I am new the forum which I just found today when searching for "Senegal biting" tips although I have enjoyed Michael's
Kili videos on U-tube for the past year. I met my (DNA tested) female Senegal, Verdi, almost a year ago when I visited the wonderful parrot rescue organization in Iowa where she had been taken by her prior owner. She was not an abused bird - she was very well socialized both by her former owner who just could no longer care for her and by the rescue folks who, amazingly, managed to give individual daily attention to all of the 40 - 50 birds under their care at any one time in a fabulous, partially free flight rescue facility. They warned me that Verdi did not tolerate other birds - that she was definitely imprinted on people - so my aviary of 4 budgies in aeparate room from her large cage is perfect to let her hear other birds but not be threatened by or compete with them for attention. She is a sweet and very smart bird who has chosen me as her person but does tolerate other people and new situations well. She communicates much of what she wants through speech but she does have biting issues at times. I've tried to observe cues that let me know when she will bite. It is interesting to see your classification of bites because I've basically divided her bites into three types: 1) mild, 2)hard, and 3) "blood draw". The mild bites fall into two catagories a)Playful and b)Warning. The playful bites are essentially what she would do to another bird - little nibbles that do not hurt at all. The Warning bites are just that - she is letting me know that if I don't stop doing whatever it is that elicited the warning bite, she is going to bite harder (usually a blood draw bite) next. Most of the "warning" bites seem to occur when I want her to go somewhere she does not (i.e. back into her cage because I need to leave for work or she needs to go to bed sooner than she wants to - when she is ready to go to bed she goes right in). I have found that in response to a warning bite, if I close my fist (i.e. do not provide her the opportunity to get her beak around my finger) that diffuses her agression. She tries to
grab the skin on the back of my hand but can't get a good purchase on it so after a couple of attempts she stops and essentially gives me a "you win" look and then she will follow commands and go where I want. Sometimes this doesn't work so I take her to the top of the cage or her Java Tree for a "time out". After 5 minutes or so she calms down and I can offer the back of my hand for her to "step up" which she does and I can then put her in the cage. When I am putting her on her perch in the cage, I alwasy make sure my hand is in a fist so she can't
grab an exposed finger as I withdraw my hand (I learned that the hard way). 2)
Hard bites usually are predictable. These occur when Verdi is in a bad "2 year old tantrum mood" and she takes on a stance that my husband calls "statue bird". She crouches down and sleeks her feathers and her eyes take on a "glassy" appearance. The best things to do when she is like this is let her have a "time out" until she takes on a normal stance on her own or try to distract her with something she likes: food or a toy. It is amazing to watch her melt from "statue bird" to "cuddly bird" - like flipping a switch. Finally there are the "blood draw" bites. These are usually in response to a startle (sometimes it's hard to figure out what startled her) or not heeding the "warning bite". So most of these can be avoided - the only ones ththat are unavoidable are the "unpredectible startle" bites. Fewer than 10 hours of sleep or noisy thunderstorms at night seem to make her more irritable and thus more likely to startle. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on these behaviors.