IRN vs. Senegal

[Fantur]

Hi all.

So I have decided on getting a parrot. I have narrowed my list down to an Indian Ringneck and a Senegal Parrot.

I have two young boys, 3 and 5, which will NOT be responsible for the bird, although they will interact with it alot under my supervision. My wife is not as excited about this new family member and is vary that it will be very very noisy.

I have done my research and in general the senegal parrot seems to be one of the most quiet of the parrot breeds. IRN in general seem to be very loud. On the flipside, in general the senegal seems to be more nippy and can give a nastier bite to my son's fingers.

I have the option to adopt a 10 week old parent raised IRN or a 10 week old handraised Senegal.

My criteria in order of significance:
1. Relatively quiet
2. "Safe" for my children
3. Easily potty trained
4. Intelligent

Are the generalization mentioned above true in your opinion and which bird would you recommend for me?

Sincerely,
Fantur

 

[gemini84]

i personally have had no experience senegal but have owned IRN's.
one of which was a rescue, she never warmed up to anyone in the house but was happy to hang around her cage and play. i did not find her to be all that noisy but she was cage territorial. my other was found and was very tame. he was a beautiful companion and went every where with me and would follow me around the house when i was at home. although very friendly he did not like to be handled but would be very happy to climb my clothes from the floor and sit on my shoulder.

Have you considered an alexandrine (irn slightly larger cousin).i have a baby one atm and he is beautiful, very cuddly and affectionate. alot of people will say that this is not typical of this breed, but with the right attitude, energy and attention you will find they make a wonderful companion. they are very intelligent and have great mimicking abilities...sometime reffered to as the "poor mans macaw"

im sure you will find the right bird for you, but remember no matter if you get a little budgie or a big macaw... without the right dedication, diet,care and training any breed of parrot can be a nightmare. on the otherhand with the right amount any parrot can be a perfect companion.

dont let stereotypes affect your choice/descision to much as every bird is different.

best advice i can give is to go spend some time with the birds you have found..... you may find one suits you better then the other.

its one thing to choose a parrot, but if your looking for a companion he/she needs to choose you.

Goodluck

 

[khaiqha]

Can you meet the birds before hand? Individual personality matters more than species stereotypes typically. I have had two irns and an alexandrine. None have been noisy. At most my alexandrine does a contact call at 10am and at 3pm.

More so than the amount of noise, I would listen to the pitch. Search for videos on YouTube with the birdsscreaming and pick the one you can put up with the most. I much prefer the lower pitch of my Alex over my irn or my roommate's cockatiel.

 

[Fantur]

Thank you all.

I am personally leaning more towards the IRN at the moment because of the reputation Senegals seem to have as being one person birds and aggressive added to the fact I find the IRN much prettier as a breed. I also have a much better relationship with the IRN breeder and have seen the chicks several times. This breeder prefers IRN that are NOT hand raised as they are not as dependent on their owners. Still, I am not entirely sure whether he is giving me his honest opinion or trying to sell his bird....

The only thing I fear is that the IRN will be alot more noisy than the Senegal.

Any more comments/advise from you guys to help me in my decision making?

Sincerely,
Fantur

 

[DanNic]

I was in the same situation
I have two boys 6 and 2,
I wanted a talking parrot and opted for the IRN.

I'd wait til next years hatchlings and go for a hand reared IRN in any colour other than green.
I wouldn't buy a bird someone was trying to flog me but rather buy a bird that I wanted to keep....

 

[Fantur]

How has your IRN turned out and adapted to your family? Is it loud?

 

[khaiqha]

My first irn was parent raised and was the kindest, cuddliest bird I've had. Took me
a month to tame him, and that was when i was in the 6th grade.

 

[aliray]

Another one to consider is the african red bellied parrot. Same family as the senegal but more laid back. Mine is a female and she is very quiet. the only loud noises I have heard were when my quaker tried to grab her by the tail feathers. She mostly makes clicking noises or different types of whistles. I find her very easy to live with. They are also supposed to be the best talkers of the poi group. Keep in m ind that no parrot is safe around very small children they can and will bite so kids need to be watched while around the bird and learn how to interact with them. Tiki is very cuddly and affectionate and is now about 11 mo old. There are a few others on here that have african red bellied parrots.

 

[DanNic]

How has your IRN turned out and adapted to your family? Is it loud?

Not at all, I'd consider him to be quiet.
I've recorded him using a sleep talk recording app and he squalks about once an hour if left in the house along.
He calls to us if we leave the room.

He is very confident in stepping up,
He's in a open top cage and will happily fly to the TV and back.
If he goes to floor level we have to be careful of the 2 year old but the 6 year old will step him up and return h to the cage.
They both love him to bits and talk to him all the time.
He's current 8 months and DNAd as a boy. I'd expect him to talk back soon.
Then the fun begins between bird and kids...

