Teaching an Amazon parrot to NOT say something

MoodyChicken

Songster
10 Years
Feb 15, 2009
1,869
34
181
Northern California
No, she's not cursing, praise God. Though I've heard a few questionable words slip from her beak and I know my Nana has a very colorful language. lol. But my Amazon parrot, Goober, loves to scream non stop at night, only when my dad comes inside (ironically she hates him, so she's not screaming for his attention but I think she's screaming out of spite! lol). I know that Amazons have their "jungle screeching" moments, but is there anyway to break it? I don't mind her nonsense, but she's driving everyone else mad and I don't know what to do. She's about 6 years old, confirmed by a blood test that she is female, I handle her when she wants to be held (moody Amazons, one minute they love you the next they hate you, lol), and she lives in the kitchen so she sees us everyday all the time. Any tips?
 
good luck!
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Do you have her cage covered? What time of night are you referring to? Evening? Late night/ midnights? When you say nonstop, do you mean for an hour or literally nonstop until daylight?
 
We only cover her cage when she screams and at night sometimes so she can sleep peacefully. She screams for about an hour straight anywhere between 5-7 PM "MOM! MOM! PEANUT! MOM AAAAAAAAAAH!!! NO! MOM?! I LOOOOOVE YOU!"
 
I understand her bad behavior now (baby chicks need all the care, so she just gets a hello and a peanut, she's definitely jealous of the chicks), but even before the chicks she still screams. Often times I go to pick her up when she's screaming and she shows no interest and she does her little "no thank you" nip (she very gently bites my finger to let me know when she doesn't want to be held), she's just enjoying the use of her vocal cords. lol. We don't mind her talking, or screaming for a short period of time, but 1 and 2 hour long bouts are a little much. Today I took her out and let her see the chicks. She didn't say a word... mesmerized by the tiny fluffballs. lol. That won't work next time though.
 
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Haha, that's not even the half of the things she says. We love it when she does it for a short period of time, or quietly, we think it's hilarious. But after a long day during dinner that's the last thing we want to hear for hours.

She also says "Whatcha doin?" "AARRRGH, I'm a pirate!" "Icky icky icky patang zoobong mumble mumble mumble (Monty Python)" "Are you a chicken? Bock bock bock BAGOCK!" And a lot more.
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I have a 13 year old Amazon. When he was about 5 or 6 he started that screaming crap. I got so frustrated one evening I told him he was going to time out and I was putting him in the "closet". So I rolled him in his cage back to the laundry room and shut the door, pitch black for about 3 minutes. Seemed to work for a couple of days then back to screaming.
Every couple of days for about 3 weeks I would have to tell him he was going to the "closet" and the time increased from 3 minutes to a total of 15 minutes alone in the dark.
It got to the point that all I had to do was look at him and ask "you wanna go in the closet?" and he'd look right back at me and say "no" and he would be quiet.
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3 years ago I moved back to WV, placed his cage across from a window where he could look outside at everything. He hasn't had to go in the "closet" since.
 
5 to 7 could be sunset and the normal time to call in the rest of the flock so they will all be safe for the night. Also if you are having dinner at that time she might feel she needs to be part of that. (thinking if I don't eat, I might die) Where she is in the kitchen area, I wonder if she is also getting enough sleep with activities going on in that room. Lack of enough hours of sleep will make them cranky.

I do use a cage cover during the day when their screaming gets out of control. But I only cover them until they are quiet then I remove it again. I do cover cages at night as my birds are in my living room and I tend to stay up late. That way I am sure they get enough sleep.

If this behavior is new, she might be hormonal right now. They can get a little touchy and loud then.
 

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