Loud Screeching

[leenga13]

Just wondering if anyone else experiences this wiht their Linnie. I purchased my Linnie about 5 months ago. He was not tame and not use to people at all. Unfortunately, the breeder was misleading to me in this way about these things. It is also difficult for me to get him to eat fresh foods, they have to be hand fed to him.

While we have made some progress and can now take him out of his cage, he has started screeching very loudly whenever my fiance leaves the room or leaves the apartment completely. It is very disturbing and we live an apartment. I never knew that this breed of bird was capable of such loud screaming and nothing I do will get him to stop.

He does this when I am here and my fiance leaves the room or is out of his sight for more than a second or two. Does anyone know how to rectify this bad behavior? It is stressful to me because I am the one who has to hear it all the time. It honestly affects me because it hurts my ear drums and is very stressful to hear. He will do this for a long time at times, up to 40 minutes, if my fiance is gone that long. Also, we do not need to disturb our neighbors to the point where we might be evicted.

Please help! Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Feathers]

Here is a link I found http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-beha...he-squawk.aspx Hope this helps

[LinElated]

I have not personally experienced this with my Linnie. he will call me first thing in the morning and he'll call to my budgies at times, but nothing like you describe and definitely not for longer than a couple of minutes. I can see how it would be unnerving.

Great link Feathers!

[Nick]

I have found a few links as well:
http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=1517
http://www.parrotchronicles.com/depa...m_behavior.htm

I also hope I was of help

I have never met anybody who has had this problem with linnies. The only time Sonny (my lineolated parakeet) is loud is when I enter the room after being gone, and he is excited to see me... but it's not exactly screaming. It isn't very loud.

Best of luck to 'ya!

And, by the way: welcome to the forum
I hope to see you around

[Linnielover]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Do you have other birds? If not then maybe you should get another linnie. My first Linnie used to scream for my husband and I had to wear cotton in my ears. When i got the second linnie the screaming stopped. Offer him some vegatables like corn or carrots and apples. my Linnie seem to settle down after giving them some food. Play some soft musci or a nature cd. Good luck and i hope he stops screaming soon.

[leenga13]

Thank you for all of your replies and help, I appreciate it.

We don't have any other birds, he is our only one. He's been doing this now for about 2 months or so and it has been increasing. He has bonded with my boyfriend and whenever he leaves his sight for more than a few minutes, Francisco starts to scream. He starts out not too loud but then when my boyfriend does not come back, he increases the volume of his screeches. It is very loud. And when my boyfriend leaves and I am here with Francisco, it gets really bad. He clings to the side of his cage and won't stop screaming. I try to talk to him to calm him down but it does not make him stop. He will do this for up to 30 minutes or more. He will eat and continue to scream for him(something new that just happened yesterday), looking for my boyfriend.

When we both leave the apartment, Francisco does not scream at all. And when I leave he does not scream.

This is my first experience with a Linnie, or any bird. I spent a lot of time researching Linnies and Parrotlets because at first I wanted to get a Parrotlet. But I read that they can be loud at times, so I chose the Linnie because all the things I read said that they are quiet birds and great for apartments. I don't know what could be happening here and why Francisco is so different from other Linnies. It's frustrating to say the least because I want what is best for him. I have reached out via email several times to the breeder yet I get no help there.

We have brought him to the vet and he has a clean bill of health. We will bring him back again in the next few weeks and I'll let the vet know what is going on.

We live in a studio apartment so my other thought was that maybe this is the cause of his problem as well. Do most of you have your Linnie(s) in a separate room? Do most of you have your Linnie out of his/her cage most of the day?

Thanks again to everyone for your replies.

[LinElated]

Originally Posted by leenga13

We live in a studio apartment so my other thought was that maybe this is the cause of his problem as well. Do most of you have your Linnie(s) in a separate room? Do most of you have your Linnie out of his/her cage most of the day?

Thanks again to everyone for your replies.

Baylee is in the living room and he is out of his cage around 10 hrs a day.

Is Francisco home alone quite a bit? If so then I agree with Nick that you may want to consider getting him a friend. He may just be lonely. How much out of cage time does he get? Its important for a parrots well being and health to have out of cage time they need to stretch and get exercise. Does he have plenty of toys to stimulate his mind and to chew on? This is also important for their mental well being and health.

[leenga13]

Thanks for all of the feedback and advice, I appreciate it.

