Why Is Our Senegal Picking On Me??!

[PeekaBoo]

Hi, I'm new to this forum so apologise if this has been discussed before but I'm at a loss as to know what to do and scratching my head trying to figure it out!

We have had our female Senegal for just over 3 weeks. She's 12 and is semi tame. For some reason she doesn't like being touched with fingers but happy to be stroked with a little toy. She was like this with her previous owners.

To begin with, it seemed as though she had a preference for me (mum). She would start to 'dance' and react when I was in the room and happily step up onto my arm. I'm at home most of the day so figured this would help with our bond. Myself and my husband both take care of her, admittedly he's the one that cleans her cage but I also change her water, her food and give her little treats etc.

About a week in, and I got my first bite off her. Not hard but just a fairly firm pinch. Not sure of what I was doing now, I think I was just putting her back onto her cage so figured she was annoyed at me for putting her down.

We got to the second week and I got her to step up on my arm to get her away from my sons homework before she chewed it and she full on attacked my arm, 3 really hard bites that went through two layers of clothing and REALLY hurt. She looked like she really wanted to hurt me too! Other times I'll just let her step up on me and stand there to see what she'll do and she still bites.

Here's the puzzling thing - she will fly down to perch on the back of a dining chair or whatever, when I'm standing near and does the funny crouching, looking like she wants to fly to me so I put my arm out, she steps on and walks up to perch on my shoulder and sits happily for a bit. Then she starts biting at my clothes. Today she bit my neck while she was on my shoulder! Painful. The kids had left some choccy biscuits on the table which she then wandered down to and tried to get at so I had her get onto my forearm and she proceeded to sink her beak into the back of my hand and try to do some damage!

So, she will act as if she wants to be with me then bite me for....what reason?? I try not to seem nervous with her, thinking she probably senses it but I guess maybe it's not working! I wish I could get into her little birdy brain and find out why she picks on me as, so far, she hasn't bitten my husband. I was wondering if anyone who understands their Senegal better than I do ours could shed some light on this for me or come up with some suggestions as to why she might do it?

Thanks in advance! #onedesperatesenegalowner#

[marie83]

Don't take it personally, she is not picking on you, its just what living with a new parrot is like- particularly an older one that has been used to living in a certain way. She may just have bad habits from her old home because of how her previous owners reacted to her, plus from what I understand of sennies they can be a bit headstrong for want of a better word.

The good news is you can turn things around with time, patience and training. There is a lot of reading to do but a really good place to start is Michaels trained parrot blog (theres links at the top and bottom of each forum page)- when I first joined the forum I read every single article but there is a site index so you can read the articles that seem most relevant first.

In the meantime concentrate on learning what your bird is telling you- its hard to start with but keep watching and you will soon learn what differences there are in accordance to how the feathers sit, her body posture, eyes and noises she makes in relation to her mood- just be aware these can change in seconds. This will help you learn how to avoid bites, try not to react to any bites she does give you, don't show her fear or act nervously around her and most definitely don't punish her in any way.
If it will help prevent you getting nervous try wearing long sleeves and high collared tops whilst you handle her for the time being. Always reward her in some way for good behaviour such as going back in the cage. I don't usually reward with food treats for stepping up but I do in the first few weeks as I feel it helps establish co-operation and helps bonding.

Chewing is also a natural behaviour so she probably isn't setting out to "bite" your clothes, just chew like nature intended so don't wear stuff you don't want getting destroyed- in the future you'll be able to discourage her and encourage chewing on more appropriate items but I wouldn't make it your priority for now.

All parrots will choose a favourite person, its one of those things and again its nothing you should take personally. Senegals tend to be less social than other species though and more one person birds, they can be quite jealous of someone who they may view as competition for their chosen mate. As you can see from Michaels Senegal Kili its possible to overcome this with training and loads of positive experiences. Unfortunately birds don't really care who changes the water, cleans the cage etc as that doesn't establish bonds, time spend with the bird, scratches (even with a toy) and training will.

Keep coming back and asking questions and updating us on how things are going, not all of us agree with each other here so you may get a few different opinions but everyone here is helpful

[PeekaBoo]

Thanks for your reply Marie.

Unfortunately, Boo never gives me any signals that she's about to bite hard, other than maybe chewing on my jumper beforehand. (Perhaps that's a signal then!) I'm aware of eye-pinning and raised feathers but she'll seem quite content then, BAM! She hasn't drawn blood yet luckily, just really pinched hard and I have tons of little bruises all over my forearm! I always wear long sleeves, usually a double layer, so never bare skin although I did unavoidably have a bare arm once when she bit and it brought tears to my eyes!

