Man eater!

ellsiebird

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Mar 19, 2011
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Parrots
"Ellsie" Female, 2 years old, Senegal
Heya

I have a 2 year old female Senegal parrot, to me she is fine i can stroke her, play with her, turn her upside down etc, but she does have a nasty streak towards me at the same time every now and then which is normally unexpected.

But her issue seems to be with men, she has made 3 attacks at mens faces, 2 being sucsessful which ended up in a pierced lip and a bleeding forehead!
it really comes from no where, she was happily being played with and stroked by my male firend, and curled up into his arms and went to sleep.... so i thought....and so quickly went for his face...... the lip piercing was when she was out, sat on the man, happy as can be, flew off, came back to his shoulder....and got hold of lip and was NOT letting go!!!

im desperate to social ise her, but i dont know how as i live out of town so rarely have people over, nor do they any patience for her when she acts like this ( Guess not all people like the ups and downs of animals!)

she was left with a friend for a weekend who has many parrots and even told not bring her back, and this person is female

i guess the man hate comes from her past some how as only had her 6 months, and know at one point she was in a pet shop and have noticed her wing and tail feathershave been cut (not to be clipped, jus random chunks taken) so can only assume something from that!

sorry for the essay, but any ideas how to control her attcks would be great.

she very recently had me taken to A&E as she bit that hard into my finger, so i some times get this aggresion aimed at me.

any sudjestions would be great!!
Thanks
 
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suebee

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Jan 13, 2011
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i'm so sorry to read this, but she is like my nut!

basically nut does as she pleases (within reason)

ok main tips do not stroke her down her back! ever! only stroke head to shoulder! around neck

when you go to give her a pet etc watch her eyes and body posture, if she shows any signs of not really wanting to walk away!

http://parrotmusings.blogspot.com/2009/03/parrot-body-language.html

i have a very simple system with nut, i do an inverted come on signal with my fore finger, if her eyes don't pin, i walk away, and at times she will bow to make it really clear she wants a head rub, i never rub for longer then what she wants cos of the beak lol

its not controlling these attacks you need to be doin but avoiding them!

its rare for me to ask nut to step up onto my finger, cos she will give it a chomp if she does not want to, if i am moving from room to room, i ask her to follow, she will either fly to my shoulder or into room i am off to

ok what you feeding her on and do you have lots of chew toys?? and what type?? etc how much out of cage time does she have, when you are at work is the telly on for her etc
 

MikeyTN

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Feb 1, 2011
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Antioch, TN
Parrots
"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Those issues needs to be addressed when your parrot attacks you in such a way and they're not enjoyable! You must do so at an early stage before it goes too far. First of all, you NEED to have her clipped during this stage so she is fully dependent on you to pick her up and what not. By allowing her to fly however way she wants is giving her full freedom to do what she wants to the point she will be the controlling one. Sometimes you have to know different type of bird's behavior to judge to clip or not to clip. I'm against clipping, I have my own reasoning, unless it's for training purpose then I'm all for it. I did not clip my new babies cause they're well behaved, they don't bite, don't fly around unless I walked into a different room and they follow. Issues like what your having IF taught while they're still young, it can be corrected. Sometimes even if they're older and mean, it can be taught if you have lots of time available on your hands. That's what I used to do when I had lots of time on my hands. I tamed down the meanest birds people give up for adoption. But now without the time, I ended up picking up two very mean birds that was unwanted....I tried to tame them on my free time, but without success, they both have a mate so that makes it even harder. But they live in the aviary so it don't matter, the only reason I tried to get them tamed is because I remove them for nail trim and such, I really don't wanna get my blood drawn every time. My doctor does that to me already....lol....With your single bird, it should be a lot easier to tame once her wings are clipped. You must always be stern with her whenever she tries to bite, must tell her no biting and if she raise her beak at you, tap the top of her beak with tips of your finger and tell her no biting! Another thing that helps is doing perch training, use couple wooden perches and make her step up one after another. During training, if she ever tries to attack while on the perch even after you told her no, without getting the risk of being bit, you roll the perch a little back and fourth. While she's trying to balance, she won't try to bite. By doing the perch training, it's also a great exercise for the bird to keep her occupied from boredom or trying to dominate over you. You also DO NOT let her sit on your shoulders, either the perch or your finger/arms. Keep her lower at about your chest level. You must dominate over your birds, not the other way around! When your giving treats, give it to them from your hands, NOT just toss in their bowl. I always asks my birds, "Want a treat?" They all get excited where they beg for it.
 
