New Senegal parrot - help and tips?

[Aleath]

Hello, I am new to this forum and I'm glad I found it so I can ask couple of questions.

The story so far: We got a female Senegal parrot from a recommended breeder a month ago, so this makes the bird four months old. The bird was raised by hand-feeding, has an identification ring on its leg, its wings are clipped. She's an absolute darling. She occasionally tries to bite, but she's not aggressive. She knows the step-up command. We cover her for the night, because she kept waking us up at 4 in the morning and then she was cranky all day. Covering the cage seems to help her to sleep better and she seems happy.

Now for my question. Officially the bird is my brother's and the bird sees him as its master. Every time she sees him, she wants to be near him, but she tolerates other people very well. Here is the problem: my brother will have to leave for a year because of work (he didn't know this when he bought the parrot) and so the bird will have to stay here with us. Is it ok to separate her like that? Will she develop the bond with someone else?

Another question: I want to teach her some tricks while my brother is away. Is it possible for me to teach her something when officially her "master" is my brother? She likes me, but not like my brother.

Thanks for all your comments and tips

[Wolf]

If you have your brothers permission then there should not be any problems as far as the bird is concerned. The thing to be aware of is that if she bonds to someone else there is no guarantee that she will accept him again.
Now with that out of the way, I am seeing several misconceptions that need to be addressed if this situation is to work for both you and the bird. I will tell you right up front that the sole reason that I am here on the forum is because of the birds. I tell you this because everything that I have to say is to benefit the bird, it will help you to build a positive and trusting bond with the bird.
You have the wonderful privilege of having a Senegal parrot, she may be the nominate species with a yellow vest or she may be one of the two other sub species with either a red vest or an orange vest, but she is a Senegal. Basically you have a full sized parrot in a small body, If she chooses to bond to you she is extremely loyal and as a general rule she is not afraid of anything living, although she may scare easily with new toys or anything else that is not alive. She is highly intelligent and can learn all sorts of tricks and she may or may not elect to talk.
You speak of her as if you were talking about a dog or a cat, but she is nothing like either of these animals in any way. You will discover that if you approach her for bonding or training in the manner that you would approach a dog or cat, that you will have nothing but trouble and this little bird will eat you alive. No parrot has a 'master', they do not follow orders, you can't potty train them as it could kill them, they will not accept another person just because you want them to, they bite and it hurts, a lot. You do not order a parrot to do anything, you ask and even coax, but they do not do orders.
You are a predator, a dog is a predator, and a cat is a predator. Both a cat and a dog are domesticated. You think in a manner very similar to a dog or cat and this is because you, like them, are a predator.
A Parrot is not a predator, they are prey. They are not domesticated, although your bird was bred and raised in captivity, it is still a wild creature. In its natural environment, in its flock, it is equal to any other of its flock mates and it does not follow anyone's orders, it chooses for itself what it is going to do as well as when.
Although you were told that this bird is fully weaned, this is not true. It is weaned as far as the breeder is concerned, but it still needs soft food a couple of times a day, so you will need to get some weaning formula and give it some twice a day for another month, maybe two. It also needs a variety of fruits and vegetables in order to remain healthy, a seed diet will end up destroying its liver. The Senegal will need a larger amount of veggies than fruit. You will find that getting it to eat its veggies is just like trying to get any other two year old child to eat its veggies, so you will have to be patient, persistent and creative.
Your new friend is young, so take your time and make friends with her. You will have to earn her trust and then her love as she will not just bestow it upon you as a dog would. So I recommend that you spend at least 15 minutes two to four times a day just talking with her and gaining her trust, there will be plenty of time for training later on. While it is possible to start training right away, you will reach a point where you will begin to have problems and will have to come right back to the beginning and earn her trust, It is actually the foundation for all that could be in your relationship with her and right now it is by far the most important thing that you can do with her.

[Pajarita]

Wolf covered everything and I have nothing to add.

[Wolf]

Actually I haven't covered everything that I would like to, but it is enough to get you started.

[Aleath]

Thank you for your replies. You see, I've never cared for a parrot before, so I don't know how it'll go when I'm left to care for my brother's Senegal. One thing I understand - parrots are not like cats or dogs, they're more fragile and you can't expect the same obedience that we train the dogs.

I already try and spend as much time with my brother's Senegal as possible. She steps on my finger and she allows me to pet her. She takes food from my hands. She nips me sometimes but she doesn't squeeze that hard and I try not to react, because I read that if a person doesn't react to a bite, the parrot will stop.

