Hello!

[Aussieagility]

Hi! I am looking into purchasing my first parrot in the next little bit and am in the process of doing research. I have owned cockatiels and have lived with a muloccan cockatoo. I always love to watch the parrots in the pet stores and I have finally decided to get one. I live in a town house and have two roommates so a quieter bird is a must. I'm thinking that a Senegal might be my best bet as I am looking for a cuddly bird. I do live with 3 cats so that does concern me a bit. Anyone else live with cats and birds the size of senegals? Anyways I also am a little worried that the bird will not like me. I'm contemplating getting a baby but I'm also open to an older bird that is poop trained and has already learned not to bite. I'm worried that an older bird will not bond as strongly with me though. And what if it doesn't like me? Any advice would be great. I'm trying to learn as much as I can before I make this big step.

Thanks in advance!

 

[SilverSage]

Welcome I don't have sennies, but the fact that you mention a bird learning not to bite is concerning. Parrots bite. Training is important, but if you can't handle biting, parrots are not for you, especially sennies.

I do have a cat and small birds. My cat gets to nap in the bedroom for most of the day because of this. I have had a bird killed by a dog, too. Very heartbreaking..

 

[Aussieagility]

Well I know lots of people who still have all their digits and aren't constantly bloodied up by their birds biting. I'm sure there is a way to train them not to bite as much? I know some biting comes with the ownership of birds, but I'm sure parrot owners don't just let their birds bite?

 

[SilverSage]

Key words being "as much"

 

[Flboy]

Welcome!
Perhaps:
Parrot Statue | eBay

Just having fun with ya!

 

[itchyfeet]

Welcome!
Don't get a ringneck Noise, not cuddly and biting.
Yeah, the risk and severity of biting can be limited, but it does take work and won't happen overnight. Especially with a younger bird - you'll get the hormonal years. Although you do get used to it, have a wee forum search for bite pressure training.
I lean towards suggesting the quieter conures, but I think they can be quite nippy. Maybe a lovebird?

 

[Allee]

Hello there! Welcome to the forums! Glad to see you're doing lots of research before bringing home a parrot.

I totally agree with the above posts, I also want to mention a bird that has had pressure training will be less likely to bite, but remember birds can and often do act completely different with a new owner, sometimes in positive ways, sometimes not so much. Any parrot can become a biter, some species are less risky than others but the possibility is always there. In most cases training and bonding are key to how well you get along with your parrot.

 

[ZephyrFly]

Welcome!

You'll need to be prepared to forever enforce and encourage good behaviour if you want it.
How much time a day would you have for a bird?
Although I don't have a sennie I hear they are normally very one person birds so I'd imagine they need a good amount of socialisation. Is everyone in your house prepared for a bird or will it be all yours?
General opinion I think is there is little diffence in terms of bonding between a young bird and an older bird. with a young bird you have a chance to teach and encourage all the behaviours you want but you have to make it through birdy puberty, when they first get hormonal (this can be a difficult time for bird and owner but not always). Getting an older bird means your clear of the major hormones but have the potential for having some bad habits that a previous owner didn't handle (not always the case).
Pro tip, non stick pans are a major health risk for birds. When overheated they release fumes that can kill a birds. These fumes can be emitted even at normal cooking temperatures.

Training and behaviour adjustments can take time but its not impossible.
What do you know so far about sennies?

 

[ZephyrFly]

I totally say give small conures a look too. Any bird could be loud, conure, pigeon, amazon and so on.
Small conures are generally the quieter conures, cuddly, in my experience easy to socialise and fun. Potential Velcro bird but you can work on independence (maybe not entirely though!)