Senegal parrot are good,,...!!

[Gabrial]

Hello everyone,,,

I've got a 3 year old senegal parrot named sol. Just looking for some opinions/advice really. I bought him as 'hand reared, cuddly tame' from a breeder over the internet for £400 back in 2014 anyway to cut a long story short he was mobdro.bio/ luckypatcher.tips/ www.kodi.bio/ anything but and in my humble opinion he was parent reared as he looked like he never seen a human before and viciously bit anyone who approached and i was basically conned to within an inch of my lol.

Anyway 3 years later after spending 12 hour days with the bird as i work from home im finally making big progress as he now flies to me for scratches, affectionately kisses me and steps up. He actually now to the naked eye resembles somewhat a hand reared bird and he has gone from a vicious biter to a bit nippy.

I just wondered what you lot do when your parrot bites? I have changed my approach from totally ignoring it to now looking him in the eye and telling him firmly 'No!" because i want no secrets between us, in the wild if he annoyed his partner then the partner would let him know. 10 seconds later the bite is forgotten and i go back to scratching him and sweet talking him.

He comes on my shoulder and gives me kisses but all of a sudden he can nip my ear out of the blue, what should be my reaction when he does this? Ive read a few books on them and im fully aware how much they thrive on drama hence most parrot people advise no reaction to negative behaviours whatsoever. Im bonded so tightly with him now that i only want to use positive reinforcement just with a firm no if he steps out of line, would you agree with this approach?

Lastly i just wanted to say i admitt i used to get quite frustrated but since ive been reading about parrots and seeing things from sol's perspective ive been amazed at how he responds to patients and also how better i feel when i dont take his actions personally. the second you show frustration these little guys feel it.... Its true when they say they are basically our mirror.

Anyway sorry about the long post and if you got this far thanks for reading.

[Pajarita]

Hi, Gabrial and Sol and welcome to the forum! And before anything else: triple kudos to you for sticking with the mean baby and making it work! One can't believe a breeder the same way that one cannot believe a salesman trying to place a product. Plus, no bird lover breeds parrots. It just doesn't happen because, if you love them, you don't breed them for the pet trade.

Yep, you got it right! Patience and looking at things from their perspective is half the answer. The other half is husbandry and that might be the reason why he is still a bit nippy. I say this because you mention spending 12 hours a day with him when, during the winter, there are not 12 hours of daylight so you must be keeping him at a human light schedule (artifical lights on before the sun is all out in the sky or after the sun is halfway down to the horizon). Doing this messes up their endocrine system and produce sexual hormones all year round, year after year (which NEVER EVER happens in the wild). The other thing is diet: you can't free-freed protein because it makes them hormonal and, in the long run, it will destroy his liver and kidneys and shorten his lifespan. Now, I don't know if you are free-feeding or not, I am just mentioning this because light and protein are the two main reasons for parrots 'misbehaving' (screams, bites, plucking, etc).

The thing with senegals, especially males, is that they do bond VERY deeply with their humans but the male of the species tends to be a bit aggressive so you need to be extra careful with them when it comes to protein intake and light schedule because although this messes up ALL parrots, if you do it to, say, a cockatiel, it's not the same as if you do it to a senegal. A cockatiel might end up biting but it will take A LOT for this to happen and it won't really hurt that much while a male senegal is like a little pitbull and doesn't only bite real hard, it won't let go! I've had my Sweetpea hanging from my right eyebrow, with blood running down my face and me pulling his body away from my face with both hands and I could not make him let go - hence my warning!

[xpacenine]

Senegal parrots can be very sweet, wanting nothing more than to sit on your shoulder all day. ... With a lifespan of over 30 years, the Senegal Parrot is a good pet for the intermediate bird owner. Senegals can become nippy if they don't get their way, so they may not make the ideal child's pet.

[Pajarita]

Senegals live more than just 30 years and, in all honesty, I do not think that any parrot is good for a child and it's not on only because of their biting, it's because their care is way too complex for a child.