Hi,
I have a "wild" senegal parrot of whose age I have no idea. She seems young, but at least 1,5 years old (with yellow eyes). It has been 6 weeks since I have got it. Here are my problems with her:
1- Her hair on top of the head and a little bit back to the grey part of the back-neck is very thin. You can see her skin, and it became thinner after she had a shower. Is it because of the water, or could it be a kind of disease?
2- She just eats birdseed (sunflower seed), and nothing else. I managed to feed her peanuts a few times, but that's it. No fruits, no vegetables, no other type of nuts or cracks. How can I make her eat something other than birdseed?
3- This one is long, please bear with me:
I started to handfeed just the second day she arrived. Considering she is caught from the wild, I was very happy that she would be more prone to be tamed properly. I have read every single entry about Senegals in this forum and many others including scholarly articles, and I watched every video on Youtube (which is banned in my country - Turkey) that contains the word "senegal" and a bird, and many more about parrot training. I tried clicker training for about 10 days (sometimes the whole day - with proper break times), but she had no reaction to the sound. I gave up and started the target training with the stick. The same thing happened and I gave up again. Then I tried to put the treat in my hand in such a position so that she has to climb (step-up) to get to the food. No achievement yet
After that, I developed a theory on bird personalities There seems to be two basic types of birds: Some birds recognize humans as their friend or mate, because we are giving them food, toys, etc. That's what creates the so-called "bonding" process, which might require some work but you can clearly see the progress. However, some other birds just never get the idea that we are trying to be good to them. They see humans as something they have to escape from at all times. It doesn't matter how long and hard you try. They get the food from your hand, because they have been hungry for some time, and that's it! They get the treat, and run away. You can even manage to make them step-up a few times, but they are usually accidental and they will never be like Kili, or even half-good as her So, it seems to me that all the work might be for nothing, and I think she will not be tamed ever. There might be a little progress, but there will never be a "bonding", because I cannot see even a tiny bit of sign of progress.
She regularly climbs up to the corner of the cage and tries to get out by chewing bars and trying to squeeze her head through. She does this constantly, even when there is no one around. I felt very sad and let her out a few times, but she flew on top of ceiling lambs or curtains and stayed there for hours. When I was out of the room, she reached her cage and went inside to eat. That's all. She just screams and runs away when I try to get anywhere near of her.
I have read somewhere that you have a 50-50 chance to tame a wild Senegal, and if you cannot see any progress for 5 months, than you might give up. Of course it is a bit early, but how should I behave for the next 3 months to be able to achieve anything? Or, should I give up already? (There are no baby Senegals in my country, and no one breeds them. I would very much like to have a baby Senegal, but it doesn't seem possible)