HelixTheSage
New member
- Nov 14, 2023
- 2
- 4
- Parrots
- Dragon - male blue-crowned conure
Tinybird - male grey cockatiel
Ittybit - male grey cockatiel
We just brought home a ~14YO male Senegal from a home that wasn't spending much time with him. He seems to be settling in well so far - no plucking, he's vocalizing to us a lot, and he has willingly stepped up off of his cage a few times despite some territorial strutting.
What I'm finding confusing is his behavior towards me. When I sit down next to him in his cage, sometimes he'll strut a bit, but then he'll come over and offer his head for scratches through the bars, which I oblige. Each time we take him out, he seems insistent on being on me, even flying from his cage to land on me. But after a few minutes of handling he will bite down on my fingers and absolutely refuse to let go. When he does this I put him back into the cage as quickly as possible and then ignore him for several minutes before coming back and speaking to him like nothing happened. This morning he flew from the cage to the top of my head and thankfully didn't bite, but my wife had to come get him off of me since I don't trust him around my hands right now - my skin is broken in at least 15 different places so far.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Does he already like me and the bites are me misinterpreting what he wants in the moment? Or does he consider me such a strong threat that he's being actively violent towards me? Are there Senegal-specific bonded or aggressive behaviors that might give me clues as to what he wants? I can easily read our conure's mood, so I think I was overconfident in thinking I'd be able to do the same with a Senegal.
Thanks in advance!
What I'm finding confusing is his behavior towards me. When I sit down next to him in his cage, sometimes he'll strut a bit, but then he'll come over and offer his head for scratches through the bars, which I oblige. Each time we take him out, he seems insistent on being on me, even flying from his cage to land on me. But after a few minutes of handling he will bite down on my fingers and absolutely refuse to let go. When he does this I put him back into the cage as quickly as possible and then ignore him for several minutes before coming back and speaking to him like nothing happened. This morning he flew from the cage to the top of my head and thankfully didn't bite, but my wife had to come get him off of me since I don't trust him around my hands right now - my skin is broken in at least 15 different places so far.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Does he already like me and the bites are me misinterpreting what he wants in the moment? Or does he consider me such a strong threat that he's being actively violent towards me? Are there Senegal-specific bonded or aggressive behaviors that might give me clues as to what he wants? I can easily read our conure's mood, so I think I was overconfident in thinking I'd be able to do the same with a Senegal.
Thanks in advance!