Nanday Conure Too NOISY!!!
Shewolf
Hi Friends!
Was wondering if anyone could help with this. Why is my Nanday Conure
SO noisy? He is adorable, very smart, playful, and affectionette, and
for no reason whatsoever will burst out with ear piercing screams!!!
I noticed out of all these articles, not too many are about conures.
He seems to really have a 'strong' personality. I got him from a bird
store, who said this bird was their daughters, who had died.
Evidently he was her only pet, and is spoiled rotten. My husband and
I have had him almost a year now. Initially I thought his screams
were "an adjustment period". We have a huge dog, a cat, and a 55 gal
aquarium and try to give everyone equal time. It seems like he's not
happy in his cage, unless he's covered. If he's uncovered in his
cage, he screams his head off. I don't know what to do with this bird
but somedays he drives me insane.
We are expecting our first baby one month from today. The baby goes
wild jumping around still in my stomach listening to this bird. I
imagine there will be a huge conflict between a newborn and a
screeching conure. I don't know HOW to handle this. I'm not one to
get 'rid' of pets. My dog only has 3 legs, and my cat is blind in one
eye. It seems we end up with all the 'misfits', and that's just fine.
The dog isn't a big barker, and the cat listens really well, he was
bottle fed, by us, and is super tame.
We don't have any experience with birds, but I'm learning that the
less capable a parrot is of 'vocabulary' the more they scream. If he
didn't scream like that, he'd be a perfect little pet. We can barely
tolerate it anymore, and now the baby is coming.
I have thought about going back to the bird store, and asking them
what to do, but this is the same lady who swore this bird was the
perfect 'starter' pet. Is there a way to 'trade' birds in? Do you
just outright sell them? Is there any hope for this bird? I have
also heard that birds are really jealous, and one person animals. Is
there any truth to that? He seems to like my husband and I equally.
My dog and cat are scared of him, he's a tough little cookie.
It seems to me african greys are 'more mellow' as pets. Is that true?
Help, I don't know whether I can get him to shut up, or should just
find him a new home? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks....
Donna
Shewolf
Gloria Heim
Please read the post "Looking for Advice on Placement of Adult Birds" and the responses
to that post. It was posted only a week or so ago.
Nanday Conures are notorious for their noise. A lot of people get rid of them after
they find out how much they scream. I have one of the loudest conures, Ginger - my Blue
Crowned Conure is a very quiet bird today. I have taken the time to work with her and
she's an absolute joy.
One thing I have learned about Conures is when they go through sexual maturity, they
scream and drive you out of your mind. Ginger and my other BC Pablo both did this
during their puberty. I thought I was going insane. But, they settled down and
fortunately I was able to work with Ginger. Pablo has since passed away.
You sound very devoted to your animals and I'm hoping that you would consider investing
the time in trying to train him not to scream? If you're interested in this, please
write back on that subject.
It does appear that you're pretty set on getting rid of him though. I would talk to
local avian vets, behaviorists, and breeders. So many times I hear about a Nanday or
some other loud bird getting stuck in the viscious cycle of going from home to home.
It's very sad.
So, you can either commit yourself to working with the bird or you can try to find a
good home. Let us know which avenue you want to take so we can help you further.
Whatever you do, in the future please know that we here at birds consider a parrot a
family member and most of us have taken considerable time and thought before aquiring a
bird that could live to 50 and 60 years old. We feel very strongly about "getting rid"
of family members and will encourage others to first try to work things out.
Never say never but to give away Ginger would be to give away my daughter!
Love,
Gloria
Shirley/Rick
> Please read the post "Looking for Advice on Placement of Adult Birds"
and the responses
> to that post. It was posted only a week or so ago.
>
> Nanday Conures are notorious for their noise. A lot of people get rid
of them after
> they find out how much they scream. [snip]
> Gloria
Just a quickie this time. I used to raise Nandays, and the hand-raised
ones GENERALLY are not as noisy as the reputation given them by their
wild-caught ancestors, of which much of the literature you will find on
Nandays has been based. I have had many cards and phone calls from people
that have purchased my hand-raised Nandays, all saying that they had
prepared for WAY more noise than they actually get from their little
friends, and all have been pleasantly surprised.
Of course, they DO have a very loud call, and if spoiled rotten or raised
improperly, they can turn into all-day screamers, as can ANY parrot.
I might add that the pair I had (who produced the 5 clutches I raised),
were domestic birds but were paired up shortly after weaning and were
never PET birds. So they were basically wild. They were housed in my
backyard and would SCREAM the minute anyone stepped out the door until the
minute you went back inside -- so I KNOW how annoying the continual
screaming of Nandays can get. That is why we no longer have them --
because of those two little birds, we basically could not use the whole
rest of our backyard. Covering them didn't help because as long as they
could HEAR us moving around out there, they kept it up. None of the babies
were even remotely like this.
