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Question:

September 8, 2020

My cockatiel is screaming


My cockatiel is always screaming and chirping at the same time, but every time I go near him, he stops and raises one foot, and is all fluffed up, however, he is scared of me. If I get too close he takes a few steps back. Nothing is wrong with his food/water or cage. He isn’t ill either. He keeps doing this and I really don’t know what to do. If I do not go to him, he would scream like that for hours. He is not comfortable with me enough for me to let him out or anything. And he is still really afraid of my hands. I don’t understand what this is about. Please help, what should I do about this?


Answer:

Hi Rina,

He is most likely screaming due to being lonely, but that doesn’t mean he wants human companionship. Was this bird hand fed? Has he ever been tame? How long have you had him? Raising his foot and fluffing up is his way of defense. It’s possible he has been mistreated by someone before you got him. If he was never hand fed, it will be very difficult to tame him. It takes a lot of time and patience and he still may never be very tame. You have to work very slowly with him to gain his trust. He needs to trust you before you make any attempts to handle him. Each time you reach for him causes more distrust on his end because he doesn’t understand what you are trying to do. Keep in mind that birds are prey animals, so they naturally do not trust any attempt to be picked up or grabbed. You either need to focus on working with him, or consider getting him a companion or finding him a home with other wild cockatiels. I’ll give you the link to our training and behavior pages. As far as the screaming goes, any type of reaction from you will just encourage more screaming. He sounds bored and lonely so even negative attention is welcomed. Birds respond to positive reinforcement. You need to ignore him when he is screaming and reward him for being quiet. Even if he doesn’t want handling, he must like having someone else in the room. Spend time with him talking to him when he is being quiet. Ignore the screaming, but when he gets quiet, go to him right away and praise him or put a treat in his cage. This is not going to be a quick fix, but if you can be patient and consistent, it should help to reduce the screaming. Make sure he has plenty of toys to keep him occupied and try getting him a mirror. As long as he doesn’t get obsessed with the mirror, it is OK for him to have one.

Teaching Your Bird

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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