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Aggressive Senegal. Need advice!

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Aggressive Senegal. Need advice!

Postby SunnyBird » Sat Apr 23, 2022 10:03 pm

Please, help! We got a 4 y/o male Senegal. I was reading about them for weeks before bringing him home. Got a large cage with a nice perch on the roof. Got different types of food and so many toys. First two days I did not touch him. On the third day I started giving him treats through the cage and he took them every time. Later I tried to put him on the top of the cage. I was not sure how to transfer him, but he happily jumped on my finger and I was able to move him there. I was so happy! I though he started trusting me a bit. Unfortunately, when I tried to put him back in the cage he bit my finger. I blamed myself … thinking maybe I scared him somehow. I left him alone for a couple of days. Then he was introduced to my husband and I think he fell in love. He acts so different as soon as my husband walks inside the room. He is extremely friendly with him and wants to interact. My husband has no problem picking him up, he puts him on his shoulder, they whistle together. Today I made a plate with fruits and vegetables. I left it on our table and put him next to it. I was sitting far from him and was just watching him eat. He ate a bit and walked slowly towards me. He stopped near my arm for 15/20 sec and then bit me really hard. I panicked. I sanitized the wound and put him back in his cage (I use a wooden stick). What am I doing wrong??? Should I just leave him in the cage? Is there a possibility he likes my husband and does not want to interact with me?
SunnyBird
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
Flight: No

Re: Aggressive Senegal. Need advice!

Postby Pajarita » Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:51 am

Hi, Sunny and his humans, welcome to the forum.

I think you are expecting too much, too soon. Let me explain, male sennies can be VERY aggressive and, although they are small, they pack a powerful bite - and I know because I have one that made my life hell for years. Sweetpea was a special case because he had been not only fed wrong and kept at a human light schedule (which makes them hormonal, and that means aggressive) but he had also being kept in cage for eleven years without coming out precisely because of his aggression so, when he came to me, he pretty much hated all humanity. Yours is younger but you did not say anything about his background: what was and is his diet? was he kept clipped or for too many hours in a cage?
was he kept and is he now being kept at a human or a solar schedule? The reason I am asking these questions is that the answers will tell us what, exactly, is his problem.

Now, if I had to guess, I would say that he sounds as if he is overly hormonal and fixed on your husband and, if that is the case, it can be resolved. ALL birds need to be kept at a strict solar schedule with full exposure to dawn and dusk and cannot be free-fed any protein food - not doing this results in an aggressive bird which is, most likely, the reason why the previous owners no longer wanted him. So the very first thing you need to do is start with good husbandry (right light schedule, right diet, right housing, plenty of flying time, etc). Then you need to win him over but do not use your hand to move him (use a stick as you did when he bit you) and do not take him out of his cage (not even with a stick), simply open the door and let him decide what to do. Parrots are not only super intelligent (they actually use their brain the same way we do), they are very independent birds and usually dislike not being able to make their own decisions so just allow him to move around as he likes. If he is clipped, I STRONGLY recommend allowing his wings to grow back because clipped birds are stressed and anxious (they have been deprived of the only mode of transportation they have which is also their only predator-avoidance mechanism) and this often translates into biting (he can't fly away so he bites you to keep you away). So, like I said, just open his cage and, if he doesn't come out, it's OK, he eventually will. Spend as much time as you can during the day (parrot interactions times are after breakfast and after noon rest) in the same room with him but do not stare at him (predators do that and, because we have our eyes in front of our face, we look like predators), look at him out of the corner of your eye to see what he is doing. Talk, sing, dance and, every now and then, give him a treat (a piece of a nut, mine -I have two senegals- love cashews and walnuts) and, when he takes it, praise praise praise with 'Good boy' or whatever phrase you decide to use. When you offer him the stick, tell him to 'Step up' and, when he does, praise, praise, praise and give him a little reward - same thing when you ask him to 'Step down'. Praise goes a very long way with birds - so much so that I never actually train or reward my birds, I just use words of either praise or scold ('Bad bird').