I have wondered if we just won't have an up-close-and-personal kind of relationship which is fine with me, if she'd rather just sit near me without contact that's fine. She does seem to send mixed signals though. Yesterday I walked into the kitchen and she flew up behind me and landed on my shoulder. Don't get it!

I will keep trying to understand our funny little bird and also start trying some basic training to see if that helps. Thanks again!

[Pajarita]

LOL - She is been a 'regular' sennie. Sennies displays are not like amazons, cockatoos, grays, etc and, in most cases, they don't show you before-hand that they are going to bite you (and they are bitey little things). Mine is a complete sweetheart with me, never, ever bites and I can do anything with her but she would fly over to my husband's shoulders and bite him just for been to close to me (he NEVER touches me when she is on me because he knows what will happen if he does -LOL). She was given to me because she used to attack her previous owner's wife... it's the way they are.

Like Marie said, a lot can be achieved through target training and patience but they are not the easiest parrots and, at 12 years of age, she is at that age when they are the most difficult -especially if they have been kept at a human light schedule instead of a solar one (sexual hormones always bring aggression) so I suggest you start training her at the same time you put her to a strict solar schedule (if she is not already on it) and reduce her protein intake during the winter (high protein also brings on hormonal surges).

[PeekaBoo]

Hi Pajarita, thanks for your reply. You are lucky with your sennie. I'd love to have that with Boo.

Boo now has an avian sun lamp above her cage which goes on at 7am and switches off at 6pm. I hope that's long enough?

I will speak to my husband about her diet and keep in mind about too much protein. Just this last week she's been having Harrisons High Potency fine pellets to try to boost her up a bit where she plucked her feathers out before we got her. She also has different fruits and fresh veggies daily.

She's seemed to be seeking me out this week, flying on to my shoulder if I've gone into the kitchen - I'm trying to remember to close the door to stop her flying in there when I'm cooking! Last night I was writing out my daughters party invitations and she came and sat next to me, then wandered down to the table to be tickled with the pen. When I moved to the other room, she quickly followed, edging her way along the back of the sofa then flew to my shoulder. I'm still too nervous to have on my arm again as I anticipate getting a bite. Baby steps I suppose. She does make me laugh though!

[Wayne361]

Not sure if you have started training the bird yet but will be a good idea. Training will increase your bond and take away from the time the bird wants/is able to bite you. Thus you are spending time interacting with bird in a situation where you shouldnt sustain any bites due to situation. Hopefully this will fade the behaviour over time, as well as provide stronger bond. Best to avoid bites before they present themselves. If biting persists I would suggest going back to square one, as if bird is not tamed. Micheal has a blog piece where he targets through cage bars and works from there.

Hope this helps,

Wayne

[GreenWing]

First, your sennie is adorable.

Second, agree with the other posts. My first parrot was a sennie and I loved her so much, she was the most awesome bird and was my constant companion. Senegals remain my favorite of all parrots, they're just awesome -- but sennies TEST in seeing what they can get away with -- so of course my sennie gave me some bad bites. They pack a lot of bite for their size so you have my sympathy!

That said, don't despair as much of this can be remedied. Making sure your sennie is getting adequate sleep, getting enough nutrients, and has plenty of toys to shred is a start. Get a clicker and start target training. When your sennie bites do your very best to not react. Praise her good behaviors and make a big deal with a loud "Good bird!" When she bites say nothing and then turn your back on her for a few moments, turning back slightly for quick glances to look at her but keep your back to her. My sennie would do this to me when angry at me and it works with them, not to mention a bird professional I know swears by it -- it's worth a try.

Senegals are intelligent birds and they really respond to praise when trick training. So while your sennie tries to test you, win the game by testing her in giving her activities to feel confident about.

[Pajarita]

I don't agree with lamps on top of their cages. I personally know of two birds that went blind because of them (the manufacturers will deny it but there are no 'avian' lamps, they were all made for reptiles which have completely different eyes). I use full spectrum and UV in the ceiling fixtures which get turned on after the sky is lit and off when the sun begins to set. But a bird light schedule is not only a matter of quality of light, it's also the number of lighthours they are exposed to and whether they are or not, exposed to twilight. Think of the birds in the trees and the chickens: they wake up with dawn and go to sleep with dusk and this is what you need to do to prevent them from producing sexual hormones all year round (which birds are not supposed to do) and becoming sexually frustrated (normones = aggression).

As to my 'luck', let me tell you that it took me over 3 years for my male senegal to stop attacking me (and I am talking him flying at my face to bite me several times every single day) and 2 more for him to become friendly... but hens are easier and yours doesn't sound as if she was abused as Sweetpea was, she just sounds a bit distrustful, something you can easily overcome with patience and persistence.