Senegal or Red Bellied?? Never had a bird and having trouble deciding!

[Aloha071687]

Hello ! I'm new to the site and hoping for some guidance from fellow parrot owners! This will be my first bird, so I'm glad I've found this site

Now, my problem is I'm not sure which type to get. I want something in the Poicephalus family, and have narrowed my search down to the Senegal and Red Bellied Parrots. Does anyone have either of these? I've been doing a lot of research, and I'm beginning to worry. I would love to own a Senegal or a Red bellied, but I've read that the birds in this family tend to bond to one person only, and become aggressive to any other members. I really want a social bird, who will be OK around friends and other family members. We also want a bird who is cuddly and entertaining, yet capable of being independent when needed. Know what I mean? We've just been reading such horrible stories about owners with Senegals, and I'm worried that were going to adopt one, and it's going to become aggressive to my husband. He works a lot, so he's not home as often as I am. Oh, and male or female?? We read that the males tend to be a bit more nippy and aggressive, but I'm worried that if we get a female, that she wont bond to me at all.

I've rambled quite a lot more than I intended! Sorry all! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

[Mayden]

Hello ! I'm new to the site and hoping for some guidance from fellow parrot owners! This will be my first bird, so I'm glad I've found this site

Now, my problem is I'm not sure which type to get. I want something in the Poicephalus family, and have narrowed my search down to the Senegal and Red Bellied Parrots. Does anyone have either of these? I've been doing a lot of research, and I'm beginning to worry. I would love to own a Senegal or a Red bellied, but I've read that the birds in this family tend to bond to one person only, and become aggressive to any other members. I really want a social bird, who will be OK around friends and other family members. We also want a bird who is cuddly and entertaining, yet capable of being independent when needed. Know what I mean? We've just been reading such horrible stories about owners with Senegals, and I'm worried that were going to adopt one, and it's going to become aggressive to my husband. He works a lot, so he's not home as often as I am. Oh, and male or female?? We read that the males tend to be a bit more nippy and aggressive, but I'm worried that if we get a female, that she wont bond to me at all.

I've rambled quite a lot more than I intended! Sorry all! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Hello there! +Welcome to the forum, nice to see people doing their research before buying their birds. I have a senegal and I've wanted one for years, however have only just been able to get one, he's about 4 months old and I presume we're still in the honeymoon period as I've only had him for just over a month. We presume he is male (and yes he is a bit nippy but nothing worth complaining about!) and we'll be getting him dna sexed in about a months time (the same time as microchipping so he's not angry at us for ripping out feathers )

If you look into any background of any bird you will probably find a million more horror stories than 'happy' ones about any species, purely because it's human nature to complain and blame all but ourselves!

I didn't do much research into red bellied because I knew that they werent readily available around my area and unfortunately I loved the senegals colouring (and everything else!) more so that's why I decided on a sennie.

At the moment I'd say no, he's not a one person'd bird, he loves everyone he meets. He is still a mummys boy and will come to me if he's feeling a bit intimidated, or hungry or whatever, and it's me he kind of, relies on the most. But when someone else is in the room? Well he's their best friend! He sees me almost all day every day so when someone 'new' comes along, he's quite happy to attach to them for hours instead. Most certainly not a 'one person' bird, certainly not right now anyway. But I suppose you're best speaking to people who've got their sennies that are actually mature+past the honeymoon period.

Enjoy a cute picture. :54:

 

[mtdoramike]

My Sennie, is a female and loves me and my wife. But she will flip flop back and forth between the two of us. One week, she can't get enough of me and the next week, she can't get enough of my wife.

She also will step up to just about anyone that comes over. She spends much of her day with me, but also is independant enough to play on her own for a few hours especially in the afternoon and even before bed.

Now as far as nippy goes. YEP, they can be nippy even hand fed hand tame Sennies. I call them the Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde of the parrot world because of this trait. But I would take a buck and quarter for mine.

I think you should also consider a Meyers parrot as well. They are supposedly more laid back birds than Sennies or Red Bellies.

 

[John]

I have a Red Bellied Parrot, but he is a baby and I've only had him for about a week. So far, he is friendly to everyone and will allow my children and I to hold him, pet him, scratch his neck, hold him in a towel, etc. He hasn't nipped at all, yet. Obviously that may not be the case as he grows up and reaches sexual maturity.

