Biting Senegal Parrot!

Our 2-year-old Senegal Parrot recently started biting and biting hard!

My husband and I adopted him in July. He was a very even-keel and sweet bird even though he was fearful at first. He came out of his shell in a very short amount of time and clearly wanted to be near us and with us. He would step-up, ride around on our shoulders and accept touches on his head and feet. He bit each of us twice in the first week we had him but he did not bite hard. He warned first and we knew the bites were out of fear and were avoidable.

In the last 2 weeks, he has bitten both my husband and me multiple times without warning- hard enough to break the skin and draw blood. My hands are still healing. Apparently, this is the intensity with which he bit my husband before he bit me and I just didn't believe it. I thought my husband was overreacting. About a week later, he bit me the same way and now I understand.

The first time he bit me this hard was when I was putting him back in his cage. I had just moisturized my hands so they were a tad slippery, he slipped off my finger a little and then bit be right before he was about to step on to his perch. I am not sure if its because I caused him to lose his balance which he did not like or if he did not want to go back in his cage.

The second time was when we took him to my in-law's house. He had been there many times before and is comfortable there. So much so that he now explores the kitchen countertops (where he is not allowed to be). He was on his normal play-stand on the kitchen counter (nothing was cooking!), everyone was in the kitchen as usual and he started his exploring. I usually just ask him to step up and place him back on his appropriate perch which goes just fine. Well, I did that but he didn't want to step up. I asked him again and he did step up. He bit me on the way to the perch and didn't let go! Finally, he let go but then bit me again and again! It hurt so bad. I did not shout out at all but he wouldn't let go so I dusted him off my hand and onto the counter (a very very small distance). I know this is reinforcing but I did not know what to do- I couldn't push into him as he was perched on my hand.

I have been researching how we should address this negative behavior. The biggest problem now is that I am afraid of him! I have been telling my husband that he cannot be afraid of an animal that is going to be with us our whole lives. We have to keep on with business as usual. Now that I have been bitten with the same intensity, I understand!

He is on organic Harrisons High Potency pellets and eats raw veggies mixed in with Sweet and Sassy bird food that we cook. It contains lentils and beans so I am wondering if it is too high in nutrition for him? Especially in the fall? Fall is not normally considered breeding season for parrots however breeding season for Senegal parrots in Africa is from September to November so.......is he hormonal so we need to cut down high energy foods and put him to bed early? is he just going through the terrible twos? Is he suddenly finding us threatening?

We are still working with him everyday but we are very hesitant to offer him our hands. I did not use my bare hands for many days and I have only finally gotten over it enough to offer him my bare hands again. I try not to show fear but its certainly there inside.

Pls, give me your opinions. We are so committed to this bird and want to do what's best for him. He is going to remain with us for the rest of his life regardless, no matter what. We do want to address his biting ASAP to improve the situation for us all.

Is he biting out of fear? Is he biting because he is hormonal? Is he biting because of the terrible twos? or for any other reasons we aren't seeing?

*We trick train and harness train with him usually. We have gone back to the basics and are now only working on step-up nicely again*

~Darwin's Parents~

Have you had birds prior to this one? I am asking so that I can respond without including extra detail---I just want to know where you are coming from.

noodles123 said:

Have you had birds prior to this one? I am asking so that I can respond without including extra detail---I just want to know where you are coming from.

Click to expand...

This is our first bird. We have never had birds before. Thank you.

Okay, so, these may seem like weird questions, but they all matter:
1. What are you feeding him
2. How much SOLID/QUIET sleep is he getting nightly (and do you cover the cage)?
3. How much sun daily --and what type (through window, outdoors, artificial lighting etc etc)?
4. How much out-of-cage time daily?
5. Who does the main feeding/cleaning tasks daily?
6. Does anyone touch him in places other than his head?
7. Does he have access to dark spaces or nesting material?
8. What do people do immediately after he bites?
9. Are you aware of the risks posed by scented products, such as candles, aerosols, carpet cleaners, perfumes etc?
10. Do you know about bird-safe cleaners and their respiratory systems? Especially with regard to PFOA/PTFE/Teflon? (Just because you are new-ish parronts).
11. How long have you had him and what is his backstory?
12. Have you had bloodwork etc done by a CAV (Certified Avian Vet)?
13. How much hands-on interaction time daily (and with whom)
14. What is the cage-size and how is the toy situation?

