Parrots - Baby Senegal

Ruby_Moon

YorkiePud wrote: »

Unfortunately that's what happens when you get an owner who doesn't understand their parrots ... she was causing the aggression herself. The poor bird was showing signs of being upset and scared and that is when she should have put him back in his cage so he could feel secure and calm down.

He was fluffing up and bending up and down to her ... this is one of the first signs that says, "I feel threatened by you and if you continue, I shall bite you" ... so what did she do?
She kept moving her hand near to him, moving it up and down and making the bird feel even more threatened.
How else can the bird defend itself but to bite????

Every animal shows signs which, if interpreted correctly, you can use to ensure the pet's behaviour does not scale up to an attack. It is the same for dogs, too.

The mother and daughter did nothing to make the parrot feel secure so the parrot tried to be "in control" .. and of course, thought it huge fun to hear them squeal when it went for them.
When he did that without being provoked into an attack, he should have been put straight back into his cage to show him they were displeased. As soon as he "fluffed down" then they should have brought him out straightaway ... a parrot will learn within a day or two what behaviour is accepted .. and when it knows the boundaries it will feel calmer and much more settled.

This is exactly what happens with dogs ... if they are just left to get to that state without being corrected they end up unhappy, unsettled and aggressive ... you can teach a parrot that you are the boss and you are a nice boss who will NOT make it feel threatened ... or you can laugh when it feels unsettled and shows signs that it feels the need to defend itself .. you can keep pestering it so it gets into such a state that it actually does attack ... and to be honest with you, that mother and daughter didn't deserve to have that poor bird.

It is such a shame ... people get these wonderful birds without finding out about them, how to read the signs of how they are feeling ... parrots communicate with each other by body language and if you take a parrot on then you owe it to them to understand what they are trying to tell you ... I am surprised that poor parrot wasn't in such a state (being wound up by that silly woman not backing off when it was patently obvious how upset and scared it was) that it started to feather pluck and self mutilate.

That's why I try to say to people that taking on a parrot is a HUGE thing ... it's not just a case of sticking it in a cage and teaching it to talk ... they need exercise and time out of the cage every day ... they need attention and not just when you feel like it and you need to learn to read the signs ... putting their heads down towards you can mean "come, stroke me" but if they fluff up at the same time or make clicking sounds then an attack is imminent so you need to give them space because they are feeling threatened ...

But if you are willing to learn all about that and to respect your bird instead of using it to show off to friends and pester the life out of it, then you will have a friend for life.

Or, if you really want to be kind to the parrots, don't EVER get one. Then there would be no market for them and the poor birds could be left alone in the trees of the tropics where they belong.

Hughesy84

Well this was a topic about what advice you can give me, because im getting one. Not so that you can try and put people off with your do-gooding behaviour.

Im getting one and thats final. Its now up to me to provide it with the best home possible, hence why some nice people like 'Yorkie' have provided very good info.

I know these birds can live up to 50 years, thats a big commitment but one we are happy to take.

YorkiePud_3

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

Or, if you really want to be kind to the parrots, don't EVER get one. Then there would be no market for them and the poor birds could be left alone in the trees of the tropics where they belong.

You don't understand what I was trying to say to you ... 90% of all pet parrots in the UK have been bred and hand reared IN the UK from hand reared parrots that have never seen a jungle or wild roost!! ...

If you want to inject some venom about the importing of wild-caught parrots, you need to look to the USA. They are the main culprits of "catching to order" from the wild.

YorkiePud_3

Hughesy84 wrote: »

Well this was a topic about what advice you can give me, because im getting one. Not so that you can try and put people off with your do-gooding behaviour.

Im getting one and thats final. Its now up to me to provide it with the best home possible, hence why some nice people like 'Yorkie' have provided very good info.

I know these birds can live up to 50 years, thats a big commitment but one we are happy to take.

Good for you ... and it is great to see that you are looking for advice and tips now before you welcome your baby ... a lot of people get a parrot, stick it in the cage and only seek help when it suffers any psychological problems such as not getting enough attention!

As you say, when a parrot lives as long as it does, you need to know as much as you can about care etc so that you can make its long life a happy one.

Hey, I even quit smoking for my birds, wanting to make sure I was around as long as possible for them. Thankfully, I have younger family members too though who will happily take my bird on should anything happen to me.

One positive about pet parrots is that they live longer with us than they would in the wild ... a Senegal would only live between 25-30 years in the wild, but in a loving home where it is getting every nutrition/mineral etc it needs (and is sometimes lacking in the wild diet!), it can happily live a good 50 years plus!!!

Btw, are you going to take out any insurance for your bird? I am with a company who insure exotic pets ... it costs me £116 a year but believe me, the amount treatment can cost, if your bird ever got sick, it would pay for itself ten times over!!