From what I've read, Red Bellies are not quite as likely to become a one person birds as Senegals, though the possibility still exists. Red Bellies are still relatively rare as pets, so there seems to be a lot less information out there about them, though.

Of the poicephalus parrots, Meyer's seem to be the least likely to become one person birds, and have a reputation for being very friendly.

You might also consider a conure, as they seem to be much less likely to become one person birds than most poicephalus. If noise is a concern, one from the pyrrhura genus (such as a Green Cheek, Black Capped, or Maroon Bellied) would be MUCH better than an aratinga (Sun Conure, Jenday, etc.). If you don't care about noise, the aratinga's are more colorful and may have a bit more of large bird personality. But be warned, they can be extremely loud.

I have a 4 year old Green Cheek and he is pretty quiet (for a parrot) and is not a one person bird.

Whatever bird you choose, having different people feed and handle it regularly will reduce the chance of it bonding to one person and hating everyone else.

 

[Karigan]

My senegal is nine and I've had her for a month now. She's adapted well, even though she was poorly socialized before we got her and loves to snuggle with me and watch television.
As long as a bird is well socialized with a variety of people, it shouldn't be agressive towards other people.

I have a girl, but I've heard that there is very little difference between genders.

 

[Aloha071687]

Thank you for all your wonderful answers! We have a breeder located in our city that breeds Senegals, so that's why I'm leaving more towards them. I like the idea of being able to visit the breeder, and visit the baby I pick out. I'm also not very comfortable having a bird shipped. This will be our first bird, and while I know plenty of people have their birds safely shipped to them, I want to be able to meet the breeder and see what sort of living conditions her birds are in!

Still unsure as to whether we'd go with a male or a female though!

 

[Mayden]

Thank you for all your wonderful answers! We have a breeder located in our city that breeds Senegals, so that's why I'm leaving more towards them. I like the idea of being able to visit the breeder, and visit the baby I pick out. I'm also not very comfortable having a bird shipped. This will be our first bird, and while I know plenty of people have their birds safely shipped to them, I want to be able to meet the breeder and see what sort of living conditions her birds are in!

Still unsure as to whether we'd go with a male or a female though!

Visit the breeder and her babies and see which sennie you bond with the most, ignore gender and just find the sennie that fits you(and your hubby!) best!

 

[suebee]

i have a female sennie, she does well in my family, but we all have to be watchfull of her mood!

she chews her feathers an still bites! (without warning, and i mean bites! not her play bites)

she prefers my man, but plays with my son an snuggles with me, inbetween shredding the house and biting (though she still bites its not that much, normally if we want her to do something she does not want to do)

she is fine with company (except with small children) and i feel has adapted well, as she was my brothers, but i did not think he could cope with her behaviour after my sisters sene died ( i only found all this out after we accepted her)

but nut is a very charming bird, playful an willfully naughty

like today she spent day sleeping an eating, slept a bit on my knee as i watched telly, had a shower with me and while i was making our bed, she bit my face, i don't know where the bit came from, but hope she has a better day tomorrow

but from what i have read after a hunnymoon period, senes tend to show there true colours! so bear that in mind when you view one, especially an older sene, watch who handles the sene an how they approach it! for ques, cos a sene's bite hurts like mad when they intend it too

 

[Mayden]

i have a female sennie, she does well in my family, but we all have to be watchfull of her mood!

she chews her feathers an still bites! (without warning, and i mean bites! not her play bites)

she prefers my man, but plays with my son an snuggles with me, inbetween shredding the house and biting (though she still bites its not that much, normally if we want her to do something she does not want to do)

she is fine with company (except with small children) and i feel has adapted well, as she was my brothers, but i did not think he could cope with her behaviour after my sisters sene died ( i only found all this out after we accepted her)

but nut is a very charming bird, playful an willfully naughty

like today she spent day sleeping an eating, slept a bit on my knee as i watched telly, had a shower with me and while i was making our bed, she bit my face, i don't know where the bit came from, but hope she has a better day tomorrow

but from what i have read after a hunnymoon period, senes tend to show there true colours! so bear that in mind when you view one, especially an older sene, watch who handles the sene an how they approach it! for ques, cos a sene's bite hurts like mad when they intend it too

Amen to that, Merlin drew blood one day when I was cleaning up his poop and he took offence to it. Was a very bad bite for such a small bird!

