery. It was beeping down there. I couldn't hear it but apparently she could.

Once I stopped the beeping, she stopped the screaming. She must have thought that there was a bird trapped in the cellar.

[Wolf]

Wow ! I would never have suspected such a cause, I will have to remember this event.

[Navre]

I was in the cellar. The thing was beeping about every 30 seconds. Every time it beeped I could hear her scream back at it. It sounds like the microwave beeping and she always yells at the microwave. I used to hear her food up in it so it excites her.

[Pajarita]

Good job, Sherlock! Yes, high beeping noises do 'set them off' and they do have much, much, much better hearing than us!

[Navre]

She is still grumpy. The 8 million pin feathers on her head and next must be uncomfortable. She likes me to scratch her head but, eventually, I always hit a pin feather wrong and get yelled at. She also seems to be chewing on everything like a teething puppy.

[Wolf]

I would imagine that pin feathers are uncomfortable at best, they would make me grumpy and frustrated to be sure.

[Pajarita]

Well, this is happening because you were feeding too much protein. One can always tell how good the diet has been for the last year by the molt they have. Hard molt: too much protein. Good molt: good level of protein. Of course, this is generalizing because, for example, canaries that have not been bred correctly (hard feather to soft feather) can have too soft feathering (when both parents are soft feathered) and have real bad molts, too.