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Senegal biting

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Senegal biting

Postby Kowwgurl » Thu Aug 25, 2016 1:30 am

We recently acquired a 5 yr old senegal she's not the friendliest (my hands have the proof) anyway she was out tonight and I thought we were doing well she was sitting on my shoulder and chattering. She walked down onto my chest and started trying to kiss and regurgitate food she was doing courting behavior then she bit my face I now have a Monroe piercing I never intended to have. We got her unlatched from my face and she latched onto my husbands hand with blood pouring down my face I unlatched her from his hand carried her back to her cage then went and cleaned myself up.

What can we do I don't want to keep getting bit she draws blood everytime
Kowwgurl
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal and lovebirds
Flight: Yes

Re: Senegal biting

Postby liz » Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:29 am

Welcome to the forum.

How recently did you get the bird. For some reason humans think if it was a pet and tamed bird that it should be that way with the new humans. Moving a toddler to another home with people he does not know would be tramatic. The same with birds. He has to have time to adjust and accept that he has a new home and new humans.

Ignore him and let him observe you.
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liz
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Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
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Re: Senegal biting

Postby Wolf » Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:47 am

As Liz asked, how long have you had her? Parrots do not handle change well at all. When they are rehomed they lose everything that was familiar to them and even if it was bad, they are still terrified of the new place as they do not know if there are predators there or where they may be hiding waiting to pounce on the bird. Parrots do not transfer their trust the way that a dog would, you as an individual must earn it on your own merits. It does not matter if the bird trusts you , your boyfriend will have to earn the birds trust for himself. That was intended entirely as an example.

At the age of 5 or 6 your Senegal is just reaching sexual maturity, if she is indeed a she. But regardless of this, the bird sounds to me like it is hormonal and an excess of hormones in this species of parrot always means aggression. At least that has been my experience with my Senegal. As far as I am aware of the only things that you can do to help both your bird and yourself with hormonal issues is to keep to a solar light schedule with care to see that the bird is exposed to both twilight periods in the day, one at dawn and the other at dusk, without the interference of artificial lighting. This keeps the endocrine system properly tuned to the seasons through the internal biological clock. Pay attention to the birds daily diet as too many cards, fats and proteins, will increase the production of sexual hormones leading to increased aggression. And do not clip your birds wings and give it plenty of opportunity to fly as the flying is the only form of exercise that has been shown to help reduce the level of hormones in the blood.
Wolf
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Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Location: Lansing, NC
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Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
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Re: Senegal biting

Postby Kowwgurl » Thu Aug 25, 2016 9:35 am

We got her a 3 days ago. I wasn't expecting her to be tame right away but apparently I pushed it a lil far! My husband can get her out of the cage where as I can't. We only have her out for short periods as to try to build trust so she sees being out isn't that bad.

The lady that had her never took her out she hated the bird which is sad as she really tries to be friendly and she comes to the side of the cage and wants to interact. I don't know if she associates me with her old owner because I'm a female? I think the lady wasn't very nice to her but that's just speculation of what the lady said about hollie. Yes she is a female she has been DNA tested
Kowwgurl
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal and lovebirds
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Re: Senegal biting

Postby Pajarita » Thu Aug 25, 2016 10:26 am

Well, for one thing, senegals don't need to be DNA'd because the females and the males look differently. But, going back to her biting, if I were you, I would not try to interact with her. Not yet, anyway (three days is NOTHING, parrots timetables are much slower than ours). When an adult bird is rehomed, you need to leave them alone until they 'tell' you they are ready to take the relationship one step further because they need time to accept the new house, new routine and new human. With parrots, very little is the human's decision, it's always the parrot that sets the pace and our job is to outsmart them without them realizing it (and that is not as easy as one would think :D ). The thing with parrots is that they are genetically programmed to be extremely leery of strangers - it's a survival trait and there is nothing anybody can do about it so all you can do is let her take her own sweet time to make up her mind that you are good, that you can be trusted and deserving of her love (and, that's another thing, either you or your husband will be her human and the other will be, with love, work and luck, just a flock mate and nothing more).

