Hi folks

I'm new to this forum. So a little about myself. My wife and I are retired and live in sunny central Florida. I just bought a Senegal parrot from a lady that had one for sale on Craigslist. What got me started with a parrot:

Well, my 14 year old black lab (Cookie) suffered a severe stroke 2 days before Christmas so we had to have her put to sleep. Yeah, a hell of a Christmas. So for the past few weeks, we have been devistated over the loss and heart broken. We have spent the past 10 years home with her most of the time. If we went some place, Cookie went with us. She always had a way of bringing a smile to my face even when she did nothing but lay there.

So I was looking for something to fill this hole in our hearts and to help fill this empty void in the house that Coolkie's passing has left. I used to raise Cockatiels years ago and also owned a Conure. Since we didn't want another dog right now, I figured a bird would do the trick. I Did a little research and found what I think is the perfect bird for the first time bird owner or someone who doesn't want a large or noisy bird. That was the Senegal Parrot.

I was skimming through Craigslist and came across a lady who was selling her 11 month old Senegal Parrot named Tiki, who she hand raised as a baby. She had purchased him from a breeder at a flea market on a knee jerk impulse buy. $400.00 for the bird and $200.00 for the cage is a heck of an impulse buy, but OK. She liked Tiki up until her husband brought home a Choclate lab dog, which chased the bird around trying to eat it.

So she had to leave Tiki in it's caged for the past few months, which didn't do a whole lot for the socialzation of the bird. I was able to purchase Tiki for $250.00 + the cage. But I found Tiki to be some what apprehensive about being handled and although will step up onto your hand, he wants to pinch your fingers every now and then. So I will have a bit of work to do.

But what really PISSES ME OFF, are careless people who buy animals such as parrots on an impulse buying spree and after they get them when their cute, cuddly and friendly when they are being hand fed, only to pass them off to someone once they tire of them. But not before they DE-socialize the bird by sticking it in a cage for months or years which turns them wild and aggressive. I have seen countless ads on Craigslist where folks have done this very thing.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but at least I've got a good bird out of the deal, who with a little work should become a loving member of my household.

I know what you mean. People like that are typically they same people who say oh well it's just a .... whatever animal it is. My grandmother is like that she wanted and wanted me to help her find some parakeets so I did. She ended up getting a total of 12 parakeets. Feeds them entirely seeds, Only changes their cage liners 2-3 times a week if that, used to use sandpaper perch covers and cage liners ( I broke her of that when I found some cheaper liners at the store and they are easier to use). She also refuses to take them out of the cage but when I show my niece pictures of my one bird I can take out of the cage she tells me "oh your so lucky, I wish I could do that with mine". So I tell her to put in the work daily and she tells me "I don't want to be bothered with it" I swear I just want to shake her when she says that. Thankfully she has reduced her number of parakeets down to 8 as she gave some of them to my boss at work who is working with them. Now that she is seeing what I can do with my bird, I'm still working with the other one, She wants me to find her a cockatiel that has already been tamed, I made sure I told her no there is no way I will help her find ANY more animals. Then my mom was telling me about how my cat's seems to be getting worse and that she wants me to take it to the vet to get it checked out. My grandmother buds in and is all like "don't spend the money on a vet it's just a cat." so it's like I told her when it is her cat and her money then she can have a say in it til then she needs to mind her own.

Welcome..I too share your frustration towards unresponsible pet owners. This is why I decided to get re-homed birds. I have 2, my first being Poncho, he is a 7yr old quaker, we adopted him when he was 1 and he is truly an amazing bird. Our second is Bailey, he is a 10yr old TAG(African Grey - Timneh) but only 1 week old to us. Bailey was not abused as much as neglected so as there is no aggression he is shy and oddly quiet for a grey, just a few whistles and that's it. We are hoping Poncho's talking abilities will ware off on Bailey, although this could take years...if ever. But we love him and are happy he is with us. I wish you much luck with your new friend tiki, it will take time, but he will come around with lots of love and attention.