Need Help. Can't decide between .....

[RoadSpawn]

Hello All

I'm having trouble deciding between a TAG and Senegal.

I've read up on both but still would like to hear from those that have experiance with the two. Here are my questions:

1. Which needs more attention? How much more?

2. Which one tends to call out on a more frequent basis?

3. Which one has a more sensitive developmental stage?

4. Does the TAG constantly chatter? If so, low or high?

5> Which one is nipper?

 

I've read one book on senegals and two on Greys, but it's always good to hear from people. thanks

Robert<br><br>Post edited by: RoadSpawn, at: 2009/01/26 23:39

[LisaM]

You might want to post questions about Senegals in the Other Birds room also. I don't know if we have members who have both. I have a few general answers though...

 

1) Parrots will generally adapt to the level of attention that you give them (assuming you're not on the extreme in either direction). You should give them some 1:1 time every day and lots of "contact" talking and such through the day. You want to start out with the amount of time that you'll be able to maintain on an ongoing basis.

2) Level of noise/calling out can be very dependent on the individual bird and your living situation/environment. Eclectus are supposedly pretty quiet birds, but my Max is the loudest one in my house (including my 7 y/o son!).

3) No idea on this one...not exactly sure what you're asking.

4) Again dependent on the individual. Are you talking about "chatter" in terms of speaking words? Some Greys (CAG or TAG) will never speak and some have vocabularies that are beyond belief. And the others are anywhere within that range. I don't know about TAGs, but my CAG has both high and low range "voices" and noises. All my birds, however, are quiet once they go to bed until we're up and about in the morning.

5) I don't know about this one either but I once heard that the smaller the bird, the more nippy they tend to be (very generally speaking). I have no idea if that's true or not though. And again, probably dependent on the bird itself. When I was visiting a breeder several years ago when I thought I was going to get a baby bird, she had a Senegal that was fantastic. I held him a lot and he never bit once. That said, my CAG has only bit me once and I deserved it (not paying attention).

 

Great that you're reading up on both. I hope you find someone with more direct experience with both. Definitely the Other Birds room and put "Grey vs Senegal" or something in the header to get the attention better.

 

Hope this helps a little...

 

Lisa

[Pchela]

I have a Tag and a Senegal. I'm afraid I won't be much help because I love them both and they are both amazing birds in their own way. I'll answer the questions you have but keep in mind that it may not hold true for every Senegal or Tag.

 

1. My Senegal needs more attention. He demands it. If I'm paying attention to Willow, my Tag, he gets mad and jealous. He will sometimes be mean about it to. He'll throw little birdy temper tantrums or try to scare Willow off of me.

 

2. They both call out. Willow is very chatty and wants to practice "talking" all of the time. Pippin is fairly quiet unless he is not getting his way. I'd say they are about equal on noise. They have the same contact call that they use to get my attention and it is a high pitched irritating noise... Willow learned it from Pippin so I guess his is worse.

 

3. I can't answer this question. Pippin is a year old and Willow is only 7 months old so I don't know yet. Pippin has gone through more nippy stages though.

 

4. Again, yes. Willow loves to chatter. She's not really loud... she just likes to make noise. She does have a few high pitched chirps that can be painful if you're too close, but for the most part her noises aren't bothersome.

 

5. They can both be nippy as can any bird. I think they will all go through periods of nippiness. So far though, Pippin has been the more nippy of the two... he doesn't bite to hurt but he does use his beak more than she does to communicate. He doesn't really nip now, but when we brought him home he was quite nippy.

 

In short, Pippin is referred to as our lovable pain in the ass. He has a lot of personality and a stubborn streak! So far, he has more personality and is more fun than Willow but she has not yet come out of her shell. If you have any other questions about the two, I'll be happy to answer them and I hope this helped.<br><br>Post edited by: Pchela, at: 2009/01/27 06:30