Meyer, Senegal, or....?

[lower027]

I know there is no such thing as a starter bird, but is there a certain poicephalus that is suited for someone that has only has experience with a Quaker Parrot?

Thank you very much!

 

[gibsongrrrl]

My first was a meyer's. They are awesome!

 

[Tinta]

I vote meyers!

...but that's just because I love the way they look.
I think that the small poi are very alike in personality?

@Shade

 

[Aubrey]

I don't know but am interested in what people say

 

[lower027]

I'm leaning towards Meyer's from the responses, but I'll wait for more input.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Best to go out and meet some Pois. See which bird likes you and vice versa. I have red-bellies and a Senegal and the Senegal is much more mellow and friendly towards myself and others whereas the red-bellies tend to be temperamental.

 

[Shade]

I haven't really found much difference between the smaller ones, go meet a few and see if it clicks with a particular individual. When I was first researching Pois, I didn't have my mind set on any particular one. I figured I'd meet a few when I was ready to add to the flock. Shade (Senegal) ended up being that bird.

 

[lower027]

Silly question, but where am I supposed to go meet some pois? There aren't any in the shelters here in midwest within driving distance.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

Silly question, but where am I supposed to go meet some pois? There aren't any in the shelters here in midwest within driving distance.

if you try petfinder you can see what rescues might be near you. or if you tell us what area you are in we might be able to help

 

[gibsongrrrl]

you will find that senegals are going to be the most available. I have only ever met two other meyers besides mine at the clinic I worked at in NC and never saw any available for adoption except Weeble, but her owner called us to relinquish her. my two are totally different. Weeble was not terribly interested in being friends when I brought her home, but is now my best friend ever. Beeper came sweet and is good with anyone. Most of the sennies I met were easily charmed. Never could make friends with the two red bellies that came in to board. Not too sure about them. both were males, but I don't know if that makes a difference

 

[gibsongrrrl]

@ciesana can you comment on your two's personalities?

 

[ciesana]

My meyer's and red bellied have two very different personalities. Penny (meyer's) is a total sweetheart towards humans and even when she's nesty/nippy, she doesn't bite very hard. She hates other birds, however, and I can't have her our of her cage if other birds are around. Eddie (red bellied) is more temperamental and moody, but more talkative. He'll take a chunk out of you if he's in the mood (although thankfully I've had him long enough to read his body language, and haven't been bitten since I first got him). Penny will interact with my husband and give him kisses. She's not super cuddly, and she gets bored easily, so we have to keep a close eye on her. She's also a bit more flighty/scared more easily. Eddie is bonded to me and can be a bit territorial, but we try not to reward that kind of behaviour. He's a big suck and loves to cuddle.

I've not had a senegal but have a few friends who do. Based on personal experience, I'd say the sennie was in between the sweet personality of my meyer's and my moody red bellied.

I think pois are great little birds. When I grow up I want to be like Natacha and have a whole bunch of them!

 

[gibsongrrrl]

Both of my meyers hate other bird too. I just held them and let them look into the budgies room to see him (one at a time) and I ended up having to put both hands cupped around their naught selves so they couldn't get to him. Not a very warm welcome. More like a hostile "who the heck are you?"

 

[lower027]

Ah I've heard that about Meyer's, but I'm definitely leaning towards the Meyers now. As much as I'd love to rescue, I looked and there weren't any.

 

[Lady Jane]

Meyers is my dream bird but I could not afford the cost.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Comparing my male and female red-bellies: my males more temperamental and more of a tendency to be nippy. All of my red-bellies talk (as does my Senegal) and one of my females is probably the most talkative and most outgoing. She loves doing tricks and being the center of attention. My red-bellies don't usually get along with other birds and sometimes don't even get along with each other. My Senegal, on the other hand, is OK w/ other birds.

 

[jh81]

I'm with my 3th Senegal now!

