Aggressive Senegal

[Silentraven]

ok so i have had Moya for over a year now and since about November she has pulled a complete 180, she used to be the sweetest bird i had ever know, i would even let children handle her. now she charges from her cage, flys off the cage into my face and will bite very hard drawing blood every time. i have tried every thing i can think of but her aggression wont stop, its almost like she is bipolar at times. i had started using avicalm with her food to see if that helps but it is only so so (she has stopped screaming some but is still aggressive) a lot of the time she will come off her cage and just sit on my knee or shoulder while im on the couch, but i can't really touch her, i can sometimes give head scratches but other times she wont let em touch her at all. i have started touch/target training but havent gotten to far, as i cant seem to really find a treat that she really enjoys, and if its too small she will go right for my fingers. she had bitten my fingers, arms, and face multiple times, even taking a chunk out of my finger nail. she has plenty of toys and space in her cage, her cage is open pretty much when ever some one is home, always has fresh food and clean water, and talks quite frequently. i just don't know what to do from here, she will step up but once she gets up she then clamps on and wont let go, i have started to get her to step up onto a small dowel but i would rather not have to use it but i just cant trust her not to bit. i have watched numerous videos from both this site and trainedparrot.com but none of them really seem to fit the kind of situation i am im, she not really nervous of my hand, because i can at times touch her, i don't think its cage aggression because it happens on and off the cage... I'm hoping that its a "puberty" thing she is just a few months shy of 2 years old i from what i read Senegals seem to mature at 4... so basically im lost, and im hoping to hear that im not the only one who this has happened to with their Senegals, and maybe what others have done in this situation, im running short on patience and love, sadly

Josh and Moya

[Michael]

Welcome to Senegal Parrot ownership

Here are some articles to get you started with your problem:

http://TrainedParrot.com/Taming
http://TrainedParrot.com/Treats
Senegal Parrot Information and FAQ
Senegal Parrot Biting and Aggression Issues
How To Overcome One Person Parrot Aggression
http://flyingparrotsinside.com

Oh and stop clipping the wings. It only makes it worse.

[Silentraven]

Welcome to Senegal Parrot ownership

Here are some articles to get you started with your problem:

http://TrainedParrot.com/Taming
http://TrainedParrot.com/Treats
Senegal Parrot Information and FAQ
Senegal Parrot Biting and Aggression Issues
How To Overcome One Person Parrot Aggression
http://flyingparrotsinside.com

Oh and stop clipping the wings. It only makes it worse.

Thanks for the links, i have already read most of these articles. I haven't clipped her feathers since about October or so and i was thinking about letting her grow them out and try to flight train her to let her get some of her energy out, but today she flew off her cage right into my face, and i feel if i don't clip her feathers, she will just fly to me and attack, leaving me with no safe zone in my own house.

[Michael]

But clipping the wings is irrelevant. You see whether the wings are clipped or not, the aggression is present. So it's a matter of ignoring it, training it out, watching the hormones, diet, etc. BTW what are you feeding her, in what amount, and how often?

If all Senegals are like mine, I'd say they have a strong sense for fear and take advantage of it the second they're given the chance. Kili will bite and terrorize anyone who is scared of her and yet she'll totally give in to anyone who exhibits some authority. She'll bully Truman and yet she'll be the first to flee the scene at the onset of something novel. Senegals may act tough but they aren't really. It's just a cover up for what chickens they are.

Mona may have some more suggestions as well.

[Silentraven]

i am feeding her a varietry of ecotrition, tropimix, and zupreem pellets; every morning in her food bowl. also i give her fresh pasta with pees, carrots, egg, papaya, and sometimes kiwi, once a day (mixed with her avicalm powder).

[Michael]

And does the food stay in the cage all day? And pretty much more than the parrot will finish eating?

[dorp]

now she charges from her cage, flys off the cage into my face and will bite very hard drawing blood every time. i have tried every thing i can think of but her aggression wont stop, its almost like she is bipolar at times.

!!!! That sounds so awful and terrifying. You should order one of those "Jason" masks to give yourself more protection and confidence while handling that demon bird. Also, maybe it will frighten the bird back into submission like Mike suggested.

[Silentraven]

And does the food stay in the cage all day? And pretty much more than the parrot will finish eating?

ok i see where your going, suggesting that more than enough food should not be kept in the cage at all times, but im not sure how this helps with a the aggression issue. and no there is only one bowl about 3/4 the way full. so what would be a good feeding routine/schedule?

[Michael]

http://TrainedParrot.com/Good_Behavior

A good/easy place to start is to take the food out of the cage for the 3-6 hours prior to taking the parrot out of the cage and putting it back into the cage to a meal when it's time to go back in. This provides enough hunger/motivation for basic training and to appreciate treats from you. Also, the parrot could be overweight and hormonal. Bringing total food down a bit can help solve some of the hormonal drive. One way of doing this is by reducing the quality of food rather than quantity. By feeding a bit more vegetables than pellets (for a 70-100% pellet fed parrot), it can actually dilute the diet by adding more water. This can sometimes be enough to return below the threshold of having so much supplemental nutrition that mating behavior is encouraged. Remember, birds don't attempt to reproduce unless food is abundant beyond their own nutritional needs. And if a parrot doesn't get into the reproductive mode, then the aggression that comes with defending nest sites is inhibited as well.

You should probably look into retaming your parrot, not clipping the wings, and managing the diet more carefully (both for training and to avoid this overfeeding issue).

http://TrainedParrot.com/Taming