Screaming baby = Screaming bird

[KimberlyAnn]

I'm not sure if there is anything I can do.

Basically, the baby cries and Emmi thinks it's contact call time. It does not seem to phase baby Anthony at all. I think he just things that it's normal to live with a screaming bird. But then he does not even know what rain is yet, so we don't really want to base our "normal" on his view of the world. Lol

So is there anything I can do? The baby will cry if he needs something so I can't stop that. I don't see that it's hurting Emmi or making her uncomfortable because half the time she thinks his cries are something to dance to. The other half it's like she feels she needs to answer his 'call." She will do this right on my shoulder or in her cage. .does not matter where she is.

So any advice on how to get the bird to understand that she does not need to scream when the baby cries? Or should we just live with our new screaming bird?

[Michael]

Beaides obvious things like ignore it and try to use location separation, the only other thing is to hope it goes away with time. Now that I have 3 birds, it just wont happen. But when you only have one, either the bird will eventually stop with time or a few years will go by and baby will grow up. So either eay, there is long term hope so dont give up!

[Wolf]

I really don't think that there is anything that you can do about this and am not sure that I would want to if our roles in this were reversed. I do believe that some of this is contact calls just as you do, but I think it is deeper than that. A human baby cries mostly when it is in distress, such as hungry or wet or alone and scared and the bird may very well be responding to the tones of this distress that you may not be hearing just yet, after all it is new to you. The bird would respond in a similar manner if it were its babies as well.
This is what I think is occurring here. I do not have children and have no way to validate this, but I have seen this at work in other species of animals that are much less bonded to us. I have seen it with horses and dogs and even cats.

[Pajarita]

I don't think there is anything you can or even should do. For one thing, she will stop once the baby grows up and stops crying so often. And, for another, I think it's a sign of her intelligence and concern for the baby that prompts her screams. I do firmly believe that parrots understand situations much better than we give them credit for and I would not be surprised if she is not calling out to you to let you know that the baby needs help.

See these: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/262210

http://www.inquisitr.com/515854/pet-par ... ouse-fire/

http://www.news.com.au/technology/scien ... 6881341307

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/2 ... 72292.html

And look under Parrot Tales today's posting for the latest uncontrovertible proof of their intelligence.

[Harpmaker]

I do not have children and have no way to validate this, but I have seen this at work in other species of animals that are much less bonded to us. I have seen it with horses and dogs and even cats.

I'd say ESPECIALLY cats, Wolf. Most newborn human cries sound a lot like tiny kittens'. Our cat adopted our oldest for that reason. Unfortunately, the baby had colic and would cry for no determinable reason her first 4 months. When the baby cried at night, Kitty would jump on a chair, look down into the bassinet, then jump on our bed and walk up and down our bodies as we desperately tried to ignore the noise(after checking for wet diapers, hunger, and gas problems, of course).

When we first had a baby sitter, we had to warn her that if she let the baby cry she would answer to the cat.

At least I was prepared for a parrot doing things I didn't like for no reason I could figure out.

[Pajarita]

Ahhhh, but then, your darling cat had a good reason, didn't she? She was worried about the baby being in distress, bless her!

[KimberlyAnn]

Thanks for all the replies! Sorry I didn't get back sooner. Sometimes I try to get on the forum and I can't get on.

Anyway, I loved the links! This is what goes on in my home...especially when I'm not in the room. I guess I really didn't think about it that way. That's so very sweet, helping me with the baby. I guess it's good in a way. I lost some of my hearing when I got a virus a year or so ago. She sure lets me know when the baby cries! Lol

And Wolf, having a human child is really like owning a parrot. You must hold them all the time, they want you to feed them several times a day, and they make a mess.

[Wolf]

And everything goes into the mouth, but they don't have feathers.