Introducing Blue the Blue headed Pionus

[Blue Parrot]

Hello, I just did a brief post on the Welcome Page but figured I'd double down and introduce myself here as well.
Blue is 10 yrs old, turning 11 in April, and he's our only pet other than aquarium fish and a turtle. We've had Blue since he was newly weaned. He was the first baby out of 3 in his clutch and the breeder told us that for some reason the parents were not feeding him enough. So Blue had to be hand fed from an early age. He has always been a sweet and personable bird, and a lot of it was because of such a great breeder! She had a breeding pair of blue heads and after searching for almost a year, we couldn't believe it when we found that she was only 30 minutes away from us and had babies for sale!
Blue with his brother and sister, he's on the right


He was our first "baby"...before my wife and I had real children. We showered him with love and attention, trained him, and tried our best to deal with growing/maturing pains and behavior changes with hormones and all. By the way, this forum helped quite a bit as I remembered occasionally reading the articles, experiences, and discussions. I really should have become a member long ago but never did for some reason. Anyways, thanks for all your contributions to this forum and look forward to being a member now.

 

[sunnysmom]

He is so handsome!

 

[tka]

Welcome! Blue is a handsome dude. I'd love to hear more about a mature Pi - Leia is only two and a half years old.

 

[Nostromo]

Welcome! Blue is one strapping handsome man! My female BH is 8 years old, but we only got her in July I've been amazed by how truly gentle and engaging Pionus are... such go-with-the-flow birds that are still so interactive and loving and silly. Sounds like your Blue has a great set of parents!

 

[zoo mom]

Welcome. Blue is very handsome.

 

[Blue Parrot]

Thanks for the warm welcome! Blue is the only tame pet bird I have ever had but I truly think Pionus parrots are the best species to have as a pet bird, after doing a bunch of research, experience with other pionus and other species, and spending the last decade with Blue. Got a busy day today but I'll post later why I think so and more about Blue. Thanks and have a great day!

 

[Fuzzy]

to you and Blue! Blue is gorgeous and looks to be a character! My Kobe (also a Blue headed Pionus) is just a year older than Blue.

 

[Blue Parrot]

Glad to meet fellow Pionus people!
How did we end up with a Pionus? Well...back in college I worked at a local pet shop. It was a small store but had a little of everything...dog/cat food/supplies, small furry animals, fish/reptiles, and of course BIRDS!! I had never handled birds but got a great experience handling and caring for the birds there, they had a few hand-fed babies along with several "mascot" birds. My favorite was a blue head pionus, he was the quietest, sweetest, most undemanding bird and always stepped up to come out of his cage and hang out. He didn't seem to favor anyone as long as you treated him well and didn't scare him. Wow, what a perfect bird! I don't remember anything negatives about him. Looking back, it was mainly because the store owner was an avid bird lover and spent much time training and socializing his pets, that became the store mascots. He also owned a hand tame golden mantled rosella (who was my 2nd favorite) he would perch on my shoulder for a little bit whenever I worked there and enjoy getting some millet treats. I actually almost got a rosella as my first pet bird but found out that hand tame rosellas are very rare and require a lot of work to stay tame and friendly.
My 2nd pionus experience was when I interned at a zoo one summer. They had an education department with an umbrella cockatoo and a white capped pionus. They were both handleable but only by the keepers that they had a relationship with. The white capped was also very quiet and undemanding. He was very playful with his toys and acrobatic. I kept reading up on Pionus parrots and found out that they had a great reputation as pet birds.
When my wife agreed to getting a bird and we saved up enough $, the blue headed pionus was my first pick. It did take awhile to find a breeder in our area but when we finally found one we were overjoyed! The breeder we met was more of a hobbyist at the time and really cared for their birds. They even let us come over several times and help hand-feed the babies and get to know them. We met Blue and his sister (his brother was already purchased). We were drawn to Blue because he was very friendly and seemed to loved attention. We put down our deposit and the rest is history!

Again, I'm biased but I think Pionus parrots make the best pets out of all the parrot species out there. I think they are generally mild mannered and more calm than most parrots. They have reputation for being Quiet birds but I kinda disagree, I think they can be loud but usually tend to not scream for extended times like some other species can. They seem to be content to be close by and be with the family without having to be constantly held or too close and fussed over. But most enjoy a good head scratch and even cuddling, which I think most people enjoy providing...kinda like petting your dog/cat. Also I think their energy level seems to be a good fit for more people/families. They don't seem to demand constant activity/playing/attention. This can also become a problem as many have a tendency to become perch potatoes and overweight. They just seem less demanding and easier to be content than other species. But this doesn't mean we can ignore them or that they are easy by any means! They deserve the best possible care, socialization, and love. I guess what I mean is that they tend to be more forgiving than many other species. This is how I feel, but I know I have to be careful because all birds are individuals and may not conform to the typical standard.

Well, I'll share more about Blue in the future but its getting late. I guess much of what I've said is all positive but trust me he does have some challenging and difficult things we have to work with/adapt to. Here he is hanging upside down and getting a head scratch.

 

[HarriettWulf]

Second photos are really joyful. God bless him. Handsome guy

 

[camelotshadow]

Congrats!
Sweet & cute~! Wanted a bronze wing one day but Penny my hawkhead filled the spot when she came into my life...

 

[Lady Jane]

In addition to being so handsome he looks very healthy. Thanks for being such a good bird person.

 

[Jan]

Blue is pretty! I use to breed 5 species of Pionus. I had lots of Blu Heads. They are truly wonderful birds. I love their dark eyes!

 

[Dartman]

I like to say Pionus are like feathered cats. They love to just hang out with you and play by themselves and get treats and scritches when they are ready. I've had 4 Maxis now and I love them though each one was their own soul with similarities to each other. So one size certainly doesn't fit all.