Both my boyfriend and I work so he is in his cage most of the day. Again, this is our first experience with a Linnie and any bird. But I did a lot of research beforehand and the breeder also told me that he would be ok alone at home for most of the day. She said that as long as we gave him attention when we got home that he would be ok. Is this not true?

I leave for work at 7am and Francisco does not get uncovered by my boyfriend until 8:30am. He does not come out in the morning because there is no time. He is still learning to step up and I do not handle him that much so when I get home at 4pm, I do not take him out. I give him attention and talk to him all the time and I pet him through the cage. But he does not come out of his cage until 7pm or whenever my boyfriend gets home. So he will stay out until he goes to sleep at 8:30pm.

Unfortunately, all of the problems that we have with him are due to the fact that the breeder totally mislead me. She told me that he was tame and he was not. He was not use to being handled nor was he taught to step-up. He was not use to being touched at all. The only time he would eat fresh foods would only be when he was hand fed these foods, which would be very time consuming for us. Now he is ok with eating the fresh foods from a dish but he is extremely picky about what he will eat and seems to only like sweet foods.

We thought about getting another Linnie but our vet told us that not only will he bond with the other bird, but then he will want nothing to do with us. The vet also told us that if we get another Linnie that we will have to quarantine the bird for several months and then slowly introduce them to each other. Honestly, we have no space for another cage where we live so this is not an option for us.

I love Fransico, we both do, but it's just been such a frustrating experience for us. We thought we were getting a Linnie that was friendly, that had been use to eating all types of foods and one that was tame. We got the exact opposite. I have contacted the breeder on several occasions, via email and via phone. She ignores my emails now. The times that I did speak to her in the beginning of having him, I asked her about how we can get him to come out of his cage. She told me that none of her birds are taught how to step-up and that in order to get him out of the cage we would have to just grab him. This sounded so wrong to me and we NEVER did this. He was always scared of our hands if we moved towards him. He has learned to come out, mostly on his own when we open the cage door and put the playgym in front of it. And now he will go onto my boyfriends finger when he wants.

So besides all of these other frustrations, he now is screaming loudly. He is now doing this everyday and I know it is because he has bonded to my boyfriend and he is looking for him. But it does not look like there is a simple solution to this.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and also for reading my posts. Any other help would be most appreciated.

[Nick]

It seems that your linnie is attached to your fiance and thinks of him as his companion...
This is can usually be a problem with all parrots (I don't want you to get the wrong impression of Linnies ).

The problem is that humans cannot provide the adequate companionship and interaction that a same-species parrot can. Therefore, it is best to give a bird a companion that is the same-species (and it would be best if it's opposite sex, too.. but there are many exceptions) and allow them to live together. In the wild, a parrot chooses a companion and they spend the rest of their life doing everything together - eat, play, sleep, bathe, preen, etc.... and when their companion goes missing, they will call their "flock" in a panic tone... which seems to be what your linnie is doing.

Long story short, I would recommend getting a second linnie for your current one and allowing them to slowly get to know each other and bond. Eventually, after they are definitely going to get a long (you must allow them to play outside of their cage for periods of the day for a couple of weeks) you can house them together and although they might not be as tame, they will be happier and most likely quieter. You will still be able to keep them friendly and handleable if you work with them thoroughly and often.

[mamajodi]

Oh no! This is what I'm afraid of.....my DH would go nuts if I told him linnies were the "quietest" parrots and then we ended up with a screeching one! I had a budgie that did this. She was very bonded to me and would literally screech when I'd go out of her site. It was soo annoying. I hope you can get your linnie to quiet down soon. Hopefully a companion would really help.

[luvmath]

I feel your frustration and I wish I had an easy solution but I don't. We were having trouble with Parsley calling loudly whenever I got on the phone and at dinner time.. My feeling was that when she heard my voice she wanted me and she could see us at dinner and wanted to be with us.
It was suggested to me that I take her out of her cage for NO MORE than 10 min. at a time. Play, talk, cuddle but after 10 min. back she goes. Do this several times a day. This really seemed to help after a while. She started to learn that I would be coming to her on a regular basis and the calling decreased, not stopped entirely but MUCH less.
I don't work so this was easy. Since you are gone all day maybe you can figure a way to try something similar during the time you are home. I don't know.
I also find that the sound of water and the vacuum will get her calling so I always close the bathroom door and that helps. I vacuum as little as possible LOL.
Good luck.

