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senegal diet/behaviour query

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senegal diet/behaviour query

Postby stevesjk » Fri Feb 10, 2017 7:22 am

Thanks to some advice im changing my senegak parrot's diet a little as it looked like he had too much protein in it. This morning he had fresh fruit (which i slightly cheated on by supplimenting with a nutriberry because when i let him out he seemed extra nippy which normally suggests hunger) later this afternoon I'll give a small amount of pellets and seed, then tonight ill provide fresh veg, anyone feeding their parrot a similar diet?

....Also, sorry to ask a behaviour question in this section but i wondered how people remove a nippy parrot off something it shouldnt be on? Mine bites hard if i remove him from something like a piece of furniture he shouldnt be on. I just stay calm and kind of ignore the bite. Secondly do you find your parrot is more likely to be nippy in the morning? Thanks for reading
stevesjk
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 220
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal parrot budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: senegal diet/behaviour query

Postby Pajarita » Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:36 am

I don't feed my birds pellets and I don't give them veggies at night only in the morning because they are hungriest then and it's the best time of the day to get them to eat enough produce - and also because produce is digested too fast so, by feeding the protein food at night, I keep them fuller longer during the long night when they don't eat.

I don't believe in the very often given advice of not showing you were hurt when the bird bites you. I think it's completely counterproductive (I don't understand what this is trying to prove... that humans are immune to pain? How would that teach the parrot not to do it?). I have a couple of birds that would bite my hand if I moved them from one point to another but I use a stick with them -problem solved!
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: senegal diet/behaviour query

Postby stevesjk » Fri Feb 10, 2017 12:33 pm

Since reading this forum im going to show pain more to the parrot, my parrot seems to have two types of bites, the one where where he wants to play but nips too hard but there is the one where he just blatantly tries to hurt me, its the latter im reluctant to show pain to because i feel like its what he wants.
stevesjk
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 220
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal parrot budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: senegal diet/behaviour query

Postby Pajarita » Sat Feb 11, 2017 2:38 pm

No, parrots do not enjoy causing pain. Quite the contrary, they are extremely empathetic to our pain, sadness, depression, tears, etc. I once took care of a CAG (her name was Erika) for many moths while her owners got back on their feet and she would fly down to my shoulder and ask me in the softest voice: "You OK, sweetheart? You OK?" whenever another parrot would bite me. And my own Sophie CAG flies to my shoulder and quickly kisses my cheek when I scream in pain (always because of the amazons :D ) Parrots only bite when they are defending/protecting their mate/nest/babies or when they learn that this is the only way to get their point across BUT, like all other animals, they also bite when they are in pain and a parrot that is overly hormonal is also usually in pain.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: senegal diet/behaviour query

Postby stevesjk » Sat Feb 11, 2017 5:10 pm

Yes when he bites i always ask myself why? Three types of bites ive identified, the bite when im removing him from chewing a wire or something that could be harmful to him, thats the 'i want my own way' bite then theres the lunge bite, this will be caused through fear, i dont believe its hormones because hes done it since 12 weeks old, its totally random and i believe caused by poor hand rearing or not hand reared at all. As i said before i dont think he was hand reared or if he was they did a bloody bad job of it and i have had it out witg the breeder over the phone. The third type of bite is when im sitting by a visitor and hes on my finger, out of the blue he can give me a nasty bite. He's basically trying to get me out of harms way as he sees the person as a threat and its his way of getting me to 'fly away' with him.

Now regards his hormones, can things be reversed with better diet and the solar schedule or is it more of a damage limitations exercise and just stopping things get worse?
stevesjk
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 220
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal parrot budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: senegal diet/behaviour query

Postby Pajarita » Sun Feb 12, 2017 2:23 pm

Yes, it most definitely can be reversed! The only thing is that, the longer the bird has been under a human schedule, the longer it takes for the endocrine system to go back on track. But, if one is patient and persists on keeping the solar schedule and switching the diet (less protein during the winter and more during the spring and summer), it does happen. The longest it took for me was a show lovebird female which had been kept at a human light schedule and bred for nine years - she took 4 entire seasons! She had become a chronic layer (very common in the smaller granivore species because they use food availability as their main trigger) and it was a gradual thing but it did take an entire year before she was perfectly in tune with the seasons.

Another member and I were talking about a 'resetting' system that we had both seen recommended with birds that are overly hormonal where the bird is kept under constant bright light for a minimum of 36 hours but, needless to say, I would never recommend such a thing! I guess it works the same way Lupron does. It creates such a surge of hormonal production that the body, sensing something is very wrong, shuts down production altogether. But, in my mind, making something worse so it comes to an abrupt stop is not the way to go. I always advocate doing things the way nature 'prescribed' and going slow instead of fast UNLESS it's a matter of life and death.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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