Biting

[Kiwi08]

As I have posted before, I adopted a 5 year old male senegal about 2 months ago. Everything overall has been going great, he fits in great with us and is generally a very well behaved bird. However, recently he has bitten us on 3 separate occasions. All three times felt quite random, as I am usually very good at reading his body language. They have all happened when he was on top of his cage and I picked him up. I believe it is because he doesn't want to be put away... ?

First of all, his bites seem very violent. He clamped onto my thumb twice and would not let go, and this last time it was the side of my hand. Each time I did not make a reaction, noise, nothing. I very gently said "no biting Marvin" until he let go. Then put him in his cage and ignored him for a few minutes. The most recent time (yesterday) when he bit the side of my hand he would not let go. He just kept biting and clamping down. It started to bleed so finally I had to actually pull his beak out of my hand (because I didn't want blood to get in his mouth!!) he then kept his feet clamped onto my finger and wouldn't let go. This last bite was so violent, and I seriously wonder how long he would have kept biting and biting... that doesn't seem like a normal parrot bite to me, but I don't know?

Anyway, other than just those 3 bites in 2 months he doesn't show signs of aggression. Its frustrating because it just seems so out of the blue. (But I know its not, they always have a reason).

So, I'm going to try a few things to try to curb the aggression. First, get a separate sleep cage for him and second, whenever he is out I will never let him sit on top of his cage. I already have never let him sit on shoulders, or be any place higher than us.

I have a theory that since he can't fly (drops like a rock) he possibly gets frustrated when he doesn't want to do something, and since he knows he cant fly away he has to somehow communicate he doesn't want to do something by biting.

I realize only 3 bites in 2 months is not bad. Plus he has been pushed from home to home (don't worry, even if he always bites he is staying with me!) and his last home gave him pretty much no human interaction for 1 year. So I know he is doing great considering his past. I'm mostly just wondering what else I can do to try to stop the biting (or at least so its not so violent) and hope it wont escalate.

Thank you in advance for your help, and sorry this is so long!

[Chicklette]

Since he has been ignored in the past that may be the reason he is reacting that way. Boomer was abused very badly and he WAS a huge biter and I would bleed soooo bad and it killed. If parrots are ignored they regress and go into sort of a depression. Then once they get attention they don’t know how handle it. Im glad you are not going to give up on him, I would never give up on Boomer.

Parrots also go threw a teenage phase where they become aggressive and try to dominate their owners. How old is he? This could be another reason.

Boomer no longer bites one bit. What I did was as soon as he bit I would gently blow on him, say no and he stopped immediately. The look on his face the first time was priceless, lol. But nothing else has worked for me except for that.

[Kiwi08]

Thanks Chicklette! Marvin is 5 years old, which I believe is the "teenage" phase. That may be in combination as you said, with him being ignored in the past. His life now is much different than it use to be.

I'm glad to hear Boomer no longer bites. I have heard conflicting stories about blowing on them... I wonder if that would distract Marvin so we would let go! Or if it would just make him more mad and aggressive...

[Chicklette]

Oh I thought he was younger. The teenage years are at about a year old so he is over the teenage years. It’s far far harder on an older bird to be placed in a new home. He is reacting on being abused/neglected, a new home, new people, new routines, ect. So now what you can do is learn “his” behavior. When you see him going for that finger or if he is in a bad mood back off. He will soon realize you are not going to hurt him. I know it’s tough to get neglected birds to come around but he will. It’s just going to take a lot of work. Parrots regress very fast when they are neglected and get extremely depressed. They NEED and crave attention. Good for you for taking him in and giving him a chance at a happy life.

It’s up to you if you want to try the blowing thing but I had to do something because Boomer was taking chunks out of my hands and they were all scared up. Now he never ever bites me. I don’t mean blow on them to knock them over, just a gentle blow.

[Greycloud]

Yow! I know what you are going through. Try getting bit by a cockatoo.
Definitely keep him lower then eye level with you. If he bites you, and I know this may be hard. Instead of pulling away or sitting still, gently push into his mouth or towards him. It will force him to let go. Building trust is the most important thing with birs and humans. He has never had a chance to trust and you are now giving him that chance. Offer for him to step up, saying it while offering your hand. If he accepts great if not that's ok too. You let him make the decision or himself, there was no force. I know you desire to hold him but it will take time. If you offer your hand and he refuses but also does not lunge give him a treat. If he lunges no treat. Eventually he will learn that your hand is good. It will taks time. Good luck.