[lineola]

Hi Eileen,

You say you are in a studio apartment with not much room. How big is Francisco's cage? If he is in a small parakeet-sized cage, that may be a source of frustration. He may look upon your boyfriend as his "liberator" because he is the only one that lets him out of his small cage. So when your boyfriend leaves, it is very upsetting to the bird... he knows he's going to be stuck in his cage until your boyfriend comes back. Just a guess, but a possibility.

Birds are intelligent and social creatures; that is why they typically live in flocks. They like to interact and have others around. In terms of pet birds, that may mean other birds, other pets, or people. Your bird is still a baby, and it may be very hard for him to spend hours by himself alone, possibly in a small cage, possibly with few toys or distractions. Put yourself in his position.

Here are some of my suggestions:

Good-sized cage: It doesn't have to be expensive. I've bought 18X18X32 flight cages from a nearby feed store for $45 each. This could comfortably hold two linnies.

A good selection of toys (you can rotate them in and out), and some ladders and those flexible rope perches for climbing so he can get good exercise.

Since you both work all day, a linnie companion of the same sex, or the opposite sex. I would get the second bird from a different breeder, since your current breeder doesn't seem to be very supportive.

More handling. Take him out of the cage and play with him.

Lots of variety in foods. Check this forum for food suggestions, or start your own thread asking what varieties of foods you can feed Francisco. Keep offering him different foods. Sometimes it takes the birds awhile to try something new. You may also find, that if his social circumstances improve, that his appetite will pick up.

Normal, contented linnies do not scream in the manner you describe. This little guy is in distress and this is the only way he knows of letting you know about it.

It's great that you have wanted to avoid grabbing him. I think that would be a setback in his ability to trust you.

Keep with us here on the forum for information and moral support. We really want you to develop a happy relationship with your little guy...

Maddie

[Linnielover]

Can you let him out of the cage when you get home at 4:00? Maybe that wil help. Are his wings clipped. You can give him a bath by misting him over the sink with warm water and he will preen himself after for a while and he will be quiet. Offer him some fresh corn.

[Feathers]

I would let him out more as well. When you get home at 4 could be a good time. And a nice large cage may help as well.

[mamajodi]

This thead has seriously made me reconsider a linnie and I'm so depressed about it. I'm so glad this was discussed though! I'm really nervous about getting a bird that could make loud calls all day. My husband would not be happy. This is why I wish there was someone close to me that had a linnie/linnies that I could see and interact with before buying! My only way of even hearing what they sound like is videos on YouTube. Maybe I should just get one of baby budgies I'm on the wait list for after all. Sigh. Cry.

[luvmath]

Originally Posted by mamajodi

This thead has seriously made me reconsider a linnie and I'm so depressed about it. I'm so glad this was discussed though! I'm really nervous about getting a bird that could make loud calls all day. My husband would not be happy. This is why I wish there was someone close to me that had a linnie/linnies that I could see and interact with before buying! My only way of even hearing what they sound like is videos on YouTube. Maybe I should just get one of baby budgies I'm on the wait list for after all. Sigh. Cry.

Jodi,
Even budgies can be loud. My Budgie Spice can chatter and chirp all day. People have said "Wow, he's noisy." But then my budgie Sugar is almost totally silent.
The same with linnies. Some will be noisier than others. But generally, a linnie is quiet. Parsley can call loud but if I added up the total min it is probably a maximum of 15 min out of a 24 hour day. It's just at the time it is happening it seems like hours.

I have managed to figure out what gets her started and so then I can actually control the situation.

I agree that this is a great thread. People should realize that when you say a bird is quiet doesn't mean it won't make loud noise at times. When I first heard Parsley's loud call I was shocked because like you, I had the impression that all sounds from her would be soft.

[Carrie~Anne]

I just want to add onto the possibility of getting a second bird. Do be very careful with this. Your vet is right, you will need to quarantine the new bird for at least 45 days (separate cage, separate room) and, it sounds like your first linnie isn't getting much attention right now, so in my opinion, it would be very unfair to bring another bird into your house unless you intend on leaving them as caged birds. The other problem with adding another bird, is it is quite possible that the second bird could just pick up your current bird's screaming behavior and then you end up with two screaming birds. Not much fun.

I think some members have brought up excellent points regarding out of cage time. Is there any reason why you can't let the linnie out when you get home? Is he clipped? Fully flighted? Are you willing to tame him down?

