Biting Senegal parrot

[NJDenman]

I have a 4 year old female Senegal parrot. Her problem is that she bites. She bites without provocation and for no reason at all. I've dealt with this since I got her when she was 3-months old. She is also a screamer. I don't know quite what to do about this. Is there anyone here who could help me with this? Thank you.

 

[SailBoat]

Very sorry that your Thread had been missed, with hope this will get you Thread bumped back up the Board.

Screamers and Biters are commonly a result of weak Bonding with one's Parrot.

A couple of Basics:

- Only good things happen when Humans come near the Parrot.

- Change one's Vantage Point!
It's Always the Fault of the Human!
It's Never the Fault of the Parrot!
By changing your vantage point, one can more easily see where /what one is doing wrong and correct it!

NOTE: Contact calls are an important part of Parrot Life and when a Contact Call goes unanswered it can turn into screaming. Consider talking to your Parrot all day long, where your going, what you are doing and if you are coming to your Parrot, etc..

My background is with Amazons and they are known for allowing a reset! A Start-Over if you will. Consider a relationship start-over with your Parrot. Start tomorrow as day one with the two of you greeting each other and beginning anew. Assume Nothing, Zero Expectations, a full Start-Over.

 

[Laurasea]

Hi,
First to the parrot there is always a reason for bites. Second the best way to think about and start change, is that all bites are your fault. And try not to take it personally. If bites are at the cage, when you touch the cafe or put your hands in the cage, that's normal, thats instinctive. For my quakers and my GCC its war. Out of the cage their are lovey. So I've taught them to step out on a perch first.

Hand feed treats several times a day, use tge sane phrases and rituals, so she can predict your behavior.

Ok I'm going to share some links.
https://birdsupplies.com/blogs/news/how-to-calm-a-parrot-down

https://be.chewy.com/think-your-pet-bird-hates-you/

This has some basic bite stuff down after normal behavior.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/

 

[Laurasea]

Some unique attributes of Senegal parrot
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
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Research articles
Vision, touch and object manipulation in Senegal parrots Poicephalus senegalus
Zoe P. Demery, Jackie Chappell and Graham R. Martin
Published:27 April 2011https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.0374
Abstract
Parrots are exceptional among birds for their high levels of exploratory behaviour and manipulatory abilities. It has been argued that foraging method is the prime determinant of a bird's visual field configuration. However, here we argue that the topography of visual fields in parrots is related to their playful dexterity, unique anatomy and particularly the tactile information that is gained through their bill tip organ during object manipulation. We measured the visual fields of Senegal parrots Poicephalus senegalus using the ophthalmoscopic reflex technique and also report some preliminary observations on the bill tip organ in this species. We found that the visual fields of Senegal parrots are unlike those described hitherto in any other bird species, with both a relatively broad frontal binocular field and a near comprehensive field of view around the head. The behavioural implications are discussed and we consider how extractive foraging and object exploration, mediated in part by tactile cues from the bill, has led to the absence of visual coverage of the region below the bill in favour of more comprehensive visual coverage above the head.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2011.0374

 

[NJDenman]

Thank you for your invaluable information. I've learned alot. One of the main problems that I have is that I own 2 parrots .....my Senegal and an African Grey. Both are in opposite ends of the home, so I am having to run between both birds all day to keep them both company. But it doesn't work. Either way, I am always leaving one of them alone. The Senegal is in the bedroom, and the African Grey is in the living room, because his cage is much larger than the Senegals cage. It does present a real dilemma for me. The Senegal will call out and scream the minute she is left alone. The African Grey does not do this. He can occupy his time playing all day by himself.

 

[Laurasea]

Can you move the Senegal to the living room on the opposite side?

Yiu csn layer positive associated with them, take one over to tge other still in tge csge sbd feed treats and praise for no response ir good response. Don't get so close to the cage at first to cause scream or protective lunges. Repeat zillions of times. Eventually you be able to stand next to cage and feed both treats. Switch who us in cage abd who is out. When that goes really well and depend on how well they station you can have both out but apart. Parrot rescues are able to do fairly well with mixed species postive association, caution and supervision. Work on target training.
I'm sure tge one in the bedroom feels frustrated.
I have a mixed flock but nit those species. The ones that just tolerate each other stay about a foot apart all the time. They are flighted sbd lots of oerchbareas above tge cage I use ceiling hooks and fishing line to hang extra perches and swings a few inches above cage. I also have perches throughout tge house by windows.

