Meyers beginning to bite...

[GreenMachine]

My 15 month old Meyers is starting to get a temper on him and seems to want to bite more now than anytime before. Is this a stage many birds go through?

When I try to put him back in his cage he gets mad and bites or flys to another room. I would hope this biting will eventually phase out and he will be the loving bird I had before. Some insite would be very helpful.

[Pepper's Pa]

It may be that he is going through a “testing” stage with you where he wants to determine who is the “head of the flock”. Though it is difficult to do, ignore the bites and do not reinforce them. If you haven’t read it, you may get some insight from the Guide to Senegal Parrots and its Family by Mattie Sue Athan and Dianalee Deter.
Biting when he is returned to his cage is a normal behavior in many of our fids (feathered kids). Think about it, what child willingly wants to go to his room or to bed when others are around and fun can be enjoyed? This is exactly what your Meyer’s is demonstrating to you with his biting.
Here are two things that helped me with “return to the cage” biting. First, I made the cage for Pepper, my Senegal parrot, a fun place to be. I filled it with multiple perches, toys, foraging opportunities and food options. Here’s a link to images of his cage: Pepper's Cage. With a fun cage he’s more willing to be returned there. Second, I tried not to condition Pepper to know how long he’ll be returned to his cage. There are times when he’ll be returned there for several hours and other times when it will only be for several minutes. In this way he’s accustomed to flexibility and much less “nippy” when returned to his cage. At the end of the day when I’m returning him to his cage for the night (7:00-9:00pm), we have a set routine. I’ll say, “It’s nite-nite time.” Pepper will either fluff and/or stretch his wings. I’ll then return him to his cage and he willingly steps off onto a perch.
I hope something I’ve shared will be of help to you with your Meyer’s.

[Grillis]

senegal parrot and its family has helped me a lot to understand my Meyers. What helped here was to use her favourit food to get her to go in to the cage and that has helped troumendously. Now she can fly away sometimes but she never bite and never gets angry at all. Mot of the time I just have to hold up the food and she will fly to her cage.

[Sabauda]

I confess to bribing my 2 year old Sennie, You-You, with a piece of sesame breadstick, or a favorite toy, (but let's face it - more often the breadstick!), when I put him in his cage. He is never happy about going in, and will bite, other than bed time, when he willingly goes into his cage after our cuddle time. When my husband (with whom he is most bonded) puts him in the cage, he will not bite, but hangs on with his claws and refuses to step off onto the perch, or twirls himself around so that he is laying upside down in his hand. It's very funny.....and very endearing.

[GreenMachine]

...being that I let Rico's wings grow in to learn to fly, he must have become to independent and never wanted my help or discipline. So I decided to clip his wings. That has improved his attitude 100 times. He is more dependent on me now, so the biting has subdued and he has gone back to his cute and loving self that I remember.