Socialization

[CeruleanSilver]

I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with the tendency for aggression in some Senegals, and unfortunately I am one of those stupid people who figured the cute baby stage would last forever and got a rude awakening about a year ago. My bird, Tengu, has become vicious, and was very aggressive towards me until I let him grow out his wings. Since then, he flies away from me when he gets upset, and I let him out of his cage and wait for him to come to me, which solved the problem of him biting me shortly after being picked up. I figured he liked things on his own terms.

Now, I also have a boyfriend who would very much like to be friends with my bird. Tengu has always had a preference for females, and has been DNA tested to show that he is male. Tengu will fly to females and will sit on their heads, but males he flies straight at and bites viciously, frequently going for the soft fleshy bits. Recently, I convinced my boyfriend to play on the computer, being vocal, while wearing a hoodie. I sat on the bed, watching, with Tengu. This resulted in Tengu flying to him and sitting on his hoodie. Tengu was occasionally aggressive, so I sprayed him with a squirt bottle (because there is so much at stake, like getting bitten on the face) whenever my boyfriend was attacked. Eventually Tengu gave up on my boyfriend, and started leaving him alone altogether. I told my boyfriend to take down his hoodie, and sure enough, Tengu was still uninterested. If my boyfriend mimics Tengu, Tengu will mimic him back, and eventually attack. Otherwise, they get along fine just with my boyfriend talking while Tengu sits with me on my bed.

And now, the reason for my life's story. I very much need advice on how to proceed. I would like Tengu and my boyfriend to be on good terms. I've played bad cop to my boyfriend's good cop with Tengu, he gives treats, I put Tengu away, my boyfriend opens the cage to let him out, etc. My boyfriend can even get Tengu to do basic tricks like 'wave' and 'bob'. But my boyfriend wants Tengu to be friendly towards him, and so would I. The tension is killing my relationship with Tengu. It makes playtime stressful, and I have to keep it to a bare minimum. But specifically, I want to know what I should do next. Should I encourage my boyfriend to approach him while Tengu is next to me? Should I leave Tengu over next to my boyfriend? Should I leave them in a room together, minus me? Tons and tons of treats? Tengu is very phobic, so one step forward, two steps back, if I screw this up...

Any feed back is much appreciated. I always love reading what you guys have to say, and a lot of it has helped, like the good cop bad cop thing I've heard about from some other sennie owners.

Tengu is roughly 3 yrs, male, and of the nominate species.

 

[khaiqha]

Well...from what I'm reading, Tengu already associates bad experiences with the boyfriend now. It's unlikely that Tengu would think "bite = spray" as opposed to "anytime this guy is over, my owner gets stressed, people freak out, and I get sprayed in the face when I land on him."

I suggest you use conditioning to build a happy association between Tengu and the bf. What makes your bird happy? Have the bf do that with him. When Tengu is just naturally happy, have the bf interact with him. Reward and praise Tengu for being calm around the bf, such as when he rests with fluffed feathers or preening around him.

It's also important for you not to be tense during these interactions. Tengu will be taking social cues from you, if you're tense when the bf is playing with Tengu, then the bird will think you're tense because the bf is there.

In the end, I would play it slow and focus on the positives. Your bird has a long lifespan ahead of it. There's no need to rush things or get anxious over it.