New bird, need help

[mynaughtybird]

We just went and picked up our new Senegal parrot Friday night. She is about 5 1/2 months old, and quite a sweetheart!! She did fine until Sunday. Then she starting biting. But it seems to be a curious, let's test and see how hard is too hard type of bite. She's not aggressive or being mean. What my question is....how do I correct her behavior? I know we have to teach her what is acceptable, but what is the proper way? What I've been doing so far is when she bites, I touch her beak to make her stop, then put her on the floor and ignore her for a little while. I don't know if this is right? I just want to be teaching her the right way, because our other bird is very naughty, from being unsocialized and raised by a pet store. I can tell she is just curious, but man does it hurt!! She got me a few times on the lip, once on the ear, and twice on my arm. Ouch. I tried not to flinch or make a big deal. Just let me know if I'm doing anything right? What else can I do? Any help is appreciated.

I will post pics of both birds if I can figure out how!! LOL

[Pepper's Pa]

Congratulations on getting a new Senegal, they are great parrots. Part of the Senegal personality is that they are a very “beaky” bird. I think my Sennie, Pepper, has his beak on me as much as he has his feet on me. As you are experiencing, the use of the beak is not to be aggressive, but it’s to explore, move about and share affection. You don’t want your Sennie to begin to look at your “touch to her beak” response to hard bites as play and begin going after your finger.
I had a lot of success by simply using the words, “be gentle”, when biting began. Praising the gentle exploring is good. If it began to get less than gentle, I would give a firm “No”, immediately followed by some (5-10) step-ups. The step-ups reinforced our role and that I was the head of the flock.
Another great way to limit biting is to distract your Sennie. I always keep a few foot toys in handy reach and if play or biting begins to get a little more than desired, I hand one of the foot toys to Pepper. Once distracted, biting me is no longer on his agenda.
As hard as it is to do, when you receive a hard bite, you want to ignore it, then as quickly and calmly as possible, place your Sennie in a safe place (on her play gym, in her cage) away from you for a few minutes. You need to not have any interaction with her at this time. Sit with your back to her or leave the room. After the few minutes are up, tell her what she did and how you expect her to act. An example is, “You were a bad girl, biting is not allowed. I’m going to take you out and we’re going to have fun. Be a gentle bird. Be a good bird.” Then take her out of the cage. You may need to repeat this process many times, but it will be learned. Unluckily, she will test you in the future with a hard bite, simply remember the proper way to respond to it.
As far as, “but man does it hurt!!”, you probably haven’t experienced an aggressive bite yet. When your sweet little girl clamps on, grinds her beak into your skin, all the while glaring at you . . . then remember what you thought used to hurt as you reach for the band aids.
“She got me a few times on the lip, once on the ear, and twice on my arm.” From the sound of this you are allowing her up onto your shoulder. I would not recommend that at this time. When on a shoulder, she will be out of your eye contact and in a position to feel your equal. Many people have received serious bites to their ears, eyes, nose, lips or face from a parrot on their shoulder. Until you clearly know the moods and behavior of your Sennie, you may want to keep her off your shoulder. It will be a fight since she’ll want to go there, but you just have to constantly stop her from climbing your arm.
“Just let me know if I'm doing anything right?” Of course you’re doing plenty of things right. We all need to constantly adjust and learn the best ways to handle the different situations our parrots bring to our attention. They love teaching us new ways to deal with them.
You may find some helpful information on Pepper’s Web Site. A link to the site is in my signature. Also, you’ll probably find some specifics about Senegal Parrots in the Poicephalus (the group Sennies belong to) Forum. Here’s a link to it: http://www.birdboard.com/forum/poicephalus/
Good luck and let us know how things are going with your Sennie. What’s her name?

[Bonesy]

As a trainer I deal with this alot.

Many bird owners forget a birds beak is it's hands to us, and they will use it alot. They need to learn the right ammount of pressure to excerpt on human skin. When she's being good, use a keyword, like "gentle!" followed by "good girl!" to show her she's doing good.

Then as she gets more pressurised, push back into her bite & look really unimpressed, and ask in a firm tone, "NO! ... gentle please?" and push her head over towards her shoulders (gently as you can hurt them doing this quickly) and she will have little option but to let go. The key is to not act fussed either way, the more fuss you make the more she will want to do it again, so grit your teeth & bear it. Clicker training works wonders for this sort of thing, as you can reward them at just the right time for what they are doing that you want to happen.

Hope this helps!
Sophie.

[mynaughtybird]

Thanks so much for your responses!! I didn't realize how having her on my shoulder makes such a difference. When I think about it, the only times she has bit me are when she is up there. So no more of that! She's not happy about that. It's a big fight trying to keep her from climbing up there. I will try all of the suggestions. Thanks for the help!!

BTW her name is Daisy Mae. She is a super sweet girl. She absolutely loves her head and neck scritches. She begs for more. Things are still new and scary for her at my house, but I think she is adapting very well. She has never seen a dog before and we have three, so that was a new experience. She's doing wonderful, though. I just love her to pieces already.

I will let you all know how things progress!!