noodles123 said:

Okay, so, these may seem like weird questions, but they all matter:
1. What are you feeding him
2. How much SOLID/QUIET sleep is he getting nightly (and do you cover the cage)?
3. How much sun daily --and what type (through window, outdoors, artificial lighting etc etc)?
4. How much out-of-cage time daily?
5. Who does the main feeding/cleaning tasks daily?
6. Does anyone touch him in places other than his head?
7. Does he have access to dark spaces or nesting material?
8. What do people do immediately after he bites?
9. Are you aware of the risks posed by scented products, such as candles, aerosols, carpet cleaners, perfumes etc?
10. Do you know about bird-safe cleaners and their respiratory systems? Especially with regard to PFOA/PTFE/Teflon? (Just because you are new-ish parronts).
11. How long have you had him and what is his backstory?
12. Have you had bloodwork etc done by a CAV (Certified Avian Vet)?
13. How much hands-on interaction time daily (and with whom)
14. What is the cage-size and how is the toy situation?

Click to expand...

1. We feed him organic Harrisons High Potency pellets and raw veggies mixed in with Sweet and Sassy bird food that we cook. The Sleek & Sassy cooking diet contains: Cracked Corn, Brown Rice, Oat Groats, Wheat, Lentils, Yellow Split Peas, Flax, Dehydrated Carrot, Buckwheat Groats, Adzuki Beans, Mung Beans, Pinto Beans, Baby Lima Beans, Black Eyed Peas, Small White Beans, Small Red Beans, Dehydrated Green Bell Pepper, Dehydrated Sweet Potato.

2. We cover his cage at night. He goes to bed around 8pm usually but by 9pm at the latest. He is let out between 8am and 9am in the morning. So between 10-13 hours a night. His cage is somewhat close to our tv so even though we turn down the volume, it is not a 100% quiet until about 10:30pm.

3. He has sunlight for as long as the sun is up. It goes down around 4:30pm now that it is becoming winter. He gets natural sunlight through the many windows we have. His cage and perches are placed by windows so he can get natural sunlight. We have very good temperature control in our house so he is not exposed to drafts or anything. We also take him outside in his travel cage to get him used to being outside, especially once we can put his harness on him.

4. He is outside his cage most of the day. One of us is home with him so he is out and about a lot. He has multiple play gyms/perches that he uses during the day. His wings are clipped so we move him from perch to perch as needed.

5. I do the cleaning and most of the feeding but my husband also helps with feeding.

6. We do not touch him anywhere other than his head and feet. I do kiss him (dry) on the beak.

7. He does not have access to dark places or obvious nesting material. He does have paper at the bottom on his cage and under his play gyms which he sometimes shreads.

8. We put him down after he bites and we do not touch him.

9. Yes we are aware of the risks. We do not have candles, scents, aerosols, nonstick cookware etc. in our house anymore.

10. We only use vinegar and water to clean his things. No other cleaners are used anywhere near him.

11. We have had him since July 27th..so for about 4 months now. We found a Craigslist post and went to meet him. We adopted him from a couple who lived in a tiny and very dirty (sorry to say) apartment. We don't think he had been exposed to sunshine in a long time. The apartment was on the ground floor so the blinds were always drawn (a thick coat of dust on the blinds told us that they had not been opened in a long time). He lived with 2 cats and a dog. One of the cats was trying to attack him which is why they parted with him. His cage was in a corner of the apartment, slowly being buried in poop. He only had a desk lamp as lighting, shining straight into his cage. He did not seem aggressive and was kind of interested in us (from a distance) when we met him.

12. We took him to the vet for a checkup when we got him. He was given a clean bill of health, nail trimming, beak trimming, and wing clipping. He has another appointment on December 17th for blood work and blood sexing.

13. He is out of his cage and around us most of the day. One on one interaction is about 2-3 hours a day throughout the day. The actual training interaction is about 10 minutes a day because that is all he can handle. he did not know how to step up or how to do anything else when we got him. He now knows step-up, turn around, wave, target and nod yes. We are also harness training him. I can get him to put his head through the harness but I am scared to even attempt to put it on him completely now with the biting. I (mom) is the one that trains him but my husband and I both interact with him throughout the day.

