Problem with my Senegal

[JessicaP]

Hello All,
I have a bit of an issue regarding my 10 month old male Senegal named Zazu.
I will give just a bit of background on him. I work at a pet store and i was the one to wean him when he came to us, he loved me we had a very strong connection, he would go on his back for me and want his belly rubbed i could touch him anywhere and he was very social towards all people. He ended up being sold to a man who kept him locked in his cage in a dark room because he was too loud and was waking up his kids and he had no time for him. He was in this condition for 2 months. The guy asked me to take him so I did. When i got him his cage had never been cleaned he looked a mess and had some social problems but he must have remembered me as he came to me right away and was all snuggles. It took me three months to rehabilitate him. I also have a 2 year Green Cheek Conure named Sheldon he loved Sheldon they would play together preen each other and got along so well. Both my birds are allowed out all day until bed time because someone is always home. They only go in at night or if no one is around.

Now the problem is as of last month he has become aggressive towards my Conure to the point he takes control of his cage and chases him off. When ever any of us goes over to put him back on his cage he screams and flutters his wings (which are cut just very strong) and manages to get off onto the floor. The other issue is i am the main caregiver i feed him clean his cage and give him water. I talk to him everyday and always give him tasty treats. But now whenever i go near him to do any of that he screams at me and starts to freak out flapping his wings screaming sometimes even lunging out or off his cage to get away from me. When he lands on the floor he flutters around and wont step up onto anything. He hasn't bitten me just looks really scared and gets so worked up he pants heavily. The only one who can go near him now is my mom. Now i know they bond to one person but all she does for him is cuddle him and allows him to put his beak up her nose or in her mouth. She doesn't give him time outs unless he goes onto the other birds cage. Only time i am able to go near him is early mornings when he is awake i can get him to step up and i can kiss his beak and head and hes fine ad same when he is really tired at night he will allow me to do the same. I still give him treats and talk to him from afar but i am still being screamed at and flown away from.

I am in need of some advice on why he may be doing this, what did i do wrong and how can i fix it. I don't want to have to find a new home for him however i don't want to stress him out anymore with the way it has been with me even just passing by his cage. I have never had these problems with my first bird who i got at 3 months. He is so good with everyone. Please help

Thank you

 

[Heather2691]

Sennies go through the human equivalent of the terrible twos and puberty at the same time around this age, hormones start kicking in. If your sennie is housed close to your conure it would be a good idea to move them away from one another as this would contribute. Your sennie probably feels that the conure is encroaching on its territory making it more defensive. A sennie could do serious damage to a conure.

My friend had to move his other bird clear out of the room before his sennie started acting normal again. Of course in your case this may help somewhat but you are still going to have to battle through this stage. Usually lasts months. My sennie hated men for about two years after this stage and was slow to trust other people for about a year. Now she loves everyone.

 

[JessicaP]

Weve tried moving them before it causes a great disturbance. My conure who is always quiet started screaming all the time even at bed time. We had him in the new spot for a few weeks eventually. we moved him back and he was his old self again. The Senegal screamed as well when we moved him and he just wasnt happy. We moved him back but have been jeeping him in his cage most of the time. Now he only comes out when my mom wants to cuddle am spend time with him. He is still screaming amd freaking out at me. Today he was screaming while I was just in the room working on my paper when I wemt to go let him out of his cage he started jumping around throwing himself away from the door onto the bottom in an attempt to escape so I left the room am didnt allow him out because he was also still screaming. I really am stuck on how to deal with this. Hes obviously picked his mate and thats my mom. But id like him to be comfortable with me too since hes suppose to be my bird.

 

[mtdoramike]

First off, Senegal's are Jealous birds and like to be the only bird in the house. The older he gets the worse you will see this tendancy in him. There is no fixing this part. Secondly, Senegals will pick out their favorite household member and attach themselves to them whether or not the human flock person accepts the additional attention or not. You also have to understand that this part can and most likely will change as the Sennie gets older. It doesn't matter how much time or attention you give your Sennie, he may eventually attach himself to someone else. You will still be able to associate with him, but it won't be like it was before.

My Sennie, Tiki was attached to me when we first got her, but within a year, she switched her affection from me to my wife who never spent near the time with her that I did or still do. It's a kick in the teeth, but that's just the way it is with owning birds.

 

[MeganMango]

First off, Senegal's are Jealous birds and like to be the only bird in the house. The older he gets the worse you will see this tendancy in him. There is no fixing this part. Secondly, Senegals will pick out their favorite household member and attach themselves to them whether or not the human flock person accepts the additional attention or not. You also have to understand that this part can and most likely will change as the Sennie gets older. It doesn't matter how much time or attention you give your Sennie, he may eventually attach himself to someone else. You will still be able to associate with him, but it won't be like it was before.

My Sennie, Tiki was attached to me when we first got her, but within a year, she switched her affection from me to my wife who never spent near the time with her that I did or still do. It's a kick in the teeth, but that's just the way it is with owning birds.

I dont think this is true for all birds. I have a red belly, and I just moved a foster sennie into the house. The two birds can see eachother across the room and they chat together all day. They dont physically interact but they seem to really like eachother. Dave and I both give both birds attention, and Mango my red belly genuinely loves being with either of us. Jake the sennie was in a similar situation as the one described here. He was locked in a room and ignored. He was also physically abused by a man and so prefers me to my partner. He does not attack Dave though, he is not at all aggressive, just scared. I suspect hormones are part of the problem, and some territorial behavior. This is a tricky situation, but these are some things I would try if I were in your situation:
1. Completely empty his cage and change everything inside it. Blow his mind. Remove all the perches and put completely new ones in new places, put in new toys and move his foo dishes etc around. Mango gets cage aggressive sometimes and this really helps. I do this to him once every couple of weeks.
2. Foraging: Birds are super busy little critters (as Im sure you are aware). I like to keep lots of foraging opportunities in the cage and on the cage. Sometimes the simplest little thing can distract a bird and keep them busy for hours. I use nuts in the shell. I just posted a video of my red belly receiving an almond for the first time. I start it with a little hole, and it takes him hours to get the nut out. Its great beak exercise and small quantities of healthy nuts are really good for them. We gave Mango his almond last night and he is still playing with it this morning. You can also put healthy treats in muffin tin liners and hide them around the cage, and there are a variety of toys designed for foraging available to buy. The trick is finding something that will challenge them, but wont be so tough that they give up.
3. Training. I would start working on some clicker training with your new sennie. Mango will turn in the circle, put his wings in the air, and give me a kiss. He really likes to work on new things. My new sennie is just learning step up. He hadnt even been out of his cage when he came to the rescue, so its a work in progress. Once he steps up without panicking we will begin clicker training right away.
4. Supervision: I dont want to suggest you do not supervise your birds and I am NOT criticizing you. Its really hard to watch them all the time and they are really fast. I would suggest keeping a really close eye on your sennie, and when he goes for the conure cage distract him with something else (a started nut in the shell, or a new training trick). Dont let him even get to the cage, and if he reaches it, say no and put him back on his own (or his play stand or where ever he spends his time). If he immediately goes for the other cage again, put him in his own cage, close the door and leave him for a while. Come back later and give him another chance. He needs to learn the other bird is off-limits.

 

[mtdoramike]

Yes, it didn't seem to be a problem with our Sennie either for the first couple of months but then it got progressively worse. So give it a little more time, hopefully I'm wrong, but only time will tell.