I'm totally in love with my new little bird. He's very sweet and cuddly, even though he sometimes bites and considers me his poop stool. He's 9 months old (I'm not exactly sure if it's a "he" but that's our assumption). My husband and I got him in Petland and his hatch certificate says he's a Senegal parrot. However, everyone here with Senegals says theirs has a vest coloring. Mine is just different shades of green with a gray head. The underside of his wings is bright yellow, but the chest is completely green. His eyes are also not yellow - they're kind of gray and come out almost blue in some photos I've taken of him. His beak is two-toned, gray at the top and black toward the tip. Not to say I don't like his coloring, I think he's the cutest little guy. I'm just wondering if this is normal for Senegals.
With that said, I have a few questions that I can't seem to find answers to:
1) What are the different development stages of Senegal parrots? At what point are they considered babies/adolescents/young adults/adults/seniors and what physical and emotional changes come with each stage? Are there certain things they are unable to learn before a certain age (i.e. human babies can't really control their bowels for quite some time...)? I saw many posts about adolescent parrots being somewhat hormonal and crazy. Just want to know when to expect what.
2) What are typical parrot needs and behaviors? When we first got him, he kept scratching himself a lot. Until I realized this was called preening, I was convinced he had some mite infestation or dry skin. I have never had a bird before and most forum posts use terms that I am unfamiliar with. I've looked them up, but I'm sure I'm missing a bunch.
In terms of bird care - should I get a heating lamp or something for it? I noticed its feet are kind of cold when I pick it up. Also, I read they're supposed to bathe, but I have not seen him do so. I tried misting him by spraying the mist above him and letting it fall on him, but he seems to hate that, even when I made the mist warmer. I tried turning on the water in my sink to a nice warm temperate and cupping my hands - he walked to my cupped hands from my shoulder and proceeded to drink the water from both my hands and the running tap. I keep two large containers of water in his cage, but he either poops in them or drinks from them. Thus far, my parrot chooses to remain stinky
. Also, how do you know if their nails need to be clipped? What are typical behaviors if they're ill? What if they don't eat fresh fruit/vegetables? I put him on a pellet diet and offer various vegetables, but he just likes to tear them to shreds instead of eating them.3) My parrot was sold to me with clipped wings. How do I know when to start flight training? Three times since we got him, he has gotten spooked by something and took a flying/gliding leap off our shoulders or bed, ultimately crashing face-first into a bookshelf, a chair, or the floor. I'm worried he will injure himself if this keeps happening. I would like to train him to fly with more control and confidence, but I don't know when I should start. I tried having him step/jump from the top of his cage onto my forearm and increased the distance each time. He *always* leads with his beak and has never attempted to jump or even use his wings. If his beak doesn't reach when he lunges it, or if it's too far and he can't get his foot onto my arm after grabbing hold with his beak, he just backs off and climbs around the cage trying to find a closer entry point. The only time he even remotely flapped his wings was when I moved my arm a bit farther away *after* one of his feet was on my arm. He used his wings to keep balance while he put his second foot on my arm. I've seen him randomly flap his wings once or twice when he was really excited, but that was maybe the third or fourth day we had him when we weren't home all day and came home late from work.
4) I really want to potty train him. I'm constantly covered in poop, and I'm afraid if he starts flying, there will be little poop bombs being deployed all over the place. I read the instructions for potty training parrots, and these involve taking the bird off you and putting it on some appropriate perch before their next scheduled poop. Getting the bird off me is incredibly difficult. He has no issues going on me when I say "up" - they taught him that at the pet store - but when I put my hand in front of him while he's on my shoulder, it really depends on his mood whether or not he will step up. Sometimes he just sits there, other times he moves away. I have to bribe him with treats in order to get him back into his cage unless he's really hungry, and even then, the clever little guy will try to get a pellet without ever stepping off my hand. I started placing a treat on one of his perches and making him walk to it; that seems to trick him for now. Anyway, trying to get him off me every 15-20 minutes for a poop seems impossible. Any suggestions?
5) I've noticed he seems to enjoy munching on my hair - can this pose any danger to the bird? He also nibbles on my fingertips, sometimes biting, but for the most part just feeling them with his tongue and beak. Is this normal playful behavior or is he trying to get me away from him? Usually when he steps up, he goes straight to my shoulder. In the past day or so, he's been a little more comfortable sitting on my forearm. He doesn't seem to mind being pet most of the time, however. I don't really know if he likes me or hates me. He does get very happy when I come home, but that's likely just because he wants out of his cage.
6) Can my bird get sick from me? I've recently been sick and wore a mask to keep from breathing on him. Not sure if this is stupid. My doctor kind of laughed at me.
I have a bunch more, but this post has already turned into a novel. Sorry for that. I'm a very concerned bird mama!
brown heads and senegals are actually in the same family of Poicephalus.