Classification
Class — Aves.
Order — Psittaciformes.
Family — Psittacidae.
Subfamily — Psittacinae.
Genus — Poicephalus.
Species — Poicephalus senegalus.
Habitat
Senegal parrots can be found across a wide range of West Africa. They migrate within West Africa based on availability of food which consists of fruits, seeds and blossoms.
Outward appearance
Length: 9 in (23 cm).
Weight: 4.2-6 oz (120-170 g).
Beak and head are large.
Head is charcoal grey.
Body is mostly green.
Breast and belly ranges in color from lime-yellow to deep orange.
Body markings form a "V" with a green point running down the breast bone. Under the wing and under the tail, you will see a bright yellow.
Wings, beak and throat are green.
Juvenile birds have dark brown eyes, while the adult eye color ranges from silvery yellow to orange. The bill is gray and the legs are a brownish color.
Their life span in the wild is 25 – 30 years. In captivity, they have been known to live as long as 50 years.
Character
Hand fed Senegals make extraordinary pets, and are known for being comical and entertaining. They are colorful, relatively small, and have the ability to talk and mimic, although they tend to be considerably more quiet than many other parrot species. Most well socialized Senegals have very friendly personalities, but potential owners should be aware that Senegals have a tendency to become "one person" birds, and may not desire interaction with other family members. While this is not always true, it does happen on occasion. Having all of the members of the family interacting with your Senegal will help ensure that this one person bonding doesn't occur.
Maintenance care
An indoor cage at least 4 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft or an outdoor aviary at least 6 ft x 6 ft 3 ft wide would be suitable. If your Senegal Parrot is going to be home alone all day, it will need enough room for a variety of toys and room to swing and play between them. The more time your pet spends in the cage during the day, the larger the cage should be. Plenty out-of-cage time should be provided to socialize this parrot and allow for further opportunities to exercise and explore.
Senegals love climbing and are often seen hanging upside down. To satisfy this active and clowny disposition, provide several perches and plastic chains for climbing. They also love swings, which provide a fun way to exercise for them.
Like most Poicephalus, Senegals like to have a tent to hide in when they are feeling vulnerable, but when comfortable will come out to investigate what is going on.
They should have at least 10 hours of darkness and quiet, to allow them to sleep and rest. Even a TV in the late night hours can be very disruptive and detrimental to their health.
Senegals should be provided with at least one hour a day to play outside of their cages on a play stand or another bird-safe area. Providing toys on the stand with small foot toys, bells, balls, chewable leather and wood toys will give your Senegal something to do as well as providing her with a bit of time away from her enclosure. They love to climb and can be quite the little acrobats, so many Senegals appreciate a variety of swings, ladder, and other toys to explore
Owners should invest in a variety of toys and accessories for their birds. Senegals have playful personalities and require a lot of toys for playing, attacking and chewing so that they don’t get bored.
Senegals are strong chewers, so it's a good idea to provide them with some wooden perches and toys to exercise their beaks on. Multiple toys that withstand a good chew are recommended, including rawhide, leather, sisal rope, twisted cotton rope and various foot toys.
Senegals are quite the little acrobats and especially love swings and ladders.
A pedicure or grooming perch is recommended to keep its nails trimmed. Long nails can be very painful when digging into an owner's arm and they can get caught in clothing and toys.
Senegals should be provided with at least one hour a day to play outside of their cages on a playstand or another bird-safe area. Exercise and regular time out of the cage keeps them fit and healthy.
Feeding
Captive Senegals should be offered a varied diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy seeds such as flax, hemp and chia seed, tree nuts, and a high quality formulated pelleted diet. Consider making Chop as it is a fresh frozen diet that you can learn to make. It's an easy and convenient method of providing your Senegal with a wide variety of vegetables, grains and vegetable protein. As with any companion bird, fresh water in a clean bowl should be provided daily and changed if food and other detritus gets in the water. An all seed diet should be avoided as feeding nothing but seed
is extremely unhealthy and can lead to illness and even be fatal.
Features
The Senegal Parrots are beautiful cuddly birds are considered quiet by most people's standards.
Many Senegal Parrots learn to speak some and most will imitate noises.
They are much like Conures in having a playful personality that requires lots of toys for playing, attacking and chewing so that they don't get bored.
The Senegal parrot learns to talk and imitate sounds such as the creak of the garage door and the ring of the telephone.
Breeding
In the wild breeding takes place toward the end of the rainy season which occurs in the fall from September to November in Africa. Senegal Parrots nest in a hollow tree at a considerable height from the ground. The female lays 3 – 4 eggs and the female incubates the eggs starting after the second egg is laid. They hatch out approximately 27 – 28 days later and will fledge around 12 weeks of age.
It is believed the Senegals mature at approximately 4 years, although some will not breed until they are 6 – 7 years old. They are relatively easy to breed in captivity and require a nest box that is 18 inches high and 10 inches square. Suitable nest-box litter would be decomposed non-toxic saw dust, wood shavings, peat mixture, or other suitable materials. If they are to be bred in captivity they should be provided a spacious aviary with non-toxic leafy branches for perching and entertaining. Chewing these branches will minimize boredom and give the birds some beak exercise. There is no reason not to put toys in their aviary.
Diseases
A Senegal Parrot parrot that is well cared for will seldom become ill. Though it is often difficult to determine illness, some visible signs of illness to be aware of are: ruffled plumage, listlessness, drooping wings, sagging body, extreme mood changes, having no appetite, bulges in feathering, partially closed or watery eyes, swelling of the eyelids, rasping, difficulty breathing, excessive saliva, dirty vent
Some of the more common illnesses are: Psittacosis (chlamydiosis or parrot fever), bacterial, viral, or fungal infections, feather picking (results of boredom, poor diet, sexual frustration, lack of bathing), allergies, chewing flight and tail feathers by juveniles, beak malformations in chicks, Papillomas, kidney disease (gout), toxicity, heavy metal poisoning, lipomas in older birds.
If you notice any of this bird illnesses in your Senegal, immediately provide a warm, draft free, secure environment kept at about 86°F (30°C). Place food and water close to the perch where it is easily accessible. An ailing parrot should be taken to a avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.