Now, in my personal experience (three females, one male) the hens are sweet -well, sweeter than the males, that's for sure!- but they can be VERY ornery and bitey if they are overly hormonal and/or have not been treated right and yours sounds as if she is suffering from both. First thing you need to do is to put her on a 100% steady schedule with routines that repeat every day (and that means weekends, holidays, etc) because this will reassure her and reduce stress. She needs to be at a strict solar schedule with full exposure (this means, at the very least, 1.5 hours) of twilight (dawn and dusk) and should not be free-fed the protein food (this is not only unhealthy to them but it also causes aggression). A normal day should go something like this: allow bird to wake up with dawn (no artificial lights on), 1 hour after sky gets light give her fresh produce (fruit, veggie, green), 1 hour after that gets her the low protein food (like gloop, mash, chop, etc), once she finishes her breakfast, open the door to her cage and let her out on her own (do not put your hand inside the cage, they don't like this UNLESS you have their complete trust and love -which you don't and will not have for months to come). Then comes the time you should spend keeping her company to start her on her way to trusting you. You can either sit or move around in the room doing chores, watch TV, read a book, whatever but the idea is for you to keep her company for a few hours always talking, singing, whistling and, every now and then, offering her a treat (this treat should not be linked to anything, meaning it's not a reward or a bribe, it should be nothing but a token of friendship). At noon, she will rest (they all do, it's part of their daily biorhythms), and, in the afternoon, you can do the same thing -the more hours you spend with her, the faster she will accept you BUT make sure that the schedule you start today is going to be the same schedule you follow every day because although you can tweak it a bit once the bird is used to it, it's not something you can change all the time. If you need to move her (is she clipped or fully flighted?) use a stick for step up and step down and always praise, praise, praise profusely in a high voice and a singsong. Now, in the afternoon, you can either interact with her again or not. I allow my birds out of cage and one-on-one time from 6 am (when I am now opening the cages as you can already see without artificial light) to around 1 pm, then I put them back in their cage and, although I am around them until 3 or so, I don't take them out of their cages again until an hour or so before their dinner (which happens, this time of the year, at 6 pm -I turn off their lights at 5 pm but this schedule changes as the days get shorter because you need to follow the sun). I have cats that I lock in a room so the birds can be out but I have to let them out, too and that's why they go back into their cages at around 1 pm but, if you are home and have no other obligations or impediments to her been out all day long, better still!

You need to earn her trust and love before you even think of having a personal relationship with you because although senegals are smallish birds, they can be extremely aggressive and bite real hard (and I know because I still have the scars made by the male!).
Pajarita
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Re: Senegal biting

Postby liz » Fri Aug 26, 2016 6:24 am

Parrot proof a room and open the cage door. The bird needs to come out on it's own. They need to know that they are respected and trusted before they respect and trust you.

I have rescued Cockatiels that I believed would never let me or any other human get near them. They learn that they are respected and the trust will follow. After quarantine I add them to the flock which gives them security. Most still won't let me touch them but they have no problem touching me. It is so rewarding to see a little crippled bird coming close to me.

Put his top perch as close as you can to face level. Perching high gives these prey animals confidence.
Spend time in the same room doing whatever and let the bird watch you without you trying to interact with him. Once he accepts his freedom he will probably use you as his perch like my Cockatiels do. I cannot touch them but they have no aversion to touching me.

Myrtle was one year old when I got her. She was never let out of her little cage. I have had her for 5 years. She is still afraid of cage doors because she fears being confined again. Even after the great time we have had together she still remembers what she came from. These little beings have more going on than we give them credit for.
I scared her really bad one time. She did not speak to me for 10 days.
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liz
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Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Location: Hernando FL
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BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes


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