Senegal vs. Green Cheek Conure

[SenegalLover]

Hello, everybody! This is my first post and I am excited to be part of this amazing community!

I know there have been a million threads about this, I have also read a lot of independent threads as well, but I feel the need to get specific answers.

So here is the situation. I am currently a 22-year-old going part time to college and also work part time or full time depending on the week. I will have at minimum 1 hour a day to be able to devote to my bird. Anytime that I will be home I will take the bird out, but I say 1 hour to be on the safe side.

Anyways, I have been heavily looking into Senegals and Green Cheek Conures. Right now I live at home and my mom doesn't really care for animals so much, so the birdcage will be in my room. On the other hand, my brother and father love animals so I can see them playing with the bird when they have free time as well. This is not a guarantee, though.

I will be moving out within the next year or two but I wanted to purchase the parrot now. I am looking for something that is independent, but quiet. A bird that does not make too much noise so I won't get in trouble with potential neighbors, or something that will not bother my family when I am not home. For me, I don't necessarily mind the loudness, but the frequency. I understand parrots make noises and I am not looking for something mute, but something that will not be constantly making noise.

Where I am going with this is that in my local bird shop there are two Senegals left and a bunch of Green Cheek Conures. All the birds are still babies and have 4 weeks left before they can be adopted. I know every individual bird is different, but there are similarities in each sub-species.

In your experience, and seeing what I am looking for in a bird, which would you recommend? I want a bird that will get along with my friends, family, girlfriend, and future children. I understand the commitment of these animals and am a very responsible pet owner.

Thank you for reading this post, and as I had mentioned before, I am excited to join the parrot community!

 

[RavensGryf]

I think probably a Green Cheek would be the best bet of the two species. There's a more likely chance the conure will get along with everyone if socialized early. Even 'well socialized' Poicephalus are usually picky about who they like, and mature ones have an extremely hard bite. Nothing wrong with getting a Sennie as a first parrot, I got my Red Bellied parrot which is also a Poicephalus decades ago as my first parrot, but it is maybe a little steeper learning curve than a GCC. Not saying a Green Cheek can't be a challenge, because they can as any parrot can, but generally speaking will be more of what I think you're looking for.

The only thing that concerns me, and I urge you to think about this.. is that you say your mom isn't an animal person. It's important that everyone in the household at least respects the living creature and regards it enough to pay for and take them to any vet visits as necessary. It's a good idea to have extra money always saved aside for vet expenses. If you can't, then reserve a credit card for this reason.

 

[SenegalLover]

I think probably a Green Cheek would be the best bet of the two species. There's a more likely chance the conure will get along with everyone if socialized early. Even 'well socialized' Poicephalus are usually picky about who they like, and mature ones have an extremely hard bite. Nothing wrong with getting a Sennie as a first parrot, I got my Red Bellied parrot which is also a Poicephalus decades ago as my first parrot, but it is maybe a little steeper learning curve than a GCC. Not saying a Green Cheek can't be a challenge, because they can as any parrot can, but generally speaking will be more of what I think you're looking for.

The only thing that concerns me, and I urge you to think about this.. is that you say your mom isn't an animal person. It's important that everyone in the household at least respects the living creature and regards it enough to pay for and take them to any vet visits as necessary. It's a good idea to have extra money always saved aside for vet expenses. If you can't, then reserve a credit card for this reason.

Thankfully I make enough money to be able to easily afford any vet visits or whatever may be the case. If I did not I would not consider a pet because it can add up. Additionally, she doesn't care for them enough to play with them but still cares about them. For example we have chickens in our back yard and she always makes sure somebody feeds them even though she won't do it herself. I suppose my main concern is noise level. I don't want it screaming when I'm not there for example. Generally only my mom is home during the day and she spends most of her time in her room

 

[RavensGryf]

I guess the screaming depends on tolerance level of the particular sound. Take her to the store, or let her hear video clips of the sound of the species your interested in. See what she says. All birds have at least somewhat noisy periods. Raven and Griffin are unusual, in that their noisy periods usually consist of talking or making funny noises rather than natural calls.

 

[LeaKP]

Having owned a GCC and loved it dearly, I can say that I wonder if 1 hour daily is enough time for you to be with your bird. I, too, work and am busy but I navigated that by getting up earlier every day and making sure my bird was out and around me whenever I was home. Then he napped during the day. If my GCC. Wasn't out enough he was indeed loud but when we had adequate time together he was just fine. I also took him out in the evenings so he had at least four hours out daily with me and all day on days off and weekends. Just a thought.