 

[Aloha071687]

Im super worried about getting a Sennie now! We had originally wanted a Sun Conure, but I don't think I could handle the amount of noise the create! I know all parrots make noise, but after watching several youtube videos, it is very evident that a sun conure is not in our future. I just love the sennies personality and coloring, but after everything I'm reading, they seem like a horrible choice as a pet! Now I'm not very sure what to do

 

[Mayden]

Im super worried about getting a Sennie now! We had originally wanted a Sun Conure, but I don't think I could handle the amount of noise the create! I know all parrots make noise, but after watching several youtube videos, it is very evident that a sun conure is not in our future. I just love the sennies personality and coloring, but after everything I'm reading, they seem like a horrible choice as a pet! Now I'm not very sure what to do

Hehe, I first fell in love with the sun conures, but like you - the noise. Otherwise I would have done everything to get one... so I looked into quiter birds and just fell in love with a senegal.

You've just gotta remember that EVERY bird will bite. It's all about how you respond to the bites and being able to read your bird properly 'is X a grumpy guts today?' yes? well then, we'll leave them alone for a while.

I could go on and on as to why senegals are fantastic pets, and all their 'down sides' each parrot has anyway, the "phobic", the "nips". They're just... bird traits, not senegal specific really.

Wouldn't trade my Merlin for the world.

Not trying to influence your decision with cute pics of my baby at all. :54:

 

[Mayden]

I'll be back tomorrow after my hospital appointments for more chatter about senegals vs others. If you've got anything specific about them you'd wanna talk about, any fears/worries, then please just write them out and I'll try to quash them as best as I can. >: )

Meanwhile... :54:

 

[suebee]

Im super worried about getting a Sennie now! We had originally wanted a Sun Conure, but I don't think I could handle the amount of noise the create! I know all parrots make noise, but after watching several youtube videos, it is very evident that a sun conure is not in our future. I just love the sennies personality and coloring, but after everything I'm reading, they seem like a horrible choice as a pet! Now I'm not very sure what to do

when you know the worse they can do, then if they don't do it, its a bonus

i really want you to know all the in's an out's so to speak this way, when you make the decision to get a sene etc you'll know what to expect :54:

my little nut had a bit of a traumatic yr last yr, as her cage mate died, my father teased her something chronic (she took revenge by flying an attacking his bald head! dawing blood) and she got re-homed with me while in season, so her behaviour is kinda to be expected:11:

if you get a young baby one, they do settle in well, but i think with most birds like children, when they hit there teenage yrs they become a handfull, but they get over it, with a little patiance an understanding

as you are off to meet the breeder, there are breeders in the forum that can advise you on what to look out for in a good breeder an what to expect an questions to ask etc

 

[Winston1Smith2]

Parrots can be a big pain in the *** at times. You hit on some of the problems you might encounter with a parrot. They can become one person birds. They can bite, chew, make loud obnoxious noises, become very aggressive, and be very moody. If you do decide to get a parrot you might have to deal with one or more of these problems, and maybe even some I did not mention. That is the bad part of having a parrot as a companion.
The good part is with a parrot you do not get a great pet, you get a great friend. I share my life with a GCC named Cracker and without being politically correct I can honestly say he is more like a best friend than a pet. A best friend whose favorite thing in life is to hangout with you. When I am home and not sleeping Cracker is with me. He loves to get his head scritched, listen to music, and watch movies. When I first got Cracker he did have a biting problem. A few times it was bloody, (he sure could put that small beak to good use), it was always painful, and it was never any fun. During this phase, I admit, at times I thought of Cracker as a little green demon with feathers. I have now had Cracker for about a year an a half. I have not been bitten by him in over a year. Sure, he will give me a little nip when I make him do something he does not want to do, but that is about it. I would say the rough times I went through with Cracker were a very small price to pay for the type of friend Cracker has become.
Of course, it is best not to get a parrot at all if you are not willing to go through the hard times with it. If that is case then you will also be missing out on one of the greatest experiences you can have in your life. You should also realize that any animal you decide to adopt will not be perfect. You are going to have to make allowances. Dogs, even when housebroken, might still have the ocassional accident. Dogs can also be loud and very destructive. Cats have litter boxes that need to cleaned and claws they like to use, sometimes on your furniture. If you want to win the affection of another animal you will have to make compromise and give something back. That is true not only for parrots but all companion animals.

