KimKim Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 For the past couple of years (ever since our move to VA) Babalu has been making this real high pitch chirp. He use to only do it when he didnt like something or was scared or nervous. Now he does it constantly! I cant figure out what he wants and it is driving us crazy, my husband more. He want to get rid of him now He does it when he is in or out of the cage. Sometimes I think it starts when he sees or hears me. Any suggestions? We just moved back to California, and he gets to go outside almost all day in his aviary and I bring him in before dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Hi, it sounds like he's calling some one, was he outside at his old home? Is someone or something not with you now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Try when he does it say " Babalu no!" Ignore him. He will learn the sound is annoying to you, and won't get a response. Certainly don't pick him up. My gang is good enough at this point in our lives, I can say " quiet!"... and they hush. Lots of noice doesn't bother me, since I can't hear out of my right ear, so if they are being noisy enough to bother me, I can imagine how loud they are really being.LOL! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I can't give you the whole spiel right now, but do a search here on extinguishing sounds. Basically you have to ignore the sound you don't like 100% of the time, and reward immediately either with a treat or attention every time babalu makes a sound you'd prefer. Everyone in the house has to be on board with the plan. Like I said to a member recently, if you respond after an hour of him making the 'bad' sound, you just taught him he needs to do it for an hour! It can be done. The annoying sound may ramp up and get worse first so for sanity's sake I recommend foam ear plugs to take the edge off. You can still hear if he makes a good sound, but it takes the edge off the bad. Lots of people here have had to go through this, some of us more than once, so we're here to cheer you on. The good news? It's a very successful solve to a common problem. You can do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 KimKim, Another thought I had, is you are probably right and your baby is calling you. Work on a new " calling" together. When baby does it... respond and praise like crazy! Your babe just wants to be part of your life and doesn't know how to do it besides the irritating chirping. They want to please us, and are more than happy to try new things to get what they want. nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimKim Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Well we tried ignoring it for a while and that wasnt working. Maybe we didnt do it long enough... Then we started to say no! And that didnt work. Then we started trying to talk to him to do something else, sometimes that worked but when we stopped he started chirping again. I think we will try the ignoring method again. I think he wants to be with me, but I cant hold him all the time, we have a new baby too... and it has gotten worse, so maybe he is jealous. He did do it a lot before she was born though too... I hold Sophie up next to him and we talk to him all the time, he copies her sounds already I know he likes her too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Shadow chirps like that when she is feeling neglected. When she first started, I moved her to a busier part of the house and she stiopped. Now she only does it when I have been really busy and she is letting me know she is not happy about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimKim Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 His cage is in the living room, thats where we are most of the time. Or in the kitchen, but its an open concept house so he can see us when we are in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Give it time, your a good parront..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Well we tried ignoring it for a while and that wasnt working. Maybe we didnt do it long enough... Well, how long did you do it? You've gotta think in Grey time. If this sounds harsh it's not meant that way, but somehow, you've been reinforcing this behaviour for 2 years. Remember, greys like drama, so even yelling 'stop' in frustration will be seen as a reinforcement. "oh, listen to the fun noise mom made, and her face got allllllll red, that was fun!" I mean IGNORE. If you can't leave the room, turn your back and don't turn around until babalu is either quiet or makes a sound you like/can live with. Make a sad face before you leave or turn your back and make your body language sad, then when there's a happy sound react with happy sounds/face and body language. It becomes a game. They like the fun response so they try to figure out what they do that gets that response. The reason it gets worse before it gets better is because, like a kid who gets louder and louder, they're thinking "this always worked before, maybe they can't hear me" Then it's "Hey, can't you hear what I'm doing here. We have a deal, I make this sound and I get some sort of attention or reward" I know the high pitched chirp you speak of. Dorian has gone through phases with it, usually in response to stress I'm going through and he can sense. I literally walk around muttering "I am not answering that!" to myself to keep myself from telling him to STOP! (Good thing I live alone). Again, think in grey time. They live for decades, he's been doing this for 2 years, it might take a couple of weeks to fix. What's a couple weeks when you're dealing with such a long-lived companion? Well, it seems like a long time while you're going through it but really, it isn't. My only guarantee? The less rigid you and all the rest of the human part of the flock are about following the program the longer it will take, so your biggest challenge is getting everyone firmly on board the behaviour modification train. <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Good reply, if I may, don't get discouraged, it can take a very long time, you need to find the reason.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Great advice Acappella! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimKim Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Thanks everyone, we will ignore it again. I was pretty good at it, it was my husband who would get upset and tell him no or make some kind of noise when he did it. I will keep reminding him to try to ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Hi KimKim my husband is like that too, quick to yell, thinking it will help, and it makes the situation worse. The best investment I made is a pair of earplugs i pop in when Pancho or Jimpster escalate the decibel levels. Another thing we do that helps is to try to get Pancho to switch his annoying sound with a nicer one, like a chicken cluck or cats' meow, and when he does, we praise the heck out of him. This works somewhat. It is best to get them to switch right when they start making the annoying sound, because it is not habitual at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 hi kimkim,thanks for bring this topic! same here momo always bark and scream like crazy.its getting worse and worse now.from 10am-12pm and 2pm-6pm he scream scream scream.i dont find the reason yet since he always get 100 % attention and new toys all the time.food and water always avaible.i know he just a bird and its normal if they make noise but..my husband always mad.he said he will find a new home for him if he keep screaming all the day.my husband work at night so he will expect a normal noise in day because he wants to rest and now days momo dsnt let him. i dont want momo to go but in other hand his screaming always make problem between me and my husband. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Follow a routine, be persistent, make sure entire family is in agreement with the goal. Having all of us on board for any behavior modification, was the best thing to make any positive changes in our birds life. When kids got weak.... they would call me at work. I would explain again, why we were ignoring the behavior. When I got weak to give Sophie a quick shower, kids would be strong, and remind me we had to do it for health reasons. In the end.... we've got "One fantastic family!"We will always have issues, we are not perfect, and never will be. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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