Hi guys,
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 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.
Steve