Hyshqa Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I can't BELIEVE I've not made a thread like this before!!!! As you can see from my avatar I do have another amazing pet besides Kiska Her name is Zuri, which is African for 'beautiful', which she definately is! She's a senegal parrot, one of the smaller African species. I got her after asking my parents if I could get a SNAKE - we went looking around a local pet shop for snake supplies but they didn't have ANY reptile stuff. They did, however, have a lot of birds, including a young male senegal parrot that my dad fell in love with. My dad is scared of snakes and said "Why don't you want a pet like this instead???" ....... "I DO want a pet like that, but mum's always said no to me when I ask for a bird because she thinks you wouldn't want one!..." so that was that, I decided to get a bird instead I didn't end up getting the one at the shop, I didn't have ANYTHING for it yet and by the time I did he'd been sold (plus he was almost £400 which is rediculously expensive for a senegal, they're worth about £275). So after I'd got everything I put up an advert on a few parrot forums asking if anyone had any hand-reared senegal babies for sale. I got a few replies that basically slated me for not getting a 'second hand parrot' (as they called them!), and one reply from a guy called Graham who said he had a bird I might be interested in. She was 8 months old so not exactly a newly fledged bird (hand-reared birds are usually sold at around 16 weeks once they'e fledged and self-feeding) but he'd held onto her for longer than her nest-mates to socialise her more because when she was being hand-reared a child tried to pick her up around her back and it freaked her out, so she developed a fear of hands. She was still pretty fearful and he had advertised her elsewhere as a breeding/aviary bird (as she'd have little human contact compared to a pet-home), but he thought I sounded like a good home for her. He dropped her off about 2 weeks later, I only had to pay him £100 for her which is a bargain. She was scared of hands, but it only took a few weeks to settle her properly and work that out I've now had her for 3 years and 4 months and it has absolutely flown by - it feels like I've had her for a lifetime! She's not as lucky as Kiska and has to stay at home while I'm at university for a few reasons; for a start her cages etc are too big to transport via train in the holidays, she's settled at home and I don't want to stress her out by transporting her from one end of the country to another 6+ times a year. I don't think she minds though, she's bonded with my mum the most anyway which I'm a bit jealous about but since she's with her the most it's for the best Anyway, here are some photos of her, ranging from the first day I got her home right up to when I last saw her at Chistmas The last time I saw my baby before I came up her to university again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvinandmommy Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 She is so beautiful. Ive never wanted a bird but if I ever got one it would be either a senegal or a macaw. They are so beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemmer Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 aww she is beautiful, not normaly a bird fan but she is stunning,love the colours.. nice size to...xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 shes gorgeous - a friend of mine has an african grey - u can hear it whistling a mile off lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Angel n Auroras Mum Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Awww. i have a 5 yr old regents parrot or rockpebbler as they are sometimes known. his name is homer, he looked like homer simpson with a bald spot! Put pics up 2mro. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid_Wolf Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 He's a stunner!! I've always wanted a parrot, closest i've got was a budgie lol he was cool, he was called jockey (my dad named him, and they now have a cat called rocky ) and he used to sing the thomas the tank engine theme tune lol. 'dur dur dur dur, dur dur, durrrr durrr, dur dur dur de dur, dur dur dur de durrrr, dalalalalala laaa la, dalalalala laaa la, dur de dur de duuu................ ok thats sad..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 awwwwwww Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyshqa Posted March 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 She is so beautiful. Ive never wanted a bird but if I ever got one it would be either a senegal or a macaw. They are so beautiful. Macaws are beautiful, but I wouldn't recommend them as pets! Very few people have the facilities to look after them and house them properly, and you certainly wouldn't want one if you had neighbours - they're aweful for noise!! He's a stunner!! I've always wanted a parrot, closest i've got was a budgie lol he was cool, he was called jockey (my dad named him, and they now have a cat called rocky ) and he used to sing the thomas the tank engine theme tune lol. 'dur dur dur dur, dur dur, durrrr durrr, dur dur dur de dur, dur dur dur de durrrr, dalalalalala laaa la, dalalalala laaa la, dur de dur de duuu................ ok thats sad..... LOL! Zuri's currently working on the Addam's Family tune, she's pretty good at it but she needs to concentrate in the order of the whole thing - she'll whistle the first few notes then go straight to the "Do do do do, click click, do do do do, click click.." part at the end The thing she does really well though is say "Boogie boggie!" as she bobs her head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26nikita Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 She's very pretty! I love her coloring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Angel n Auroras Mum Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Ok so as promised here is my 5 year old Homer. He is wet as everytime I hoover he has a bath in his water bowl! Homer is actually a girl but we didn't know that until she grew up because the only way to tell is by the brightness of the feathers! By then we didn't want to change the name so actually Homer should be Marge!!! We didn't pay anything for her as My in-laws next door have a whold aviary full of them in the garden and every year new babies are born and they don't sell them or anything so in the summer when our windows are open Homer can squawk and chat to his family. He doesn't say much as they aren't really a talking breed, the ones in the garden don't talk at all. He says hello, hello peppie (that's one of the inlaws parrots in the house he likes), whistles and does the phone ring too. He doesn't come out of his cage as he never really has wanted to, he prefers to be in his cage. He doesn't really like to be stroked or handled either. When we have to cut his claws he hates it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyshqa Posted March 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Aww he's so cute!!! I still keep in contact with Zuri's breeder and he showed me a photo the other day of her little brother Billy - Zuri was from his second to last clutch of senegal babies, and Billy he kept from his last, before he stopped breeding them to focus on eclectus and caique sub species (if and when I get another parrot it will be a parent-reared caique from him!). She was hand-reared so she's very people orientated so she has to come out for at least an hour a day. I used to get her out more often than that but what with having 3 cats, a dog, and now being away for so long, an hour is the best I can offer her right now - can't expect my mum to get home from work, cook Zuri dinner (she's very much a member of the family in every sense ) and then sit in a room with her for 3 hours I want to buy her an aviary (or build one!) this summer so she can have a lot of room to fly around in the garden while we're out there instead of dragging her cage all the way out there every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrie_x Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Wow she is gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marley & Lumikkis Mummy Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Shes beautiful. My Mother in Law has an african grey. He is a bit rude and swears like a trooper though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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