You should observe your bird carefully to learn her particular signs of an impending bite. A bird may bite when she is tired, stressed, injured, or otherwise ill. Birds need approximately 12 hours of quiet, undisturbed darkness to be fully rested. Your best plan will be to gently wrap the bird in a towel to avoid being bitten. Birds instinctively hide signs of illness, so any change in personality including becoming nippy may indicate illness.
Many birds can be territorial of their cage, playstand, or even their favorite person. If your bird has become territorial of her cage and tries to bite whenever you attempt to take her off, you may have to dedicate some time to training. The bird will usually respond much better after some time spent in an unfamiliar room without her cage or play area where you can work with her. If your bird has become territorial of you, she will show that by attempting to bite either you or a rival for your attention.
In this case it is best to not allow your bird on your shoulder. Birds can quickly bite through ear lobes, and cause permanent damage to the face, neck and head. A territorial bird will need someone with a lot of patience to work with her. A final common reason for biting and general aggressiveness is hormones brought on by the breeding season. Amazons and Cockatoos tend to be affected by hormonal changes the most. A vet or a breeder will be able to identify signs of hormonal behavior for you.
Now that we know some reasons that birds may bite, we can take actions to avoid being bitten. Leaving hormonal, over-stimulated, stressed, ill, or fearful birds alone will help greatly.
Positive Reinforcement is "reinforcing the behaviors that you do want". What behavior do I want? I want Bailey to see me as an ally. I want him to look at me with soft round eyes and I want him to be gentle in my presence. In other words, if I want to modify the behavior the first thing that I need to do is make a list of the things that I DO want rather than focusing on what I don't want. Then, I need to come up with a plan to reinforce the behaviors that I do want What is the first step in that plan?
For Bailey, I took out a ladder and asked him to step up on it. I often step Bailey up on a ladder to take him to places that he wants to go I know he wants out of the bird room so I know that his behaviors will be reinforced by the simple action of removing him from the bird room.
So, the first step was: Ask Bailey to step up It's an important behavior that needs to be reinforced, reinforced, reinforced. Because it is a gentle, cooperative behavior. Bailey did step up gently on the ladder. I was either lucky that day OR and I believe this because he had a positive association with stepping up on the ladder over days and years of work with him, the simple act of stepping on the ladder mitigated his aggressive tendencies. Once Bailey was on the ladder, I took him out of the room Second question: What behaviors do I want to reinforce now he Bailey is out of the bird room?
If he is gentle and his eyes are round and soft, that is half the battle. He already likes my husband but I want him to be attentive and gentle when he is with me. I also don't want him to fly away. In the past, out of the blue, this bird has taken a good look at me, let out a crazy scream and flown across the room to a high perch. This is a behavior that signals insecurity and with Bailey, it happens unexpectedly.
How do I reinforce gentle, cooperative interactions with Bailey? You can reinforce a wave. You can reinforce a turnaround.
Bailey likes to be target flown. He likes to fly back and forth between the backs of the chairs. I cue, he flies, I give him a treat He gets lots of treats. He morphs into a calm, relaxed demeanor and Senegals are emotional gremlins but in my experience, those emotions are transitive. My hen will throw little "snit fits" and the next minute, completely forget about it. Once the emotion is over, it is over. That's about it. I didn't escalate the aggressive scenario and instead, I reinforced a calm, cooperative scenario and in time This is not a quick fix solution.
It is always a process. I have not eliminated the problem behavior and there is always the chance that it will morph into something new - which can either be highly acceptable behavior or highly annoying Where to begin. Here's my take on Senegal Biting. If I approach Kili from behind or when she is busy playing with something, the first thing she will do is swing around with open beak aimed right at my hand. I'm not truly sure if I manage to pull out every time or if she terminates the bite before making skin contact, but I do know I don't want my fingers there to find out.
However, this does not necessarily indicate that she is aggressive or will keep biting. Often times she can be really sweet to someone after this but she'll bite first to test them.
When people are tough and overcome the initial attempt to bite, Kili will not continue to bite. Also I've noticed that once Kili is done biting or trying to bite someone she will usually not bite them anymore for the remainder of the interaction session.
This is why I consider the preemptive bite a bluff as well because it does not signal that she is aggressive toward the person but is often more of a test. If the preemptive bite can be dodged, the parrot is still satisfied and will continue non-biting interaction beyond this point. Unfortunately many people get frightened away by the initial test bite and don't experience the mellow non biting bird beyond that point. Definitely do not back down, jerk your hand completely away, or leave.
