Baby Senegal

Question
Hi, I recently got my first parrot, A 12 week old senegal and i was wondering if it was normal for them to be so clumsy? ie: When he tries turning round on his perch he gets his feet a bit tangled and almost falls off. And he tends to leap at the bars of his cage at me. Is he just after attention and if he is what sort of attention should i give him? Ive only had him a couple of days and was told to leave him in his cage for the first day or two to settle, Thankyou

Answer
Hi, Colette.  Thanks for posting.

Yes, it is normal for baby parrots to be clumsy!  They are learning how to maneuver around cage bars, etc., and they do funny things in the process.  This is part of what makes baby parrots so cute!

He's likely leaping at the bars because this is the only way he has learned so far to get close to you from inside his cage.  Again, he needs to learn how to move more quickly within his cage...this will come with time.  I'm sure he wants your attention, especially if he was a handfed baby.  You should be taking him out of his cage every day and interacting with him.  If he was handfed, he has imprinted on humans, and you are his human companion.  You need to spend as much time as you can with him if you want him to be a tame pet parrot.  Sounds to me like perhaps he doesn't need time to settle down in his new environment (settling down time depends on the personality of the individual bird).  I'd start taking him out of his cage daily and playing, interacting with him as much as possible.  You need to start teaching him what is acceptable behavior, what's right and wrong, what his boundaries are, etc.

Chrys