Aggressive, moody, loud senegal

[nmjgomerdiego]

Hi there. I was wondering if any of you have experienced difficulties with Senegal behavior? My 3 year old is wreaking havoc on my life right now and seriously making me consider donating him to a bird sanctuary.

Gomer has his moments of cuddliness, he always has, and is generally a well mannered bird but in the recent months he has become horrible. He screeches and screeches in a tone I didn't even know existed, literally giving me a headache and causing me to close the door to his room on a regular basis every day. When I pick him up, in the same way I have since he was a baby he tries to bite my thumb, and when he does he draws blood. Today he was on my shoulder and out of nowhere bit my cheek drawing blood. He growls when I approach the cage. He has stopped playing with his toys. He is eating fine and appears healthy, sharing food with me when I eat. I spend quite a bit of time with him each day and give him baths on a regular basis. He still talks up a storm every morning. I don't know what to do with him, he is so difficult somedays, and I feel so guilty about his unhappiness that I must do something. Help!!

[Pepper's Pa]

I’ve been lucky enough to share my life with a Senegal Parrot for the last four years. Most of the time Pepper is a great companion parrot . . . but he does have his moments.

There are many reason why Gomer may be demonstrating the behaviors you are now observing. Gomer is at the age where he is maturing and his hormonal behavior will push him to behave in ways that he wouldn’t at other times of the year.

Depending on where you live, you might be approaching the days of the year with the longest hours of daylight. If Gomer follows a day and night cycle based on the rising and setting sun, right now he’s getting his least sleep of the year. A tired parrot may show some “cranky” behaviors.

Also, depending on where you live, a combination of higher temperature and higher humidity may be bothering him and causing him to show more aggressive behaviors.

Did anything happen between the two of you that might have tested the bond he has with you? Have you moved his cage, changed your routine, brought a new friend into your life or done anything that has changed your time with Gomer? Any of these can affect a parrot’s behavior.

Have you rotated or replaced his toys so that he continues to be interested in them?
If you haven’t given Gomer daily opportunities to forage, that would be a good activity to provide for him every day. There are links to three articles on the top of this page that may be of interest or help to you.

Pepper growls too. It’s a vocalization that either shows he’s being possessive about something or that he isn’t happy. When Pepper growls, I don’t bother him.

Bites happen. I find that if Pepper is on me and I’m not paying attention to him, I’m much more likely to get a bite. I’ve learned that paying closer attention to the behavior he’s showing has helped me avoid or prevent many bites that I would have received in the past, though there are times when our interactions end with me bleeding.
Since Gomer, bit your cheek, I would not allow him back on your shoulder for a while. Shoulders are an earned privilege and not a given right for our parrots.

You say you give him “baths on a regular basis”. If he doesn’t already have the opportunity, I’d recommend you give Gomer the chance to take a soaking bath every day. Between bathing, drying and preening a lot of energy gets used up and can’t be used on aggressive or noisy behaviors.

If he is in another room and away from you, could Gomer’s “screeches” be contact calls to connect and find you? Pepper has a very loud and grating contact call. If I simply reply to his call with a quite and low volume response, he won’t continue his contact call.

You say Gomer is 3-years-old, but how long have you had him in your life?

Sennies are great companion parrots. They show their love for us with enthusiasm, but they are equally enthusiastic in letting us know if we’re making them do something they don’t want to do. I wish you good luck in understanding the behavior Gomer is demonstrating and helping him return to his more friendly behaviors.

[nmjgomerdiego]

Gomer has had the same routine since I got him at 8 months old. I have moved a few times and he has had a few different cages but generally his routine has been the same. I think the "terrible twos" theory could have something to do with it but he has always kind of been a cranky bird, just not to this extent. Normally if he was grouchy Iwould just leave him alone but now I can pick him up when he is pleasant and have him turn on me mid session. His wings have pretty much always been clipped but sometimes when they are long I would see hints of this aggressive behavior but as soon as they were clipped he would be good again. I tried bringing another bird home for company (green cheeked conure) but the conure was nippy and Gomer just injured him when they were together, so I found the conure a new home. I put him in his outdoor cage during the day which is located on the back deck. He talks all of the time and eats the same as always which tells me it's likely not a health issue.

I had a senegal before him that was never this difficult. I don't expect any two birds to have the same personality but these two are like night and day.

The days are almost at their longest here but he has never had difficulties with this. We lived in the far north for two years where the daylight can be in excess of 23 hours a day and he never struggled with it then.

I rotate his toys on a regular basis but he seems disinterested after the first round. He no longer swings upside down and plays like he used to. I give him a bath on a fairly regular basis.

Thanks for your help. Nicole