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Why does my bird squawk all day? Is she bored, lonely, or needs sleep?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

My bird often squawks excessively all throughout the day so we usually put her in the laundry room because we really have no other place where she can get proper sleep but yeah. I’m not sure if she’s just playing with her toys and happy or just lonely. I really dont know whether or not she really likes me which is why I can’t tell if she’s lonely or not. Any thoughts of the situation? Also, my parakeet often makes very quiet tweet which isnt very easy to hear unless you’re close to her.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 21st, 2017

I have a few thoughts that may be helpful. First of all, the squawking throughout the day tells me that she is bored. It's very easy for a bird to get bored, but there are a couple of things you can do to kill the boredom. One good way to keep your bird busy is by making them work for their food. Birds in the wild spend most of their time foraging for food. Instead of just putting food in their bowl, you can hide it, or put it in puzzle toys that require them to do some work to get the food out. I fed my parrot almost exclusively this way. Other enrichment options include putting a mirror in the cage and putting her in other environments. It's best to give your parrot as much possible space that you can to let her fly and roam around. You may consider getting perches or other cages for different rooms, or outside. If you can afford to have a flight cage built, this would be even better. Below is a link to some more information about enrichment ideas: http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ I see that you put her in another room for sleep time. If it's completely dark in that room, then she will go to sleep. If it's not completely dark, then you will need to find a way to make that happen; or shift her to another room. Birds should have 12 hours of sleep a night, so don't feel bad about putting her in a dark room for that amount of time. I hope that helps.

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Other Answers

  • Image profile

    Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 13th, 2017

    I have a few thoughts that may be helpful. The squawking throughout the day tells me that she is bored, but it may also have to do with a breeding season. It's very easy for a bird to get bored, but there are a couple of things you can do to kill the boredom. One good way to keep your bird busy is by making them work for their food. Birds in the wild spend most of their time foraging for food. Instead of just putting food in their bowl, you can hide it, or put it in puzzle toys that require them to do some work to get the food out. I fed my parrot almost exclusively this way. Other enrichment options include putting a mirror in the cage and putting her in other environments. It's best to give your parrot as much possible space that you can to let her fly and roam around. You may consider getting perches or other cages for different rooms, or outside. Below is a link to some more information about enrichment ideas: http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ I see that it's not possible to put her in another room for sleep time. This makes it difficult to ensure that she gets adequate rest if you happen to be up later in the evening. Birds should have 12 hours of sleep a night, so if she doesn't, then this could also be contributing to the screaming. If it's not completely dark or too noisy during her sleep time, then hopefully you can find a way to make that happen. This may require you to abandon the living room at a certain time, or get a custom made cover for the cage. I hope that helps and you can get this problem fixed soon.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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