Pionus inputs please

[Mr.Bird]

Hey All, I am parront for 2 sweet cockatiels - Spike n Luti. I have posted their pics in the cockatiel corner... These 2 guys are perfect, atleast so far ... They never nip, bite,love scritches, love cuddling as well as playing independently, not too loud, get along with me, wifey n frens alike... Down the line, some time next year I am planning to get another baby to my flock and a Pi is one of my favs. I have been doing a lot of reading about them and also visited some of them in bird speciality stores nearby. I like the Maxi's & the BH's... All I have read about them says that they are quite, go along with the flow, non agressive, bit lazy, good eaters, ok cuddly & sweet birds... But I would like to hear first hand info from you folks about ur Pi's... Do they have hormonal problems once they mature? Do they nip? Do they get along with all family members? Do they get loud/crave for attention? any input that you give will be very helpful. Thanks for your time & help in advance...

 

[Leza]

I love my maxi. He is very gentle. He is still a baby, but man he is active!! He runs around all over the place on top of his cage, and loves to fly after me if I'm not taking him with me. He is a typical pionus, Independent, goofy, cute, and fun. He is not too into head scratches yet, but he are getting there. He was easy to put an aviator harness on too.

My male bronze wing is the only one who has really been bad with hormones so far, he is 2 1/2. he is very cage aggressive and thinks Odin(female) is his long lost lover. She does not feel the same.

When he is being aggressive, it is obvious. He does the strut, and gets really puffy. There is no guessing with him. He has calmed down a lot since it got cooler but as long as I read him before trying to pick him up it is usually safe.

 

[Meatball]

My BH Pi is super sweet, non aggressive, VERY laid back and quiet. She is not cuddly but she loves her head scritched and anytime you go near here puts her head down for some loving. She is very much a perch potato though and prefers to just sit on her cage with the occassional foot toy and watch everyone. She enjoys flying very much and will randomly take a few laps around the apartment for fun.
She is 3 years old and I did get her as a rehome over the summer so she may become more hands on for cuddling in the future. But she is my easiest bird and my least aggressive most docile one as well. I love her to pieces!
I highly recommend a Pionus!

Scritch time!

 

[Feather]

Of all my birds, Rowan is the one that keeps me on my toes the most. Some moments she's very sweet, wants to snuggle and just be a little angel. Other times she's evil incarnate (and I mean that in the best, most loving way possible). I can't speak for all pionus, but here's my answers for Rowan:

Quiet: For the most part, Row is very quiet. However, when it catches her fancy, she can outyell even my dad's sun conure. She also talks a lot, which wasn't something I was expecting at all.
Go along with the flow: Provided it is her flow, then sure. She's very clear about her opinions, though.
Non-agressive: No. No, no, no. Part of it is because she's in that dreaded age, but Rowan can be a little terror with that beak of hers. She doesn't see much value in giving warnings, either.
Bit lazy: If anyone's lazy in my flock, it's the cockatiels. Rowan is a busy-body, always on the go.
Good eaters: Absolutely! She eats anything and everything I give her. She's like a little food vacuum with feathers.
Cuddly & sweet: On occasion. For the most part she's too busy to cuddle.
Do they have hormonal problems once they mature? If the above is any indication, YES.
Do they nip? No. Rowan just CHOMPS.
Do they get along with all family members? Well enough. When she's in a good mood she'll even step up for most strangers.
Do they get loud/crave for attention? Depends on her mood. Some days she wants nothing to do with me or anyone else, other days she just can't get enough attention.

All in all, I adore Rowan and I've never regretted bringing her home. Is she what I expected? Not in the least. But that's okay. She's her own bird, and I'm okay with that so long as I can convince her to take time out of her busy, busy life to still let me give her kisses each day.

 

[Leza]

Crystal-Angel and Odin have a lot in common she is an observer.

 

[SallyQZ]

I certainly wouldn't use the word "cuddly" to describe a Pionus. Most of the pionus owners I know say that their birds love a good head scritch but aren't overly cuddly. Hardy, my Maxi Pi, is certainly not cuddly at all. He loves a head scratch, but only on his terms. If you attempt a head scratch when he's not interested, he will chomp you hard.

He is excellent at going with the flow. I can bring him out when we have company, when I want to watch tv, doesn't really matter if it's noisy/quiet/dark/etc, he's pretty relaxed about his surroundings. BUT .... he gets quite surly after 8:30PM and doesn't want to socialize anymore. He prefers an early bedtime!

He is a good eater - loves to try new things and eats just about everything I put in front of him. I need to be careful to not let him get too chubby. He is not lazy at all. He climbs all over his cage, loves to scurry around on the floor, and is quite active in destroying his toys. Considering that he is missing a wing and a foot, this is quite the accomplishment!

