Hello Parrot Forum,
I am Gnarly, and just recently found myself with a bird companion.
My boyfriend and I have rescued a Senegal, who was DNA tested male and we were told is approximately five years old. He came to us as my boyfriend's friend, who owned a pet store (where the bird was keep) unfortunately went out of business. The pet store was left in care of friends of the store owner for about a week and a half, in which time the lights were not on regularly, nor was the bird given food or fresh water regularly. When it was our turn to check in on all the creatures we were displeased with the quality of care and took the bird, along with a turtle, which were the last animals in the store. We let the store owner aware of this, and he thanked us and relinquished the animals to our care happily. So now we have a little bird friend.
We've had him for about a week & he's been lovely so far. He chatters quietly, whistles pleasantly and really seems to enjoy my company. He likes to sit with me and to be petted and scratched on the head. He usually steps up eagerly, though sometimes he will nip or walk away from me. He seems to prefer me to my boyfriend, though he will let my beau hold him and pet him. His name was Sunny, but I've been calling him Gilligan and I think he's learning it.
My boyfriend is interested in target training him, and has been doing endless reading and video watching on the subject.
I've switched his food, as he was just being feed mixed seeds. Right now I'm feeding him a combination of seeds and pellets (zupreem natural) but he doesn't seem interested in the pellets at all. He just throws them on the floor. Is this something I should be worried about? Or will it likely resolve itself in time? Should I try different types of pellets? I've also been giving him some fruit, but only one or two small pieces a day, is this too much? Or not enough? Is there anything I'm neglecting to feed him?
Here is a picture of my little buddy, he's really proving to be quite the character.
We also have a dog, several dart frogs & vivariums, geckos, and reef tanks. We spend a lot of time on our pets! I also have a bearded dragon and hedgehogs at my mothers house a few minutes away (there's only so much room to keep everyone comfortably here! Haha). I had a cockatiel in the past, though he was never especially friendly and past away about five years ago. I think the experience with the other animals we keep will be helpful with learning to care for our new feathered friend properly. I'm always open to any suggestions or constructive criticism (or compliments), we're new to this and I want to do it right.
I'm really looking forward to getting to know all you folks on the forum here!
Cheers!
-Gnarly
I am Gnarly, and just recently found myself with a bird companion.
My boyfriend and I have rescued a Senegal, who was DNA tested male and we were told is approximately five years old. He came to us as my boyfriend's friend, who owned a pet store (where the bird was keep) unfortunately went out of business. The pet store was left in care of friends of the store owner for about a week and a half, in which time the lights were not on regularly, nor was the bird given food or fresh water regularly. When it was our turn to check in on all the creatures we were displeased with the quality of care and took the bird, along with a turtle, which were the last animals in the store. We let the store owner aware of this, and he thanked us and relinquished the animals to our care happily. So now we have a little bird friend.
We've had him for about a week & he's been lovely so far. He chatters quietly, whistles pleasantly and really seems to enjoy my company. He likes to sit with me and to be petted and scratched on the head. He usually steps up eagerly, though sometimes he will nip or walk away from me. He seems to prefer me to my boyfriend, though he will let my beau hold him and pet him. His name was Sunny, but I've been calling him Gilligan and I think he's learning it.
My boyfriend is interested in target training him, and has been doing endless reading and video watching on the subject.
I've switched his food, as he was just being feed mixed seeds. Right now I'm feeding him a combination of seeds and pellets (zupreem natural) but he doesn't seem interested in the pellets at all. He just throws them on the floor. Is this something I should be worried about? Or will it likely resolve itself in time? Should I try different types of pellets? I've also been giving him some fruit, but only one or two small pieces a day, is this too much? Or not enough? Is there anything I'm neglecting to feed him?
Here is a picture of my little buddy, he's really proving to be quite the character.
We also have a dog, several dart frogs & vivariums, geckos, and reef tanks. We spend a lot of time on our pets! I also have a bearded dragon and hedgehogs at my mothers house a few minutes away (there's only so much room to keep everyone comfortably here! Haha). I had a cockatiel in the past, though he was never especially friendly and past away about five years ago. I think the experience with the other animals we keep will be helpful with learning to care for our new feathered friend properly. I'm always open to any suggestions or constructive criticism (or compliments), we're new to this and I want to do it right.
I'm really looking forward to getting to know all you folks on the forum here!
Cheers!
-Gnarly