That is what the parrot is trying to accomplish and if it succeeds, you have inadvertently negatively reinforced preemptive biting.
The Nip or Squeeze - Sometimes the Senegal Parrot wants something or doesn't want something and will nip to make this known. Often, rather than nip, the parrot will take a finger in its beak and give it a squeeze without going too hard. These are two ways the parrot tries to communicate it's displeasure with some result. This can best be avoided by ignoring the nips and not rewarding them with what the parrot wants.
This way the parrot learns that nipping does nothing and it should reduce nippiness. Using a distraction can help stop the nip as well. The Defensive Bite - This can result from touching the parrot where it does not want to be touched, taking away something, or getting into its territory. This kind of bite is purely out of self defense and is best avoided by not infringing upon the parrot's territory so abruptly.
The best way to overcome defensive biting is by systematic desensitization through positive reinforcement. Rather than just trying to grab the parrot's wings, start with having hands close to bird, then a small touch to wing, then cupping wing in hand, then opening slightly, then opening more, etc while progressively rewarding each step.
This can take anywhere from 5 minutes to forever depending on how defensive the parrot is and how unpleasant what you are doing is. The Accidental Bite - For me, this is generally the only serious kind of bite I have ever received from my Senegal Parrot. Kili never bites me on purpose but sometimes what happens is that she doesn't realize it's me. This can be because she isn't paying attention, because of a scary context me taking her out in presence of groomer , or because something happens too quickly.
The best way to avoid the accidental bite is to go slower and be more deliberate. If you want the parrot to step up, rather than flying your hand in full blast at your parrot and suddenly asking step up, open your hand like a perch and bring it toward the bird at a steady pace while saying step up before your hand has even reached it.
This way the bird already knows you just want a step up rather than grabbing it or doing something unpleasant. Never make sudden motions toward the bird even if you are the favorite person because instinct will kick in quicker than rational thought. Displaced Aggression - Sometimes a parrot will bite the nearest thing you when something else is scaring it. If you grab a parrot and carry it over to something highly aversive like that broom it could bite you because it wants to get out of your grip to get away from the broom.
To avoid displaced aggression don't be in close proximity of your bird if something aversive is nearby or going on. Try to avoid having the aversive around if you are in contact with the bird. Never be the originator of the aversive and do not develop an association between yourself and an aversive.
Expected Bite - It often seems that if you expect to get bit you do, as a self fulfilled prophecy. If you are nervous, the parrot can sense that something is not right and will also be nervous.
The best ways to reduced expected bites is to work on yourself so that you do not expect or do not fear a bite. A good way to do this is to use some kind of barrier between yourself and bird so that it is impossible for the bird to harm you.
For instance instead of stepping onto your hand, you can have the bird step onto a perch or wear a glove. This way you can be more confident and avoid making tension with the bird because of your own fear. As you probably know, I do not have much problem with Kili biting me but Kathleen was often the victim of Kili's aggression. Here are some things we've done to reduce biting and make it so that Kathleen can handle the bird: 1 Positive reinforcement based target Training to step up 2 Having her own bird to train and learn about bird handling 3 Building confidence handling birds by handling other often bigger birds at the bird store 4 Not clipping and letting the bird fly reduces fear based bites cause it can fly away 5 Recall training bird to fly A to B between people for treats 6 Cuing parrot to perform known tricks for standard food reinforcement 7 Taking parrot on outings, socializing, and handling 8 Providing best treats, meals, and being the one to take in and out of cage 9 Empowering parrot to make choices or only asking parrot to do something you already know it wants to do Since Kili prefers to be with me, it is hard for Kathleen to reward Kili with attention or social interaction.
However, there have been several occasions where I left Kili with Kathleen at her parent's house and everyone else was less familiar to Kili than Kathleen. So guess who she flew to and hung around the most when I was gone? These kind of friendships through common enemies help build trust and interaction with the parrot. Sometimes you have to deprive interaction between the parrot and favorite person in order for it to give the additional person a chance. This is why, for the last few weeks only Kathleen takes Kili in and out of the cage to see me.
If Kili wants to see me, she must not bite Kathleen first. While getting taken out by Kathleen may be undesirable, spending time with me is, so Kili is learning not to bite Kathleen in order to get to be with me. Also, I've been having Kathleen give Kili all of her meals. In the evenings Kili is usually out training till 10PM at which point she gets put away and is fed veggies.
