| EXTREMELY LOVABLE SENEGAL PARROTS |
| Hand-fed Senegals make awesome pets. They are very quiet and will learn to talk and imitate sounds. Senegals must be allowed out of their cage to exercise and interact with their owners. They are very loyal, cuddly, and acrobatic to say the least. They are so full of personality all packed into a small parrot size. One of the main components of a Senegals diet should be cooked beans and pea mixture containing chick peas, green split peas, yellow split peas, mung beans, black eye peas, and butter beans etc. I buy the 15 bean mixture and cook as directed on package. You may also give them lean chicken, birdy bread, and other items that do not have salt or large amounts of fat in it. NEVER feed avacados to your pet birds as it is toxic. Please offer various fruits such as apples, pears, and oranges daily or every other day, as well as a selection of cooked and raw vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli, and any other items they enjoy. I recommend the use of a good pellet diet such as Roudybush or any other top of the line name pellet brand. I mix a tub of hull-less oats, steamed rolled oats, peanut hearts, cracked corn, Zupreem fruit pellets, and any other good shell-less foods together and offer this daily. The Senegal diet should also consist of a good quality seed mixture of Sunflower, safflower, pine nuts, oats, hemp, millet, and canary etc., however this should only be about one fouth of their diet. Senegals do not breed until they are about 3 to 4 years of age. The hens will be sexually mature by the age of 2 years, and the cocks about 3 years. The Senegal usually breeds November to March. They normally lay 2 to 3 eggs but some have laid as many as 6 eggs in a clutch. They lay with a two day interval incubation and is carried out by the hen and lasts for about 25 to 28 days dependent on the temperature. Commencement of the incubation is usually after the 2nd egg has been laid. I recommend a cage approximately 4'x3'x3'. The nest box size I recommend is 18" to 20" high and 8" to 10" square hung vertically with a mesh ladder fixed inside to allow access up and down the box. Put about 1 1/2" of Premier Pet Natural Pine Bedding in the bottom of nest box. I buy this bedding from Petco as I am unable to locate it anywhere else. I automatically have it delivered to my house every 6 weeks. As far as the nest boxes, my husband makes all of those and they have an acrylic door on the side to be able to peek in, to see the progress inside without disturbing the egg sitting senegals. I do not force wean, which simply means I let my Senegals tell me when they no longer want formula. As I change from 4 feedings, to three, to two, and then one a day in the evening before they go to bed, they usually stop shortly after that. They will no longer want the "bottle" and will be eating well on their own! I introduce all the above mentioned foods to them at about 4-5 weeks of age so they can play, taste or experiment with it at a young age. Always change the water supply at least twice a day, and disinfect the water bowls as well as their food dishes so fungus doesn't have a chance to grow. In the wild, the young leave the nest at approximately 9 weeks and are independent at about 12 weeks. However in captivity, and in my aviary, I pull the babies at about 3-4 weeks depending on the progress inside the nest box. I then hand feed the babies and aclimate them to real life in the dining area with all the noises such as a barking puppy, phone ringing, dishes being done, and table time etc. They are well adjusted to life and are not afraid of much because they were raised as babies in that type of environment. This also ensures for a rounded Senegal and will be the life of the party. Senegals are a joy to have and are very quiet. Most of the time you won't even know you have a Senegal. They love to play and will give you many hours of enjoyment and unconditional love as you deserve. Thanks for reading, and I encourage you to bless your home with a Senegal Parrot or any other wonderful bird that fits your lifestyle! |
| This is Nikki, my female Senegal Parrot. She was one month old here. Nikki was posing with my Grandbaby that was also 1 month old at this time. |
| Check out the orange feathers coming in on Nikki's breast. |
| This is Landon. He is my Grandson and is the same age as Nikki so they were posing together, and will be from now on per his mother's wishes! |
| This is Nikki and Landon resting. (1 month) |
| This is Nikki next to "JOY" one of my cockatiels. They both are 1 month old at this time. Joy now lives in California with Thelma! |
| Nikki resting with my daughter Ashley. Nikki is two months old here. Such a sweet baby! |
| Most of her feathers are in and she is growing so fast. She's taking a nap now just seconds after the previous photo was taken. |
