I have had my little female lovie Poe for almost a year, and since we have gotten her she has never stopped being extremely loud all day every day, almost to the point of driving us mad. We love her and she loves to be out with us even though she is a biter (man she bites hard), she steps up, she loves to be held in my hand while I stroke her face and belly, and she likes to swing on my eye glasses. She is not clipped but really doesn't choose to fly much. She has a splayed leg from being crushed in her nest by the other chicks, but uses it like it is an advantageous thing not a detriment yet I wonder if that has something to do with her behavior .She is in the same room as my Kakariki, I do not let them out together because she could very easily bite off my Kakarikis foot. I used to let them out together because my Kakariki, Nietzsche is a gentle soul and wanted nothing to do with her at first and being a superior flyer and as agile as an acrobat she just avoided her. Then to my surprise Nietzsche started feeding her through her cage. Then it became an obsessive behavior for both birds, might I add they were both laying eggs at the time. Again I stopped this behavior because of the danger to my Kakariki. It is possible she is loud because she is calling to my Kakariki, however if you move her cage out of the room she gets even louder because she does not like being separated from her and they call to each other non stop which is strange for my Kakariki because she is not generally loud at all. Poe is very aggressive sometimes but she understands the word gentle, and will stop biting when you say the word. However nothing stops her from be incessantly loud. If you point at her and discipline her sternly she takes that as a challenge and she'll try and bite, recently I have tried spraying her with a waterbottle when she is loud and it seems to work sometimes, but it seems she doesn't really mind it now. I guess I just want some advice on what I can do to curb this loud behavior and bring some peace back to our house.
Have you read "Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot" ? I like the book quite alot. They have a section on screaming. I don't have time to copy it all in right now, but the things that might most likely apply to you: 1. make sure that she can see the Kakariki, but from a distance is probably best. 2. entertainment: ------ close enough to a window with a bird feeder outside to watch (but not so close that the Lovebird will overheat) ------ foraging foods, they sell lots of nice ones now, but you can also make your own, I love the tear up the pinata with goodies inside, the metal cage with treats inside that have to be pulled through the bars, and the lovebird might be able to use those plastic budgie toys where you have to pull out the drawer to get the treat (but watch those since she might be strong enough to break the plastic) ------ a radio or TV on a timer 3. she also suggests making a journal of exactly what is happening when she is quiet and when she is loud.
Unfortunately lovies are one of the loudest smaller birds. I had some breeding pairs and they never were quiet. Needless to say that was a lesson learned and I no longer have them, although I am not telling you to rehome yours I have parrotlets too and that chatter all the time however they do not shriek as the lovies do.