 

[suebee]

awww well put winston an thanks

 

[John]

Im super worried about getting a Sennie now! We had originally wanted a Sun Conure, but I don't think I could handle the amount of noise the create! I know all parrots make noise, but after watching several youtube videos, it is very evident that a sun conure is not in our future. I just love the sennies personality and coloring, but after everything I'm reading, they seem like a horrible choice as a pet! Now I'm not very sure what to do

I certainly don't think Senegals are "horrible choices" for pets. As parrots go, they are one of the more practical choices as they are relatively quiet, not too big, don't have huge beaks that can do real damage and aren't as needy as many birds.

It is good that you are getting such honest and complete information about the pros and cons of the species and that you are taking the decision very seriously. All parrots are going to make some noise (Sennies are among the quietest), and bite at some point (Sennies beaks are relatively small and while they might draw blood they won't send you to the ER either).

Most parrots will also go through a "terrible twos" stage when they reach sexual maturity. Two of the Sennie owners here have 2 year old birds, so it is quite possible they are going through this stage now. If their owners are patient and use proper technique, most birds will outgrow this stage and their behavior will improve.

That said, if you are fearful of some of the potential downsides of a Senegal, you might want to look into a Meyer's Parrot, which generally have many of the same positive characteristics of the Senegal, without some of the negative ones.

 

[Mayden]

That said, if you are fearful of some of the potential downsides of a Senegal, you might want to look into a Meyer's Parrot, which generally have many of the same positive characteristics of the Senegal, without some of the negative ones.

Most of the 'problems' she seems to be thinking of is completely regardless of which 'type' of parrot she gets. Meyers will bite just as much as a Sennie if provoked/not understood properly

Meyers are great parrots, I looked into them and know they are fantastic birds, but I wouldn't choose them over a sennie really just because they might be every so slightly less nippy or more of a 'family' bird (which sennies are classed as anyway!). It really does also depends on the birds upbringing

 

[Karigan]

i have a female sennie, she does well in my family, but we all have to be watchfull of her mood!

she chews her feathers an still bites! (without warning, and i mean bites! not her play bites)

she prefers my man, but plays with my son an snuggles with me, inbetween shredding the house and biting (though she still bites its not that much, normally if we want her to do something she does not want to do)

she is fine with company (except with small children) and i feel has adapted well, as she was my brothers, but i did not think he could cope with her behaviour after my sisters sene died ( i only found all this out after we accepted her)

but nut is a very charming bird, playful an willfully naughty

like today she spent day sleeping an eating, slept a bit on my knee as i watched telly, had a shower with me and while i was making our bed, she bit my face, i don't know where the bit came from, but hope she has a better day tomorrow

but from what i have read after a hunnymoon period, senes tend to show there true colours! so bear that in mind when you view one, especially an older sene, watch who handles the sene an how they approach it! for ques, cos a sene's bite hurts like mad when they intend it too

...Kito decides she hates it when I read, and took it upon herself to attack three of my fingers and draw blood... Not fun when you work in a kitchen, but otherwise she never attacks me.

 

[schristensen13]

I owned a Senegal previously and now own a Meyers...Sennies are great little birds but my vote goes for the Meyers. Harder to find for sure, but definitely worth the wait. My Meyers is just a bit of a more mellow bird...my Sennie got that wonderful Jekyl and Hyde personality later on in his life.

 

[John]

From everything I've read in forums, in online articles, in books, from breeders who breed both, and from rescues, Meyer's are considerably more likely to be "family birds" than Senegals, which seem to be mentioned as likely "one person birds" as much as just about any species, except maybe Amazons.

The original poster was specifically concerned about not wanting a one person bird. Also, while all birds will bite, to some extent, I believe biting and other aggression by one person birds, targeted at those other than their "mates" (favorite human) is much more problematic and more difficult to fix than routine biting that comes from fear, bossiness, habit, etc.

I love Senegals. They are quiet, funny, and strikingly beautiful birds, who are relatively trouble free (for parrots). It is a species I have considered owning and would consider owning in the future.

However, I don't think we should ignore strong tendencies in particular species towards certain behaviors, simply because they are not universal.

Would you tell a person who was looking for a quiet bird, that it didn't matter if they bought a Senegal, Sun Conure or a Moluccan Cockatoo? After all, every bird is an individual, there are some quiet Sun Conures and 'Toos and some loud Senegals, and how you raise them and train them has an impact on noise as well, right?

There are no guarantees with parrots, but knowing what behaviors are typical for a species (along with proper care, socializing, and training, of course) can help maximize the chances of a positive experience.