screaming B&G McCaw

[dog\'s best friend]

We have a B&G McCaw that is 1-1/2 years old. We have had her since mid January and she only has one bad habit. She is a real people-parrot. She requires CONSTANT attention. If you don't give it to her, she screams at the top of her lungs. We have tried ignoring her (for as long as we could stand it), giving her a "time out" period in another room in her travel box, and don't know what else to do - nothing seems to work. By the way, it is me and ONLY me that she wants. She is actually my husband's bird but she seems to have bonded with me instead. I also have other pets that need my attention - one dog has epilepsy. Any ideas? I am desparate! We will be going away on vacation in December and boarding her at a special aviary that is also her vet and will be putting her up for sale if we can't get any solutions. HELP

[Bob]

That's a hard situation.
Hand fed birds are more demanding than their wildcaught counter-parts.
I'm of the opinion that its noise or hugs.

Bob

[kalaidra]

I had the same problem with my cockatiel, so I know exactly what youre going through. They don't scream as loud but I live in an apartment, so the upstairs neighbor was starting to get upset. If I left the room AT ALL, my bird would scream, and scream, and scream... nothing I did would help, such as more toys, jungle gyms, etc, I had to be with my bird CONSTANTLY, which would have been easier except I also have a dog, and a cat, so I couldnt just carry her around the house with me.

Then I got another cockatiel 3 weeks ago, (a sweet 8 week old) and the NEXT DAY the screaming STOPPED. Yes!! such a relief.

If I were you I would get another bird as soon as possible! I mean it was like my bird had split personality, because now she is so mellow, and her screams are now occasional happy chirps. And I still spend time with the both of them but Im able to have a life too.

If money is an issue, as I know the price tags for macaws, have you thought about getting a different kind of large parrot? I think that they can mix, even if it takes some adjusting at first. I've seen many people with macaws and amazons. I read about the Pionus recently, who isnt supposed to be as pricey.

If you end up selling her, I would recommend that you sell to someone who already has another macaw or other bird, as it sounds like this bird will really scream wherever she is, if she continues to get peeved about being alone so much.

Also, you could try a bird rescue. I bet you could get a cockatoo or macaw for your bird that way.
Good luck!

[MzMcIntyre]

Your macaw sees you as her mate, and as her mate she expects you to pay attention to HER and only HER.

The thing is to convince her that you are not pleased by the way she is going about it.

When she screams, it's kind of like calling to your spouce. Ie,
"Harry?"
No answer.
"Harry!"
No answer.
"HARRY!"
No answer.
"HAAAAA_RRYYY!"
I know I find callin gpeople like that frustrating, and your macaw would too.

To get things rolling, place her cage in an out-of-the-way corner where a lot of activity is, and where you often pass by. If it's too much for her, try half-covering her cage so she has a retreat.

Whenever she is quietly playing or eating, randomly crouch by her and croon that she is SUCH a good baby, and if she's quiet, in a little while she can come out. And keep that promise.

If she starts to stream, don't look at her and calmly say, "Not now, Baby" and walk away. If she continues, walk towards her kind of sideways, without making eye contact. Show her a toy, fiddle with it to show her what you want, say something like, "Not right now, Baby" and then walk away again.

Give her lots of interesting toys. Try toys that have food in them, so she has areason to be interested, and gets a reward for playing and not screaming.

It might take awhile, and your husband must be patient, and maybe even take naps durning breaks at work, but eventually it should work.

The point is to get across that yes, you are near by, but screaming does not get her a whole heck of a lot. Meanwhile, playing nice and quietly gets her treats and cuddles and praise!

If I were her, I'd know which one I'd pick.

Please remember, that she is just trying ot tell you that she is lonly and bored and wants to know where you are: just like a good mate should! You have to give her something else to do, and tell her in no uncertian terms that screaming to get attention is unnacceptable.