The sensational senegal parrot
The senegal parrot is a lively and entertaining small parrot that quickly wins the hearts of humans that share their lives. As parrots go, they tend to be quiet (“quiet” being a relative term when discussing parrots) and the happy and content senegal parrot plays well independently making few demands on their owners.
In personality, the senegal can be compared to the african grey, sharing many of the same tendencies towards fearfulness and phobic behavior. They even have the same short, high pitched call when things in the environment make them uncomfortable.
The senegal parrot is keenly aware of sights and sounds that are out of the norm. They are very apprehensive about new additions to the environment. It will help owners of the senegal parrot to be aware of their bird’s body language as seemingly minor things in the home might cause stress.
How to keep a senegal parrot stress free
The very best method of managing the fearful tendencies in the senegal parrot is to assure a strong mutual relationship. The senegal that has come to fully trust its owner knows with certainty that it is safe in its surroundings and can look past the things and events which cause uneasiness.
Sometimes showering your bird with love is just not enough. Parrots that are very sensitive and on high alert, like the senegal, need a bit of extra consideration when it comes to their relationships with their humans. We need to provide them with the extra confidence that keeps fears at bay.
Fears in birds are most commonly expressed through bouts of aggression. The biting is simply a knee-jerk reaction to fear or stress. Owners of senegal parrots who want to overcome mounting aggression should realize that the biting itself is not the problem. It is not a reflection of the bird’s personality or an unwillingness to interact nicely with them.
Overcome your senegal's fears
To move your bird past its need to bite, it must move past its fear. As steward of your bird’s environment, it is up to you to make the changes necessary to put your bird at ease.
You are the biggest part of your bird’s environment. If it doesn’t trust you, know that you have its best interests at heart at all times, it’s easy to see where it might mistrust other parts of the environment. Imagine always feeling insecure in a place from which you have no escape. The result is an overwhelming sense of unrest, which takes a toll not only on the mind, but on health.
How much quality time do you spend with your bird? Does your senegal spend the majority of its out of cage time on a perch or do you engage it in activities where you are focused only on each other? We recommend simple training to strengthen your bonds.
By devoting a few minutes every day to your senegal’s need for meaningful interaction, the kind that involves direct eye contact, your bird will have the opportunity to learn how trustworthy a companion you really are. Training, whether it be simple cues or amusing tricks, opens the door to communication on a much higher level than that which is accomplished by just hanging out together.
14 comments
I have had my Senegal 7 plus years, I know he’s very bonded to me. but every once and a while he attacks me .Today we where sitting on the couch, ( I may have fallen asleep and he attacked me! bit my lip, and I had a hard time getting him to stop biting. now my family wants me to “get rid of him” There must be something I am doing wrong, or something I need to learn so he wont continue with this behavior.
I recently got a Senegal he is two years old and had a biting problem but I think it’s because his previous owner didn’t read his body language well, because I’ve only been bit bad once. He’s a real love bug and just wants head scratches all day he’s very smart as well he only knew “step up” when I got him and was very scared of everything it took a while for him not freak out when he saw a target stick, and in the few months I have had him he’s been taught “touch” touching target stick or whatever is presented “hello” wave “green,yellow,blue,red” go to that color and “hang” hang upside down. His main problem is he will lunge warning bites when he’s having a bad day, and is a little hormonal (he’s at that age) and freaks out when it’s shower time, oh and harness training he will barley put his head through to quickly grab a treat otherwise he wants to attack it:) but he’s a cute bird and just said his first word “night night” which reminds me of one of his worse traits he growls whenever I move at night(worse roommate ever right)
Hi my name is misa I am 9 years old my mom bought me a senegal parrot when I was 1 years old from a pet store it meows It screams when I walk past and yesterday we got a new cage for her she has been in a little cage for all her life right now we are trying to find a mate.
I adopted a19yr Senegal. It is a challenge. I love him. No screaming. Very quiet. And is stick trained. Talks a little. Does happy dance. Purrs. Sometimes a little moody? I just go with him. I leave him out all the time-he loves his parrot stand-all metal and he sleeps in his cage. I guess I spoil him. Why not
I was trying to figure out how old my Senegal is by reading his leg ring , the ring is on his right and is blue and says 00Y AZ 68 , what is his age ? Or what does it indicate .