The first came with a manual, but he was literally angry that he was "rehomed" so we moved him back to his owner! (Loyal creatures they are)

Then came Kaya, she's grown to be my shadow and will try to rip apart her cage when i'm at home and she cant be with me! She's a very sweet young bird (born April) and very friendly to everybody!

And now there is Jacco, he's a 3yo male who was rehomed after beeing abused for the first 3 years of his life hes now 4 weeks with me, and im slowly earning his trust! He steps up when hes out of the cage, and he also likes to sit on my shoulder, but he doesnt like to be scritched yet!

I vote for the Senegal! But they are my faborite birds so i may be a bit biased

I agree with whats said above, Senegals are mellow and friendly, but they can also be fiesty! I think they are a perfect ballance, they arent too bad, but they can be challenging at times so if you're looking for a friend that can be a bit stubborn at times (honestly, thats half the fun!) then i wholeheartedly tell you to get a Senegal

 

[txdyna65]

Mango our Senegal has been a great bird so far. He is a 2 person bird but favors my wife more if we are both there. Its really not his fault that he isnt more social, we live way out in the country so he hasnt been around other people much. He is very sweet and loves to ride on shoulders and cuddle in your hair or be with us getting into things. He can be very stubborn when he doesnt want to go back in his cage and thats about the only time he gets a little nippy. He doesnt like us to give him showers or baths, but he does it on his own if we have him outside in the aviary. He is also a closet talker, he wont talk when we are around, but Ive caught him just talking away when he thought we werent around.

He is also a good watch bird, if he sees anyone (mailman, UPS, wife, or me) pull into the drive, he starts this loud shrill call of his. But other than that he is pretty quiet unless he is doing his whistles and household sounds. They arent loud and we just make the sounds back to him. He loves veggies and likes to eat when we eat, and he also a bigtime beggar. If he sees us with food he gets on the bottom of his cage and runs back and forth making this cooing sound. My wife always gives in and gives him something, he is just rotten lol If he doesnt like something he just tosses it to the dachshunds below and they scarf it up.

We also have a Yellow Nape Amazon and he clearly does not like her, so we give them different times out of the cage. I could go on but Ive written a book already. Good luck with whichever bird you decide to get. They truly are a blessing in our home

 

[Perriewinkle]

If not rescues, and I hate to bring this up as it's kinda touchy.. but bird fairs/bird shows? If you can find a decent breeder, or a few, you can see and potentially handle birds before deciding.

 

[Shade]

I still maintain that fundamentally, the small Pois are very similar.

Differences, I think, have more to do with individual personalities, than species.

My Senegal is the sweetest bird ever, does very well with people and other birds. However, I worked hard early on to get her properly socialized and it paid off. Sennies can be known to be one person birds and I've heard/read of it happening. Shade's brother, Nemo, is rather exclusive in his love, and pretty much only likes my mom and myself...and will still bite my mom from time to time, if he doesn't get his way.

My two Red bellies - both do live up to clown reputation that follows RBs. Joey (male) is very much that way most of the time (other than when he's really tired). We adopted him when he was just shy of turning 3 years old. At the time, his owner was a man and the women in the house was not a fan of him, so Joey picked up on that and for a while, was definitively more comfortable with men than women. However, this is no longer the case (I guess I won him over) and he'll pretty much flirt with anyone. He also pretty good with the other birds. His sister, Pixel (whom I adopted when she was 5) while still a clown, is somewhat calculated in her ways. She's so-so with people other than me (I am her person). For no apparent reason, she hates Shade. May be a competition thing (other female bird), but when given the chance, will fly to Shade and attack her. So we now have separate time outs because of this.

The Meyers I have (both males) were both gotten through a rescue. The older one was set in his ways, adores men, any men, and hates women. My SO will bring some of his guy friends over from time to time and Petey will go see and flirt heavily with any of them. It's rather fun to watch. But I have to constantly keep a watch out so that he doesn't attack me. The younger one wasn't properly socialized so he took some work. Now, he's pretty confident in himself and will go to people - he'll be your best friend if you are willing to scratch his head.