I once went to an avian vet near Bradford (about 8 years ago) and she charged me £85 just for walking through the door! Needless to say that with this insurance, I got a better vet ... don't know if you know of him ... ? He's called Matt Brash and is the vet on Sky on the "Zoo Vet at Large" shows ... he's the vet for Flamingo Land zoo ... if you are near his area, then have a google for his surgery Battle Flatts.
I can't recommend him enough!!

YorkiePud_3

UKTigerlily wrote: »

I saw a parrot sanctuary on animal 24:7 (I think) once & the guy there had tons & said most get given away by 5 years old as the Owner's had no idea what they were taking on, so sad. Apart from anything else, they can outlive us (Or the African Greys can, I know nada about parrots!) & who'd have it after we die!? They summed it up well for me @ Longleat by saying spend the £1,000 on buying one of these on seeing it in the wild!

It's great there are those like Yorki who have the knowledge on their animals & can provide for all of their needs

£1,000 .... ?? I'd want it made of gold for that money?! *LOL*

It's right what you say though ... you need to make provision for your bird should anything happen to you and, as the OP says it IS a commitment ... not something to enter into lightly.

A friend who has parrots said to me, "You know, it would have been much easier to have a child!" and I reckon she was right!! *L*

Responsible bird owners make every endeavour to have the bird out of its cage (and we always buy the biggest cages we can and fill them with lots of toys for the bird to have stimulation whilst we are not there), to let it exercise (regular wing flapping keeps a bird's lungs strong and healthy), give it warm water sprays to keep its feathers in tip tip condition and we see to it that it gets the best diet possible.

I don't go on holiday any more (my choice and I knew I would give them up before taking on birds) because I know that while my birds would accept being handled, say at the vets, they will not enjoy someone else cleaning them out and caring for them for a week or two.

It's a HUGE thing ... you don't fully realise till you have your bird ... but when that beautiful creature comes to love and respect you and sidles up to you, wanting attention from you, you realise how lucky and priviledged you are to own one!!

Hughesy84

Thanks Yorkie

A member of the house smokes, is that a major issue - or do I just need to ensure the bird isnt in the same room?!

YorkiePud_3

Uh oh ... yup, I'm afraid so!!!

Every breath of air a parrot takes in goes through their lungs twice over, so anything in the air will be absorbed by them. That's how come scented candles, Teflon coated pans, paint fumes, perfumes, decorating dust etc can kill a parrot in a matter of minutes or make it seriously ill.

It's not just the smoke from the cigarette that is potentially deadly to them, it is also the exhaled smoke the smoker blows out, too, so it's a bit of a double whammy.

Apart from that, a parrot will preen every feather on its body at least once a day, and if it gets any cigarette smoke residue on its feathers then it will ingest that. They can over-preen and end up feather plucking in a desperate attempt to get rid of the residue that is on their plumage.

If they do preen to get it off their feathers, the ingested nicotine can cause (at the least) irritated skin and dermatitis in the bird (even being handled by a smoker can cause that) ... but then the next stage is digestive problems as the nicotine and tar gets inside the bird right into its lungs.

Their lungs can get just as congested as the person's who is smoking ... plus the smoke can cause their arteries to fur up and harden too.

If you have someone in the house who smokes then you have a ticking time bomb ... even if they go outside to smoke for the sake of the bird then I certainly wouldn't let them handle it to transfer nicotine from their fingers to the bird's feathers ... it really is a recipe for disaster!!!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news ... but it is one of the worst dangers to a parrot. Think you might have to buy this person some nicotine patches and gum ... *LOL*

Ruby_Moon

Hughesy84 wrote: »

Well this was a topic about what advice you can give me, because im getting one. Not so that you can try and put people off with your do-gooding behaviour.

Im getting one and thats final. Its now up to me to provide it with the best home possible, hence why some nice people like 'Yorkie' have provided very good info.

I know these birds can live up to 50 years, thats a big commitment but one we are happy to take.

They live longer than that.
Its just the ones that people stuff into cages that die around 30-50 years too early.

Ruby_Moon

YorkiePud wrote: »

You don't understand what I was trying to say to you ... 90% of all pet parrots in the UK have been bred and hand reared IN the UK from hand reared parrots that have never seen a jungle or wild roost!! ...

If you want to inject some venom about the importing of wild-caught parrots, you need to look to the USA. They are the main culprits of "catching to order" from the wild.

Where do you think they came from in the first place? Dagenham?
Get real. They are tropical birds and have no business being kept by 'wanting' people who cannot be satisfied with the pets we do have here.

YorkiePud_3

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

They live longer than that.
Its just the ones that people stuff into cages that die around 30-50 years too early.

Other parrots do ... Senegals don't.