Senegal biting

[thisquietmind]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum and need some information/advice.

My Senegal, George, is 1 1/2 yrs old and has been a total sweetheart up until a couple days ago. I'm hoping his new behavior is a result of spring and hormones but I'm unsure. Yesterday I had him out with me and everything was fine. I had my hand behind my head and he came up and bit it pretty hard. When he starts to get nippy, I put him back in his cage and he goes without a fight pretty much. But this time when I reached to pick him up, he bit my finger and drew blood. And these bites don't seem to be 'warning' bites. He latches on, starts to grind his beak deeper and doesn't let go.

I got him back in his cage and gave him a couple hrs to calm down but had the same behavior when I let him out. When I walk by the cage he takes a stance like he wants to attack, and pins his eyes. This morning I was hoping a new day would be better but it seems worse. Our morning routine involves me preparing their food and the first thing he does is eat. This morning his eyes were wild looking and he had them constantly pinned and would hold his wings a couple inches away from his body and he still had very aggressive behavior towards me. And by the time I had left for work he hadn't touched his food.

I'm confused and worried and my feelings are a bit hurt because we had such a great and trusting relationship.

Any advice? And can someone tell me what the tell-tale signs are for the hormonal season and how long they last? Thanks so much in advance!

[kaylayuh]

It sounds like your Senegal may be going through puberty. Hallmarks of puberty in birds are nipping/biting, height and dominance issues, sexual behaviors, plumage changes, singing/talking and terrotoriality. In the wild, this behavior starts when the bird stops acting like a baby and is looking for its place in the flock. If no one is clearly dominant, the bird will take his place at the top.

Generally, the only way to stop this behavior is to reassert your dominance as the flock leader. The bird needs to know his boundaries and what behaviors are acceptable. Clearly, biting is not an acceptable behavior and should be punished. A stern "no" and being placed back in the cage will show the bird that this behavior is unacceptable and will result in a time out.

Another common tip to deal with the height and dominance issue is to not allow a bird to perch on your shoulder. Because the bird is at eye level, it has a feeling of being either dominant to you or your equal. Aside from that, the face is a very sensitive to bites and a shoulder allows greater access to eyes, lips, the nose and ears.

There's really nothing you can do to stop puberty, but you can continue to work with and continue to train the bird. Unfortunately, owning a bird can sometimes result in a loss of skin/blood, but continued work with the bird should stop these issues. According to most sources, it's very rare when a properly socialized bird that has continuous handling and a clear set of boundaries won't realize what behavior is acceptable.

If it helps, I recently adopted a green cheek conure that is going through the early stages of puberty. I've never had to deal with a bird going through puberty before and the behavior was shocking to me. After a couple of days of his being here, I noticed he was trying to assert his dominance in the flock. He also had a habit of masturbating with a particular toy. I removed the toy from his cage so that the masturbation wasn't being encouraged. He still bites occasionally, but he understands that biting will result in him being put in his cage for a time out and he doesn't get to hang out with me.

[thisquietmind]

Thanks for the advice! I know I'm probably overreacting, but I'm worried I won't get the same relationship back that I had with him. I know I don't want to give alot of attention to the bites and try to downplay my reaction as much as possible, but it's very difficult when he won't let go and I have to shake my hand to aid in gettin him off.

I want to give him his space but still let him out, but every time I let him out it's the same aggressiveness to get him back inside. But I also don't want to keep him locked in his cage all the time.

How long does this behavior usually last? And do things eventually go back to normal?

[kaylayuh]

I find not reacting to the biting pretty much impossible. My GCC got my lip yesterday when I was on the phone and I couldn't help but scream a bit. It's a natural reaction. I wouldn't say screaming is good, but a stern no in a firm voice isn't bad. Make sure you're looking directly at the bird, though, so you're both positive that you mean business and the no is directed at him.

I don't know how long this phase lasts. Some people have said it lasts longer than others. Some people don't notice a change in their birds at all. Other people have said that they never get their old relationship back with their bird, but I think those people don't put really put in the work to deal with the bird. My best guess would be that the bird's behavior will return to normal when he realizes that the way he's acting now doesn't get desired results and when the hormones subside a bit.

This is my first time going through this, too, so hopefully someone will be able to answer you a bit more definitively. My budgies haven't gone through this stage yet, or if they did, I didn't notice it. They've always been distressed by handling and a bit nippy, though, so it's probably a better bet that I just haven't noticed it.

[samu]

im hoping too that someone that has delt with this before answers.
i have a senegal that soon will be 1 year... i know that he will be a "teenager" in a while, and i wonder how long he will be like that.
i have just started target training and its going well.

[Lokums]

Hi, My senegal is barely 4 months old so I can't comment on a senegal in particular. But I do have a 9 year old B&G.

One thing I did to 'deal' with his hormonal issues. I tried my darndest to make it clear I wasn't afraid of him. When he would get bitey, I would shove my thumb under my fingers and wrap my fingers around like a fist. That way he can't get my thumb, or my fingers. Then I would bend my wrist, hand down, like I was showing someone a nice watch I had on. I would present the back of hand to him without straightening my wrist or my fingers, and keep the thumb tucked. Even his big beak couldn't easily grip the skin on the back of my hand with it tightened (to help with that, I would keep moving my hand ever so slightly, like quarter of an inch, side to side, because given enough time, he could have grabbed a chunk of skin).

I had to make sure the back of the hand stayed in front of his beak or he could grab the side of my hand. Very quickly he learned that attempting to bite had zero effect. I could tell when he realized that because he would lean back, open his beak at me and stop trying to bite. Then I would move my hand down (thumb and fingers still tucked, back of hand up towards his beak) and have him step up, whether he wanted to or not. Eventually he would either step up (most of the time) or fly away. Either way he got the point that he isn't in charge (at least I think so). This I learned from a friend that had 12 birds of varying types.

Another thing I would do is lay my hand on his beak/nostril area. This was harder because it left my fingers open. But, it was nicely effective. I would hold my fingers and thumb together (like if you were tell someone to STOP), and hold them over his head and slowly move them closer. He would of course try to bite, I would move just far enough to get out of his range, and then move back in after the lunge. Generally I was then able to get my hand on the top of his beak, all the while telling him 'No Bite'. They can't move around to the side of your hand quick enough to get a hold of something, and with your hand on their beak they have a hard time moving backwards. It is kind of a passive way of getting physical control, without actually holding them. I do something similar when scolding my dogs, but rather put my finger on the top of their snout. The breeder of my Senegal does the same thing for her macaws.

I think it is important to not ignore the behavior, they are attempting to assert dominance, and if they are able to get you to do what they want, they may continue the behavior even later. Loki isn't a caged bird so I can't comment on what do if he is showing that inside the cage. But I would use the cage as a punishment, which I think is double bad for him because he is never inside of it normally. There will be blood sometimes, I gotta think that any long term bird owner has bled, sometimes you gotta just suck it up.

If he does get ahold of me I think shove my hand up into his chest rather than try to jerk away. He has always found that bit of reaction uncomfortable, it takes him off balance and his head doesn't really bend that way so he lets go. If you can get him to let go, any damage won't be as bad (hopefully). And yes it hurts, and goes against instinct, but really will help. Also if he grabs a finger, if you are quick enough you can grab the bottom beak with your thumb and "roll" your finger into his mouth, that way he can't grab it with the top beak and he may let go. This is harder to pull off and not always successful, but in a last ditch effort, not a bad way to go.

Of course, what worked for me, may not be effective for your birds, but don't give up trying! As young as your bird is, just keep working with them and there shouldn't be any lasting issues.

Mike