[Linnie Chatter]

I know it must be disappointing and very frustrating for you right now but there is hope!
When I bought mine I was under the impression that they were tame and they weren't. Mine also come from different breeders (breeder got my male from another breeder so that they weren't related). They were not quarantined. I didn't even think about it cause my breeder give them to me already together. Anyway, It has been a month now and we are making progress. They can be tamed out and you CAN have two tame Linnie birds that will also bond with you. I am not expert but that is one thing that attracted me to linnies is that you can have two and they will ALSO bond with their owner and not only with each other. I work all day so that is why I got 2. They do need companionship. Mine are also in a larger flight cage with lots of toys. Just do what you can to get the largest cage and as may toys as you can to switch off with ever once in a while. If you were able to get another bird it's cage doesn't have to be large since it is a temporary cage. Just sitting it next to the other linnie might help in the beginning. My next recommendation for you is for you to try to let him out of the cage when you get home and to try to spend as much time with him as you can. Of course I know he isn't going to let you touch him but you can spend time with the door open and talk to him. This will help. My male is still untame and does not like me to spray him with water either. I have learned that if I do "grab him up" and force him to spend just a few minuets with me on my shoulder (looking out the window or something to get his interest while he is there) and/or sitting on my finger he is learning not to be scared of me. I only do this for about 5 minutes a day. If I don't do this he doesn't make much progress. I hate for this to be so long and drawn out but I figure maybe my experience might help you. He needs to learn that your fiance isn't the only one that will let him out or that he can bond with.
And know that your situation should get better and that there is hope. Linnies ARE really great birds!
Please keep us updated!!

Right now I am dealing with if I take my Hanna out of the cage Huckleberry gets upset and starts squawking loudly. We are working on that too. I figure this is just a phase and we will get through it.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by mamajodi

This thead has seriously made me reconsider a linnie and I'm so depressed about it. I'm so glad this was discussed though! I'm really nervous about getting a bird that could make loud calls all day. My husband would not be happy. This is why I wish there was someone close to me that had a linnie/linnies that I could see and interact with before buying! My only way of even hearing what they sound like is videos on YouTube. Maybe I should just get one of baby budgies I'm on the wait list for after all. Sigh. Cry.

I was hoping nobody would get the wrong impression of Linnies.

But like Nancy said, budgies - or any bird for that matter - can be loud and develop screaming behavior patterns just like leenga's linnie is doing.
Heck, my cockatiel used to do it and I just had to live with it. He just didn't like being alone. He was out of the cage most of the day, had a lot of interaction, etc. He just got so attached to me after having him for 6 years and he didn't like to be alone.

Anyways, a lot of linnies are very quiet and friendly birds.
But the main point is that any bird/parrot can be loud and develop these similar problems.

[leenga13]

Thanks for all of your replies. I truly appreciate the help and the feedback. It is great to know that I can come to this forum for help.

Francisco is a wonderful bird and pet, I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. We love him and he is a wonderful addition to our lives. I do not feel that he is in distress either. I think that he is attached to my boyfriend and he screeches because he is looking for him when he leaves.

The posts that all of you left for me make sense to me, especially about getting him a companion. I am going to look into this.

The cage I have for him is this one, by Avian Adventures:

http://www.avianadventures.com/nina.htm

It is the one without the playtop, but we have a separate playgym that we use for him. I think that this cage is big enough and we do have a lot of toys that we switch in and out of his cage. He does not pay much attention to the toys and would rather bite the wood perches that are in his cage.

We also have a light for the top of his cage called FeatherBrite:

http://www.featherbrite.com/oscommerce/

I have tried different foods for him, fresh foods and dry foods. I have ordered a lot from a website called Bird-e-licious. I like that their foods are organic. He does not seem to like dry food so much, he prefers something moist. We also mix pellets(Harrisons) with his seed, I think he eats some of it, I hope. According to our vet, we should not be giving him corn or sweet fruits. He told us that the only fruits we should give him are mango and papaya. He aslo told us that seeds are really bad for him and millet in particular. He said that the seeds and millet can lead to deficiencies. Francisco does eat fresh foods, he's just picky about which ones and he will more likely eat fresh foods if I hand feed them to him.

I'd like to explain why I do not take him out when I get home from work. There are several reasons but the main one is that I am not use to handling him. This is something that my boyfriend accomplished with him. But I am going to try working on this myself soon. The other reason is that I am concerned for his safety. I know that if I opened the cage door, that he would come out on his own, onto the playgym. And this is fine. But being that I do things while I am here, I can't leave him unsupervised because I would not want him to get hurt. His wings are clipped. The last reason is that I would not be able to get him back inside the cage on my own. Again, this is something that he will do with my boyfriend. But I do plan on changing this and trying to handle him more.

Thank you agian for all of our help.