If he is overly-hormonal, it will take months for him to calm down because you need to get rid of all the sexual hormones in his bloodstream and that takes time. Also, senegals are short-day breeders so, even he loses all his sexual hormones, he will start producing them again in the fall. But you need to do it because, although all birds get hormonal during their breeding season, a normally hormonal bird is not very aggressive. It's only when they have been producing sexual hormones for years without stop (which never, ever happens in the wild) that they become really aggressive.

You will need to be patient, very consistent with his daily schedule (nothing -and I do mean NOTHING- makes a bird more comfortable than having a never-changing daily schedule and routine) and be vigilant about his solar scheduled and diet but, if you do everything right (unfortunately, they are not like dogs or cats whose physical wellbeing does not depend on strict schedules or even diets so there is no leeway with parrots), he will become your friend (Sweetpea is now perching on my shoulder while I type this).
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: Aggressive Senegal. Need advice!

Postby SunnyBird » Sun Apr 24, 2022 10:51 am

Pajarita wrote:Hi, Sunny and his humans, welcome to the forum.



You will need to be patient, very consistent with his daily schedule (nothing -and I do mean NOTHING- makes a bird more comfortable than having a never-changing daily schedule and routine) and be vigilant about his solar scheduled and diet but, if you do everything right (unfortunately, they are not like dogs or cats whose physical wellbeing does not depend on strict schedules or even diets so there is no leeway with parrots), he will become your friend (Sweetpea is now perching on my shoulder while I type this).


Thank you SOOOO much for taking the time to answer.
So… the previous owner disappeared and left me with hundreds of questions that will never be answered. Not sure if he is scared I will ask to return him or he just does not want to deal with me and all my questions. All I know is that he was living with a guy for 4 years. He eats pellets that look like fruit. The owner told me he is super friendly and never mentioned any issues.

Since we don’t go to bed after the sunset I got a cage cover. So when the sun goes down I cover the cage. We wake up around 5:30 am and remove the cover. Let me know if that it’s the right thing to do.

His wings are clipped. I saw what you said and will definitely never do this to him again.

The reason I’m trying to interact with him is because he is constantly talking and moving his head from side to side (Google says it’s a sign he is asking for attention)… so I assumed he wants to get out. Since he is clipped I know he can’t just get out of his cage and tried to move him around. I stopped. My right hand and arm are so swollen and I don’t want to be hurt again. I move him to the roof of the cage from time to time (with a stick). I still give him treats with my hand through the cage. I will keep in mind that looking straight at him is not a good thing… I had no idea.
SunnyBird
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
Flight: No

Re: Aggressive Senegal. Need advice!

Postby Pajarita » Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:44 am

I would not put too much faith in what the previous owner said about him being 'friendly' although he might have been good with him (he is good with your husband so it might be that he is only used to men - but, again, that's no problem).

Now, please, please, please no fruity pellets. They are, without doubt, the worst pellets there are, full of crappy stuff - even sugar! I do not believe (over 25 years of research) that pellets are or ever will be the best dietary option for parrots (WAAAY too dry, inferior ingredients, most of them made with soy -which is not good for birds, too processed, etc), I feed my birds gloop and raw produce for breakfast and nuts for dinner (the little ones get budgie seed) but they also get supplements twice a week.

Solar schedule doesn't only mean from sunup to sundown, the bird needs to be exposed to dawn and dusk without any artificial light on. Lights should go on when the sun is already streaming into the room and off when the sun is halfway down to the horizon. See, the thing is that birds' pineal gland (master gland that sends 'orders' to the other glands) are activate by the different spectrum of light that happens during twilight so, if you don't expose the bird to it, the endocrine system has a real hard time keeping up with the seasons -which is what is supposed to happen for the bird to be healthy and comfortable. I don't know where you live but I am in NW Pennsylvania and I am turning the lights on at 8:15 am and off at 5 pm. As the days get longer, this schedule will change.
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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