About the food - we give her vegetables and fruits. She especially loves strawberries, apples and cucumbers, but when I have her, I will try to introduce more variety of fruits and vegetables.

We'll see how it goes but I hope that the parrot will get used to me and that we will form a good relationship.

Thanks again for your replies!

[Wolf]

About biting and not reacting or reacting, there is a lot of differing opinions about this topic, but in the end they all seem to come to the same point given enough time. You parrot is young and she uses her beak like it was a third hand. She will do a thing referred to as beaking, it looks just like a bite but is usually very gentle. Don't worry about it as it is a thing that she needs to do in order to learn about her world and you. But it is a good idea that when she does this beaking that you remind her to be gentle by saying something like "Gently, Gently" and let it go. Now then in the course of events sometimes she is going to do this too hard and we all end up telling them to not bite by using something like "No Bite" and then either moving the bird to a point not on us or moving our hand away from them. We do not make them stay off, we allow them to come right back onto us as if nothing has occurred.
Also if you have a scab on you that they can get at they will without fail kindly remove this thing from your body as it doesn't belong there, so if you have one cover it so that they don't see it.
Kiki, my Senegal hen is often referred to as the vampire bird, because she removes scabs and licks up the blood.
I think that you will do just fine with her as long as you remember to work at her pace and never try to force her to do anything. She is already accepting you or she would not step up for you.
They are primarily a one person bird but as long as she receives the proper socialization she will tolerate other people to a degree, even allowing some of them to pet or hold her. Speaking of petting, don't get into the habit of petting her back. It is an erogenous zone in birds and will cause problems later on, so it is best to avoid it from the start.
This is your first bird and that is great, you are in for a very rewarding and fun time with your new friend. Have you chosen a name for her? Also listen closely to the calls that she makes when you leave or approach her as she will have a name for you. So if you learn to recognize her call for you, then you will know what she calls you in parrot.

[Aleath]

Thanks for the advice with the biting. I used it today, as she suddenly lunged at my finger and squeezed rather hard when I wanted to pet her. I said "No." and put her back to the cage.

By the way, yes I know that I'm not supposed to pet her on her back. I pet her from neck to head against the feathers and she loves it.

About the name: I would like to name her Lily, as it's quite easy, I think, for the parrot to remember, but my brother wants Thea, so I'm not sure how we're going to decide. Most likely family voting

One more question - As I was observing the parrot's behaviour today, I noticed something strange. She was sitting quietly on her top perch (we have a cage similar to this http://www.petcentreonline.co.uk/ecommerce/ProdImages/vienna2.gif), looking around and suddenly she started biting the perch rather aggressively. It lasted for about 5 seconds. I noticed that this behaviour repeated a few times during the day. Do you have any idea why she could be doing it?

[Wolf]

You mentioned that you cover her cage at night and that is ok but please leave an opening on one side of the covering to allow for air flow. It is important for several reasons but air flow will cover it all nicely.
As for the biting, you did well except that you put her in her cage, don't do that. Either move your hand away or just set her next to you. It is ok for her to climb right back up, even. Her cage must never, ever be used for anything resembling punishment. This is her home and her safe place and you do not want to create a problem with her about going into it. You will want her to always go into it willingly and there will be times that you will need her to go in even though she wants to be out.
Great form on the scratching, all of mine love it as well.
A word about the cage, I haven't looked at it yet but I will shortly. Many manufacturers include perches for the cage made of dowel rods and these are not good for your birds feet. I tend to recycle pretty much everything so I take and scallop these perches in a random pattern all around it so as to provide an uneven surface of varying size along its entire length. Or you can replace them with branches from bird safe trees, taking care to leave the bark on as it helps to groom beaks and toenails. Also don't forget to provide a variety of toys for her to play with and destroy. You can make most of them yourself, my birds love to tear up paper and cardboard more than any other toy.
I have no idea as to what your bird is doing but a video of her doing it might help us to figure it out.

[Pajarita]

Don't pet her in the opposite direction that her feathers grow because if she has any pins, you will hurt her. Just use the tip of your finger to gently 'scratch' her skin. And don't expect ANY kind of obedience from her.

Apples, cucumbers and strawberries all need to be organic.

[Harpmaker]

Don't forget beak-scratching! All the parrots I've gotten within arms reach of seem to adore it.

As an illustration of the prey attitude towards predators I offer this experience: I was riding my horse on the trail and he was genuinely frightened of a house cat. That is 1,000 pounds afraid of 10 pounds, but he knew he was prey and she was a predator. Imagine how much worse it is for a 100 gm bird vs a 100kg man, and you can see how brave they are to let you touch them.