Why is my bird so loud? Why does my bird scream?
Why does my bird make noise?
A birds noise level has a lot to do with their surroundings. If it is in a loud household with the TV blasting, kids running around yelling, parents yelling up the stairs for the kids (diner time etc.), the bird will probably adapt to the loud environment and be loud as well. If the bird lives in a quiet environment like grandma's house with little activity and not much going on, the bird will probably be much quieter because It does not have to be as loud to get attention.
Loud birds are usually trying to get attention. If they are used to being held or being outside of the cage on a playstand and now they are locked in the cage, they will squawk to be let out. That is why you must never let a new bird out longer than you will probably be letting him out in the long run. By the way, if he squawks and you do let him out to shut him up, you have just taught him that if he squawks loud enough, he will get what he wants. If you want to let him out, it is best to wait until he is quiet to let him out. You may even teach him that if he is good and quiet, he will get let out.
Birds in nature hang out in a flock. In your home you are its flock. Birds that are separated from their flock will call out to their flock. So, if you keep your bird in a far away room, he will call to you. It is best if he is in a room where he can see you and be near you. He must at least be able to hear you. Do not keep the bird in the same room with you all of the time if that will not be the permanent arrangement. If the bird gets used to being in the same room with you all of the time and then you put him in a far away room, he may become a feather plucker or screamer.
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How do I tell if my bird is Male or Female Some Birds have different characteristics that you can use to determine the gender of the bird, but with most of the types of tropical and exotic pet birds and parrots, you cannot tell the difference between a male and female. When this is the case, the only way to be 100% certain of the bird sex is to have the bird surgically sexed. This is slightly traumatic to the bird because even though the surgery only takes about 15 minutes, you have to put the bird to sleep first. There are a few other ways that are less obtrusive. You can have the bird DNA Testes in on eof two ways. One way is to take a blood sample and send it in to a dna testing lab and the other way is to pluck five chest feathers and send them in to a dna testing lab. Either way requires either the use of a vet to take the sample or a bird professional to safely pluck the feathers in this sensative area by the crop. DNA Testing is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate in all cases but it is better than nothing. There is one other alternative. The Bird Sexer Tool. It only costs $25.00 and can be used over and over again to sex as many birds as you wish. It can be purchased through our website by clicking on the link on the upper left hand side that says BIRD SEXER
http://www.chicago-bird-store.com/bird_sexer Back to Top
Why are some birds cheaper than others? Some types of birds are in more demand than others. Some types of birds have more damand than supply. Sometimes a certian species will have a slower or not so productive breeding season. in this case the price should go down again next year if they produce more next year. Larger type birds eat more and the cost to maintain and raise may be more. Some birds have specific diets that are more expensive. Some birds require more care than others. Some birds are so rare that they are actually on the endngered species list. Some birds only produce one clutch a year or maybe only one cluth every few years. Some birds only produce one baby per clutch while other species may produce 5 babies per clutch. It stands to reason that if the cost of raising the two parents is the same in both case, the one baby should cost as much as the total amount of the 5 other babies or five times as much. Some bird of the same species can be cheaper than others. See below Back to Top
Why are some birds of the same type cheaper than others? The quality of the bird. For example: Umbrella Cockatoos start at $995.00 and cost $1395.00 for the best quality. This is why you may see some umbrella cockatoos advertised for less. See What is the "Quality of the Bird"? Below Back to Top
What is meant by the "Quality of the Bird"? The quality of the bird may refer to one or all of many different things. The bird may have a small physical impairment like a missing toe or the feathers may not be perfect. The bird may show early signs of future character problems such as biting, screaming or feather plucking. The bird may not be the nicest disposition etc.
Many breeders will sell these birds off as perfect but the price should be a dead giveaway. The wholesale price of an umbrella cockatoo is $1395.00. This is how much any pet store will pay for the bird at any time as long as the quality is good. So why would anybody ever sell one for less than the wholesale price that they can get from a pet shop at anytime? Why would anyone give you a 10 dollar bill for seven dollars? A ten dollar bill can be ripped and the bank will still take it as long as it still has at least three corners that state "10". If two corners are missing, they will not cash it and it is worthless, unless you find someone else to give it to who does not know this rule.
The Fact is that nobody would sell a bird that was worth 1395 for 995 unless it was only worth 995.
Think about it. If a breeder has ten wholesale customers (pet shops) that each buy 30 birds a month. The breeder is not going to sell a sub standard bird to one of his best customers because he relies on the income they provide. What he will do is place a classified ad offering to sell his birds directly to the public for $995.00. Of course when he talks to his potential new retail customers, he will say that his birds are of the highest quality or else no one, who does not understand that these are common conditions, would buy his birds.
Most of these conditions are not very noticeable especially to a novice so the practice of selling them as perfect (for a discounted price) is very common. In fact a lot of pet stores will actually request these lower quality birds so that they can sell them at a more competitive price. Pet stores will usually buy an umbrella cockatoo for 1395 and sell it for 1695 making 300 dollars, but with so many wholesale breeders like us selling directly to the public at the true wholesale price of 1395 is becoming more difficult. More and more pet shops are starting to sell the sub standard quality birds that they can buy for 995 and sell for 1395. Now they can make a higher profit of 400 dollars while offering a cheaper more competitive selling price.
The people you see out there selling them for 995 are simply wholesale breeders selling their sub standard quality birds directly to the public for a discounted price. Whether they admit it or not, they are still selling their best quality birds to the stores for $1395.00
By the way even the lowest quality Umbrella Cockatoo is worth at least 950 so if you ever see someone advertising them for less it is a scam. There are a lot of scams out there these days involving bird sales but that is another topic.
Having said all this, We usually suggest for a pet that you purchase the best quality because these birds live for many years and you never know what you will end up with. If the bird ends up as a biter, screamer or feather plucker, you will be stuck with a bird that bites for a long long time or you may end up giving him away. In this case, you will be out the money all together (not a very good savings after all) and the bird will end up with a poor quality of life being passed around from owner to owner his whole life and not enjoying the same amount of human companionship he deserves.
If you are going to breed the birds they will usually turn mean after breeding them and have to be stick trained so the quality does not matter as much.
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Click on The Bird Information Links to the Upper left to find the type of bird Information you want. Chicago Bird Store 7512 W. North Ave. Elmwood Park, IL 60707 1-877-744-BIRD (2473) chicagobirdstore@msn.com
Bird information Viewings are by appointment only! Call 1-877-744-BIRD Shipping is available!
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