i need help with my new Senegal parrot

[basemq]

Hi
i'm Basem
and i'm a new senegal parrot owner his name is "Angel", i don't know how can i make him trust me every time i try to touch him he go away from me, anyone can help me with that???

Thank you in advace,,,

[Eric&Rebecca]

Hey welcome to the forums...

Firstly you need to slow way down. He's not going to trust you to touch him straight away. He's been put in a strange environment with a person he doesn't know and he's petrified. Taming is a long process but there's lots of other things to think about before that

OK as he's new you need to leave him for at least a week to settle in, it may take longer than that. You need to sit near his cage but not too near. See how close you can get before he's scared then just reverse slightly and stay at that distance. Day by day you will get closer and closer. During this time in the room with him you must move very slowly, don't make sudden movements and don't go near the cage aside from changing his food and water and cleaning. Speak softly to him or perhaps read a book to him.

Also, diet, its important to get him on fresh foods (like fruits, vegetables, some pulses and grains) and pellets. Seeds are a treat for medium to larger parrots and should not be the basis of their diet. A healthier bird will be easier and more cooperative to train. However, transition to this will take time and you will have to be vigilent to make sure your bird does not starve. Weighing is not a possibility yet but you may want to try the gradual transition method of removing a 1/4 of the seeds and replacing with pellets. Pellet conversion can be immediate or take many months of hard work as does the introduction to new foods. Any fresh food should be removed from the cage after 2 hours to avoid bacteria contamination, get a separate bowl for this. There are many other threads about pellet conversion and diet on this forum.


Your bird needs a quiet and calming environment, make sure where he is is away from loud noises or children (if you have any). Also you will need to stop using all teflon cookware/ non stick cookware, candles, scented products like air fresheners in the home. It's toxic and bad for their breathing and can cause death. Also make sure your house is bird proof, or just restrict him to one room where it is safe. That means blinds should be down to prevent crashing into windows when flying (this will be later on). Any loose cords or electrical wire should be tucked away or covered.


Once you've got him calm and can approach the cage without him being scared then you can start offering him food through the bars, like maybe some apple or something. Now, he won't take it straight away this will involve sitting for hours and an achey arm. Once he;s mastered this you can begin the target trainign as detailed in Michael's how to get your bird to come out of the cage guide.

The main thing is to get your bird settled first the trust can take months or years to build. It's going to be a great and rewarding process for you but will take hard hard work. Once you've got to the stage where he willtake something from your hand we can help you and if you have any questions about anything else just type a thread and we will help

[basemq]

Thank you,,,

what is the best food for him, and how much is the best quantity???

and how can i know that he is feel happy with me or not or i provide him a good treatment???

[Michael]

what is the best food for him, and how much is the best quantity???

I'm a fan of Roudybush. My birds seem to do really well on it and I know many other Senegals that take well to it.

and how can i know that he is feel happy with me or not or i provide him a good treatment???

Don't clip his wings and let him fly to you. If he comes to you to hang out and let's you touch and hold him, then you're doing a great job. In the meantime focus on taming and training.

[Eric&Rebecca]

With the quantity you should find guidance amounts on the back of the packet, if you can't get Roudybush try TOPS or Harrison's. I can't get Roudybush in UK but I can get the other two and they seem to be more widespread if you're not in the States.

With fruits and veggies whatever they'll eat but be careful with fruits as they contain fructose which can be sugary in large amounts and high water content fruits and veg have very little nutritional value and can result in runny poops.

Don't panic if his poop changes colour though as their poop reflects the colour of what they eat. Nearly gave myself a heart attack when I fed my bird a blueberry!

[JaydeParrot]

How long have you had the parrot?

Is it second hand and how old is it?

I bought my now seven year old un-tame Senegal a year ago, and she's tame now.

I'd say some good advice would be as everyone else is saying, let the bird get used to it's new environment for a week before trying to physically interact.

If your bird is a screecher (mine was) get some ear plugs, food for yourself, a book and just spend an hour or more sitting next to the cage so that your side is closest to the cage, they'll get used to you being near them and not being a threat, while also realising that their screeches won't make you leave. Even if your bird isn't a screecher, just sitting next to it's cage and basically ignoring the bird can help the bird just get used to your company.

After a week or so, try to take the bird into a different room (so that it's not constantly flying back or protecting it's cage) and spend five to ten minutes giving it treats, talking to it and getting it to let you touch the top part of it's beak (the only place a parrot can't grab you from). After the short session, take it back to it's original room and leave something nice in it's bowl (a small piece of nut or fruit).

Do this consistently everyday making the sessions a little longer each day but not making them long to the point that your bird is left tired out/frustrated. Always try to end on a good note and if you notice that your parrot especially likes a certain type of food, only give it that food when it is in the sessions with you so that it associates the good food with good experiences.

On letting you touch it, my bird is still not 100% keen, the best you can do is get it to learn phrases like 'can I touch your beak/head/side(wing)? and then gently touch the corresponding areas so it doesn't get surprised. Always start touching with the top the beak and then either try to gently touch the feathers just above the top beak (on the head) or touch the wing.

Birds rarely respond well to gloves, to try to get it to step up onto your sleeved arm (use a rope to push it away from walking up your arm and scrunch your hand into a fist so it can't pick out a finger to bite. If you want to have the bird on you shoulder (not immediately!) and you have long hair, tie your hair into a band and put the pulled up hair over you ears so that the parrot can't see/bite them.

If your bird tries to bite say ay! To give it a slight surprise and then continue to do something else with it- Making sure that you didn't appear worried it was going to bite.

Anyways, these techniques worked with my Senegal but it has taken a year to get it handtame (and it's still not 100%). Just try your best, always end on a good note with your bird and don't get discouraged if your bird bites, it's a learning process for both of you.

Good luck with your new Senegal! .