 

[SenegalLover]

I guess the screaming depends on tolerance level of the particular sound. Take her to the store, or let her hear video clips of the sound of the species your interested in. See what she says. All birds have at least somewhat noisy periods. Raven and Griffin are unusual, in that their noisy periods usually consist of talking or making funny noises rather than natural calls.

That's a really good idea. It's funny because in the store the GCC and senegals are dead quiet. Maybe it's because they are only 8 weeks old? Even the older ones don't make that much noise.

 

[SenegalLover]

Having owned a GCC and loved it dearly, I can say that I wonder if 1 hour daily is enough time for you to be with your bird. I, too, work and am busy but I navigated that by getting up earlier every day and making sure my bird was out and around me whenever I was home. Then he napped during the day. If my GCC. Wasn't out enough he was indeed loud but when we had adequate time together he was just fine. I also took him out in the evenings so he had at least four hours out daily with me and all day on days off and weekends. Just a thought.

That's exactly what I'm thinking of doing. I usually wake up 1-2 hours before I have to leave so I wanted to take it out in the morning. Im just afraid if I spend the night at my girlfriends house and it's not taken out in the morning it will be loud the whole day.

 

[LeaKP]

That's the caveat of bird ownership, you have to work your schedule around the bird. It's hard when there's only one of you to watch him or her. A once off being left in the cage won't hurt your bird but if it becomes the norm then you will have a problem.

 

[Flboy]

Keeping the bird in your room may create a problem! They are social creatures and being alone and hearing other folks in the house may have them doing contact calls!

 

[LeaKP]

Keeping the bird in your room may create a problem! They are social creatures and being alone and hearing other folks in the house may have them doing contact calls!

That's so true, they love to be in the center of all activity, don't they?

 

[SenegalLover]

Keeping the bird in your room may create a problem! They are social creatures and being alone and hearing other folks in the house may have them doing contact calls!

Assuming that I can't put it in the living room, would leaving the t.v. on in my room or a radio help it feel more relaxed?

 

[Flboy]

Very confusing with a duplicate thread!

Keeping the bird in your room may create a problem! They are social creatures and being alone and hearing other folks in the house may have them doing contact calls!

Assuming that I can't put it in the living room, would leaving the t.v. on in my room or a radio help it feel more relaxed?

They love companionship, if they know someone is home, they will flock call! If you want a socialized pet, you need to socialize him/her! A bird is NOT a pet! It is really a companion! Your mom may be very surprised! When we got our first bird, we were blown away!

 

[SenegalLover]

Very confusing with a duplicate thread!

Assuming that I can't put it in the living room, would leaving the t.v. on in my room or a radio help it feel more relaxed?

They love companionship, if they know someone is home, they will flock call! If you want a socialized pet, you need to socialize him/her! A bird is NOT a pet! It is really a companion! Your mom may be very surprised! When we got our first bird, we were blown away!

Yes that was my mistake

 

[snowflake311]

I had my Senegal Kiwi from when she was weaned till she was 16 years old when she passed away. She should have lived longer but she got really sick. Now I am a freak about taking my birds to the vets they hide illnesses too well. Any ways I now have a Black capped conure. MUCH like a green cheek both are Pyrrhura.

I was in middle school when I got Kiwi. I drove cross country with her as a young adult. These are long lived birds. So think about where you will be in 20-30 years. For me having a baby and toddler around Kiwi my Senegal was hard. Kiwi could not be trusted. These birds have a way of lashing out and bite randomly people they do not like. She did not like my mom Kiwi got her good a few times. She jumped on my mom as my mom walked by the cage and BIT her. She was perfect with me so gentle. She was quite and mellow. Kiwi was kind of lazy she just sat around. She was happy just sitting on my shoulder as I did work. If you plan on having an only bird and don't care if the birds likes other people. I say a Senegal would be good. They are not high maintenance. They do not demand constant attention they are happy to just sit and watch the world around them from on top of the cage on you.

Conures are a bit more high maintenance IME. They demand attention and affection. They are not happy just sitting doing nothing. They like to play, explore, and cuddle. Green cheeks are great because they are not so picky about people they like. They will often tolerate other family members well. Where a Senegal will let others know they are not welcome with a hard bite. Kiwi bit people she did not like and went for blood. When my daughter was 2 years old She learned Kiwi did not like her. Kiwi bit her finger. Again she was the sweetest bird to me I could trust her. It took kiwi and I a few years to really bound to the point where I fully trusted her and she fully trusted me. With Sprinkles my conure it only took a few months bound and trust each other.

So at this point in your life I would say Senegal BUT later in life.... say if you get married and have kids. The Senegal might not be the best choice. They tend to be one person birds MAYBE 2 person. My Kiwi did like one of my room mates a lot.

As for noise They are the same in my experience.