14. His cage is 36' Length (height) X 26' W X 20' Deep. Much bigger than what is considered the normal requirement for a bird his size. He has lots of toys that we change around. He also has a large table-top play gym, a cage-top play gym and a training perch that we use only for training.

I am glad to hear most of your answers- You can try making an ABC chart (antecedent= what happens right before the behavior; Behavior= exactly the behavior in operational terms; and consequence= what you and everyone else does right after--not necessarily a negative consequence...could be anything).

Yes, the bird could be hormonal, but 4 months is not very long at all to build trust with a bird. You are likely just barely passing the honeymoon phase. It is quite possible that your bird is biting in order to be left alone, and in that case, you putting him down and walking away is reinforcing (again, potentially). In order to be certain, you should chart behavior and see if it increases or decreases in the presence of certain reactions (consequences). As a rule, at the most basic level, behavior that increases is being reinforced.

The main 4 functions of behavior are 1. attention, 2. tangibles, 3. escape, and 4. sensory.

If you bird is scared and trying to get away, you putting him down could serve the function of the behavior IF it is escape --AKA avoiding a scary scenario(thus, putting him down could be making things worse).
Putting the bird down and walking away works for an attention-seeking bird, but it doesn't deprive the function of escape.

Does that make sense at all?
Hormones can be tricky, so I am not saying I have the answer, but before jumping to that conclusion, I would look into ABA (applied behavior analysis).

Also, understand that if you are trying to stop a behavior by "putting it on extinction" (aka depriving the function), it can sometimes get worse in the form of a very temporary "extinction burst".

My guess, the parrot chose you, husband became the rival. Then the slip off your hands made him fearful of hands. An easy thing to happen in s Parrots mind ( those weird hands lol) And your fear is very easy for him to pick up on so feels unsure. The harness training might be a bit too much right now, I would drop it for a month. Go back to trust building, treats every time you come near, time just sitting next to and talking... That's my take for what it's worth. It sounds like you are being great parronts. But yes a slip off the hands can break the trust for a little while, and then your conflicting message by being fearful.

So he is misbehaving and getting his way?


The first bite - slippery hand- was probably not a real bite but just grabbing for a safe hold/ so I am not even counting that one.

The fact that is biting repeatedly and hard is not something you should have to put up with. If he is 2 years old (are you sure he is a he?) he must be sexually mature by now.
My guess is: he got away with biting the hubby and now he tries to get away with biting the other person as well---
time to set some boundries: if he does not want to go anywhere...tough luck!
Now *he* needs to learn that biting will get him absolutely nowhere and if he wants to "talk" he needs to do so far less damaging to you guys.
(the sticky about bite-pressuretraining might help)
Now *you* (humans) need to learn to read your bird a bit better: parrots never 'just bite'- they always show a lot of differents behaviour before that, so learn the warningsignals!
Not to avoid annoying the bird (he will have to learn to put up with some things - like being told "no, you cannot go there"), but to avoid being bitten...


So glad to read you are still working with him.
(sorry to be in conflict with other advice: the more you work with him- <positive contact!> the faster he will get over this)


Just putting him down and then still keeping an (wary) eye on him will just teach him "if you want your space- bite a person"-- always make sure you put him down and ignore him completely (like Ceasar with his dogs: no touch, no talk, no eyecontact).
Shunning is not something parrots enjoy and being kicked out of the social group is scary.
Just pretend he dropped of the face of the earth and go do something different.
Oh... and make sure you both do this!
every
single
time

I'm sorry your bird has started biting you! It's an awful feeling, isn't it? We wonder what we did wrong (probably nothing) and take it so very personally when birdie wants our flesh as some sort of payment.

Try to think of your bird as an unruly toddler. I've seen little people learn to hit out at others and sometimes they really hurt. The toddler isn't nasty or bad, he's just pushing his boundaries to see where the behaviour can take him. It doesn't take long to 'train' such behaviour out of a child and it doesn't really take long to train it out of your parrot.

What I'm saying is, don't get sad or scared of him. Get annoyed and make your mind up not to tolerate this bad behaviour. Now, that doesn't mean punishing him severely, it just means putting him away from you when he bites and perhaps even putting him back in his cage.

