Question: My cockatiel squawks relentlessly when I leave the room. He?s around 15 years old, and drives my wife of four years crazy. He is very attached to me and only squawks when I leave the room, and doesn?t care if anyone else stays behind to keep him company. A small flick of water off my fingers stops him for less than a minute, since he hates water, but that is very temporary. Help! — Tom
Answer: A screaming bird can cause lots of anxiety. Cockatiels are flock birds and your bird sees you as part of his flock. Sometimes the bird will bond with one family member like they are their mates. This tends to cause problems.
Birds need to have a balanced lifestyle. In the wild they would spend much of their time and energy foraging for food, some of their time would be spent interacting with the flock and grooming or preening. When the food supply is good and there is time left, then breeding and rearing of young occurs.
In a captive bird?s life, we supply them with their full day?s supply of food. They don?t have to work to find their food and it can be eaten in 15 to 20 minutes. Then the bird has nothing left to do with their time. They often resort to over preening or feather destructive behavior. They may get more vocal and scream to get attention.
Your bird is calling to get your attention. You need to start by giving your bird a balanced lifestyle. Convert his diet to pellets and then provide foraging toys to make him work to find treats and food.
Spend time with him training him to do different behaviors, including spending time on a portable play perch alone. Reward him for being quiet with a special food treat. Leave the room for short periods and return. If he has been quiet he gets a treat. Ignore the bad behavior by turning away or leaving the room. It is best to never punish an undesirable behavior, as it can cause more anxiety and other bad behaviors.
Make sure your bird is healthy. Take him to your veterinarian for a full check up. Disease and pain can cause unusual behaviors. For more in depth information on enriching your birds life and training for a balanced lifestyle see www.veterinarypartners.com or www.goodbird.com.
Dr. Baker
Baker Veterinary Clinic
1801 S. Congress Ave.
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Read more articles by Dr. Baker | Ask her a question
Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/pawshere/2011/03/10/cockatiel-squawks-constantly-attached-to-owner/
No comments:
Post a Comment