Housing a Senegal Parrot

[NJBirdMan]

I am planning on getting a Senegal Parrot. I would like to know from other owners, what room in your house do you have the cage ? What are the dimensions of your Cage? and is your bird flighted
or does it have its wings clipped?

[Navre]

With cages, bigger is almost always better, with a few caveats. Make sure the bar spacing is correct for a sennie. The correct bar spacing can be found in a lot of places, i don't have it in front of me right now.
You want the cage to be able to have a lot of toys and perches, and still have room for the bird. I think a 30x23 is a good size for a sennie. You can go bigger, but just be sure that the cage can fit through your doors, it you think you might want to move it from room to room. I learned this the hard was with a 30x30 cage I bought for my greencheek. It's not that big, but it doesn't fit through many doors. I can't take it outside, for example.

As to wephere to put the cage. The kitchen is a bad place. Other than that, you want a place in which the bird can be part of the family, but also a place where you can let the bird have darkness and peace. You can't keep a bird on a human light schedule. I keep my birds on a solar schedule, no artificial light. Some advocate a 12 hour light/12 hour dark schedule, but whicher you don you need a place in which you can separate the bird and manage the light.

Some people accomplish this by having a sleeping cage in a more isolated room, and a cage I. The family area of the house for daytime use.

[Navre]

We have had a couple of sennies in the rescue. We have one now, but he's not available for adoption yet. They're seeem to be sweet birds.

[NJBirdMan]

Well, LOL, I seem to be reading the phrase "Bigger is always better" ALOT regarding bird cage size.
I can't say that I always agree with that, infact, I think that a 30x30 cage for a Green Cheek Conure is WAYYYYYY to large for that species. I have seen photo's of people who have literally
given up their entire homes to Massive Bird Cage Monstrosities - they have no Living room, no Dining Room, no Bedroom. I just can't do that to my home. I will not start re-arranging and throwing out furniture to accommodate a Bird Cage.

As far as the Senegal Parrot I will be getting, he will be housed in a 20x20x28 Open Play Top cage.
That is the largest my home can accommodate, and his cage will be housed in my bedroom, which is the only room in the house that can house it. My Living room currently has 2 Male Gouldian Finches in a Flight cage. With that being said, I look forward to bringing in a new Parrot again -
It's been awhile since I had a Parrot, and somehow I always knew that I wanted a Sennie

[Pajarita]

Well, the cage size you are willing to get is way too small for any bird - my male canaries cages are bigger than that and they are all housed separately. Also, a word of caution, when you have a parrot, you can't think in terms of what is convenient to you, you need to think on what is necessary for the bird because many things that appear to be nothing more than 'luxuries' are, instead, physiological needs. I know it sounds something a 'nut' would say but when you are talking about an undomesticated species that not only has very specialized needs but is also quite aggressive when unhappy, you will find that, in the long term, it works out better to give them what they need even if it is inconvenient to you.

My senegals (one male, one female) are in a cage that is 39 inches high, 37 wide and 29.5 deep but with the stand, the height is 62 inches.

[NJBirdMan]

Unfortunately, Pajarita, as I mentioned in my reply above, I am getting the size cage that is the only sized cage that will fit in my home. It really has nothing to do with convenience. The cage is far from small, and I would never put a canary in a 20x20x28.5" cage. My Nanday conure was in a smaller cage then that - but he spent most of his time out of his cage on his Playpen, as will my Senegal Parrot. I am home all day, as I am Retired and do not plan on keeping the Senegal caged up all day.

[Michael]

http://trainedparrot.com/minimum_cage_size/

That size is acceptable. Certainly there are advantages to bigger cages but by that logic each bird should have an aviary or the entire wilderness, so you've gotta concede a size somewhere. If the bird is safe, healthy, comfortable, and gets quality out of cage time, as long as the bird has room to move about the cage, it is fine. I don't recommend the playtop cages though. It only encourages cage aggression. Birds are perfectly content to sit on top of their cage without a playtop and be aggressive. No need wasting money for the same result. They also make the cage darker inside if they have a pan. It's better to get a separate tree or playgym and take the bird to it for out of cage time. That way you have two locations to keep the bird.

I am planning on getting a Senegal Parrot. I would like to know from other owners, what room in your house do you have the cage ? What are the dimensions of your Cage? and is your bird flighted
or does it have its wings clipped?

25x22x45 with 5/8 spacing in the bird room and she's flighted.

[NJBirdMan]

Michael, I wholeheartedly agree with you 100%! Why cages at all ? Why not just keep the birds flighted loose in our homes, or open the doors and just let them live wild in the wilderness like you point out. $1000 for a Cage ???? You're kidding me right ? And who has the space in their homes for a Cage that size. I know I don't. My Nanday conure was bigger than a Senegal, yet was housed in a slightly smaller cage. My Nanday was hardly suffering. But from all the photo's and pictures I view, I see Massive cages packed to the brim with toys, swings, perches, ropes, and he list goes on. So where is the room for the Parrot ?

[Pajarita]

I agree with you that most people put too many things inside the cage. I think they do it thinking that the bird would like to have all that stuff in it but, in reality, I doubt they do. Now, if you are only going to use the cage for sleeping or when you need to go out, the size you mention is fine.

[NJBirdMan]

The cage I have chosen is a YML brand Play Top cage - 20x20. I will not be getting the Senegal probably until April/May 2017. I called the Bird Store and I am first on the list when the eggs hatch, which I believe will be January/February - then we have a 12-Week Weaning period, so I have plenty of time to do all of my Research. I've owned parrots before, and never filled a cage with a ton of toys - they were all happy just sitting on top of their cage, or on their table-top perch next to me. I'm very much looking forward to this experience and owning a Parrot once again ......