[Kiwi08]

Chicklette, yes, I guess he is past the teenage phase, I got my phrases mixed up. I was thinking he is at the sexually maturing phase, which I think I read that in Senegals happens around 5-ish years. I'm sure its a mix of that, and his past.

Greycloud, thank you for the tips. I will try to push my hand back next time he bites. The thing is that he actually is hand trained and will step up on command. This biting thing has only happened three times, and each one "seemed" out of the blue. So normally he steps up and everything just fine. I have been trying a new thing though, whenever I put him back in his cage (which is what I was going to do each time I got bit) I am giving him a treat. Then maybe he'll associate it with something good, rather than being frustrated that he can't stay out longer.

[becca623]

Livi is an almost 12 yr old senegal. She's been through several homes. For the first 7 months, she wanted nothing to do with me touching her. It was a verbal relationship only. Then she started scratching her head and calling me. Many times when I reached toward her she would bite me. She really loves my mom but did the same to her. Then she started wanting to sit on us and get attention but when we tried to put her in her cage, it would be a blood bath. She's pretty good now. She usually doesn't bite hard. Although, she'll still play the bait and switch game where she asks for attention then bites me. With her, I have to approach very slowly, talking to her, and explaining to her what I was doing or going to do the entire time. She startles easily and will nip. I pet her toes before I pet her head. That way if she wants to bite me it's more difficult to reach me.
I don't think 3 bites in that amount of time is bad. I would guess that he might be trying to see what he can get away with. He's testing his and your boundaries. He's probably frustrated and worried just like a child who has been passed around and neglected. He is trying to learn what his new life and family is like.
Those sennie bites can hurt. Some of my worst bites have been from a senegal. I have a friend who says the worst bite she's ever gotten was from a male senegal. She's owned and or bred almost every type of parrot. My mom couldn't believe how bad Livi's bites were. She was shocked how much it hurt.
Anymore, I do a pretty good job reading Livi. I watch for her eyes to pin, her ornery look, and a certain call she uses for me. I don't trust her completely. Normally, she is a sweetheart but she has her moments. Mostly she bites if she's being made to do something she doesn't want like going in her cage. I let her wings grow out which seemed to help some also. She can fly when she gets spooked rather than bite.

[NotEnoughTime]

Whenever a parrot clamps down hard there is usually a reason. Behaviours like biting (and aggression and avoidance) are all linked with a punishing stimulus.

In the case of being put back in the cage then it is clear that the cage is a "punishing" stimulus. A punishing stimulus is any stimulus that prevents (or reduces) a parrot from engaging in other behaviours that are more rewarding.

Why is the cage punishing? Well - there is less interaction and fewer rewards when in the cage. The bird simply cannot do as much.

The goal of training a parrot to not bite when going to the cage is to get the parrot to *like* going in the cage.

Look at the reasons why we put a bird in a cage. We put the bird in just before we leave. We put the bird in and either cover the cage or turn out the lights and go to bed. We put the bird in while we are in the kitchen cooking yummy things. All of these reasons cause a parrot to *not* want to go in the cage...

So here I am prepping to head out on the town - I've had a shower, put on different clothes, brushed my hair, and if I'm female I've put on my makeup and so on... Then I walk over to the bird and ask him or her to get up on my finger...

Yah right.

No wonder a bird bites... I would too!!

So let's make the cage a fun, entertaining place where a bird wants to be. Or let's get the parrot so physically tired that a good rest in the cage is needed. Or put the bird in the cage at random, unpredictable, times (this is not preferred since it can lead to ongoing aggressive behaviour). And, of course, a nice treat in the cage will always help... Make sure the parrot sees you drop the almond in the treat-cup in the cage before you pick him or her up! That makes a big difference in motivation too.

[Kiwi08]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the replies. NotEnoughTime, I'm going to show your post to my husband, which will hopefully help him have a better understanding why he bites.

I have been giving Marvin a treat each time I put him away and it seems to work great! No more bites so far...