Hostile Senegal Parrot

[lauradele]

Hello! I recently adopted a very sweet Senegal parrot, Kiwi...well she is only sweet to me. I have almost had her for a month and I am quite impressed with her progress. She can even go out in public with me and we have become fast friends.

My concern is this: She is particularly hostile towards my brothers (they are also my roomates) and my boyfriend-males in general. Neither of the three interact with Kiwi very often mostly because she is so mean to them.

Her body language is this: When she is on my shoulder, she will puff up, crouch down, and lift her wings and garbles as if she is in fighting position. When she is on her cage and she spots one of my brothers, she will do strange head twists and movements and looks very maniacal. She has drawn blood on each of these men. When she bites, she does not let go. She has also flown directly to each of my brothers for the purpose of attacking them.

Kiwi is three years old and this is her third home. I have been told that she is much more partial to females than men. So far this is true, but I did not realize that she does not appear to like males at all.

I want Kiwi to be comfortable with the people she lives with and I would love for her company to be enjoyed too. Right now my brothers and my boyfriend are afraid of little Kiwi.

Is there any advice out there as to how I can train Kiwi to trust males? Or to at least stop biting? Any literature you can recommend?

 

[HalfInsane]

Senegals are prone to being one person birds/becoming comfortable with only one gender (not really a matter of them being able to tell per say, rather they become accustomed to the voice, clothing etc of one gender and aren't comfortable around the other).

If she becomes very aggressive when they get near her cage I wouldn't recommend trying to work with her there; it is HER space and they are not welcome in it. Same goes for you, you passing her to them will only invite aggression.

Your best bet is to have your brothers/boyfriend work with her in a neutral space, a room where she doesn't spend much time so she doesn't view it as her domain. You can set her on a perch, etc and leave the room. Then have your brother/boyfriend go in. Try having them just talk to her. Once she seems comfortable with this they can try having her step up on a dowel perch (if she is no used to stepping on a dowel you'll need to get her use to it first), then once she's comfortable with this, move to stepping up to a hand. If she seems uncomfortable at any point, don't force her. Aggressive is often more about fear than anything. Treats are always a good incentive. And this process could take a LONG time. It is also very important that if someone is to work with her, that they are calm and confident. Nervous people should never work with parrots.

 

[kaybear]

yes birds are designed to mate with one other for life, but this behaviour should and can be discouraged, it is more than possible to have a well socialised bird that will go to anyone.

I comes down to desensitization and training.

the men in your home need to show her they're no threat, this could take months BTW. they need to spend time with her when she's in the cage, sit close and read to her, when she's no longer interested in them, they can move to target training her around the cage, she is inside, they outside, push the stick through the bars and when she touches, click and reward, this will leave her feeling safe inside her cage, and learning that these guys aren't so bad after all, they're engaging with me and i'm getting treats.

this then moves onto you removing her from the cage, placing her down on a perch, NOT the cage, if she sits on you, she is NOT to be on your shoulder, the men need to slowly move towards her watching for signs she is becoming uncomfortable, as soon as she starts to appear bothered, they need to stop, stay where they are, don't move back, or she wins, as soon as she settles down, then they can move away. This teachers her that the sooner she settles down her discomfort is removed, it also teaches her that throwing a tantrum gets her nowhere.

once the guys are able to stand next to you, you need to move onto contact, this gets a little more complex to describe, and i'm writing on a deadline, i'm sorry. you can hold her and get the guys to offer targeting again, so they're doing something she knows about already and knows is safe and rewarding, you can then ask her to step up onto their finger and then immediately get to her step back onto you, this keeps her occupied but having stood on them, big rewards for this! It's also good for her to know some tricks, so the guys can cue the tricks and reward her. continuing with this gentle but pushing approach will take time, but she will eventually learn they're no threat and can be fun. the important part is for you not to pander to her tantrums, for the guys to stay where they are until her tamtrum stops and then move away, also bites to be ignored as best as possible. and for every experience to be a possitive one.

for her, these guys are a threat and a danger as far as she's concerned, she needs to be taught that they're not, and that her behaviour towards them is unacceptable. if you'd like me to talk in more detail about the end stages of the guys making contact, please do get in touch and i'll write back when i'm not in work about to lock up, lol.

I hope this has helped

Kay

 

[suebee]

my nut was like your kiwi at the start, i did not do any special training etc, but it did take a long time for her to know her place, so to speak. i do understand peace needs to be restored ASAP but certain behaviors in our birdies just need time to sort out or adjust

we discouraged all mating behaviors

the current least favorite person would do the treats, you say you've had her a month?? she can change who she decides to like for what ever reason, like mine did and does throughout year.

any anti social behavior, we all make our disapproval voice/sound at her, same time and then the situation is considered dealt with, there and then. she now also understands this sound to be a no, and we never use this sound in play.

diet also plays an important part an same with routine

but i am glad you and kiwi are at least enjoying each others company and when ever your b/f or brothers walk into the room, relax as if there not there, that is a good start for now, don't bother even trying to make friends etc

hope this helps some an keep us up dated