My Rosetta has a horrible habit of lying on her back and beaking/grasping my hand with her beak and claws. She's not strictly biting, but boy, she hurts me (bleeding as I type this)! When she starts this behaviour, I turn her over and relax my hands so her weight is on the floor. I slowly and systematically disengage myself from her and present a chewy toy for her to chomp on instead. It usually works. If she refuses to let go, I cart her over to her cage and dump her ceremoniously on the floor. She gets a ten-minute time-out and then we try again.

You've had much more wise advice from other members, but two things haven't been mentioned that I've found very useful. One is to always carry a chopstick so you can remove the beak without having to use your other (naked, vulnerable) hand and the other is to always present your bird with your tightly closed fist rather than an open hand. It's harder for him to get a purchase on you and bite down if your fist is tightly closed. Also, for an old bag like me, whose skin is starting to wrinkle, you *don't* want birdie getting hold of a fold of skin and chomping on that!

The main thing is, take heart. Your bird is a rescue and, like mine, has had an 'interesting' past of which you only know a little bit. There are lots of things that have formed his behaviour in the past, but with patience you can re-form it to suit yourself.

Best of luck to you!

This has nothing to do with his diet (which is very good and I would not change one bit), and I don't think it's hormonal either, as if it was he/she would be also displaying other hormonal behaviors as well. I think this is a matter of you've only had him since July, and you went right into "training him tricks" and "harness training" him before you had really earned his trust. So as already mentioned above, I'd take a break from both teaching him tricks or trying to harness train him, because while he's learning the tricks and starting to accept the harness, he doesn't know that he's supposed to step-up when asked to do so, go into his cage, etc. The basic, fundamental things that a bird learns as you earn their trust.

I don't know what your husband was doing with him when he bit him, but it seems that both times he bit you, you were carrying him somewhere on your hand, correct? Once he slipped off of your hand while going back to his cage, and the other he bit you while you were carrying him across the room to his perch/stand, and he "hung-on" and wouldn't let go...Was your husband also "carrying him somewhere" on his hand/arm when he bit him? Were his wings clipped at his prior home?

If his wings weren't clipped until you adopted him, it's quite possible that he's afraid of falling/being dropped by you while you're carrying somewhere...He bit you after he started to slip off of your hand just before stepping onto the perch in his cage, then he bit you and hung-on as you were carrying to another perch...He may not have adjusted to not being able to fly, or it may just be a fear of being dropped. But if your husband was also carrying him somewhere when he was bitten, then that probably answers the question.

Regardless of the why, you need to take a step back and realize that he's still settling-in to your home and getting used to you/bonding with you. He's a social bird and he wants to be with people, and he's no-doubt learning to trust you, but he's obviously not there yet. And since you have been concentrating more on teaching him tricks and harness training, which he's apparently been doing really well with and has learned quite a few tricks, he knows what he's supposed to do when it comes to that, but doesn't know about the simple, basic behaviors. So you need to "Start Over" with him completely, like today is the first day you've brought him home, and start "training" him to simply step-up whenever he's asked to, staying on your hand/arm when walking around the house, going into his cage when asked to/brought to the cage, coming out of the cage when the door opens/stepping-up for you to come out of his cage, etc.

Go back to basics, verbally praise him and reward him, and go at HIS PACE. Start simple, teach him the basics and earn his trust fully, THEN worry about teaching him tricks and harness-training him...

I would like to let everyone know that Darwin is no longer biting. He has not bitten us in a long time.

We changed his diet (from Harrison's high potency to Harrison's lifetime Maintainance and we cut out the Sleek and Sassy cooking diet we were giving him which contained A LOT of protein in the form of lentils and such).

We also began giving him time-outs for biting. People may disagree with this but it has worked for us and we feel like Darwin respects us now. It has not affected his trust with us either. He still steps up, comes to us and is affectionate. He would rather be with us than not with us. When he bites we gently pick him up with a towel, put him in his smaller cage, cover it up and put him in the bathroom for about 10 minutes. He is an angel when we take him back out. It has worked wonders for us. Darwin listens and is a very sweet bird. We have gotten good at reading his body language too so we respect his space when he is in his moods or having a moment. We don't push him during these moments because we don't want to set him up for failure (unnecessarily provoking any bites), we want to set him up for success. We are approaching one year together (in June or July) and we love our boy.

Glad to hear it!

(I always love updates)


You've found a great way to communicate (better listening on both sides) what more can anyone ask for?
I am so proud of you guys for hanging in there and making it work


(faith in humanity: restored)
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