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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Pionus Parrots

Saemma

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The attributes listed in this thread are the experiences of each individual and your experiences may differ with your individual bird.

Sachi is my dna'd female white capped pionus parrot and the very first parrot that I ever allowed to perch on me. I met Sachi when she was 11 weeks old and she'll be 6 years old this May. I was pretty crazy about Sachi after meeting her and couldn't get her out of my mind all weekend. One moment I had never seriously considered being a parrot owner, the next moment I was googling everything about pionus parrots and spending $ on what I hadn't realized would be a lifetime commitment.
When it comes to people, I am her favourite person. When she meets new people she does not like them nor is she polite or friendly. She will raise her hackles high and scream at the top of her lungs. Even people who know nothing about parrot body language know that she is letting them know to stay away. For people that she is familiar with, she's tolerant of them as long as they don't insist on any acknowledgement from her. When new people come over Sachi is always locked in her cage because she is flighted and it would be hard to predict whether she'll be dangerous to our guests. Towards my Severe macaw Mabel, Sachi is HUGE bully and extremely antagonistic. She has days where she doesn't bother with Mabel however those days are equal to the days where she'll lunge at Mabel, knock her off perches, knock her off swings and gyms to the point that Mabel's literally dangling with one toe and scared that Sachi will attack. Sometimes Sachi will try to knock Mabel off my shoulder and actually succeeds. It doesn't seem to phase her that Mabel is about 2.5 times her size. Sachi has no qualms about making sure that Mabel knows she owns her.

Sachi can occasionally be quite territorial about her cage and will attack. When she doesn't like certain object she'll attack my hand for touching them. Her bites are extremely painful and I can only describe them as strong chomps. She bites to harm and then a second later she'll bend her head down for scritches. For the first 2.5 years of our life together Sach was always gentle and never bit me. I thought that was who she was and that was how she'd always be. Today I'm very mindful before I reach out to touch her because her bites have taught me well and once I required stitches. Then there's the matter of hormonal honking. It seems that Sachi does this a few times each month. Some months are worse than others and her sounds drive me nuts. I also feel very helpless during these times.

Besides all of the above, Sachi is truly a Dolly in many respects. She's loyal and completely trusting of me. She's gentle & QUIET 98% of the time. I can do everything from flipping her on her back, to towelling her to file her nails. She also very go with the flow, doesn't startle easily and adapts to change extremely well. She's very calm and steady and doesn't freak out when faced with new objects. Her favourite thing to do is to be with me, receive scritches and eat. She loves to eat.

As I write this I realize that Sachi seems to have two extremes and yes that may be right. My personal perspective is this, Sachi's crazies are truly just a fraction of the what she provides in terms of joy. Truth be told, none of it is hard for me to work with because I care enough about her to do just that.

I am looking forward to reading from other pionus parrot owners.:)
 
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Pumpkin

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I have mostly good to share but Jewel is only 2.3 yrs old so this may change.:coffeescreen:

The good (always start with the positive :) Jewel is very docile, sweet and charming. She's very quiet except when she has a few yells here & there but let me tell you, that isn't often or too much. She likes to make little baby Pi noises to me still....she's beautiful and she eats like a piggie. :D She's not a one person bird, she loves my husband the most but will treat him as her mate, me she totally respects. ;) She's happy to hang around with us all the time but if we can't, she's good with that too. I love the independence she carries as I'm independent too and need my time...she allows for this. She's pretty good to my other birds as well, my smaller birds will try to chase her off and she will fly away. :heart: She's non confrontational, not like my Poi's who are in your face! ;)

As with company, she is afraid of strangers and doesn't like them in her house, but she doesn't make any noise, she does her Pi strut. I am grateful that she has warning bells and most of the other parrots don't. I really don't have a lot of "bad" to share as of right now. She is truly my dream parrot in more ways then one...wanted one for 20yrs, plus, she's has the personality that I need her to have....need as far as parrots go. :coffeescreen: She just works in our family!:heart:

I can't wait to spend many more years with her though, the good, the bad and the ugly. :heart:
 

Saemma

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Thank you Tracy. :)
 

wonderb

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The good: Overall, Olive is the easiest and most well mannered bird I've ever owned. She is quiet as long as her environment is quiet. She is cautious around strangers but will usually let them hold her if I put her on them. She recognizes the people she sees frequently (besides me) and will fly to them to say hello all on her own. I call her my birdie ambassador. :D She is not cage aggressive unless I put something in her cage she doesn't like, such as a washcloth while cleaning. When I got her, she was a very nervous and neurotic little bird, but after a year she's become much more confident. She LOVES scritches and turns into a little pile of birdie mush after a scritch session.:heart: She's become a really accomplished flier although she could hardly fly at all when I brought her home. Pionus in general seem to be excellent fliers.

The bad: She's not the most playful or goofy bird. She has her moments, of course, but overall that's just not her personality. Also, she's maybe a bit too independent for me. I like independent birds but many days it seems like she could take me or leave me altogether. :p Other days she wants to be on my shoulder all the time, so it comes and goes. She has a propensity to get totally obsessed with certain things such as a mirror, dark cavities behind furniture, dresser drawers, etc. as she gets nesty frequently. So far no eggs while I've owned her (knock on wood) but I have to be pretty vigilant in discouraging this behavior because she's been an egg layer in past homes. I also think this behavior could get her into trouble if she wasn't kept in a bird proof environment. She will bite if startled or if you bring her close to an object that she hates. She hates really random objects (one of my cameras, washcloths, the scale, etc.) such as so I have to watch her body language around new things. Luckily she's very expressive and I can always tell what she thinks. ;) Lastly, while she is overall very quiet, when her environment is noisy and chaotic, she can get quite loud, and I could see this being an issue in some homes if they were expecting quiet. Sometimes it seems like she's just joining in, and sometimes I think it's because she telling everyone to simmer down. Having a bird room where she can get some peace and quiet has worked really well for her. :)

The ugly: Olive's respiratory infections have been no joke, and I think any one who owns a pionus should be willing and ready to deal with them. Because of their susceptibility to respiratory infections, Pi's require an extra level of vigilance in monitoring their health. It's very important to maintain a clean environment with good air quality. Additionally, I think their diet can be a bit trickier than other species. They seem to need extra vit. A to keep their immune system up to par. IMO this is not a genus that you can feed the same few things to day in and day out and expect them to be perfectly healthy.

I've only had Olive for a little over 1 year, so while she is a sexually mature bird, some of this may change with time. :)
 
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Mirantha

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I am considering adding a Pionus to our family (probably a BH), so will be watching this thread closely - thank you to everyone who is contributing!

Quick question - what species is Jewel (Dusky?)? And Olive has me *totally* confused, lol! She is absolutely lovely, though... is she a hybrid? :confused:

Any BH owners out there? Am also interested in hearing about Pionus male vs. female behaviors/temperament. I think I am leaning towards getting a female. Thanks :D:D:D !!!
 

wonderb

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Quick question - what species is Jewel (Dusky?)? And Olive has me *totally* confused, lol! She is absolutely lovely, though... is she a hybrid? :confused:
Jewel is a dusky and Olive is a white cap. :)
 

CrazyBirdLady

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I don't have a lot of experience, I have only had my maximillion pionus for three months but so far:

The good: She is just a cuddle bug. She is perfectly content to sit on my shoulder or knee and get head rubs. She bonded to me quickly. She also likes to preen me. She is very quiet and when she does make noise (when someone comes in the room) they are really cute noises. She loves to destroy wood toys.

The bad: I am having trouble with her diet (getting her to eat healthy things) , but I don't think this is a common Pionus trait. She will accept head rubs from other people but does not want to interact with them. She has never bitten me but has bitten my mom twice and drawn blood. But both times she gave plenty of warning and my mom didn't listen.

The ugly: None at all.

Sembre is an approximately 9 year old re-home.
 

DQTimnehs

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Tiki is a rescued female blue-headed pionus. She is approximately 10 years old and I've only had her since June 2012. She has no tail feathers, no primary flight feathers, is generally patchy all over, her feet peel in chunks and her beak overgrows and is now off a bit. All that but she's a little ball of adorable! :swoon:

She loves nothing more than to snuggle with me either on my chest if I'm lying back on the bed or getting kisses while perched on my hand. She also loves to shower which she does perched on my hand while I spray her from a bottle. She points her little wings straight up to get the spray underneath them and gets completely soaked.

She loves her Tropican pellets, almonds, grapes, sprouted seeds & beans. She is eating more vegetables lately but prefers that I hand her each little bite-sized piece individually, even when they've been in her bowl for awhile and she just ignored them. :rolleyes:

She does a cute little squeaking sound when she wants attention. She also does the hormonal clucky chicken while bobbing her head which can get a bit loud and annoying as she gets going. I thought she was the perfect bird, never did anything wrong, never bit and was so quiet for the first few months. I thought I could fill my house with pi's! :p She did have a scream but it was only for about 20 seconds when I got home, if I took too long getting to the bird room. She wasn't needy and didn't even want to come out in the morning before I went to work. So being a little impatient in the afternoon was understandable and acceptable.

Then we started clicker & target training. Tiki got so anxious over the training. She would honk at me to hurry up and get downstairs to the kitchen to start. This was while I was changing papers in the bird room and was in view of her. Then she started snatching at the rewards and bit me a couple of times. Then the bites during training got worse. One session she bit me putting 2 bleeder holes in one finger. I had her on a towel on the couch so started dropping the treat instead of handing it to her. She got me again and pulling away I accidentally flung her onto the pillow. I had 2 more holes. I tried again dropping the treat but somehow she latched on and I pulled my hand away. I looked at my now 6 puncture wounds then looked up to see her sailing across the room! :eek: I didn't realize I flung her! :( She wasn't hurt but I felt terrible that she landed on the hard floor and can't fly at all so just drops. Training was over. I did set up a treat cup on her play stand for training but I really lost enthusiasm for it after that.

And she started screaming a LOT more. Not sure if it was related to the training, hormones, or she had just settled in and felt more confident. She screams whenever I put her and the others back in their cages. In the morning, even though I give her a little more attention than before, making sure I cuddle her a bit before leaving, I usually can't get out the door without her screaming. When I get home she is screaming as soon as I get in the door. When I'm home and the others are calling & whistling, she is screaming at the top of her lungs. It stresses me out, partly because I know the attached neighbours can hear. And I did try to soundproof the bird room from them by building another drywall wall on top of the other with an inch space between. Now I have a thick foam mattress against the wall and will put more foam, curtains up to help absorb the sound.

She is still such a sweetheart and is not biting now, but man, she is LOUD! Pi's are recommended as apartment birds, but I would be evicted if I lived in one! She is my loudest bird by far.
 
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Cyreen

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If what I was told was correct, than Mayu (White Cap) is coming up on 13-years-old and I am her third home.

I love her honey smell, her gentle brown eyes, the way she bows her head for scritches, and how she gently nods her head when I talk to her. I greatly appreciate her patience with me ("tickle the tummy!") and her gentle sense of humour. She's beautiful and I consider myself very lucky to have found her.

She's never been cage territorial, probably because she's had so many and the one she has now, I'm in all the time, mucking around. Oddly, the only things she's territorial over are her tent and her water bottle, both of which she's visibly and vocally upset about when I clean or move. It does help if I explain what I'm doing and she generally leaves her cage to sit on top when I'm messing around.

Mayu is my gracious lady. She gets along well with anyone, be they furred, feathered or naked, just so long as her space is respected. She will go to anyone I give her too (with an introduction, of course), with the understanding that they do not presume to touch her unless she bows her head. She is perfectly pleasant and social, but will calmly and firmly bite if anyone breaks the touching rule without her invitation (I found that one out the hard way, the first day I met her). When she does bite, I will bleed, but I also know she can bite a lot harder than she does (I've seen her crack almonds). She's always contrite later when the bleeding and my feelings are thoroughly bandaged.

She has an alarm call that makes my ears ring.

98% of the time, Mayu mumbles to herself or makes little peep-peep contact calls. However, if the kettle boils or I'm on the phone... that particular alarm call in an apartment could result in an eviction notice. Fortunately, that's not an issue for me and any neighbours she may bother, I don't like that much anyway.

It's all good.
 
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CrazyBirdLady

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If what I was told was correct, than Mayu (White Cap) is coming up on 13-years-old and I am her third home.

I love her honey smell, her gentle brown eyes, the way she bows her head for scritches, and how she gently nods her head when I talk to her. I greatly appreciate her patience with me ("tickle the tummy!") and her gentle sense of humour. She's beautiful and I consider myself very lucky to have found her.

She's never been cage territorial, probably because she's had so many and the one she has now, I'm in all the time, mucking around. Oddly, the only things she's territorial over are her tent and her water bottle, both of which she's visibly and vocally upset about when I clean or move. It does help if I explain what I'm doing and she generally leaves her cage to sit on top when I'm messing around.

Mayu is my gracious lady. She gets along well with anyone, be they furred, feathered or naked, just so long as her space is respected. She will go to anyone I give her too (with an introduction, of course), with the understanding that they do not presume to touch her unless she bows her head. She is perfectly pleasant and social, but will calmly and firmly bite if anyone breaks the touching rule without her invitation (I found that one out the hard way, the first day I met her). When she does bite, I will bleed, but I also know she can bite a lot harder than she does (I've seen her crack almonds). She's always contrite later when the bleeding and my feelings are thoroughly bandaged.

She has an alarm call that makes my ears ring.

98% of the time, Mayu mumbles to herself or makes little peep-peep contact calls. However, if the kettle boils or I'm on the phone... that particular alarm call in an apartment could result in an eviction notice. Fortunately, that's not an issue for me and any neighbours she may bother, I don't like that much anyway.

It's all good.
Ah, yes! I forgot to mention the divine smell and graceful head bow. The BEST pionus traits in my opinion!
 

Maxsmom

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Am also interested in hearing about Pionus male vs. female behaviors/temperament. I think I am leaning towards getting a female. Thanks :D:D:D !!!
I have 2 males with very different personalities..one is wcp and he is 1 year old (owned 8 months) and the other is a few months short of nine years and is hybrid coral billed and maxi (adopted 4 months ago). I think it is the individual bird but species matters too most likely. I have a white cap male and my vet's tech has a wcp female. Her wcp sounds more cuddly than my male. My male wcp wants me near him but he isnt cuddly. Yet he easily picks up phrases (IMO :) )and her wcp doesnt really talk.

I believe you expressed interest in BH so perhaps someone can discuss differences they have observed with a male and female BH. If you have the opportunity hopefully you can interact with a male and female pi before selecting yours as I do really believe it is an individual thing after meeting several pi owners on forums.

And very happy to have two independent souls. One an extremely playful baby, the other a cuddly older pi (when he isn't being independent). Both give me joy in their own way.

 
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zuzanqa

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How playful are pionus parrots compared to other species?
 

DQTimnehs

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How playful are pionus parrots compared to other species?
Tiki is not playful. She will chew on some chewables - paper, cardboard rolls, some balsa lately. She is more snuggly than playful.
 

Fuzzy

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The attributes listed in this thread are the experiences of each individual and your experiences may differ with your individual bird.

Sachi is my dna'd female white capped pionus parrot and the very first parrot that I ever allowed to perch on me. I met Sachi when she was 11 weeks old and she'll be 6 years old this May. I was pretty crazy about Sachi after meeting her and couldn't get her out of my mind all weekend. One moment I had never seriously considered being a parrot owner, the next moment I was googling everything about pionus parrots and spending $ on what I hadn't realized would be a lifetime commitment.
When it comes to people, I am her favourite person. When she meets new people she does not like them nor is she polite or friendly. She will raise her hackles high and scream at the top of her lungs. Even people who know nothing about parrot body language know that she is letting them know to stay away. For people that she is familiar with, she's tolerant of them as long as they don't insist on any acknowledgement from her. When new people come over Sachi is always locked in her cage because she is flighted and it would be hard to predict whether she'll be dangerous to our guests. Towards my Severe macaw Mabel, Sachi is HUGE bully and extremely antagonistic. She has days where she doesn't bother with Mabel however those days are equal to the days where she'll lunge at Mabel, knock her off perches, knock her off swings and gyms to the point that Mabel's literally dangling with one toe and scared that Sachi will attack. Sometimes Sachi will try to knock Mabel off my shoulder and actually succeeds. It doesn't seem to phase her that Mabel is about 2.5 times her size. Sachi has no qualms about making sure that Mabel knows she owns her.

Sachi can occasionally be quite territorial about her cage and will attack. When she doesn't like certain object she'll attack my hand for touching them. Her bites are extremely painful and I can only describe them as strong chomps. She bites to harm and then a second later she'll bend her head down for scritches. For the first 2.5 years of our life together Sach was always gentle and never bit me. I thought that was who she was and that was how she'd always be. Today I'm very mindful before I reach out to touch her because her bites have taught me well and once I required stitches. Then there's the matter of hormonal honking. It seems that Sachi does this a few times each month. Some months are worse than others and her sounds drive me nuts. I also feel very helpless during these times.

Besides all of the above, Sachi is truly a Dolly in many respects. She's loyal and completely trusting of me. She's gentle & QUIET 98% of the time. I can do everything from flipping her on her back, to towelling her to file her nails. She also very go with the flow, doesn't startle easily and adapts to change extremely well. She's very calm and steady and doesn't freak out when faced with new objects. Her favourite thing to do is to be with me, receive scritches and eat. She loves to eat.

As I write this I realize that Sachi seems to have two extremes and yes that may be right. My personal perspective is this, Sachi's crazies are truly just a fraction of the what she provides in terms of joy. Truth be told, none of it is hard for me to work with because I care enough about her to do just that.

I am looking forward to reading from other pionus parrot owners.:)
Wow - I just saw this. What a great thread, Saemma! Sachi is similar in quite a few instances to how Kobe was and some in how he is presently. Thank you for being so open and honest about Sachi. Ok now I need to think about Kobe's Good, Bad and Ugly! :cool1:
 

Fuzzy

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After 1.5 years of researching what sort of parrot might fit in with Boo my English budgie and me, I had to wait a further 10 months to track down Kobe. I had decided on a baby for my first larger parrot as I thought they might be easier. How wrong was I! It was a bad year for Blue-headed Pionus babies in the UK – most breeders had babies dead in the shell or soon after. After repeated heartache, I almost gave up for the year but made one last ditch attempt and came across a single baby Blue-headed for sale in the autumn/fall. He was the last of a clutch that had been eaten by his father, so he had been brought in to be hand reared.

I felt instantly at ease with Kobe when we met. I adored him and doted on him. Things started going downhill and by the time he was 1.5 - 2 years old I was getting bitten a lot - deep and bloody bites. He was also loud – he and Boo would set each other off.

After a lot of advice I didn't agree with, I began researching as much as I could about behaviour and positive reinforcement training. I learned to respect his body language and to ask instead of demand. As my attitude changed, so did Kobe's. It's very rare for Kobe to bite now because I give him no reason to. The rare times he does is when the doorbell rings and he happens to be on me. He gets too excited and can’t help himself. If I have to open the door to someone, then Kobe knows to step up on a hand held folded rope perch so that I can safely carry him to his cage. This is the only time I have to use a perch to save my hands.

I used not to be able to skritch him through his cage bars or to pick him up from inside his cage. It has taken time and patience in earning his trust, but now I can do both with no problem. Kobe is also very quiet now. He never screams but he does do his awful microwave beep if I’ve been out of the room for too long.

He’s probably over bonded to me. He likes to be as close to me as possible at all times and watches me constantly. If I go to leave the room he’ll immediately follow. He’ll sit on my knee or hang off my shoulder (and to think at one point it was too dangerous to have him on my shoulder) and nibble my ears which makes me laugh - then he starts giggling in my voice which makes me laugh harder. I can now kiss him on the beak and head, and he’ll press his beak or head against my forehead and stay there for a while. He adores skritches and likes play wrestling with my fingers, although I’m careful not to over excite him.

He’s always been playful and curious. He’s especially fond of foot toys and playing with things he shouldn't – like paper clips, pens, pushing stuff on the floor, eating the mail, and being a general nuisance so I’ll come running. He was more active when younger but still keeps me on my toes. He likes nesting in cardboard boxes and in cupboards or behind “his” big cushion on the settee.

Kobe has a big vocabulary – he talks either in a little Donald Duck voice or in my voice. He copies all sorts of sounds like tearing tape, squeaky cupboard door, running water and the dreaded microwave or phone beeps.

Kobe’s wings have never been clipped and he’s an extremely fast and agile flier. I love watching him fly. I also love his scent that I catch every now and again when he gets a little excited. It smells like Gardenia and honey.

He seems quite timid in general, is always on alert and notices everything. He spooks quite easily compared to the extremely laid back Ollie. Kobe’s like my watchdog – he spots the postman first and immediately gives his high pitched alarm call. He’s not fond of most strangers. I leave him in his cage when people visit. If he shows calm behaviour then I’ll bring him out. Sometimes he will puff up big, spread his tail and slowly march up and down his perch, stopping every now and again to repeatedly yawn wide. Sadly he has taken offence to my brother and does this behaviour towards him. If he is out of his cage when my brother visits, he will stay far away puffed and repeatedly yawning. Once my brother inadvertently started walking towards him, and Kobe responded by flying to attack him.

Kobe used to get on with Boo – he used to copy everything Boo did. But sadly he doesn't get on with Ollie and acts as though Ollie doesn't exist. When Ollie has on occasion sidled over to him through the hanging toys to offer the beak of friendship Kobe has attacked him and pushed him off the Atom or Boing. This is something we are working on slowly. What I am pleased about is that Kobe won’t go out of his way to attack Ollie for no apparent reason and I still see them both preening at the same time with the same body language which is very positive.

What I have learned is that Kobe is not your text book Pi. He is not at all what I expected which only shows that each bird is an individual. What is exciting though is that even though bad habits can be learned, they can be unlearned again.
 

Saemma

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After 1.5 years of researching what sort of parrot might fit in with Boo my English budgie and me, I had to wait a further 10 months to track down Kobe. I had decided on a baby for my first larger parrot as I thought they might be easier. How wrong was I! It was a bad year for Blue-headed Pionus babies in the UK – most breeders had babies dead in the shell or soon after. After repeated heartache, I almost gave up for the year but made one last ditch attempt and came across a single baby Blue-headed for sale in the autumn/fall. He was the last of a clutch that had been eaten by his father, so he had been brought in to be hand reared.

I felt instantly at ease with Kobe when we met. I adored him and doted on him. Things started going downhill and by the time he was 1.5 - 2 years old I was getting bitten a lot - deep and bloody bites. He was also loud – he and Boo would set each other off.

After a lot of advice I didn't agree with, I began researching as much as I could about behaviour and positive reinforcement training. I learned to respect his body language and to ask instead of demand. As my attitude changed, so did Kobe's. It's very rare for Kobe to bite now because I give him no reason to. The rare times he does is when the doorbell rings and he happens to be on me. He gets too excited and can’t help himself. If I have to open the door to someone, then Kobe knows to step up on a hand held folded rope perch so that I can safely carry him to his cage. This is the only time I have to use a perch to save my hands.

I used not to be able to skritch him through his cage bars or to pick him up from inside his cage. It has taken time and patience in earning his trust, but now I can do both with no problem. Kobe is also very quiet now. He never screams but he does do his awful microwave beep if I’ve been out of the room for too long.

He’s probably over bonded to me. He likes to be as close to me as possible at all times and watches me constantly. If I go to leave the room he’ll immediately follow. He’ll sit on my knee or hang off my shoulder (and to think at one point it was too dangerous to have him on my shoulder) and nibble my ears which makes me laugh - then he starts giggling in my voice which makes me laugh harder. I can now kiss him on the beak and head, and he’ll press his beak or head against my forehead and stay there for a while. He adores skritches and likes play wrestling with my fingers, although I’m careful not to over excite him.

He’s always been playful and curious. He’s especially fond of foot toys and playing with things he shouldn't – like paper clips, pens, pushing stuff on the floor, eating the mail, and being a general nuisance so I’ll come running. He was more active when younger but still keeps me on my toes. He likes nesting in cardboard boxes and in cupboards or behind “his” big cushion on the settee.

Kobe has a big vocabulary – he talks either in a little Donald Duck voice or in my voice. He copies all sorts of sounds like tearing tape, squeaky cupboard door, running water and the dreaded microwave or phone beeps.

Kobe’s wings have never been clipped and he’s an extremely fast and agile flier. I love watching him fly. I also love his scent that I catch every now and again when he gets a little excited. It smells like Gardenia and honey.

He seems quite timid in general, is always on alert and notices everything. He spooks quite easily compared to the extremely laid back Ollie. Kobe’s like my watchdog – he spots the postman first and immediately gives his high pitched alarm call. He’s not fond of most strangers. I leave him in his cage when people visit. If he shows calm behaviour then I’ll bring him out. Sometimes he will puff up big, spread his tail and slowly march up and down his perch, stopping every now and again to repeatedly yawn wide. Sadly he has taken offence to my brother and does this behaviour towards him. If he is out of his cage when my brother visits, he will stay far away puffed and repeatedly yawning. Once my brother inadvertently started walking towards him, and Kobe responded by flying to attack him.

Kobe used to get on with Boo – he used to copy everything Boo did. But sadly he doesn't get on with Ollie and acts as though Ollie doesn't exist. When Ollie has on occasion sidled over to him through the hanging toys to offer the beak of friendship Kobe has attacked him and pushed him off the Atom or Boing. This is something we are working on slowly. What I am pleased about is that Kobe won’t go out of his way to attack Ollie for no apparent reason and I still see them both preening at the same time with the same body language which is very positive.

What I have learned is that Kobe is not your text book Pi. He is not at all what I expected which only shows that each bird is an individual. What is exciting though is that even though bad habits can be learned, they can be unlearned again.
Thank you! That was an awesome read!!:hug8:
 

dwright27

Walking the driveway
Joined
5/15/13
Messages
228
Location
Ontario
Real Name
Dawn
Good afternoon everyone,
I just registered for this forum in order to thank you all for your stories and info about your pionus'. I am still considering one but I have a lot more to think about now. I was under the (apparently false) impression that they were suitable for apartment living. I don't currently live in an apartment but who knows about the future? It's something I need to consider. I'm also looking at poicephalus (namely red-bellied and brown-headed), Greys, Indian Ringnecks and Eclectus. I'm going to peruse this forum a bit more.. it's nice to finally find a forum with some activity!

-Dawn
 

Katy

Cruising the avenue
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
12/22/12
Messages
10,385
Location
Coastal Oregon
Good afternoon everyone,
I just registered for this forum in order to thank you all for your stories and info about your pionus'. I am still considering one but I have a lot more to think about now. I was under the (apparently false) impression that they were suitable for apartment living. I don't currently live in an apartment but who knows about the future? It's something I need to consider. I'm also looking at poicephalus (namely red-bellied and brown-headed), Greys, Indian Ringnecks and Eclectus. I'm going to peruse this forum a bit more.. it's nice to finally find a forum with some activity!

-Dawn
Welcome to the forum Dawn. It seems that definitions and descriptions of any parrot species are trumped by individual personality. I have just agreed to adopt a Maxi and I also currently live in a house. I understand what you are saying about the future. I hope you find the perfect companion. Might I suggest that if you were able to look at an adult bird, you could be much more sure about actual behaviors and noise patterns you could expect. Not all adults, rescues, rehomes, and adoptions mean it's a problem bird. On the contrary, it's one of the few situations where you get what you pay for.
 

Maxsmom

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Joined
8/18/12
Messages
6,802
How playful are pionus parrots compared to other species?
depends on the pionus. both of my pionus are independent but my white cap male is very playful....hanging upside down, shredding, dancing it seems, foraging. very very active 1/2 day then he quietly sits rest of day. My other pionus isn't as playful. But the white cap is only 1 year and the other is almost 9 years so I don't know if it is age, type of pionus or individual personality
 
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