Why is my cockatiel screaming or chirping so much?

Chirping is a very natural sound that bird pets like cockatiels make. So what are the reasons behind a cockatiel keeping screaming and chirping continuously?

Cockatiels are the second most popular pet bird all over the world. They are small, vocal, and friendly pet birds that have been socialized by humans for so long. But there is a fact that not every bird owner loves the annoying chirping or screaming sounds of the cockatiels. Those people feel confused and frustrated especially when the birds make these sounds for many hours on a daily basis. This makes even the most patient bird owner annoyed and tired.

The first line of defense you should do is to understand why your bird is making loud sounds excessively. It is said that cockatiels use vocalization to respond to a situation and convey a message to bird owners. Let’s go with us today through the topic of why cockatiels are screaming or chirping so much.

Why is my cockatiel screaming or chirping so much?

Your cockatiel making loud, repetitive sounds is probably trying to convey the messages of health problems, boredom, loneliness, or fear.

Let’s go into more details for each reason and what you can do to improve the situation.

Suffering from illness

Your cockatiel doesn’t stop screaming or chirping maybe because it is not feeling well and struggling with nutritional issues. Consider the following advice to provide enough nutrition for your cockatiel:

• Pellets are very nutritious foods to cockatiels, so this food should make up about 70% of your bird’s diet.

• In the meanwhile, seeds should be just a treat only to add variety and interest to your bird’s diet.
• Balance the bird’s diet by adding dark, leafy greens and fruits like bananas, apples to supplement his food a few times a week.
• Do not treat your bird with too many millet sprays or honey sticks (not over 10% of its diet). This could make the bird eat fewer pallets in its main meals.
• Try to remove empty seed hulls out of its dish every day.

If you see your cockatiel keep screaming too much and also show other signs like skipping meals, watery eyes, or a change in droppings, there is certainly a bad situation happening inside your bird. Take it to a vet as soon as possible to have a checkup.

Lack of attention and boredom

You often spend around an hour a day with your cockatiel. But one day, your work schedule changes and you don’t have much time. You leave your feathered friend alone for a long daytime and have fewer opportunities to play with it. Also, the smart bird doesn’t enjoy playing with the same old toys again and again. Then the bird is much likely to get bored and want to have more interacting time with you. It can be the reason why it screams to attract your attention.

What you can do:

• In case you cannot arrange more time to spend with your cockatiel, think of getting it a comparison. A second cockatiel is a good idea that they will communicate with each other when you are not around.
• Otherwise, your feathered bird also enjoys watching a pet fish swimming around in a tank nearby.
• Or you could leave a radio or TV on at a low volume while you are away to see if there is an improvement. If it works, your cockatiel will feel less alone and stop screaming over and over.
• Buy some new interesting toys, and rotate those toys every week to make the bird more interested.  Some suggestions are some hanging gyms with natural wooden perches and bells or things it can destroy like old books or paper towel rolls.
• Do other things to entertain your bird, like giving him flying time outside of its cage (if it is already used to that) or doing a little walk with it outside your garden.

Fearing

While your cockatiel is chirping, you should notice its crest as well. If this part of your bird also gets up and bobs from side to side, it might be scared of something. It could be everything, even the things that are completely harmless and you can’t expect. Cockatiels always lookout for predators, so everything new can lead to its concerns and alarm.

Here are some items that can make your cockatiel frightened:

• A new picture with many colors and strange shapes on the wall near the bird’s cage
• A bright balloon floating around the ceiling
• A new toy you have just bought and put inside its cage
• Your new outfits like a new pair of glasses or big hat you have just got and put on your head
• Your bird can also be frightened because of other pets like cats or dogs.

What should you do?

• Try to keep the dogs and cats away from the bird’s cage for several days to see if the creaming situation stops.
• Your cockatiels might be taking night frights. So you should set up a nightlight near its cage to help it regain confidence.

To conclude

Adopting a cockatiel, you might from time to time suffer from its annoying continuous creaming and chirping. If you do not know the reasons behind that, this is really a big problem for you. We hope this small article can help you somehow to understand your cockatiel’s creaming and chirping. And you will succeed in applying the methods in each certain situation.