Parrot is afraid of my hands all of a sudden, please

[Pajarita]

But, my dear, if the parrot is growling at you and you feed it a treat, you are training him to be aggressive. You cannot reward aggression. You should look for the cause of it, eliminate it and reward good behavior. Now you know that you were not spending enough one-on-one time with him (him or her? you use both) and doing it so, unless you are still doing something he/she doesn't like (like insisting on step up when the parrot doesn't want to or whatever), the growling will disappear on its own but, when you give a treat, you are not distracting him/her, you are rewarding and this is nothing but confusing to him/her.

[MacT]

Hey guys,

To start i thought he was a girl, but everything is pointing towards male now he’s older. So I’m going with boy now, a little heard with the transition lool.


I am definitely not rewarding bad behaviour, i just turn my back and take a moment to ignore it then continue on.

I give treats when he’s being good, and not aggressive, if he is too aggressive i throw a nutriberry or peanut in his bowl to go back in the cage and let him out at a later time.

Now he’s being better with my hands, rarely growls, and I’m able to read him better to avoid any thing that will harm him.


Also, id like to take him to the vet for a visit, but he is flighted and not harness trained yet as this whole incident took a turn. what do you recommend. I don’t want to take him to the vet, and lose my trust once he’s in a towel.

[Wolf]

Do you have a smaller cage that you can use as a transport cage ? If not try and get one, and train him to go into it when you want him to. You will find that you will need it to take him to the vet as due to all the risk factors that exist the vet will require him to be in a cage. It really is a good policy.

[Pajarita]

Why are you putting him in his cage when he bites you? Does he fly after you to attack you? Because, if he doesn't and you are putting a peanut in his cage after he bites you, regardless of whether you are doing it to make him go into his cage or not, it's still a reward.

Senegals are dimorphic so it's easy to tell if you have a male or a female. And, yes, he needs to go to an avian vet so do train him to go into his carrier.

[MacT]

Hey Pajarita,

I mean that when he is not in the mood to be playful, and he wont step up (being stubborn) i come back a few minutes later and put peanut in his bowl. I never reinforce bad behaviour, unless its very minor i let it slide, like nibbling on my chair.

and Wolf,

Carrier cage is a great idea!!!! i actually have one i made from a milk crate tarts insulated for winter with clothing so he doesn’t get cold, i live in Edmonton, AB and it gets crazy cold here up to -40 sometimes. but of course id never take kiwi out in that weather

[Pajarita]

If he is not in the mood to be playful or to step up, don't punish him by putting him in his cage (he will start hating it and resent you for it -punishment does NOT work with parrots and they don't feel the need to please us), just let him be and do his own thing.