I have a 16 year old Senegal that I’ve had his whole life, and he has extensive behavioral issues. Nothing I do has made a difference so far. He wasn’t given the most love and attention from family throughout his life, and it became the norm to hear him screeching day in and day out no matter what. Screaming at the top of his lungs, especially when he sees you walking by. I’ve gone oblivious to it since I grew up with it, but it terrifies guests. And upon doing research it seems that Senegal’s are supposed to be more quiet and that screaming means he’s unhappy. So regardless of how loud it is I don’t want him to be unhappy. It seems that the only time he stops is when your hands are on him petting him. I can’t pet him 24/7 obviously and I have 4 cats so if I take him out it has to be in a closed room. I’ve tried to take him into rooms with me in his portable cage so I could give him company but he screams anyway. I’ve tried taking him out and just leaving him out of the cage and he screams anyway. His cage is massive and he gets plenty of food/treats, and I replace his toys every 2 weeks. I’ve put a few bells in his cage hoping he would ring the bell instead, so every time I come in the room I ring the bell to teach him, and he just screams AND rings the bell. I’m worried about how I will be able to care for him in the long term, if I have to move into a quiet apartment or whatever. I live in the middle of nowhere so no vets around or any bird experts. I would appreciate any advice at kaylamarie1368@hotmail.com. Thanks.
I must have really lucked out. I got my Senegal (Ruth Ann Green Legs) 21 years ago from the pet store. She is loving and makes just enough noise. Weird thing though is that 6 months ago after all this time she laid eggs on the bottom of her cage for the first time. I felt so bad for her as she doesn’t have a mate so I had to take them. Get any Senegal a swing. They love them. She swings all day and meows like a cat. Love her@
Since a week my family adopted an eight-year old Senegal parrot Coco which we bought from a person who had bought it one month ago, but had to sell it again because the parrot did not get along with the other parrot he has. My son (13 years old) wanted a parrot for a long time, so for him, a dream cam true! Unfortunately the parrot seems to only like adult man which means that Coco only wants to sit with me and shows aggression (biting) to my son, wife and daughter. Is it just a mater of winning its confidence and trust as mentioned in the text above, or does it need more to make him adept to my son? Not only Coco, but also my son now is scarred because of the biting. Any other skills we need to learn? And another question: until what age Senegal parrots are able to learn new tricks, behavior and words? Coco has quite a vocabulary, but is he still able to learn new words at the age of eight? E-mail me @ rob.leenen@gmail.com Yours, Rob, The Netherlands (Europe)
It’s been 2 weeks since I got my sengal pair. When I am not around,they go and sit on the perch. And when I enter the bird room, they hide behind the nests.I really want to take them very easily.I am a new bird keeper
I run an aviary rescue in East TN. I am a proud owner of a beautiful Sennie who was once so aggressive, he cracked the bone in my finger. He is now my trusted sidekick, my best half. There is hope with Sennies! Feel free to email me at cheragain420@icloud.com if you need any pointers!
I’m looking to re-home a 16 yr. old Senegal. He prefers males & has always randomly attacked females (and I DO mean random, there’s not warning, I will ONLY send him to a male or fearless parrot expert.) Female children are only slightly safer with him. I have tried to give him a good home for the last 6+ yrs & am no longer willing to work with him due to his incessant screaming (he needs more male hands-on attention.) I truly want no profit, just a great home for him, live in North Idaho. Email me @ mc3909@hotmail.com to send/receive details. Thanks.
How long is this video? What behaviors does it focus on?
I am a failure when it comes to Our Senegal Buddy. We have had him 3 years now and I wish I could have done more. We got him when he was about 10 (previous owners unsure of his age) we went to buy a large cage for our canaries that we saw in an add, and was told they would throw in the bird for free. So taking in some other smaller birds with problems,we though hopefully we would give him a better home. We called him buddy (the previous owners didn’t even give him a name,after 10 years) it was just before Christmas and we liked ELF, and he kind of looked like Buddy the elf. He knows his name. We never forced ours on him. He is with me in the living room all day, with our other birds. A green cheek, Sammy, and a tiel BooBoo. They see each other but don’t interact. No one is clipped. Buddy can’t fly, he seams too heavy. We have no avian vets here. We are in Atlantic Canada, the closest is in the States or Montreal over 6 hours away. He is scared, he never moved for months. Went inter his papers on the cage bottom. A year later he came out, would sit at top of cage on a stick perch. Now he will take a peanut from my hand. I try to interact with him, but he will shake. I honestly don’t know how to help him further. Please help me. I have bought your toys, and bought courses and videos of you going to people homes to help their birds. I have been home sick with kidney failure, on dialysis for over 3 years. I don’t have a lot of money, but I would appreciate any help you can offer Buddy. He deserves better. Thanks Jamie if you do read this. Sherrill McCarthy
Ever since my in-laws moved in Edgar Bennington has started screaming at them every time they come up the stairs from there apartment below us. As soon as they start up the stairs, they start to whistle or greet him but he co-laws want nothing to do with continues to scream. They go past him giving him attention but he keeps screaming until they are out the door. Will these DVD’s help with that kind of behavior. I have him touch training but my in-laws want nothing to do with that. Not even to give him a treat.
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