Blue-headed Pionus care

[tka]

thx for the posts everyone, I've also been thinking about getting a pi. Do you think they would work with a school schedule? I'm willing to put in the necessary work while I'm at home, but I want to know if they are ok to be home alone for 7+ hrs

Bear in mind that you will only be in school for a short period of time. Yes, you might be able to make it work while in school, but the real issue is how you make it work as a young adult who may be working unpredictable hours, who may be changing jobs regularly to get promotions or better working conditions or a better personal fit, who may need to move or travel for work, who may need to rent and/or live with roommates, who may be financially unstable, who may need further education and training, and who may simply want to travel, enjoy evenings and nights out and be spontaneous. None of these things are conducive to having a bird, particularly a species that can be loud, hormonal, sensitive and complex.

Pionus can live for a good 25 years or more, so this is a very long term commitment. Personally, I wasn't in a position to offer a bird a stable home until I was in my thirties.

 

[Birds4evr]

Bear in mind that you will only be in school for a short period of time. Yes, you might be able to make it work while in school, but the real issue is how you make it work as a young adult who may be working unpredictable hours, who may be changing jobs regularly to get promotions or better working conditions or a better personal fit, who may need to move or travel for work, who may need to rent and/or live with roommates, who may be financially unstable, who may need further education and training, and who may simply want to travel, enjoy evenings and nights out and be spontaneous. None of these things are conducive to having a bird, particularly a species that can be loud, hormonal, sensitive and complex.
Pionus can live for a good 25 years or more, so this is a very long term commitment. Personally, I wasn't in a position to offer a bird a stable home until I was in my thirties.

Thank you! that is something I'll need to give a little more thought

 

[Birds4evr]

@JellyRolls and @Birds4evr, as well as the fabulous advice above, you might also be interested in an article I wrote about Pet Pionus for Parrots Magazine some years ago, but recently updated. I have a Blue-headed Pionus called Kobe who will be 15 next month:

Pionus Parrots As Pets | ThinkParrot

Initially cautious, the shy Pionus parrot is often overlooked in favour of the larger more confident Amazon or the cuddly Cockatoo baby.

thinkparrot.com

The best book about Pionus is Russ Shade's:

The Practical Pionus

thank you! that is very helpful. Kobe is gorgeous!!

 

[Hobart]

There's a post here somewhere under Pionus giving Russ Shade's contact info. You can get his book from him directly for about $35.

 

[Dartman]

As far as I know he still does sell and ship out his book when someone orders it from his website. I bought a really nice used one and later found out he was still shipping out books so I ordered one from him too. It comes with a nice cd full of pictures and things you never get with a used one.
The book itself is a good read and I wish he was still active with the birds.