Senegal Parrot info

[chaloupa]

Hello! I just got a 1 year old Senegal that was previously given no instruction, discipline, encouragement or anything..she was handled a lot though by several different people. It was not sexed prior to us getting her so for the purpose of discussing her we'll call her a her! She was hand raised and is very very gentle...however she SCREAMS, and screams....... Will she settle down to where the screaming is infrequent? We did JUST get her but after research and such were a bit unprepared for how much she screams and how loud she is? We've already fallen in love, but the screaming, phew, bit much. We previously had a Parrotlet, and years ago I had a lovely Cockatiel...when I was in my teens.....

[Kathleen]

Congrats on your new senegal parrot.

The main recommendation for screaming is to absolutely ignore it. This bird is still fairly young so it will probably be faster for the bird to figure out that it will not get attention for screaming than one that has been reinforced for screaming for a long time.

Then you have to use other techniques so that the bird will learn what to do to get attention instead of screaming. You could teach the bird to make a more pleasant sound (a whistle, saying a word) and reward it with attention for that. You could immediately reward the bird with attention when it stops screaming or just give it attention when it's quiet. You could also teach it tricks and reward it with attention for doing tricks, and it'll likely try to do those tricks instead of screaming at you.

Overcoming screaming is a long term issue and takes patience. I wish you lots of luck.

[patdbunny]

I don't know about a chronic screaming senegal, but I'd say a minimum of 3 months on a chronic screaming conure to rehab.

Invest in earplugs. There are some out there that are really comfy.

[chaloupa]

Well...we persevered and kept him. We are calling him a him until we get blood results. His name is now "Mango". He still screams a fair bit...but we're trying to ignore it and are getting a bit used to it. He has many many many words and sounds that he says and does now...it's astounding how quickly they pick up words!!! He's quite playful and becoming more so! Every day I work, he goes to work with me and enjoys it....I own a pet store so he loves going to work! All in all, I truly love him.....and enjoy having him. I will say that the internet is a bit misleading for people looking for information on noise levels....we read everywhere we went how these are great apartment birds, a quiet bird etc etc...ya, NOT LIKELY! LOL!!!

My question is this for today......I have a large large cage for him...is there any issue with a cage being "too big"? it's a Hagen Parrot Cage that measures 24x24x36 high...and has a perch on top with dishes.......

[Kathleen]

That cage size sounds fine. I mean, go as big as you can reasonably afford as long as the cage bar spacing is appropriate. But the cage doesn't have to be enormous if the bird is spending some time out of it with you.

As long as you continue to ignore the screaming, it will probably stop for the most part. Praise the bird and give it a lot of attention for a sound/word that you like to hear and it will try to do that for your attention instead

[chaloupa]

Thank you Kathleen! The bar sizing is totally perfect...cockatiel size.....and he's out of his cage all day..but when he's in it, I wanted as large as possible...and since I own a pet store....cost wasn't a concern as we get it at cost. So, just wanted to set my mind at ease...and now I know he's going to be just fine in it!

I just can't get over how incredibly quickly they pick up new words and noises...I think I may have to do a video on youtube so more people can hear what they sound like when "talking" and what they sound like at their worst! ie screaming for NO REASON! LOL