Senegal Parrot I rescued

[birdlover337]

First Post long time Reader:

I have a senegal parrot aprroximatly 10 years old, gotten from someone that was selling him on craigslist. The lady said she believe he was imported. I look at his band and it is split, and read up that he was a imported bird. When we gotten him from the lady she wasnt taking very good care of him, he was never let out of his cage, which was a breeder cage. I have him in a huge cage that he can run around in approx. 36x24. Of course the lady wasnt feeding him the right food, she was feeding him cockatiel food.

The bird been with us for about two months now, he lets me pet him, of course he been showing his mating dance to me, which i ignore but doesnt see to stop him, in fact he was doing this when we gotten him. I can let him out of his cage and let him play but not when my husband is in the house because he will attack him. He will actually dive bomb my poor hubby. The bird doesnt go after anyone else just my husband. But when he is in his cage my hubby can pet him through the bars and he doesnt attack him. I cant get him to step up or anything, but i believe he is happy and content then where he was previously. He likes to attack things as well in his cage. We given him small little dog toys look like birds. He will attack them and tumble around on the bottom of his cage, which i assume he is having fun. He goes after bowls, and his cutterbone too.

Does anyone have any similar issues with there senegal? I just curious if there is anything else I can do, or let me know if I am doing anything wrong? Thanks

Senegal Rookie

[jimpierce7]

sounds about right. He sounds like he is defending his turf.

[Poicephalus girl]

I have a 13 year old Meyer's that I got back in August. I was told that this bird loves men and hates women. Well, over the past couple of weeks he reverted to his old self. Meaning that if I try to handle him, if I don't use a stick my hand gets mangled. Sometimes when I get too close he'll get into an aggressive stance. He is in LOVE with my boyfriend though. Actually doing the mating dance for him. I actually think "he" is a "she" (I was told Petey was a male, but the stance he adopts when my boyfriend is around makes me think otherwise).

For a while I had a hypothesis that hormones were probably making the whole deal worse between him and I. And I just read that Poicephalus parrots actually start breeding season as the amount of daylight decreases. Which would confirm what I was thinking. Seriously, Petey in on a search for a nesting area around our living room. Unfortunately, I don't have place for him to hide in.

Senegals do have a reputation of being one person birds. Personnally, I think if socialized well, one can overturn this tendency but seeing how yours is about 10 years old, he probably was brought up otherwise. He seems to have chosen you as a mate and will probably "attack" any others. The fact that your husband can touch him through the bars while your Sennie is in his cage is a good step.

Really, I wouldn't worry and it sounds like you are doing everything right.

[wildbird]

In my experience, most parrots choose a mate of the opposite sex and spend serious efforts driving off the competition. Until they can trust the competition, don't make them jealous with obvious cannoodling in front of them, be patient and subservient and nonthreatening; offer to take them to the favored one as a means of getting them to allow you to safely handle them. Be the frequent intercessor. The goal here is to not merely avoid needing stitches, but to avoid bleeding at all. If she likes your husband, then understand you are her arch rival, she is the queen, and you are the despised concubine for now. Until she understands that you are not a threat to her, you will be punished whenever she can reach you. You will avoid that if you provide a useful service: if your husband is in a different room and calls for her, and you offer to take her to him, she will benefit if you carry her. (He sits and waits for you to do this, get it?) If he has a treat for her and you carry it from him to her and tell her Daddy is giving it to her, not you, she benefits. Gradually if you are sufficiently humble you will move up in her estimation but you cannot assume more status without earning it. Likewise, if he is inlove with the wife and vicious with his arch rival, that don juan of a husband, he will fight hubby to the death for rights to his mate, so hubby has to act like the harem eunuch until he gets accepted as a neutral, nonthreatening member of the household. Gradually you will get permission to pet feet, or beak, or skritch head. Don't rush it. Expect it to take a year of abject humility, to finally get to act like a normal human being around the bird. Good luck!

[sootykitty]

Wildbird is right on the money here. I have three rescued Sengals (haven't posted the picture of the most recently acquired two weeks ago) and each one has taken lots of time to get the trusted relationship needed to have a happy relationship. They definitely pick a favorite person. I can attest to that. The one I got a couple weeks ago is 11 and was kept in his cage for ten years because they claimed he bit the entire family. I think personally that he became overly cage aggressive because of all the time he spent inside it. I can tell you that Senegals, and most animals in general, thrive on routine. I have had great success with that in my household. Also, offer lots of praise and treats to build up trust. Even though I have had one of my Senegals, Lolly, for one year, he is still only tolerates head scratches on his terms. After awhile, you'll begin to read the body language of your boy and you'll know what to do. Just move slow and be extremely patient. He'll come around. Good luck with your new baby. Senegals are wonderful little birds. I'm glad you rescued him from his lonely life. What a lucky little guy!