Pionus as a first bird?

[Louise Powell]

Hello! I’m kind of new to this forum, so I’ll introduce myself quickly. My name is Louise, and I’m hoping to get a bird soon. The thing is, I still don’t know which breed to choose! I’m still hesitating between a Pionus, a ringneck, and cockatiel. Of these three, I’ve fallen in love with the Pionus, but I want to be sure that I can be able to take good care of them if I get one.

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A bit about myself: I’m young, and I live in California. I go to school, but other than that, I’m more of a hermit type of person (I mostly stay at home on week ends). I wake up early (6:00~6:30), and since my dad has to wake up pretty early for work, i usually fall asleep by 9:00~9:30ish. I’ve been doing research on birds for months, and although my dream bird is an eclectus, I don’t think I’m ready to have one yet because of their diet and how much attention and simulation they need...

Anyways, that’s about it! Thank you!

 

[Louise Powell]

I forgot to ask my questions! Here they are:

Would I be fit to have a Pionus?
Is 32x23 a good cage size for a Pionus?
How often do you need to buy new toys?

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome

 

[TikiMyn]

@Eloy @finchly both have Pi’s.
I would keep in mind that they Will stay with you for a long time. I am only 18 myself and I have two lovebirds, but it is going to be more difficult to find an appartement and such. You Will have to care for them every single day for years and years to come. It’s good to know that
I think Pionus parrots are one of the most amazing parrots there are

 

[finchly]

Hi there,
Congratulations on doing really good research before getting your bird! That’s great.

I’m going to let others talk to you about getting a parrot at a young age. @TikiMyn really pours herself into her birds, even though she is young her heart is with her feathered kids.

But I can tell you about pionus and cockatiels My avatar is a 21 year old Pi. He was a rescue. I am in love with him, and I’m his person. No one else can touch him. He would not have been a good first bird, I think, because he had issues but he picked me so....I took him.

Pionus in general are great birds to own. They are not too loud, not too large, and friendly. Mine talks but I rarely understand what he says!LOL I have met others that are a lot louder and talk more clearly. They do have a lot of energy and you’ll want a good toy supply. I keep 3-5 toys in his cage, which is around 24x24 but what he loves most are bagels so I buy 100 at a time and hang 5 or more on the outside of his cage. He always has his cage open and an outer perch so that’s usually where he is.

I make a lot of my toys and have other birds so it is hard to tell you how often to buy toys. Maybe monthly?

Pionus can bite really hard, mine never bites me now but in the beginning he would do the bite-and-grind which felt like he was amputating my finger.

I do not cover my birds at night.... I have a nightlight for them. They eat pellets, a little seed/nuts, and a lot of fresh veggies. I cut up veggies every day for them.

Now cockatiels......they make great first birds. I had one for my first bird. They are more mellow. In general they’re easy to handle. You would still need a good size cage, toys, the same type of foods. Tiels are louder, mine are LOUD. They contact call a lot more than the Pi. I’m sure someone will mention cockatiel hens and egg laying; mine are both hens and we have had one egg. So no egg laying problems here, and the hens are more cuddly.

That’s all I can think of at the moment! Good luck!

 

[TikiMyn]

Great post @finchly ! And thank you!

