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Can we have a little more info?
- Is she a bird you've had for a long time, or did you recently get her?
- If you recently got her, what do you know about her previous situation and care?
- If you've had her a long time, assuming she hasn't screamed like this for 5 years, can you think of anything that happened or any changes that were made when the screaming started?
- What have you tried to do so far to stop the screaming?
- Has she been cleared by a certified avian vet to be healthy?
- What is her cage setup: size, toys, etc.?
- Is she a bird you've had for a long time, or did you recently get her?
- If you recently got her, what do you know about her previous situation and care?
- If you've had her a long time, assuming she hasn't screamed like this for 5 years, can you think of anything that happened or any changes that were made when the screaming started?
- What have you tried to do so far to stop the screaming?
- Has she been cleared by a certified avian vet to be healthy?
- What is her cage setup: size, toys, etc.?
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First, let's make sure all of her requirements are covered:
- Minimum cage size requirement for an Amazon: 39"- 59" (100-150 cm) high and 23"x 39" (60 x 100 cm) horizontal space. Stainless steel or powder coated bars only.
- A wide variety of toys of various types... stainless steel or zinc-free nickel plating only on the metal. NO COPPER! Noooooooo copper! Copper is toxic and, if ingested, can build up to heavy metal poisoning. I lost a rescue cockatiel to this, and it was an ugly death.
- Perch width 1/2" to 1". Make sure you have perches of varying widths, natural tree branch perches that you can buy in most pet stores or online pet supply stores are great. The reasoning for this... human hands are naturally open, we have to work to close them. Parrot feet are naturally closed, they have to work to open them. If a bird's feet are stretched the same width apart every day for many years, they can develop arthritis. Perches of varying widths will give them the workout that they need to prevent that from happening.
- Diet should consist of a fortified parrot pellet mix, some seeds (careful on the fatty ones like sunflower seeds), and fresh fruits and vegetables. And of course, clean water daily. Chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado and apple seeds are toxic.
- Yearly visits to a certified avian vet, and if the screaming started since her last visit, a new visit now to rule out medical reasons. If you need help finding a certified avian vet in your area, here's a search for you. http://www.aav.org/vet-lookup/ . Why yearly? Well, birds are prey animals. Prey animals have to mask all signs of being sick, or else their predators will take them down... and fast. So often times, by the time a parrot will show signs of illness, they're very sick and have been so for a while. A yearly visit will make sure she is still doing okay and isn't harboring any diseases, and make sure her diet isn't lacking anything in particular.
- Daily interaction with you... even if she seems to hate your guts, just sitting in front of her cage and talking to her. Or if she comes out, time spent on a playstand next to you while you work or watch TV.
Now that we've covered the bases... onto the screaming.
- Try to pinpoint when the screaming started... what changed? Did you get another bird? Did you acquire another pet or family member? Did the season change? Did the temperature in the house change? Did the amount of light/darkness she gets daily change? Did an object get introduced to the room that she could be scared of? Did she used to get more attention than she gets now? Did she used to get a treat daily that she's not getting now? Etc.
- Do not give her negative attention in response to screaming. Parrots are like 2 year olds! They don't care WHY or HOW they got attention, all they care about is that they DID. If a negative action gets negative attention, they'll keep doing that to get the desired response out of you. And if your response happens to include a lot of commotion - covering her cage, raising your voice, shaking your fist at her, etc. - she'll love it even more. The louder and crazier you are/sound/look, the more she'll enjoy every second of it. They crave loud crazy stuff!
I have a quaker parrot. I work at home, so I had to move him into my bedroom to get him as far away from my work phone as possible. Oh my freaking goodness this bird starts screaming at 7am and doesn't stop til I get out of bed! In the beginning, out of habit and I'm-not-awake-yet-ness, I'd scream "shut up!" or whatever else would come out of my mouth. Naturally, that only made him do it more.
When I stopped giving him that response, he screamed louder and longer. The one and only response he got was me getting up quietly and leaving the room, which would result in his "D: mommy where'd you go?" chirps until he got quiet... and then I'd come back, turn on the light, check his food and water, etc. He started to get the hint, and after screaming for a few hours didn't make me budge (other than piling the blankets over my ears), he'd make a kissy noise or say "hello... hello?!" I'd respond to that, since it was lower pitched and... well... not screaming.
Now, a week or two later, he still screams bloody green murder starting around 7am... even though the blinds are down, his cage is covered at night, etc. But he stops screaming sooner and goes to the kissy or "hello?!" which he knows will get a response out of me, and then he quiets down.
In time, he'll wake me up with kissies and hellos instead of screaming. But hopefully, before then, I'll find another room in my house for him that won't get me fired from my job!
Moral of the story is, parrots can't distinguish between negative and positive attention. So respond to the good actions, ignore the bad, and control yourself. Remember, 2 year olds don't know the full extent of what they're doing to you, and neither does she. Don't let yourself get angry. Respond to the good, ignore the bad.
Good luck, and feel free to respond if you have any questions.
http://www.wirralbirdworld.co.uk/parrots.shtml
http://www.aav.org/vet-lookup/