Rose has been doing this more and more frequently as time goes on and it’s gotten to the point to where even covering her doesn’t stop it anymore. And she will go and go and go, same chirp non stop. The only thing me and my dad know for sure is it’s something to do with him. We don’t know if she’s obsessed, too emotionally attached to him or what. I had him go outside to show the silence and the immediate calling when she hears the door open. If rose quiets down but then hears his voice in the other room she’ll start up again. Before it was “okay she just wants time with him outside her cage” we’d take her out, she’d perch on him while he does stuff, he’ll give her attention etc. after that she’d be okay or less vocal. Now he’ll do that, doesn’t matter for how long, he’ll put her back in and like clockwork she’ll start. Her cage isn’t covered a majority of the time so also she’s learned his car and if she sees a silver car through the window pulling into our lot she’ll start up thinking he’s home. if he’s in the garden outside and she spots him through the window she’ll start Like it’s BAD. Also it’s the ONLY chirp she really makes. She doesn’t do any other sounds. Please help (PS pls ignore the living situation it’s messy right now)
Just sounds like your bird has picked a favorite and wants to be with him 24/7, that’s how birds are. They are very much like dogs in that way. Mine just wants to sit on my shoulder all day
I’ve never seen someone with a cockatiel that just flock calls all day like her. Legit she would go for hours if we were all deaf. Shes like an alarm that doesn’t turn off
She’s flock calling. Everyone has left the room and she doesn’t know where the flock (the humans) went.
There’s a million reasons it could be happening.
Often times they have separation anxiety and are calling to you or your dad. Sometimes uncovering the cage with you in the room will help.
If not, cover the cage and turn off the lights because she may be overstimulated. Then come back when she’s calm.
The cage covering worked at first and she would stop. Now even with it on she doesn’t. Oddly enough only when he’s outside does she get quiet. Also she would be silent all day when it was just me and her here and he was at work and would only make sound once he got home. Now she calls more frequently regardless. Cover on or not. It’s just calling calling calling until she’s out the cage and on him. But even today tho she was still flock calling right into his ear.
Talk back to her and put on some soothing music. You also can cover her cage, keeping it dark, but have it open on one side, so she can still see around. Turn the lights off with a night light. Give her more sleep time if you think she’s hormonal.
She’s learned audio queues that indicate that he’s home. Similar to dogs barking when the garage opens or the doorbell rings they know someone is coming. Once she starts hearing his presence she will start calling.
Like the other comment mentions, calling back might help. Maybe peaking under the cover to let her know you’re there is good too. Otherwise cover on with lights off will help calm her
I get that this is frustrating but covering her up is not the way to solve this, you will cause her more stress. I would recommend getting her a friend she can bond with instead.
The care she needs and deserves? Because I’m asking for help on her chirping….. she is fed every day, we give her love and talk to her, I’ve whispered to her before until she closes her eyes for a nap, we catch her beak grinding on one foot a lot which means she’s happy. We love her and care for her very much. Insinuating we don’t because we’re trying to learn to work with her instead of just giving her away is disrespectful. Lastly wouldn’t bringing another bird into a home that you believe can’t handle the one on its own be the worse thing to actually do?
He's literally just calling to hear a response back to feel that's he's heard and everyone is safe. That's how birds communicate.
You are his flock, you're supposed to reply back to him.
Now imagine being ignored and having no one of your own kind to talk to and then when you try to interact with your owners they throw a blanket over your head.
He's not hormonal. there's no reason you should be covering him like that for flock calling.
And of course he will continue to make the same call when covered, now that he's in the dark he doesn't know where anyone else is which was the whole point of making the call in the first place.
Okay 1 she’s a female not a man, so she does actually get hormonal. I put in the post we do give her attention, we do talk to her. Second, I also put in my post that the first thing we thought when she started doing it so much was that she wanted to be out with attention and bonding more. I have let her remain out of her cage throughout whole days and talk to her when going in and out. I even tried seeing if she’d want to chill on my shoulder while I game a few times but wasn’t having it. Third, the cage covering was recommended to me on this sub and was told it could help with overstimulation. Because she continued doing this so much even after being with and us and spending time with us out her cage for many hours, and even entire days, the only thing I could assume from what I’ve learnt in this journey of being a bird owner was okay so maybe it’s overstimulation, which led to the covering.
There is a very huge gap between learning to be a bird owner and what you’re seeing is in this clip vs being owners who are throwing a sheet over her with no patience. In fact you can scroll through my profile and see just how patient we’ve been with her and how much I’ve tried learning more to properly care and look after her. There has not been a single day since my brother gifted her to my dad last year that we were justing winging anything.
Your dad needs to keep spending time with her if she is bonded to him. Buy a carrier and take her on errands if he's not home. She needs to be with you at all times.
From what I know, this is normal for female cockatiels especially. They won't sing or chirp, they'll mostly only flock call.
To help my baby with his seperarion anxiety, I made sure to spend at least one hour increments with him every two hours, equalling at least four hours a day. When he'd flock call, I'd call back every three or four screams to let him know I'm still there, but I wouldn't really respond to his screams with action. Like, if he had been screaming non stop, I'd usually wait for a very small break in the screams to enter his room to teach him being quiet also reaps rewards.
If she's obsessed with your dad, have him call back out to her. Birds are so smart and have great hearing, so she knows the sound of that door opening means someone is entering the room. My boy can hear the hallway door and a creaky floorboard and always calls out, even now, when he hears them. I've gotten into a habit of just yelling "yeah!" back every so often. My house is never quiet anymore 😂
Also, while darkness is a temporary sensory block, it probably causes her more anxiety. Like, where did the sun go? Where are her people? Why is everyone gone now? I'd strongly recommend stopping this and covering only for bedtime. Try answering her flock calls instead for a while, and rewarding silence. Even if she's quiet for a little, pop over to her cage and give her a treat.
Improvement can take weeks to many months, so good luck and keep being patient!
My cockatiel does this all the time too Whenever I take my lovebird out, he wants her to stay in the cage with him. Even when she’s far away, he hears her and makes the same sound. Covering the cage isn’t enough just turn off the lights and let her sleep peacefully
Let it out of the cage, it's not a murderer. Plus birds are meant to be free. Just do it in your room or a room away from an exit. Keep it out of the cage most of the time and put it back when you leave or go to bed. Mines don't even go back to the cage because they have an area meant for them to sleep on set up with hammocks on perches and a towel on the bottom so I can wash every few days. They only use the cage to put food on and fool around, but that's me. After I lost one of my birds I decided to not let them die in prison again. My choice. I'm more happier this way and I feel like they are too. If you could get them a big room you'll be good too. Anyways hope that works for you.
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u/Wild-Change-8264 6h ago
Just sounds like your bird has picked a favorite and wants to be with him 24/7, that’s how birds are. They are very much like dogs in that way. Mine just wants to sit on my shoulder all day