Senegal ATTACKS!!!!

[SchroedersJen]

Hey guys, I've been out a few months Don't hold it against me

 

As some of you may remember, we have a senegal rescue named Buddy. Buddy is sweet and cuddly, smart and silly. He is perfect.....almost. Buddy's favorite person is my husband, Mike. Mike and buddy have a good boys will be boys relationship and Buddy and I have the snuggly relationship. About 2 mos ago, Buddy started attacking Mike's hands. The bites are very bad, a few have required stitches and exposed bone and muscle tissue. Mike is scheduled to have reconstructive surgery for one of the bites. We have tried giving Buddy a wink and beak trim (previously, we allowed the wings to go au naturale) and that didnt work. We also put Buddy on Mike restriction for a few weeks, as we suspected it was hormonal. Neither worked. We also tried Rescue remedy and increasing his sleep. I should mention that we are NOTlooking to rehome him. We love him and need more suggestions. We need suggestions ASAP because we are expecting our first human hatchling in a few mos and dont want the baby turned to swiss cheese too. (For those of you that are friends of Schroeder's or mine on Facebook, please dont mention this. My mom is on extended vacation and we are waiting till she comes home to tell everyone). I have taken Buddy to the Vet and had a consult with a behaviorist. No results so far. I should also mention that all of the biting has been directed at Mike. Mike is very patient and calm with Buddy and Buddy has been missing his Mike time, so I don't think this is a trustt or aner issue. Buddy is most bitey when there is food around (so we have stopped eating around him) or when Mike is trying to pick Buddy up. That's all I can think of for now, please put on your avian expert hats and see if we can brainstorm this to a happy ending!

 

 

Oh, and Schroeder is fine He is still my perfect little sidekick!

[BaxtersMom]

Hi, I've been out for more than a few months so I won't hold it against you.

 

I didn't know that you had a senegal since I've been off the forum for awhile too.

I've had some major problems with our nanday conure. He had a hormonal spell last June that he's never really returned all the way back to normal. Pull up my thread on Bonkers my conure. (It's too long to go into on here)

 

Also I got some great advice from Dave007 and I think he knows everything there is to know about Senegals. I would pm or email him and get his advice.

 

Good luck. I know how it is to have a crazy bird in the house. I felt Bonkers just went evil one day. It's been a long road and I don't know if he'll ever like my dog again. Me and him are making some very slow progress. In the last couple days he has let me give him a few head scratches and I haven't done that since last June! Anytime I used to get near him he would bite and draw blood (never had to get stitches though but close) and he would dive bomb toward my face:ohmy: so I learned my lesson and haven't really tried to handle him at all untill a few days ago and to my surprise he is accepting head scratches but he still won't let me pick him up.

 

I feel for you. I hope you can figure out something that will work for you. I'd ask Dave.

 

Keep us updated:) and tell Schroeder hi for us

[SchroedersJen]

Thanks for the help How can I find your thread? There are a lot here to sort through.......

[kittykittykitty]

Jen, glad you're back, also that Shroedre is fine but very sorry about Buddy and Mike's serious injuries. Reconstruction isn't fun. Congratulations on the coming little one.

[SchroedersJen]

We are excited about the tot. Buddy is afraid of oven mitts. If he tries to eat my kid I'm gonna make sure kidlet likes oven mitts more than blankies and teddy bears.

[Luvparrots]

Congrats Jen on your new little one!!! Glad you have come back to the Grey family!

[Dave007]

About Buddy

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First you need to evaluate cage placement. Modifying or moving it may be necessary to get your bird out of *being in charge* mode. That also includes playstands.

 

If he's biting you out of fear, you'll have to start letting him alone for a while. Normally. Senes are a friendly type of all around bird but some can settle into a temporary aggressive mode and from what you're describing, it sounds like it is temporary. Start having Nick sit next to the cage and watching TV or reading without making any motions to disturb the bird. Simply allow your bird to adjust to being near you and/or Nick without being handled. Once Nick feels that your parrot is comfortable with him near his cage have Nick start to talk softly without making eye contact. Start feeding him favorite foods through the safety of the bars while talking to him. Don't touch him. Tell Nick to always work with the bird when he's calm and not stressed. Continue over the course of several weeks making no attempts to handle the bird. Once you see the parrot responding , attempt to pet or scratch him through the bars of the cage. Never forcing yourself upon the bird at anytime.

 

 

 

You are taking small steps to ensure your parrot feels safe being handled again. The following week you may have the parrot step up, praise, step down, praise, and step up again, praise. At this point if the parrot seems relaxed you may attempt to have them sit with you on a T stand or play gym in another room near you. Praising and talking softly the whole time you are working with the parrot. After a short period ask the bird to step up again and return him to his cage, praise. Continue these small baby steps until your parrot is showing interest in things other than biting.. When he does allow you to pet him showing no fear or aggression, move slowly and stop the affection before he asks you to stop. Remember you can never praise a wanted behavior enough. Parrots don't understand discipline therefore you should always only praise wanted behavior and redirect unwanted behaviors which in this case only has to do with biting Nick..

 

This is basically a temporary * starting all over again* situation.

 

Also, senes go through some aggression when they're hormonal. It lasts for a month or so and if that's the case, all the more reason to stay away.

 

Have Nick do some of the nice things you normally do. Let your bird see that nice things happen when associating with Nick. It's time for you to make yourself scarce when it has to do with nice things going on. If this problem with your bird was being aimed at you, Nick would have to step back.

 

This is the time to over indulge the bird with extra treats. Those treats should be the kind that are guaranteed to be accepted by your bird. Let Nick do these things.

 

Why parrots get into these modes? There's really no absolute guaranteed right answer so sometimes, starting over again is necessary. Try it out and see if any changes happen and make sure you put no time limits concerning when * you think a problem should be solved*. That's the bird's decision.

[BaxtersMom]

My thread was called Beat Up By Bonkers. :laugh: I got some good advice in there. Hopefully, it is just a phase that won't last too long.

[SchroedersJen]

Thanks Dave, birdy behaviorist had us do that, no result, we will try again though. Ill let everyone know how things are going in a week or two. I doubt it is fear though because Buddy will let Mike hold him, flip him on his back for snuggles, purrr for Mike and go around the house looking for Mike is Mike isnt around. he seems to really want to spend time with Mike. It reminds me of spousal abuse. We haven't tried increasing the treats yet, I will get on that tomorrow morning and make sure Mike gives him a big bowl of yummy to start the day off with.