About having parrots at a young age, it can be challening and I think it becomes even more challenging with bigger birds(I think, I don’t have bigger birds). They can be stubborn(right now Fëanor is determined to eat my phone and won’t settle for something else), loud when you need to study(with a Pionus that might rarely be the case, I generally don’t mind my lovies vocalizig either when I am working but it depends on you and how well you take to the noise of certain birds), they need you to be with them every day, they need enrichment every day, fresh food every day(you can freeze it of course, I do that too), they can bite, they can become very hormonal depending on the bird(Henkie is pretty hormonal at the moment, he tries to mastrubate on a lot of things, he courts scissors, my food depending on what it is, my clothes if the fabric is too fluffy, balls that are too big, and don’t dare come too close because he Will attack and hold on! That is not dramatic with a lovebird thankfully) and so on.
On the other hand, I love caring for them because they are amazing, I love watching them fly about, play and forage, I love interacting with them, making stuff for them, train with them, study with them, they join me when I shower most of the time, and so on.
If your experience Will be anything like mine, a bird Will change your life around, and if you’re a bird person that is the best thing there is!
Keep in mind that they live long, Will you be able to keep your bird when you go to University? Maybe you Will change your mind and start to party? You can’t Just go on a roadtrip and leave your parrot. Do you plan to travel a lot? It is possible to combine these two, but that requires more work and planning. It is something to keep in mind and think about. It might not seem like a huge burden to spend time every day with your bird, but Will you be able to do that for the next 10+(depending on which bird you get, cockatiels can live into their twenties, and pi’s can become 40 I think?) years?
If you are really commited and know what it means to have a bird, then I think you would love to be a parront to one.
Also, there are no breeds of birds, only species. Dogs have breeds, there are labradors and spaniels, but all are dogs and can get fertile offspring. A blue and gold macaw and an amazon, are different species and can’t get offspring.

 

[finchly]

:super: Great post @TikiMyn ! Everyone under 25 should read it before getting a parrot!

 

[TikiMyn]

:super: Great post @TikiMyn ! Everyone under 25 should read it before getting a parrot!

Ahw thank you!

 

[Louise Powell]

Thank you so much to everyone for answering my thread! @TikiMyn and @finchly , you have been such a great help. I’m still thinking about the bird, so no decisions have been made yet. On the other hand, there is going to be a bird mart in my city soon! I’m going to go there to meet many Pionus, to be able to see the many personalities they can have. I don’t want to only meet one and think that their personality is the default one! Thanks again, and I will keep you updated!

 

[TikiMyn]

It is very good that you are doing So much research, but keep in mind every single bird is different. I have two lovebirds, but they have only a few things in common and are very different.
You could look up if there is a parrot rescue near you where you could volunteer. That way you would gain lots of hands on experience and I think that is a great way to learn what birds are like
Good luck!

 

[Dartman]

Nerd bird was with me for 31 years so with some luck and good care a happy Pionus can bond and grow up with you. I was Nerds world and he was a skinny happy, pretty sure wild caught Maxi. Lurch was a used parrot with a lot of baggage and it took 5 years for him to mostly decide I was his chosen one and didn't need to be bitten, and he could bite very hard and fast. It was worth the effort and we slowly became friends but he escaped due to a dumb mistake and disappeared after about 3 days. Dobby is a happy, extremely well socialized Maxi who I was given after Lurch escaped when Momazon could no longer keep him and knew everything I went through to get him to a happy place. NerdNerd was very gentle and mostly
quiet, Lurch was agressive and loud, but eventually loving, Dobby is very outgoing, gentle, hyper, loves to chew, and flies like a jet. They all were their own souls with similarities to each other.
Dobby has chosen my sister but likes most everyone he meets and he loves to make sound affects and whistle and can talk a bit. Lurch talked a lot, Nerd spoke wild Pionus and I spoke it back, we understood each other perfectly and he knew his name and had a name for me and a bird name for himself too. He also had a wicked loud jungle flock call he'd belt out.

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

welcome

 

[Louise Powell]

Thank you @Cynthia & Percy !!

 

[Aubrey]

Hi there. Welcome to AA. I have a pionus. He's mostly quiet but has periods noiseiness, especially when he can't see me. The flock call is no joke. He's my first bird. But I got him in my 30's.

I think everyone's concern about school age folks getting birds is the instability of your life. Maybe not now (like while in high school you may be a home body, but you don't know what college and your early 20's will bring). It's sad when people get a bird only to rehome it 2-4 yrs later because they're too busy now.

As far as toys are concerned it really depends on the individual bird. My Leto bird can shred through a balsa and cork toy in 3-4 hrs if the mood strikes, but they usually last a week. Even if the toys last it's good to rotate every 2 to 3 or so weeks so the birds don't get bored.

 

[expressmailtome]

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