Senegal Parrot

[marie1628]

Hi to everyone, I have just joined this site.
I bought the parrot yesterday, left her in her cage to get used to us but spoke to her often, the grandchildren came around today and all looked at her, I wouldn't let them go near the cage just look at her, tonight I let her out of the cage.
I think the previous owners have done a good job in training her, (she is 9 months old), she came on to my finger then on my shoulder, she kisses and nibbled my ear for a good hour, then I asked her to go on the cage which she did and I gave her a nut, she then flew on my shoulder and I could not get her off, I had to wash the dishes and then came on the web to find her best needs she still nibbled my ear and loads of kisses, I then took her back to her cage she stepped on and I gave her a nut, she is now reluctant to go in he cage.
Also I don't know her needs of feed or health,she is a lovely bird but don't know my bounderies can anyone advise me.
thanx
Marie

[Wolf]

Give the treat when she goes into the cage, not before.

[Sabrazom]

Take her to the cage, and give her a treat, continue to this multiple times a day for a 1-2 weeks, maybe even shorter. But don't do this TO MUCH or she won't come out, just teach her that her cage is awesome! c:

And good luck to you and your Senegal!

[marie1628]

thank you to all who replied.
think I found the problem. she likes to be stroked a lot and so when you go up to her she puts her head down to be stroked, I did that for a couple of mins then put my finger out and asked her to go in the cage which she did, then gave her a nut.
Can I let her out of the cage when I wake up, or leave her there, she has lots of toys but seems, to stay on the rope perch.
Can anyone advice me on food and health issues.
Many thanx
Marie

[Sabrazom]

I am not a Senegal expert, as i own a Lilac crowned , But provide for her grains *Whole wheat paste/rice, cooked with no salt!* Veggies, Fruits, And maybe even Pellets! I recommend Zupreem *Medium or Medium Large* RoudyBush Maintenance, and Harrison's!

When you wake up, let her out and roam, but when your not at home/at work, make sure shes in her cage, And its okay that shes not playing with her toys, she loves her rope perch, and is just getting settled, im sure every one in a while she's on them! If you can, while at home, give her Popsicle sticks, my family has a 1000 box of them, and it keeps Sammy entertained! If the top of her cage is flat, lay newspaper on it, and put boxes/cup holders on there, also put a mini container with Popsicle sticks for her to take out to break up! c:

For health, make sure that she is exercising *have her on your arm and move her up and down slowly, she'll flap her wings, but stop every 1-5 seconds to give her a break to breathe!* Provide a cuttlebone non stop *Go to pet smart to get a cuttlebone holder!* and once a week or so, give her 1-2 almonds as treats, but for training use smaller one *small seeds* to unsure you don't have a lil' fatty

And also, change newspaper and grail weekly, and monthly do a full clean out in her cage!
i recommend taking her to a avian vet when you can, they will be able to provide you the basics for your Senegal!

Be sure to research, and when in doubt, call your avian vet!

Heres this link, im sure this will help!: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=348

[Harpmaker]

Welcome Marie!

Sabrazom is right about foods and toys.

I clean Corsair's cage more often than that, but I can't swear it's necessary.

Most parrots like to bathe, but they have preferences as to how. Some like a flat-bottomed bowl of water, some like to be sprayed or dripped on in a sink, some want to be sprayed in their cage, and some like to shower with their owner (although hot water can be bad for their feathers).

Also for health checks it can be useful to have a digital scale that weighs in grams. Weigh the bird every day or two and record the weight in a notebook. Since birds do their best to hide illness, the first symptom you have might be a sudden drop in weight.

Lastly, DO get that vet check from an Avian vet. Some diseases can be spread from parrots to humans, and we don't want to risk your grandkids!

[Wolf]

One additional thought, make sure that the rope perch is not the highest one in birds cage, be sure that there are one or two wooden branch type perches higher ( not dowels ).

[Pajarita]

Clean her cage once a week?! Are you kidding? Her cage needs to be cleaned every single day with one thorough scrubbing once a week. You also should not stop the exercise every few minutes, these birds fly miles and miles every day so the more she flies, the healthier she will be (birds need to fly -and that means actual flight not just flapping their wings- or their respiratory system becomes atrophied). As to diet, cooked whole grains (wheat, kamut, oats, barley, brown rice, quinoa, etc) mixed with pulses (I like small white beans because they are the lowest in the bad bean pectin but I also use lentils) and cooked and chopped vegetables (I use corn, peas, carrots, broccoli, blue and/or green kale, green beans, mote -it's a giant South American hominy corn- butternut squash and sweet potatoes for the basic recipe but I add other stuff like artichoke hearts, palm hearts, beets, etc, only not all the time) accompanied with raw produce (one fruit, one veggie, one leafy green) for breakfast and all day picking (I give mine a heaping tablespoon of a good quality seed mix for dinner and one nut (could be half a walnut, an almond, a pistachio, etc) but you can save the nut for training (cut it in small pieces).

Now, all my senegals have been one person birds (have two now but I had two more before). They don't mind people looking/talking at them but they don't like anybody touching me when they are on me so be careful with the grandchildren because they can bite real hard and they are pretty fearless and would take on a human without a second thought.

Firm schedule and routines are a must with parrots. They thrive on them! So start on the right foot and establish a schedule that will work out for you and allow the bird hours of out of cage time and one-on-one. Mine like to eat early in the am, as soon as the sun rises, and they always rest at around noon for a couple of hours and have dinner when the sun sets and go to bed right after (keeping them at a solar schedule will keep their endocrine system attuned with the seasons and would eliminate hormonal surges and complications -screams, plucking, biting, etc). The best time to interact with them is after breakfast and before dinner because this is the time when they would interact with their flock mates in the wild.

Mine don't like to be misted/sprayed with a bottle, they like to take baths on their own. The male does a good job of it in a large bowl while the female barely gets her head wet because she is stubborn about using a small bowl but I don't obsess over it as she is always impeccably clean.

I have lots of parrots of different species but my little sweetheart is my female Senegal, Zoey (I have a friend who calls her my 'heart bird'). She never, ever, ever bites me (she doesn't like my husband though) and I can do pretty much anything I want with her (put her on her back, tickle under her wings, open her wings and tail to look at it and even trim her nails -if I wanted to- without toweling her), the trick is for them to bond with you and trust you 100% but this requires you to respect her wishes and leave her alone if that's what she wants because parrots do not recognize bosses so imposing your will on them doesn't work, you need to 'trick' them into believing they are doing what they want when, in reality, you are manipulating them into doing it.

But, before anything else, she needs a complete physical at an avian vet's. Parrots are very good at hiding symptoms and you need to know if there is anything wrong.

[marie1628]

Thanks again to all, really learned a lot, am so glad I found this forum, have tried to google but cannot get this good advice thanx