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ellsiebird

ellsiebird

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Mar 19, 2011
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"Ellsie" Female, 2 years old, Senegal
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Thanks will have to think about the clippping but it does make sense, though she is VERY clung to me, well except for these rare extreme out busts, do you think this would worsen the situation that i think is jealousy for others around me?

far as stroking i can stroke her any where she likes it, and is fantastic at stepping up! and we noticed she has 'crazy eyes' she never really keeps her eyes in focus they always move so cant tell by that! Thanks guys x
 
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MikeyTN

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"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Jealousy can play a big part in the attacks! Some birds are like that. But she still needs to be taught!!!
 

suebee

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Jan 13, 2011
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if you stroke her down her back, to your sene its like a mating/sexual thing! did her bottom raise up?? that'll be the sign she is ready to mate! so when that bottom goes up an theres no joy coming from it, she'll be frustrated! and when your male friends are about, she will fly to them and instantly raise her bottom?? same thing again

her season is nov to feb, she'd be most agressive then, and if like mine as ours are the same age mildly aggressive now as she is molting, but even out of season don't stroke down her back

if she bites you/raises her beak and you tap her beak, when she is in season, she will out right attack you! the best and only thing to do is walk away! or better not to fuss her when she is not in the mood, she is no different then a hormonal teenager! without reason, but now she is out of season she will bite and raise her beak alot less! unless you are over fussing her, stroking down her back! or asking her to do something she does not want to do



 
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ellsiebird

ellsiebird

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"Ellsie" Female, 2 years old, Senegal
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Got her out this morning and just got another bite, but then i was looking at her feathers as she is in a malt and was checking she wasnt plucking as there are alot of feathres there so maybe she just didnt like it but that was one hell of a bite that was not on!

No she does not raise her bum to me at all, nor to males that are around, have never seen her do that.

If i try to tell her off she will just re act by attacking back, its hard not to react as she latches to your hand and my god does it hurt, so itry my best to get her off and get her back into her cage as quickly as possible with out talking to her(this is hard when you need to scream!!) and put her away as soon as she does it..... but this has had no real affect as punishment.

Is clipping permanent?

Thanks
 

suebee

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clipping is not pernament, the feathers grow back, but please ask the vet if he/she knows what there doing, as clipping to much will cause pain and she will be even more moody, and remember YOU took her to get this done

ok last time nut told me off for telling her off for taking down my curtains, she flew from the curtains onto my thumb and bit my finger before flying off?? i was sqwarkin she was sqwarkin, we were both in a flap, :11:
my reaction other then to sayin oww loudly, was to blank her, you know how to give some1 the iggy when sat in same room as them? its the same thing, i huntched over my pc desk with my back to her, did not go to her or even look at her, even when she did her cute come to me whistle.
she then flew briefly onto my shoulder, and i took that as a sorry and everything was ok from there, i got more curtain hooks mind lol

ok why don't you start again with her? take everything back to the start, treat her as she is a new pet??

i think you have been bit enough and prob a little tense in askin her to step up or just waiting for next bite! and worse feeling a tad helpless cos i know i did when nut behaved like a prize brat! :09:

problem is you want her to do something, she's not ready to do it yet/or does not want to, bite! so ask her and wait, and if she does nothing, walk away

as for gettin my nut outta her cage, i leave door open, she will use my fingers to help herself up to roof of the cage, but thats it, i can clean her cage etc and she will step up from a perch in her cage for me, but i generally leave her to help herself out, these are very independant and strong willed little birds :) so if they don't want your help they'll let you know :mad:

in takin a step back with nut, she's a lot happier with me, i am not her fav person, just the one she spends most time with, so she is happy to follow me about the house when were alone, when ever i go to leave the room i will ask if she wants to come, she will either fly onto my shoulder, or look so so, so if she don't fly to me, i leave her in room, close door behind me, its never for long. so next time she makes her mind up faster lol

when i ask her to step up, if nut takes a step back it means she does not want to, so i leave her to it

ok main point punishing her is NOT an option, you need to make her your friend. they do not see being put into the cage as punishment for biting etc just you being mean, she bites you, you ignore her, turn your back to her stiffen your body posture! but not for long as they seem to forget they bit you even if your fingers layin on the floor still lol

its really tricky, but in my experiance with nut, all the bites i've had of her was because i did not read her body language, i tried to do things with her she wasn't happy about. nuts like a teenager all attitude and beak, but i do love her company, and now we have ironed out the mis understandings, we are great company for each other:21:

and i cannot wait till she gains a few more yrs and she is over her teenage yrs!!!
 

MikeyTN

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Feb 1, 2011
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Antioch, TN
Parrots
"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
That's one bird you've trained Sue. It may not work like that everytime. Like I've said earlier, sometimes you let the bird train you instead. My training method have work for me for many years. During mating time, yes its best to ignore, but any other time its hard to ignore....
 
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ellsiebird

ellsiebird

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Mar 19, 2011
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"Ellsie" Female, 2 years old, Senegal
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I cant help but think that clipping her would only create more frustration as i know she suffers from this alot, as i have said i think some one has had a random scissor attack at her wings as i am sure all the wrong feathers are cut, including her tail feathers? im sure this isnt normal.

Though if i cant get through to her any other way i will greatly consider it.

I think i have been over whelmed of how much work birds really are, its just as hard as having a dog, except with the attitude of a stroppy teenager (is this karma for my 'emotions' back in the day towards my own mother!!)

But i wont give up on her and can but try as i can only guess she has gone from house to house for her behaviour which has only exacerbated the situation!!
 

MikeyTN

New member
Feb 1, 2011
13,296
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Antioch, TN
Parrots
"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
That's why you take her to a good avian vet to have her clipped!
 

suebee

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Jan 13, 2011
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lol mikey nut did train me i listened to her, watched her body language, and now all is fine :) i did do the heavy handed punishment at the start, as i assumed that was best, but after some research into body language etc and some rather passive punishments, its worked

way i see it is, she is my only bird, so she cannot pick up how to behave from another bird

but after the season she did calm considerably! she still bites but i think its just to make me squeel! cos it never really hurts that much lol and i know she does it when she is bored for my reaction, the git!

ok a vet visit might be good just to rule out anything else, as long as your sure the feathers have beeen cut, and not broken off?

actually i found my steppin back to be less work, as i just spent time with her in the living room, watchin telly etc at the start she spent all her time on her cage, so i left her to it, only goin to give her a head rub every now an again, then she went over clingy and bit me more! grrr felt like a step back, but i just went cold over the bites, as she bit just cos, not because i was askin her to do something, and then it kinda just fell into place, she came to me when she wanted to and knew there was always an open shoulder

though she did try top of my head a few times, that lasted 1 day, as every time she landed there i'd lower my head to a seat etc lol

there are other members in her home so she can pick who she wants to play with lol or chew, though she prefers my man, she nips him the most

i think she nips outta boredom after sittin on his shoulder for so long, just to see him squeel! his got skin tags on his neck

as for my son, he gets the proper bites, but thats cos he will annoy her! as in over fuss her when she's not interested etc

and thank you for trying so hard with her! once you get her out of this stroppy mode it'll be so much easier :) she will know your likes dislikes and you will know hers! just as nut knows mine :)

oh forgot to mention, toys help! nut had this 1 toy she wanted to destroy! it was a small plastic ball with a bell in it, i use to pop it on her cage just to watch her run about after it etc, but my son stood on it grrr
if your birds a chewer get lots of thing for her to chew, even hang some parrot toys on you for her to chew when she is on you lol
like i said nut nips for effect lol

you already have a good relationship with her, so i don't think it'll be to much hard work, just take it slow and keep her beak busy else where!
 

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