Hi everyone: From South Africa

[thandie]

Hallo

I accidentally found this forum while doing research to assist me in deciding if and what bird I should get.

I am now the proud owner of a Senegal parrot of 4 months old. She is still eating porridge, but only in the evenings. She is very active but quite quiet up to now. She is very tamed and snapped the step up or rather "klim" in Afrikaans very quickly. She loves to chew and succeeded in destroying several toys since I got her a month ago.

I am new to owning birds so hope I will succeed in training her to be a well behaved one. I did my research and try to use the tips and advice I found.

Nice to meet you all!

[friend2parrots]

welcome to the forum

there is a TON of info on this site about Senegals - just type in senegal into the search box on the top right corner. all the best and i look forward to hearing more about your bird on the forum

[Eurycerus]

I am now the proud owner of a Senegal parrot of 4 months old. She is still eating porridge, but only in the evenings. She is very active but quite quiet up to now. She is very tamed and snapped the step up or rather "klim" in Afrikaans very quickly. She loves to chew and succeeded in destroying several toys since I got her a month ago.

Welcome to the forums! I have my own Senegal and a foster Senegal. I am not well versed on when to switch from baby food to adult food, but I bet you can start integrating fruit and vegetables right now. I suggest carrots, hot peppers, bell peppers, leafy greens, broccolli, caulliflower, sprouted seeds, and other healthy vegetables. You can try them cooked (but cooled) if your parrot doesn't seem to like the vegetables hard. As a treat you can give your little guy banana, apple, pear, or whatever fruits you have. It's good to start your parrot off on a healthy diet as early as possible so that you don't have to try and convert them later. When it's safe to switch to adult food I suggest pellets with no artificial colors or flavors. I use Harrison's pellets myself, but I'm not sure what's available to you. http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/

Be sure to check and make sure the vegetable or fruit is not poisonous if I didn't list them above. For example, avocado is extremely poisonous.

[GreenWing]

Welcome to the forum, sennies are definitely challenging birds but my own sennie toddler has added so much joy to my life and I wouldn't have it any other way! If you encounter any problems we're here to help. Have a look at the different nutritional posts regarding the best foods for your bird, from roudybush to fresh vegetables.

[thandie]

Good day everyone

Thank you all for the replies.

She is already eating pellets as well as fruit and vegetables. I am just still to scared to take her completely off porridge since I am not sure whether she eats strong enough on her own yet. She is not really a fussy eater and the only thing I found so far that she wouldn't have was fresh banana.

She started screaming for the first time this morning, but I assume she was hungry. What do you guys suggest doing to discourage this behavior? I read that it is best ignoring it, but if she is hungry, wouldn't she keep on until fed? I waited until she was quiet for a little while and then went in to give her attention and food.

Also, I have her for a month now, do you think it is too early to start with training?

Thank you for all the help!

Have a nice day

Regards

[janetafloat]

The way you dealt with the screaming sounds perfect to me. You don't want to reinforce it by responding while the bird is screaming and you didn't.
I would think your bird has settled in enough to start doing some training. She's young so keep the sessions short and fun and you don't want to be doing food management at this stage but some training will be good for her, to give her some stimulation and increase her confidence & it'll increase the bond between you.
Keep us posted with how it goes!

[thandie]

Hi!

I have been training Lilly now for three weeks, and I love it. It is so cute to see the satisfaction in her little black eyes when she earns herself a treat. She can now target, wave and i am currently trying to get her to do the "wings" trick.

She went through a period of screaming every morning more or less at the same time for quite a while. This was usually early morning. I just never reacted to it, and waited till she calmed down. Now she is only doing it once every few days. Besides that she is only chattering which sometimes get a bit loud in the afternoon.

I also stopped giving her porridge now in the hope that she would eat her pellets better. Since according to everything I've read she is old enough for that. So far it is working and I believe that she is actually getting in more food now.

Regards to all

[marie83]

Excellent to hear the updates on Lilly, keep them coming

[thandie]

Good day.

I am quite sad today. I just heard that I was going to be admitted to hospital early next week. For at least two weeks. This means that I will be away from home and Lilly during this time. I really hate to leave her. Even though she gets along well with my husband, I was the one who took responsibility for all her needs.

She is fine with him, and he can take care of her just as good as me. But still. I hate leaving. Being in hospital also is obviously not a fun experience.

My main concern is that she will not trust me the way she does now when I return. Might feel that I abandoned her. I read that parrots dont forget easily, but might bond with the people who she is left with and thus not trust you when you return. And that I then will have to start from scratch gaining her love and trust.

But I believe all will turn out well. I know she will be taken good care of.

Regards

[janetafloat]

Sorry to hear that! Hope your hospital stay goes well and that Lilly will be delighted to see you on your return. I'm sure she won't forget you