That is the absolute safest time for Kathleen to handle Kili and not get bit. If Kathleen fills Kili's food bowl up, she can walk up to Kili holding the bowl, ask her to step up, and put her away in cage without the least problem.
We've been expanding this by having Kathleen do other meals and step up training for extra special treats. We recently realized that Kili likes banana she used to hate it so Kathleen put Kili away in her cage and reached in with her bare hand to have Kili step up for rewards of banana. Hand-raised and well-socialized Senegal Parrots are generally affectionate and playful, and bond well with their owners. On the other hand, wild-caught or poorly socialized Senegal Parrots tend to be skittish and frightened of humans.
Senegals are fun little parrots with diverse personalities. While some are quite shy, others are more on the bold side - they can even be bullies, potentially pushing around larger parrots to get their way. Senegal Parrots are generally one-person birds, and are usually very affectionate with their favorite person.
They love a lot of interaction and like to be in the middle of things. Most are content to just hang out in the middle of the action. The Senegal Parrots are very sensitive to changes in their environment. Loud sounds easily frighten them.
They don't like noisy areas and don't do well in chaotic environments. They are fine with children, as long as they are generally well-behaved and calm, and have been taught appropriate handling techniques. There is a general difference between the males and the females with the males being reported as being a bit more bold and aggressive. However each parrot is different. In most cases, what really counts is the level of socialization a parrot received both in its early years as well as ongoing as adults.
In general terms, however, they can make good apartment birds as noise is rarely a problem. In the wild, on the other hand, flocks of these social parrots are often heard chattering continuously, with a range of whistling and squawking calls.
Senegal parrots do learn to mimic, but are generally more adept at sounds than clear speech. The sounds they typically pick up may be the phone ringing, whistling, microwave beeps, smoke alarms and barking. They will learn to imitate the natural calls of other birds in the house or outside with ease.
Many learn to say a few words quite easily, but Senegal Parrots tend not to be huge talker and speak rather slowly and in a limited fashion - often with a high squeaky voice. However, some of them develop quite an extensive vocabulary and phrases. Most will develop an understanding of several common phrases like "step up". Biting, feather plucking and screaming are all common behavior problems.
The best solution to preventing or eliminating these behaviors is to ensure that your Senegal Parrot has plenty of space, lots of toys and gets plenty of attention. The source of just about all behavioral problems is frustration, boredom and loneliness. These social parrots need daily stimulation both inside and outside of the cage. Any parrot that spends most of its day in a poorly furnished, small cage without anything to do and little interaction is likely to develop behavioral problems.
Bird training is the key to a happy and well adjusted bird. Senegal parrots are natural performers and learning a few tricks keeps them entertained. Screeching: Some Senegal Parrots may develop a habit of screeching and screaming. They often develop a bond with one human and show no interest in interactions with other family members -- they may even attack them in some cases. A Senegal Parrot that bonds to one single person may not only attack other members of the household, but also their favorite person as they are prone to jealousy and displaced aggression.
Despite their small size, Senegal Parrots will attack larger birds and even dogs, if they feel that they or their favorite humans are threatened. Owners should be cautious in multiple-pet homes. Senegals tend to hold a grudge against anyone who caused them fear, and they have a long memory.
It is best to do everything possible not to scare a Poicephalus unnecessarily. Biting : All parrots will resort to biting when they are upset, frustrated, scared or jealous. They usually pin their eyes before biting; they may puff up their feathers to make themselves look bigger when something scares them.
These common signals will tell you that they are getting angry or scared. Knowing these signals will allow you to understand your pet and build a harmonious relationship. Hormonal Behavior : Senegal Parrots can become aggressive and sometimes phobic after reaching sexual maturity. Most major problems can be avoided by developing a strong relationship early on and using gentle training techniques.
Feather Plucking: Senegal Parrots are usually not prone to feather plucking. However, if your Senegal Parrot has started to overpreen or pull out its feathers, a vet visit is indicated to rule out any medical issues. Once psychological reasons are likely the cause of plucking, you'll need to figure out what is upsetting your pet.
Senegals are sensitive and a variety of situations can cause them to be under stress. An indoor cage at least 4 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft or an outdoor aviary at least 6 ft x 6 ft 3 ft wide would be suitable. If your Senegal Parrot is going to be home alone all day, it will need enough room for a variety of toys and room to swing and play between them.
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