Senegal Parrot Information and FAQ

[TheNzJessie]

i work at a pet store/breeding house with senegals, african greys cockatoos, cockatiels lorikeets budgies. ringnecks conures and a whole lot of other birds. and yes i agreewith the senegals biting topic

[JBOO46]

I cannot say enough good about the senegal parrot. As a first time owner, I did a LOT of research before I committed to buying a bird, and I had a lot of guidelines: what's a bird that is relatively low maintenance for a parrot, will deal well with me being gone at work for 8 hours a day, is intelligent and somewhat inclined to talk but is also quiet enough to live in an apartment, is moderately priced, and has a mainly sweet demeanor? All my research indicated one bird: the Senegal parrot, which is what I bought 4 years ago, and I have not been disappointed.

My baby, Griffin, is such a gem of a bird. He is incredibly sweet (he will let anyone pick him up), he talks up a storm (he says phrases like "I love you", "Here kitty kitty", "Whatcha doing", "whatcha got", "pretty birdie", and the list goes on. He also gives kisses when asked. He'll lay on his back in my palm, sit on my shoulder, and put his head down when he wants a neck rub. He is the best little bird I could have asked for.

[Michael]

Are you sure we're talking about the same species??

[JBOO46]

LOL Absolutely. I have NEVER had a problem with my bird - the very rare nip here and there (we're talking once every month or two at worst when he's in a bad mood - but I have also learned to read his moods pretty well so I'm pretty good at avoiding any potential nips), and well, he did take a good bite out of my ear once, but that was because he's just gotten his nails trimmed and lost his footing on my shirt, and he grabbed onto my ear to stop from falling LOL. But he comes right out of his cage to me every day with his foot already up and he says "step up" while he does it. The only way he gives me any problems is by chewing on things he's not supposed to (ie important papers, my laptop or cell phone, etc). Other than that he's an absolute joy (his pic is in my avatar)

[emi]

Absolutely useful post.

I have my senegal parrot for only 4 days and it is the first time I own a parrot. That's why all these details are exactly what I need.

A very important thing that wasn't mentioned though regards parrot's age. Is there any safe way to find out my parrot's exact age? I bought it from a pet shop and was told that he is 6 months old but I' m almost sure that he is much - much older.

[Michael]

The only way to find out the "exact age" is to ask whoever raised the chick to check their records (assuming they keep records).

[Natacha]

Absolutely useful post.

I have my senegal parrot for only 4 days and it is the first time I own a parrot. That's why all these details are exactly what I need.

A very important thing that wasn't mentioned though regards parrot's age. Is there any safe way to find out my parrot's exact age? I bought it from a pet shop and was told that he is 6 months old but I' m almost sure that he is much - much older.

While I agree with with this:

The only way to find out the "exact age" is to ask whoever raised the chick to check their records (assuming they keep records).

if you also happen to post a nice clear picture, we could probably determine if his much much older by looking at his eyes - while there is no way to precisely identify the age of a Senegal, the babies (so up to anywhere close to two years of age) have darker grey/blue eyes which will change colour, to straw-yellow as they grow older. I say we could probably say anywhere up to two years of age as not one baby's eyes change at the same rate as another, but if they aren't yellow yet, you could probably count on it being still relatively young.

[emi]

Thanks a lot for your replies...

The only way to find out the "exact age" is to ask whoever raised the chick to check their records (assuming they keep records).

Unfortunately, there are no records and the guy from the pet shop who sold me this sweetie told me almost nothing.

Here is a nice close photo of my parrot hoping that you will "see" something more!

[pchela]

Hi

According to your photo I would guess that he is at least over 2 years old. His eyes are very bright yellow and at 6 months of age they would most likely still be a darker color. I have also noticed that baby birds have very smooth, black beaks that don't start peeling or shelving until they are older. I can't tell for sure from your photo but it looks like he may have a layer of older beak peeling off. Another indicator would be a display of any sexual behaviors. The babies don't tend to show these until they reach sexual maturity though that is not absolute as some younger birds will "practice" sexual displays. Purely as an educated guess, I'd say your instincts are correct and he is an older bird.

Does he happen to have a band on his leg?

[Michael]

Looks older than Kili. She's confirmed to be 2 years and 2 months and she still does not have that much yellow in her eyes. They just started to turn yellow gradually this summer.