 

[NJDenman]

Wow, you have quite a setup. Problem with me is that I live in a Mobile Home, a double-wide, but even with that there is still limited space, especially in the living room, which will only house one cage, the African Greys, who has a large cage. You are correct, the Senegal in the bedroom is, as one person from Windy City Parrots told me, unhappy, sad, depressed, frustrated, lonely and bored. Now, how the heck do you begin to fix all of that. I try and spend time with her every day, her cage is right next to my desk in the bedroom. But because she is fully lighted, and she also likes to be ON me all of the time, I dont' trust her because she will bite my earlobes to the point of bleeding. So I know she is unhappy and even after 3 years has not fully bonded with me, but she LOVES my room-mate. I work from home, so I need to be at my desk most of the day. She would still be screaming if in the living room without me being there with her.

 

[Laurasea]

Get creative, try and think outside the box.

 

[Scott]

As so well discussed above, biting is symptom of aggression, displeasure, frustration, etc. Another possibly helpful technique is Bite Pressure Training: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

 

[noodles123]

Agreed with the above- biting is always for a reason (it just happens more when you haven't figured out that reason lol)



The main reasons for any behavior= attention (eye contact, a vocal response, proximity, physical etc), escape (to get out of a situation, avoid a task or person or environment), tangibles (to get a preferred food or object) and sensory/automatic (e.g., crying when injured, itching a bug bite etc).

When your bird bites, it is probably doing it for one of these 4 reasons.

If your bird is screaming, do not come back into the room until it stops for a set period of time. You will need to start this time period off very short if you have made the mistake of entering the room during scream-fests previously. Now, there are different types of screams, but your sounds like it is screaming to get out/attention and in that case, it is unlikely a fear scream (which should not be ignored). Fear screaming sounds different and usually is pretty obvious-- you don't want to ignore a frightened bird, but it doesn't sound like that is the issue here.

You should also use key words and terms to help your bird judge how long you will be gone and what you are doing. E.G., "Going to work" or "going to the store" --I use work if I will be gone more than 4 hours, and "store" for anything under 3. I say be right back if I am just stepping away for a few, and I even say stuff like "wait, washing my hands" or "going to the bathroom". My bird knows these phrases now and is okay with be doing a lot more because she can anticipate and knows the routines associated with each. It also helps to talk from room-to-room to your bird BEFORE the screaming starts.


Also sounds like your bird is entering puberty..2.3- 3.5 years is typically the norm.. They do change behavior as adults and the rules about touching them etc also change. Head and neck only (if you have a bird that lets you pet it) and no shadowy spaces like huts, boxes, tents, nooks etc....no under furniture...


10 hours of sleep nightly = very important as well.


Your roommate may be the preferred person (which is always the risk with birds) but DO make sure he isn't touching your parrot places other than the head and neck. Also, if anything bad or stressful has to happen, the more preferred person should be the one associated with that trauma lol.


Also- what is the longest you have let her scream before coming to get her in order to stop the noise? Waiting them out effectively can take many hours...I'd buy some Macke's earplugs (the putty/silicone type) and stand your ground. You might start the window of silence at 10 s---you should always try to prevent it by saying what you are doing and talking room to room, but IF you are leaving, plan accordingly so that you do not return to that room until screaming stops for a set period of time (even entering to get a phone or keys= attention).


So, lets so you start at 10 seconds, that means that you give your parrot 0 attention until the screaming stops for at least 10 s (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi,, 3 Mississippi,etc ) If the screaming starts before the 10 s is up, you have to start back at 1--- you need a solid 10 before coming back. The count should happen in your head (not where your bird can see you). Remember, it is super important to prevent this by making sure they get enough sleep, have a large enough cage, spend plenty of time out of it, proper diet etc--- BUT what I am describing works for a bird who screams for attention. If you know the screaming is to get you or to get out of the cage, try the counting thing. WHEN the screaming stops for 10, immediately go in and in a quiet voice, say thanks for being quiet and open the cage or do whatever you think it was that the bird wanted to begin with. REMEMBER- talking about the bird, looking at the bird, getting closer to the bird, entering the room etc are all forms of attention...You can give any attention you want but if you are sure it's attention screaming, the second it starts you need to act according, and everyone needs to be on the same page about the rules...especially your mate. Once 10 seconds silence is easier, move the threshold to 15 until that is mastered, then 20 etc. If you think your bird is about to scream but hasn't yet, you can always pop back in (there is nothing wrong with doing that, as long as the screaming hasn't started).


Screaming is natural for them-- it's how they communicate with their flocks in the wild... BUT, what you don't want to do is accidentally encourage the behavior by proving that it works.

That is why you want to do all that you can to PREVENT it (by talking about what you are doing, using routines, speaking room-to-room etc). Note: WHENEVER you start ignoring a behavior that previously worked, the behavior WILL get worse before it gets better. The worst thing you could possibly do is break and enter the room after putting a behavior on extinction/ignoring it because then you just proved that the bird can get your attention if it just screams louder and longer--- slot machines work on intermittent reinforcement that is the quickest way to get a human or bird to repeat a behavior (fail to reward and then suddenly reward---which is why it is essential that you commit to this once you start ignoring).