Care of the Senegal Parrot
The Senegal parrot (Poicephalus senegalus) is a small African breed that is much quieter than most parrots. An attractive bird, it has a gray head and an overall green body with dark orange to lime-yellow streaks across its breast bone. The Senegal parrot is inquisitive and eager to learn new tricks and readily mimics words and sounds. Its endearing characteristics make this bird an ideal choice as a pet, according to the Organization of Professional Aviculturists.
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Things You'll Need
- Cage with horizontal bars, perches and swing
- Wooden toys
- Ready-made seed mix
- Fruits and vegetables
Instructions
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Before bringing the Senegal parrot home, create or purchase a 20 x 20 x 28 inch cage for it to reside. Ensure that the cage has horizontal bars around 3/4 inches apart as this parrot enjoys climbing activities, says the website Parrot Care.
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Keep the parrot engaged and active by offering it a variety of toys to play with. The Animal World website recommends placing wooden toys like ladders and chew toys as well as a swing inside the cage. Additionally, create perches of varying diameters or place climbing branches for the Senegal parrot to climb and rest on, and fit food and water dishes at either end of the cage.
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Feed the parrot a ready-made seed mix that contains canary grass seed; red, white and yellow millet; oats and groats; Niger seed; and linseed.
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Supplement your parrot's diet with fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, green peas, carrots, dark green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, green peppers, pineapples, apples, apricots and bananas. The website birdtricks.com recommends that you occasionally feed the parrot healthy table scraps like brown rice, tofu, chicken, lean fish and egg whites.
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Clean the cage weekly by spraying water all over it, and also give your parrot a shower in the process.
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Keep your parrot in good physical health; exercise it outside the cage for at least one hour each day.
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Tips & Warnings
Offer Senegal parrots unsalted peanuts as a treat occasionally, as they favor this nut.
Place your pet's cage in the quietest area of your house, as Senegal parrots get stressed in noisy environments.
As Senegal parrots get wary of visitors as they age, it is important to prevent this tendency by exposing them to a range of experiences at a young age.
References
- Photo Credit parrot image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