That's it.
--Shirley
sc...@nash.mindspring.com
vi...@postoffice.ptd.net (Shewolf) wrote:
>Hi Friends!
>Thanks....
>Donna
Welcome to the "Wonderful World of Conures." Conures, by
nature, are noisy creatures; some breeds of the species are far worse
than others, but I've never been around a conure that I would call a
quiet bird.
Many things can cause a bird to be noisy (much like feather
plucking) and a person would have to spend some time with your
particular bird before any fairly accurate cause could be arrived at.
I know you're not going to like the following statement but generally
speaking, the owners are normally the largest contributor to a bird's
misbehavior.
Personally, I don't think anyone could come up with a cause
and a corrective action without knowing you, your bird and your home
environment a lot better than is possible from your post. Based
solely on your post, if anyone tries to give you any advice on what
action to take I would view it VERY skiptically.
Good luck with your problem.
Scot
John Olsen
In article <5403eo$q...@news.ptd.net>, vi...@postoffice.ptd.net says...
-Hi Donna,
I have a Nandy- I have been told they are the worst- even among other
conures for screaming. He was a freebie given away because all he did
was scream. He was in a tiny cage and the dog was the only one that
even looked at him unless to try and shut him up and the dog would have
been glad to eat him. When we moved him to a spot in the house where
he could see almost everything that went on it helpped or maybe he
was getting use to us. He was a lot happier when one of the parakeets
moved in with him- it was the parakeets idea- he squeezed thru the
cage and gradually stayed. The parakeet was older and passed away
and the conure was upset. I got him a new parakeet but I guess it wasn't
the same, because the are not very close. The only time he screams now
is
every night when my husband comes in from feeding the horses, my husband
always covers him for the night because he screams but does he scream
because my husband is going to cover him its a vicious circle.
My son is five and was born after we got the Nandy but the screams
didn't
seem to bother him and they like to watch each other now.
The only other time he is sure to scream is when he sees us outside the
window.
Screamers are hard to find homes for - even the neighbors compain but I
am out in the country, so my neighbors hear more of my rooster and
peacocks. If your in the chicago area I would be happy to give him a
home. I seem
to be a home for misfit animals-
my husband 'what did you get now? 'Does it eat?'
Ann
We have finches, weavers, parakeet,a Nandy,chickens,
peacocks,chinchillas,
goats,dogs, cats,miniature horses, horses and probably something else
that I left out. Most all the animals are old, blind, crippled or
otherwise unwanted. And before anyone says anything yes the 6 dogs and
4 cats are fixed.
GOOD LUCK!
. .
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Layne David Dicker
In article <5417p1$6...@camel0.mindspring.com>, sc...@nash.mindspring.com wrote:
> Welcome to the "Wonderful World of Conures." Conures, by
> nature, are noisy creatures; some breeds of the species are far worse
> than others, but I've never been around a conure that I would call a
> quiet bird.
> Many things can cause a bird to be noisy (much like feather
> plucking) and a person would have to spend some time with your
> particular bird before any fairly accurate cause could be arrived at.
> I know you're not going to like the following statement but generally
> speaking, the owners are normally the largest contributor to a bird's
> misbehavior.
> Personally, I don't think anyone could come up with a cause
> and a corrective action without knowing you, your bird and your home
> environment a lot better than is possible from your post. Based
> solely on your post, if anyone tries to give you any advice on what
> action to take I would view it VERY skiptically.
> Good luck with your problem.
>
> Scot
What Scot says is basically correct. Birds are logical, intelligent and
reactive creatures and generally don't do something for no reason.
However, they also habituate behaviors at an alarming rate, so some simple
behavior mod is used with screaming.
But nothing should be suggested or attempted without first determining
that it has reached the point of habituation and is not based on any
outside stimulation or an unfulfilled need of the bird. And this can not
be done without speaking at some length to a qualified avian behaviorist.
And, yes, most birds scream because we taught them to, usually by
positively reinforcing the screaming behavior.
Layne Dicker
Staff Avian Behaviorist
Wilshire Animal Hospital, Santa Monica, CA
Gloria Heim
You are to be commended for your generosity. A wondeful post.
Love
Gloria
mikemetz
vi...@postoffice.ptd.net (Shewolf) wrote:
>Hi Friends!
>Thanks....
>Donna
Conures are notorious screechers. I have a sun conure that is the same
way. Usually they scream for attention. If they are not the center of
attention all the time they get into one of those fits. It can be
tough to live with but I wouldn't trade Sunny for anything. They are
along with being prone to screaming they are also fantastic pets.