Is my Senegal parrot happy?

[SunTruth]

Hello all

My family got a Senegal parrot two months ago. First when we got him he was very energetic or nervous I cannot tell, he was yelling all day and playing with toys… Well he was very very active.

Suddenly one month ago he started to be very quiet. Usually the morning he is alone then someone in the afternoon come and he stays on the shoulder of the person for the rest of the day. He is very quiet and apart in the evening he doesnt eat a lot during the days.

He has a large cage and I tried to put different toys but apparently he is not interested. I never see him play with anything and even when I try to play with him he is not interested either.

He is not sick since in between we went twice to the veterinary for other reasons and the veterinary said he was fine (a little bit fat so he adviced we switch to pellet, which is by itself a real challenge).

I have seen various videos and read various things about Senegal parrots apparently they tend to be quiet, but I guess there is a border between being quiet and unhappy and I am not able to tell.

I would be glad to get some perspectives on this kind of behavior.

Thank you!

 

[BirdLady13]

Unfortunately I have more questions than answers
It's impossible to say whether or not he's at least content without actually seeing him, but the Senegal's I've met have been calm and quiet.
Providing a variety of toys is always a good idea. Even if you don't see him playing with them, he could be when no one is paying attention.
I'm glad your vet advised you to switch him to pellets. It can take a while to convert him, but it will be better for him in the long run. Did he start eating less before or after you made the gradual switch? Are you also giving him fresh fruit and vegetables? Is he young, an adult, or a senior? I assume not a baby because the vet indicated he's overweight.

 

[SunTruth]

Thank you for your answer.
He is 4 year old.
Everday I give him pellet, some fruits and vegetable, some seeds (really not a lot). But he is always more interested in what I am eating than his own food. He started to eat less before I switched to the pellets.
I also give him vitamin these days.

I do not know the feeling I have is that outside of doing stuffs with people (staying on the shoulder and eating my food) he has absolutely no interest in doing things by himself (playing with toys or his food).

But the thing is that I cannot always be there and it is not good for him not eating bird food.

 

[Hahns0hmy]

I have a 5 yr old senegal female since birth. they are mostly quiet, she sits and naps in the afternoon not one sound, in the evening and morning she paces back and forth and chirps also talks. other than that she never ever yells unless my other bird annoys her. they are known for being good apartment birds for the small amount of noise they make. I give her the same mix i give my other, zupreem mix of pellets, naturals, fruit blend also tropimix and a fruit nut mix from higgins. shes not big on pellets never has been but she eats them in small amounts. You should weigh them every month to ensure they are healthy, also make sure the poop is bright green a s bright white combo not runny. mine weighs 138 grams for reference. as for toys you will want them next to their favorite perch, they dont travel to play very lazy lol.

 

[Shezbug]

Everday I give him pellet, some fruits and vegetable, some seeds (really not a lot). But he is always more interested in what I am eating than his own food. He started to eat less before I switched to the pellets.
I also give him vitamin these days.

Has your vet instructed you to give a vitamin? What pellet are you feeding?

 

[SunTruth]

Has your vet instructed you to give a vitamin? What pellet are you feeding?

Yes I give him vitamins a brand called perrotonic that is dissolved in water. Also two time a week I limp bird egg cake into the vitamin juice and I give him (he eats the cake in no time).

For the brand of pellet it is harrisson. Very very very difficult to convince him to eat it. I try to put a little bit of water it helps but right now he is not fully convinced.

 

[Hahns0hmy]

Yes I give him vitamins a brand called perrotonic that is dissolved in water. Also two time a week I limp bird egg cake into the vitamin juice and I give him (he eats the cake in no time).

For the brand of pellet it is harrisson. Very very very difficult to convince him to eat it. I try to put a little bit of water it helps but right now he is not fully convinced.

I personally have never had good luck with harrisons with any bird. Every Vet though will tell you its the greatest on earth. reason being is in med school they’re all taught the same thing. harrisons and other corporations like lafeber donate millions to these campus’s to build new buildings. that being said, you can keep harrisons if you wish but add other options of pellets that they will eat. a pellet is a pellet. differences will be in colors and sugars used mainly between products. Harrisons is like eating centrum A to Z for breakfast lunch and dinner.


If you see an avian specialist they will tell you be happy they eat any pellet period.

 

[SunTruth]

I personally have never had good luck with harrisons with any bird. Every Vet though will tell you its the greatest on earth. reason being is in med school they’re all taught the same thing. harrisons and other corporations like lafeber donate millions to these campus’s to build new buildings. that being said, you can keep harrisons if you wish but add other options of pellets that they will eat. a pellet is a pellet. differences will be in colors and sugars used mainly between products. Harrisons is like eating centrum A to Z for breakfast lunch and dinner.


If you see an avian specialist they will tell you be happy they eat any pellet period.

What brand of pellet would you advice? I was also considering zupreem but it is not easy to find in my country.

 

[Hahns0hmy]

What brand of pellet would you advice? I was also considering zupreem but it is not easy to find in my country.

zupreem is good and has many varieties, natural to veggie to fruit blend but if hard to find many others exist. you have tropimix, caitec’s fresh bites, you also can use lafebers nutriberries its recommended as a pellet or treat. nutriberries Ive used a lot in the past and are good (also vet raved about). senagals love them

 

[Hahns0hmy]

heres my girl Nala

 

[SunTruth]

So cute
Is she quiet?

 

[Hahns0hmy]

So cute
Is she quiet?

for the most part you dont even know shes in my house. morning and evening I get some talking and chirps the rest complete silence. shes very friendly the minute you approach her cage she bends her head for a scratch through the bars.

