Ask Lafeber

Screaming cockatiel

Our cockatiel will not stop screaming or making a crowing sound. It is constant and he is always in a room near people. We have had cockatiels before and bought this one from the same breeder as our last. We have had him for a month and he is only 3 months old. He eats well and quiets when we put a sheet over his cage at night. But he screams all day. He quiets some when we hold him, but we can’t do that all day every day. My parents are retired so there is always someone home and near him. He has plenty of toys and I’ve even tried moving them around so to give him something to check out. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

Your little guy is still a baby and in the wild, he would very likely still be getting feedings from the parents. These days, many breeders force their chicks to wean at 8 weeks, and while this may be OK physically, it can leave a chick feeling food deprives as well as deprived of attention. At this age, the parents would begin teaching the chicks to find food and would gradually wean them. With a handfed chick, a gradual weaning process is the best method, but many states have laws against selling unweaned chicks, and breeders are glad to wean the chicks and get them sold. The chick went from getting fed and some attention by begging and making noise to being left alone to learn how to eat. Now he is in the home, but if y’all have taken him out of the cage when he begs – and this is the “crowing” noise you describe – he has been rewarded with attention. So some of this will get better as he grows, but you still need to address it or he will continue to scream for attention. He’s not trying to be annoying – he is contact calling and begging and this is all he knows. While I don’t like to see a bird isolated in another room, this may be what you need to do to work on his noise level. Birds do not respond to punishment or being told no or being yelled at. You have to reward good behavior and ignore unwanted behavior. So screaming and begging should be ignored and when he is quiet, you go to him and give him some attention. But it’s hard to do this if he is in a family room. He has to learn that begging no longer gets him what he wants. If there is an adjacent room to move him to for now, that would be the best way to work with the noise level. Bring him out with the family and establish a routine. If he gets any kind of attention for screaming, it will undo any progress you have made. Everyone has to agree to only go to him when he is not screaming. Once he learns this, he can be back in the family room. This won’t be an overnight fix – it can take months, especially because he is still immature. You just have to be patient with him and know he will grow up and stop this with time and consistent training.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda