I am really struggling with my senegal.

[L4DYCR0F7]

I am the proud owner of a beautiful Senegal Parrot who is around 3 years old. When I first got her she was just over 12weeks and was hand reared. Since I first got her I have had her wings clipped but she has had times when she can fly but I have struggled wi her as she tends to be aggressive and fly AT me to attack on occasions or fly at friend to say hello but they are scared of her after seeing my war wounds.
She was doing great for about 2years, although once in a while she would bite me which I accepted as I kind of pecking order attempt.
Then one day I brought home a new perch for her (bright yellow and orange)and as I brought it into the room she seemed a little weary, but I stuck it to the window (it was a shower perch) and proceeded to get her to step up and she flew to the other side of the room. I put it away after this but maybe tried a few more times over the proceeding days because I thought that she would warm to it. She didn't, so I threw it out. After that on a few occasions she "freaked out" she would fly away and run under the bed or anything that was close by and a dark enclosed space, she even squeeshed herself under my set of drawers and I had to get my partner to raise them while I caught her. While in this state, any time I was going near her she would make and awful shreaking panting noise that sounded like she was in pain. The first couple of times I left her to calm down for up to an hour, and when I went back she was still in the same position and started to panic again so in the end I just had to catch her (I'm aware you can't hold a parrot round the rib cage as they can't breath properly, so I was being careful to be very gentle while cupping my fingers round her neck and under her beak) once in the cage I left her and didn't go near her. Over a few months I approached the cage and was giving her treats to get her used to me being near her again. I open up her 'mansion' every day, and let her come up to stretch her wings for as long as I was in but not past her bed time (8pm-9pm) Every few weeks she seemed to be coming round, would step up, come towards me and let me stroke her head and neck, and then all of a sudden she seems to have a freak and fly across the room and hide again back to square one. One weekend she let me stroke her and then lifted her head,and when I stroked the side she sunk her beak into me, which she has done to my face and other parts of me. But she doesnt seem to bite to get me to leave and and let go, she bites and holds on as if she wants part of my skin. Since I moved into my own house a year ago she has been getting a lot better but because of the way that she has bitten me I am not not confident at all with even attempting doing step up because all she does is bite me really hard. There has been one time this year that she didn't bit and that was at Christmas when my aunt and uncle came over for dinner. It was almost like she was flirting with my uncle. She didn't go over to him but she was happily stepping up on me, cuddling into me and being the way she used to be before puberty I assume. The next day once I was in the house alone I was so excited about her being the same and when I approached the cage to see her and say hello I tried to get her to step up and she bit full on into my finger. My problem is when she does that I can't keep my hand there and my instinct is to pull away but she is sometimes holding on really tightly and comes with my finger. I don't know what to do anymore but I am either doing something wrong or she just doesn't really like me. I love her to pieces (even when she tries to takes chunks out of me) but this can't continue for both our lives and it can't be good for her to not be the amazing loving girl that she could be. I would love to have some advice from you as I would hate to have to re-home her. I don't believe in getting a pet and not following through with the commitment you made when you bought them which is why I am willing to try anything. I am also worried that if I was to rehome her, the next person wouldn't have as much patience and she would end up in a cage with people that weren't as forgiving, but at the same time I think she could be happier.
Her daily routine is, tues to sat I get up for work and come downstairs for around 8 am. I put in new seeds (no peanuts) fresh apple or what other veg I have and fresh water. She has a foraging toy which I put a 2cashew nuts in (she also has toys she can destroy and a hide away place), set her uv light, put the radio on and go to work. I get home not long after 5pm and open up her cage. Recently I have been doing some stick and clicker training which some days she responds really well. She is scared of the clicker sometimes though and today for instance when I was giving her her treat she launched at my finger and grabbed on. Im at my wits end and really don't know what to do and would really appreciate any help/advice you can offer. Thanks

[cml]

Sounds tricky, but we can work through it, its definetely possible and with some effort you can have your little parrot back like she used to be !

I will try to answer a few of the questions below later tonight, but for now I hope you dont mind that I paragraphed (new word eh?) your wall of text a little bit. Might be a little off, but it's easier, at least to me, to read now .

I am the proud owner of a beautiful Senegal Parrot who is around 3 years old. When I first got her she was just over 12weeks and was hand reared. Since I first got her I have had her wings clipped but she has had times when she can fly but I have struggled wi her as she tends to be aggressive and fly AT me to attack on occasions or fly at friend to say hello but they are scared of her after seeing my war wounds.

She was doing great for about 2years, although once in a while she would bite me which I accepted as I kind of pecking order attempt.

Then one day I brought home a new perch for her (bright yellow and orange)and as I brought it into the room she seemed a little weary, but I stuck it to the window (it was a shower perch) and proceeded to get her to step up and she flew to the other side of the room. I put it away after this but maybe tried a few more times over the proceeding days because I thought that she would warm to it. She didn't, so I threw it out. After that on a few occasions she "freaked out" she would fly away and run under the bed or anything that was close by and a dark enclosed space, she even squeeshed herself under my set of drawers and I had to get my partner to raise them while I caught her. While in this state, any time I was going near her she would make and awful shreaking panting noise that sounded like she was in pain.

The first couple of times I left her to calm down for up to an hour, and when I went back she was still in the same position and started to panic again so in the end I just had to catch her (I'm aware you can't hold a parrot round the rib cage as they can't breath properly, so I was being careful to be very gentle while cupping my fingers round her neck and under her beak) once in the cage I left her and didn't go near her. Over a few months I approached the cage and was giving her treats to get her used to me being near her again. I open up her 'mansion' every day, and let her come up to stretch her wings for as long as I was in but not past her bed time (8pm-9pm)

Every few weeks she seemed to be coming round, would step up, come towards me and let me stroke her head and neck, and then all of a sudden she seems to have a freak and fly across the room and hide again back to square one. One weekend she let me stroke her and then lifted her head,and when I stroked the side she sunk her beak into me, which she has done to my face and other parts of me. But she doesnt seem to bite to get me to leave and and let go, she bites and holds on as if she wants part of my skin. Since I moved into my own house a year ago she has been getting a lot better but because of the way that she has bitten me I am not not confident at all with even attempting doing step up because all she does is bite me really hard.

There has been one time this year that she didn't bit and that was at Christmas when my aunt and uncle came over for dinner. It was almost like she was flirting with my uncle. She didn't go over to him but she was happily stepping up on me, cuddling into me and being the way she used to be before puberty I assume. The next day once I was in the house alone I was so excited about her being the same and when I approached the cage to see her and say hello I tried to get her to step up and she bit full on into my finger. My problem is when she does that I can't keep my hand there and my instinct is to pull away but she is sometimes holding on really tightly and comes with my finger. I don't know what to do anymore but I am either doing something wrong or she just doesn't really like me.

I love her to pieces (even when she tries to takes chunks out of me) but this can't continue for both our lives and it can't be good for her to not be the amazing loving girl that she could be. I would love to have some advice from you as I would hate to have to re-home her. I don't believe in getting a pet and not following through with the commitment you made when you bought them which is why I am willing to try anything. I am also worried that if I was to rehome her, the next person wouldn't have as much patience and she would end up in a cage with people that weren't as forgiving, but at the same time I think she could be happier.

Her daily routine is, tues to sat I get up for work and come downstairs for around 8 am. I put in new seeds (no peanuts) fresh apple or what other veg I have and fresh water. She has a foraging toy which I put a 2cashew nuts in (she also has toys she can destroy and a hide away place), set her uv light, put the radio on and go to work. I get home not long after 5pm and open up her cage.

Recently I have been doing some stick and clicker training which some days she responds really well. She is scared of the clicker sometimes though and today for instance when I was giving her her treat she launched at my finger and grabbed on. Im at my wits end and really don't know what to do and would really appreciate any help/advice you can offer. Thanks

[Pajarita]

She pm'd me the same message and this was my answer:

Well, you have two problems. One is that she is hormonal (you are feeding too much protein and keeping her at a human light schedule) and because she has been producing sexual hormones all along (which is not supposed to happen), she is, most likely, not only sexually frustrated but also physically uncomfortable, possibly in constant pain. Their sexual organs grow during the breeding season and shrink and become dormant the rest of the year so, when you feed breeding food and keep long days all the time, the organs would keep on growing and growing, sometimes so much that they displace other organs (I've known of two male senegals that have peed blood because of this).

The other is that you have re-inforced the biting behavior. First of all let me tell you that I personally believe that the theory of not showing pain or reacting in any way when they bite us is crap and I'll tell you why. Parrots are highly intelligent and masters at reading body language and tone of voice so the premise that they would confuse an exclamation of pain for 'drama' and continue biting to get the excitement of it is ridiculous! They can certainly tell the difference between a reaction of pain and fun drama. The other premise that this theory could be based on is that they like biting us and this is also crap. Parrots are not naturally aggressive animals, they don't live in a hierarchical society where there is a leadership role that needs to be attained through a fight and they are not predators so there is no other aggressive behavior programmed into their brains than the ones used for defense and protection. Furthermore, in my personal experience and opinion, they are extremely empathetic and do not like it when their flock mates suffer. I have birds that not only would attack the bird that bit me but also fly to my shoulder to kiss my cheeks and ask me "You OK, sweetheart?"

Now, the first thing you need to do is put her on a strict solar schedule (and this means full exposure to dawn and dusk so she needs to be in front of a window to 'catch' the change in spectrum when this happens and no artificial lights before the sky is lit or after the sun begins to set), unfortunately, as you work, this would mean very little interaction and this is the main reason why I always say that people who work full time cannot have a single parrot as the bird would spend the entire winter practically on its own. But the days are getting longer now so you will be able to do it - unfortunately, this also means that she won't stop producing sexual hormones until mid July, beginning of August when she should go into molt (which would only happen if her endocrine system has already become attuned with the seasons).

Then you need to reduce her protein intake so no free-feeding her protein food (seeds). You should make her some chop or gloop or kitchen sink (lots of recipes all over but I can give you mine if you want) and feed her this for breakfast and all day picking along with raw produce (one fruit, one veggie, one leafy green, a different one every day) and no animal protein at all (meat, cheese, eggs).

Have you been supplementing her with calcium, vitamins or herbs? If not, you should. Calcium is not only used for bones, it's also used by the body to regulate muscle elasticity and to keep the nervo-vegetative system healthy.

Then, handling. You should perfectly bird-proof the room where she is kept so she can't get behind or under furniture and let her out prior her dinner when the artificial lights are on, when the sun is halfway down, turn off the lights and serve her dinner (a tablespoon of a good quality budgie seed mix -it can have some safflower but no sunflowers). She will be eager for her seeds and go into her cage on her own. Also, as she doesn't have access to seeds all day long, using them (or little pieces of nuts) as treats for training would make her target training much easier for you.

The reason why she was so nice when you had company in the house is that strangers make her nervous so she clinged to you because you were the 'known' element and she was trusting you to protect her from them. But, once the 'danger' disappeared, she went back to her normal attitude.

Senegals have pitbull bites, once they get your flesh in their beak, they not only not let go, they actually grind it in but, when she does, feel free to show your pain with an exclamation like Ouch and a stern 'Bad bird' and immediately put her away from you (you could put her back in her cage for 5 minutes -no longer than that or the 'punishment' loses the direct relation to the previous action). But, the most important thing you can do to get her used to not biting is avoiding the aggression so, for now, use a stick to make her step up and put her on a stand next to you when she is out of her cage. The timing of the out of cage and interaction period is also important. Birds in the wild interact after breakfast and before dinner (they rest for a couple of hours at noon) and these are the times that they are most receptive to been with us.

I would also highly recommend you allow her flight. A clipped bird cannot fly away when we pester them so they have no choice but to bite us to get their point across. Also, flight dissipates both sexual and stress hormones from their bloodstream as well as distract and tire them out which leaves less room for aggression.

Hope I was of help to you and don't hesitate to let me know if you need clarification on something or need more help.

Regards