Teaching a bird not to "be so rough"

[delusional]

Hello! We have just adopted a 2.5 year old Senegal whose previous owner decided she no longer wanted him and didn't have time for him. She said he hasn't been out of his cage for quite some time.

He's nervous, as expected, and in a cage that's far too small for him. The previous owners had taken to wearing gloves when they did handle him because, although he doesn't seem to be being aggressive, when using his beak to steady himself he does grab hold quite hard (like, draw blood hard).

Like I said, he doesn't seem to be trying to bite, it really does just seem that he doesn't know how hard he's actually "holding on".

Can anyone suggest a way to correct this?

 

[oled]

To start with you have to gain hes trust so it is not the rigt time now but when he bites to hard say NO ore something and remover your finger. Soner or later he will learn what NO is and hopefully in time stop biting.

I have a DYHA and they are known as being to hard biting when playing. He has made big progres just knowing that he can trust me.

 

[antoinette]

[FONT=&quot]Top on your list, a visit to an avian vet is a must.
Let the bird be checked over, peace of mind for a healthy bird.
Your bird (name please) must have time to settle down and adjust. Just imagine how many new things the bird has encountered.
So many new faces and voices, it must be so scary.
To gain your trust could take days, weeks, months even years. Each and every bird is so different. He obviously feels a comfort zone is his cage.
Sit near the cage, talking and singing to the bird. Let him become familiar with your voice. Leaving the cage door open, offer him treats through the bars at first. When he willingly accepts them, try placing a treat near the open door. Eventually he will starts taking the treats from the door, make no attempt to touch him. When he does come out, he will probably climb around on the cage. Let him explore in his own time. To get him back in, place a treat inside the cage, making sure it's visible.
When out the cage, he is jumpy. Are there perhaps not to many children surrounding him at one time. He might not be used to children, they may be excited being near him. Let them sit quietly, (which is difficult for any child) in the same room, for him to to become familiar with them as well. Please always be present, when the children are in the same room as him, especially if he is outside the cage. Birds can be extremely unpredictable, one of them could make a loud noise, and startled the bird, resulting in the bird biting one of them.


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[delusional]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah at the moment he's just in his (way too small.. =( ) cage, half covered with a blanket so he can hide if he wants (hehe little orange eyes peering around the edge of a blanket watchig my every move), in the corner of the room and he'll be staying there for the next couple of days to settle in. I will open his cage and see if he wants to come out for some exercise, but I'm not going to force anything at this point. Luckily he's quite happy to step onto a stick to go home.

Then when his new cage comes next week I suppose there'll be an adjustment period to that as well, and THEN we can work on getting used to new humans..

I just wasn't sure if I should be treating this as a "bite" since he's not acting aggressive in any other way, he just takes hold of the skin on your finger when he's climbing up (same as my 'tiels do) but he closes his beak a little too hard... I don't want him to associate "No" with stepping onto my hand and somehow learn that stepping up is bad.

 

[delusional]

Oh, and another reply while I was typing. =)

We will be taking him to the vets next week for his first checkup. He has been being called "Billy", but I don't really like that name and he doesn't seem to know it, respond to it etc. so I don't know if we will be keeping it as that...

Oh and, I dislike human children, so too many of them being near him will not be a problem from here on (though he did live with some before so maybe that is where the habit developed)

 

[aliray]

If he uses the stick why not try just that for a while untill he settles in more and gets used to you and the new cage and work on hand trining later. It sounds like he really needs you.congrats on your new bird. Alison and sweetie pie

 

[delusional]

Yes, I think it may have to be the stick for a while!

For now we just need to settle on a name, my partner wants to call him "Steven Senegal".... err... *groan*... I need some ideas, quick, before that one sticks!

 

[delusional]

Ahhhhh I just watched him carry a monkey nut to the top of his cage but then he dropped it when he was climbing onto his perch so I went and passed him another one through the bars and he actually took it from me! Eeeee! Hahaha I'm such a dork. =P

 

[aliray]

That made me chuckle. Try posting a new thread asking for help with a name there ar a lot of people with some good suggestions out there Alison and sweetie pie

 

[Mozzie]

Congrats on your new Senegal! Sounds like you have got some great advice already and that you are doing a great job with him!

 

[suebee]

that firm *bite will be from his previous owners using gloves!
if your bird hurts you, let it know, i always make an oww sound, coz i'm a wimp, but then again my nut bites coz she wants to! (very rare now!)

keep your hand rock steady, to avoid beak grip! but as mine was such a biter, i now use my wrists or arm for her to step up on, but my man an son use there fingers, i will even use my bare arms for a step up now, but still uncomfortable with my hands lol but if his happy with the stick, use that to transfer him onto your hand/arm etc

learn his body language! and as you are reading his, he will be reading yours

you will most probably have what you think are set backs, like i did with my nut, but a change of tactics an perserverance works best, its taken us a yr to get to where we are, it can be very disheartening at times when these set backs happen, but thats all they are, but inbetween she has been a barrel of laughs an fun!!!
they are very brave birds! so if he appears freaked out by anything, introduce it slow, nut was petrified of the hoover, on or off! now, she couldn't care less, and if its something she does not like, and can kill/destroy it, she will. so if you didn't tidy it away and it gets chewed up, its your own fault! not your birds

you will have so much fun with your sene! an they are as sneaky as they are lovable! so pics please an keep us up dated!!!

research on line if you have not already!

NO, CHOCOLATE, ADVACADOS, APPLE SEEDS, ASPARAGUS, DAIRY (to be safe, mine gets a tiny amount of cheese, because she goes mental till she is allowed some, i need to be stronger but when i say tiny i mean a crumb a week and we never eat it when she is about!)

get a fruit kabob thing an put brocoli stalk etc through it, they will spend ages when caged shredding it

 

[delusional]

Thanks for the replies, guys. =)

Yeah I had thought that might be part of it, maybe he was a little firm at first so they started using gloves and he never learned otherwise..?

I think he's getting a little more comfortable, I was teling Dexter (on of my 'tiels) that he was a good boy this morning and the little sennie joined in saying "good boy" with me. =)

I also gave him a couple of new toys. I haven't seen him touch the ones he came with yet, and from looking at them they've been in there for a while and there were no extras in the bag of his stuff that we were given. I wonder how long he's had the same 3 toys for... The fruit kabob thing sounds like a great idea, I'll have to pick one of those up.

I'm so looking forward to getting to know him and letting him see that his world doesn't have to be watching noisy children from behind bars anymore.