 

[Fantur]

How has your IRN turned out and adapted to your family? Is it loud?

Not at all, I'd consider him to be quiet.
I've recorded him using a sleep talk recording app and he squalks about once an hour if left in the house along.
He calls to us if we leave the room.

He is very confident in stepping up,
He's in a open top cage and will happily fly to the TV and back.
If he goes to floor level we have to be careful of the 2 year old but the 6 year old will step him up and return h to the cage.
They both love him to bits and talk to him all the time.
He's current 8 months and DNAd as a boy. I'd expect him to talk back soon.
Then the fun begins between bird and kids...

View attachment 5923

Is it potty trained or does he "go about his business" all around the house since he is flighted?

 

[Fantur]

Another one to consider is the african red bellied parrot. Same family as the senegal but more laid back. Mine is a female and she is very quiet. the only loud noises I have heard were when my quaker tried to grab her by the tail feathers. She mostly makes clicking noises or different types of whistles. I find her very easy to live with. They are also supposed to be the best talkers of the poi group. Keep in m ind that no parrot is safe around very small children they can and will bite so kids need to be watched while around the bird and learn how to interact with them. Tiki is very cuddly and affectionate and is now about 11 mo old. There are a few others on here that have african red bellied parrots.

I live in Iceland and the supply is very limited here. There are only a handful of breeders and the breeds available are very limited. There is really only the matter of Senegal or IRN for me.

Actually I have started to lean back to the Senegal now as I do believe there is a better chance it will be more quiet than the IRN...

 

[Fantur]

My first irn was parent raised and was the kindest, cuddliest bird I've had. Took me
a month to tame him, and that was when i was in the 6th grade.

Is it quiet or does it make high pitch contact calls when he is left unattended?

 

[wenz2712]

I think Senegals are quieter, but my favourites are the IRNs .

 

[khaiqha]

He was quiet.

 

[Loyal]

Please be aware that all senegals are not quiet. Mine can be very loud at times. There is a guy thay posted his senegal calling, I believe the thread is titled ”this is an apartment bird”... I'm responding from my cell phone so I cant find it for you. Although I love my Sennie, my husband hates how vocal she can be at times.

 

[Loyal]

http://www.parrotforums.com/poicephalus/22275-apartment-bird.html

Thats the link for the thread I referenced.hope it helps.

 

[Ash]

We have an IRN and she is quite a part from when she talks, which is pretty much anytime you say hello to her, or talk to her, or when you give her scratches. So I guess she is noisy
She never makes her IRN contact call, all she does is "human talk/cockatiel noises"

She is extremely cuddly and will come to you and talk so she can have pats but she bites and bites a lot. IRN's go through a buffing stage so it may not be a good choice around young children.

Some clips of her,
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxCG68FRfQU"]Yellow Indian Ringneck Parakeet talking - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBG9cVijkuE"]Yellow IRN Talking - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Fantur]

Thank you all.

I guess my logic here is that in general and on average the Senegal is quieter than the IRN (meaning that if one would measure the "quietness" of 100 Sengeals and 100 IRN the Senegals would be quieter). Of course some people have quiet IRN while others have noisy Senegals.

Apart from the potential noise level I like every other thing about the IRN better than the Senegal. It is, in my opinion, alot prettier. I also have read that Senegals in general and on average tend to be more nippy and "one person birds" while the IRN tends to be a better talker. They both seem to be very intelligent.

But, to add on my decision dilemma, the IRN chicks available to me are parent raised while the Senegal chicks are hand fed.

I am really having a hard time choosing here. I need a firm person to step in here and tell me which bird to choose for my situation

 

[mtdoramike]

Indian Ringnecks have the cutest voices ever.

 

[mtdoramike]

Thank you all.

I guess my logic here is that in general and on average the Senegal is quieter than the IRN (meaning that if one would measure the "quietness" of 100 Sengeals and 100 IRN the Senegals would be quieter). Of course some people have quiet IRN while others have noisy Senegals.

Apart from the potential noise level I like every other thing about the IRN better than the Senegal. It is, in my opinion, alot prettier. I also have read that Senegals in general and on average tend to be more nippy and "one person birds" while the IRN tends to be a better talker. They both seem to be very intelligent.

But, to add on my decision dilemma, the IRN chicks available to me are parent raised while the Senegal chicks are hand fed.

I am really having a hard time choosing here. I need a firm person to step in here and tell me which bird to choose for my situation

Then this should be a simple decision for you, if the Senegal is hand feed, I would opt for the Sennie every time. It would be easier to work with.