Jake – Senegal
Many of you will remember Jake from our “12 Days of Parrotness”
This sweet boy was with us while his owner was going through some life changes, and was to be returned last month. Unfortunately – the circumstances did not work out and the decision was made to surrender him to Birdline so that he could find a family that was more suited to his needs.
Jake is about 5 years old and a very happy bird and lets you know this with his vocalizations – he always has something to chirp or sing about and can be incredibly loud – for this reason, we recommend a single family home – no attached homes as we can guarantee your neighbors will also get to enjoy his exuberant calls 🙂
At this time he shows no preference for male or female, but is still rather skittish with his step up commands – he is very treat motivated however, and has made alot of progress with this!
Jake eats a varied diet and likes pretty much everything – his favorite fruit is berries, anything he can squish and decorate the walls with – yes – he can be very very messy!
He has shared his personal space with other smaller species like himself and does very well – he does not attack and will attempt to stand his ground if another bird comes onto or into his cage – he is fully flighted, but cannot fly well – over time he may learn this skill. He enjoys hanging out ontop of his cage, on playstands and t perches – always looking for treats 🙂
His current cage is not a huge cage, and we hope to be able to replace it with something a bit bigger, if you have one, and are interested in adding him to your family, we would gladly transition him into it.
Jake also loves to chew wood – we constantly replace his perches as he loves nothing more than to gnaw through them. He has a toy bucket with 1×2 pieces of cut up pine that we keep filled, as well as a few favorite toys with wood/cardboard. He will let you know when hes run out of things to chew, he gets very very loud!
Jake would be a great addition to any family – he doesn’t charge at children – but MAY nip if fingers go inside his cage. Hes not a super cuddly bird and prefers to play and hang out rather than sit with you all the time – and thankfully, he has not shown any cage aggression – cleaning and changing perches/toys have never been an issue.
We would prefer someone who has experience with parrots and understands positive reinforcement and has a ton of patience 🙂
If you think you are the family that Jake is looking for, please refer to our guardianship page for an application form or email us for more information : info@birdline.ca
Jake sound just like all three Senegals we have owned. Chewy, noisy, messy, WONDERFUL little packages of interaction. They do require a *lot* of patience if attempting to change behaviour, sometimes years, but patience will win out.
One of our rescued Senegals took four years before she had enough faith to take treats from our fingers! She had been ‘tricked’ into capture for barbaric nail trimming and wing trimming by a previous owner who used treats as a lure. Senegal mistrust is hard to overcome, but once it is overcome, you will never have a more staunch friend, ally and companion.
I sure hope Jake finds a patient home.
Hi Laura
Thank you for sharing your stories about your Senegals. You are so correct in your description – noisy, messy – but amazing little parrots with huge attitudes 🙂 I am sure Jake will find the right family within a few months, most of our Senegals get placed pretty fast.
As Jakie-bird’s foster mommy I have to say he is a real joy to live with. He isnt a screamer, although he has his noisy moments like any bird. He is very gentle, I push him to try new things all the time and even when he is nervous he never even threatens to bite me. He will step up for me without trouble, but prefers my wrist. He will hang out on my shoulder provided we are actually doing something and not just sitting around. He is really beginning to enjoy his showers with me, and loves to sit on his cage in the morning and chat with me while I get ready for work. He is nervous of men and nervous of hands, but I really think that with a lot of patience and a little time he will make a wonderful companion. He doest like to be social and wants to be where ever we are on his play stand. Overall he is a very well behaved bird, he is just nervous.