 

[SunTruth]

for the most part you dont even know shes in my house. morning and evening I get some talking and chirps the rest complete silence. shes very friendly the minute you approach her cage she bends her head for a scratch through the bars.

Oh maybe that is a characteristic of Sennies then. Mine is very quiet most of the day too. And he also bends his head for a scratch.

Is she also shy/does not like a lot new stuffs? I struggle to get mine to play with new toys or use new perches… well he is like afraid of a lot of new things.

On the other hand he is very social, he spends most of the time on my shoulder or the shoulder of someone in the house. On the evening he wants to play however apparently he mimicks attacking/biting me and it gets him very entertained.

 

[Hahns0hmy]

Oh maybe that is a characteristic of Sennies then. Mine is very quiet most of the day too. And he also bends his head for a scratch.

Is she also shy/does not like a lot new stuffs? I struggle to get mine to play with new toys or use new perches… well he is like afraid of a lot of new things.

On the other hand he is very social, he spends most of the time on my shoulder or the shoulder of someone in the house. On the evening he wants to play however apparently he mimicks attacking/biting me and it gets him very entertained.

no she shreds the hell out of every toy when i put them by her, sometimes same day. the key is to put the toys next to them on their favorite perch. also make sure its a shreddable toy like wood and so on not like plastic or those toys that arent breakable. their beak is extremely strong so definitely get wood chew toys. my senegal never bites but will make believe shes going to sometimes while playing she will squeeze but not bite. just have to trust them they know if you fear them. i never put my birds on my shoulder though, I dont find it comfortable. I know many do so but i prefer to be able to control them and not lose an ear god forbid. just make sure nothing seems threatening in the cage. I use natural wood perches and swap them with rope perches off and on depending on sharpness of the nails. I keep cement perches as well (two) for the nail filing naturally and beak scraping after eating.
it is a characteristic of sennies to be quiet and shy. as long as hes not on the bottom of the cage he should be ok. get yourself a scale and weigh him monthly i keep a log in my iphone notes since both of mine born. weight and time taken. its the best way to know when something is wrong along with looking at the poop. not to be disgusting but here is healthy poop. it should always look that way unless the food you gave has color to it (like green veggies)

 

[Hahns0hmy]

you can see the perches I use in the pic, and where i locate the toys, that one was huge i have to keep raising the chain on that toy because she shreds piles a day.

 

[SunTruth]

no she shreds the hell out of every toy when i put them by her, sometimes same day. the key is to put the toys next to them on their favorite perch. also make sure its a shreddable toy like wood and so on not like plastic or those toys that arent breakable. their beak is extremely strong so definitely get wood chew toys. my senegal never bites but will make believe shes going to sometimes while playing she will squeeze but not bite. just have to trust them they know if you fear them. i never put my birds on my shoulder though, I dont find it comfortable. I know many do so but i prefer to be able to control them and not lose an ear god forbid. just make sure nothing seems threatening in the cage. I use natural wood perches and swap them with rope perches off and on depending on sharpness of the nails. I keep cement perches as well (two) for the nail filing naturally and beak scraping after eating.
it is a characteristic of sennies to be quiet and shy. as long as hes not on the bottom of the cage he should be ok. get yourself a scale and weigh him monthly i keep a log in my iphone notes since both of mine born. weight and time taken. its the best way to know when something is wrong along with looking at the poop. not to be disgusting but here is healthy poop. it should always look that way unless the food you gave has color to it (like green veggies)

Oh why are you saying that as long he is not on the bottom of the cage he should be ok? Because usually in the morning before I open the cage he stays on the bottom of the cage. Is it a sign of something wrong?

 

[Hahns0hmy]

Oh why are you saying that as long he is not on the bottom of the cage he should be ok? Because usually in the morning before I open the cage he stays on the bottom of the cage. Is it a sign of something wrong?

shouldnt be on the bottom
if nothing is on the bottom, That could be a sign of a sick bird potentially. does he stay there? whats he doing on bottom? is it long periods of time or just morning? may also be looking for food if starving, does he eat well?

 

[BirdLady13]

Some birds are comfortable utilizing the bottom of their cage for play, but if you find your bird is reluctant to move from the bottom of the cage there could be a health problem. The other possibility is if they aren't getting enough to eat they may be looking for food that has dropped through the grate.

 

[SunTruth]

shouldnt be on the bottom
if nothing is on the bottom, That could be a sign of a sick bird potentially. does he stay there? whats he doing on bottom? is it long periods of time or just morning? may also be looking for food if starving, does he eat well?

He has been sick these recent days, I went to the veterinarian last week because he had like a stuffy nose and the veterinarian gave him antibiotic. For 2 days now he seems to do better (I dont hear the sound anymore of the stuffy nose anymore when he is breathing). I do not know if it is related.

Otherwise usually here is what happen: he wakes up in the morning and look what I am doing.… I put some foods, change water… then he goes on the bottom and wait for me to open the cage to come on my shoulder. But he can stay on the bottom for like 8 to 11 am doing nothing apart waiting for me. And by the way it can also happen that he stays on a perch doing the same (waiting for me).

The rest of the day he never goes on the bottom except if he is looking for food (for instance if he does not want to eat his pellets).

I do not what to do if there is something wrong.

 

[SunTruth]

Some birds are comfortable utilizing the bottom of their cage for play, but if you find your bird is reluctant to move from the bottom of the cage there could be a health problem. The other possibility is if they aren't getting enough to eat they may be looking for food that has dropped through the grate.

I have seen him on the bottom:
- looking for food: usually during the rest of the day when it happened
- waiting for me to come and open the cage this way he can go out on my shoulder or on someone else.