He is not needy at all when it comes to attention. He can entertain himself in his cage, but he loves to be out with me. Just not after 8:30pm....

He doesn't nip. He bites HARD. His body language is very clear - his feathers ruffle up, he gets a weird little bend in the tail like he's hunching over, and he opens his beak and charges. When he bites, he means it. And when he means it, and I'm dumb enough to not read his body language correctly, he draws blood. I have a healthy respect for his beak and avoid him when he's being moody. He's 3 yrs old now and extremely hormonal, so I expect that this will even out once he is a bit older. I really, really, really hope it evens out when he's older ....

And he totally did not get the memo from the pionus marketing board that says he should be a quiet apartment bird. He yells his head off several times daily. His scream is loud and harsh and carries across the house effortlessly. He can outscream my cockatoos. I think this may be hormonal too as he was REALLY bad last year. In the last couple months, I've noticed that his screaming periods are less and less. I never acknowledge his yelling in any way, so it gets him nowhere.

Pi's aren't known for their ability to talk, but Hardy doesn't follow that rule either. He talks up a storm and learns new words & phrases effortlessly. He uses them at correct times and will switch words around to make sense in different situations. I taught him to say "I love you!" and last week he looked at me with bright happy eyes and said "I love ....... HARDY!" Egomaniac.

He's also very confident. I don't know if this is a pionus thing, or just Hardy. Since he can't fly, I take him outside often and we go on field trips. He is talkative and happy and interested in his surroundings. He loves to scratch around on the ground, and isn't afraid of bigger animals. He has met horses, and ponies, and goats. He is a very cool little bird, but you have to deal with him on HIS terms or things get ugly.

I love him dearly, and think a pionus is a great bird. But they aren't as "easy" as some of the material out there indicates. They can be messy, noisy, bitey, and hormonal just like any other parrot.

 

[zoo mom]

My BH Pi Andre is sweet and easy going on his terms. He is not cuddly but loves having his head scratched. He will even tell you in words to scratch his head. He can be very loud when he is upset or if my rosebreasted cockatoo (aka boogertoo) gets going. When he doesn't want individual attention his body language lets you know. If you persist you will get bitten. Every bite from Andre has resulted in bleeding (however they are few and far between and usually my fault for ignoring his warning). I am his favorite person but he will let my husband scratch him if he is in the mood. He is not aggesive towards him just ignores him unless a treat is involved or he is in the mood for a scratch and my husband is closer. Andre is my second BH Pi (Olivia died as a result of flying into a window) and they are as different as night and day.

 

[allison]

My Pionus were not cuddly per say but enjoyed the occasional head Scritches and snuggle from time to time. Both were VERY aggressive with most people besides me (their chosen person). Kei was very young when I got her and I made the point to socialize her with my entire family but sure enough at around 2 1/2 years old she chose me and decided she hated everyone else. Toady was actually not quite as aggressive with strangers as Kei. Kei would dive-bomb people whereas Toady liked to strut at a distance and bite if someone got too close. Kei rarely bit me. I think she bit me maybe 5 times in the almost 7 years I had her. Toady on the other hand loved to bite, even though he liked me. The good thing about Pionus is that they are very easy to read. They will strut around with all their feathers fluffed and fanned. That is a not so subtle hint that they are angry or excited.

 

[Mr.Bird]

Thank you all so much for sharing your inputs. Lots of useful first hand information.

 

[coral]

im not sure if marty is the best example of a normal pionus because of him being a rehome and what not. i understand marty acts certain ways because of the way humans treated him in the past that being said: Marty is a good eater, pellets, fresh foods, nuts, dried food, ect. he has his favorites and he has things he doesnt like. marty is quite he chatters throughout the day, only does a contact call when he hears something loud he cant see or if he hears me in another room. marty is aggressive towards women in their 30s and up. he will chase my grandma out of the room trying to attack her, flew at my mother and bit her ear.. so i had to clip his wings. hes very cage territorial and my room is considered his territory in his eyes. hes very sweet towards all the other animals including my other bird, he will preen the dogs when they let him under closer supervision of course. he plays and keeps himself entertained throughout the day he loves to chew on wood!!! if he had an unlimited supply of colored pieces of pine he would be the happiest bird in the world lol! marty only wants head scritches on his terms. he will come to me when he wants attention and right before i put him to bed he likes to cuddle for a while. he does nip if i dont pay attention to body language and hes good for displaced aggression. i wouldnt call it nipping though its more of biting a big chunk of skin out of your flesh it hurts worse then what my african grey does. marty seems to be a special bird though not many people ive talked to with pionus are as aggressive as he is. but i wouldnt give up my mean birdy for the world!

 

[Leza]

I have a flesh wound pi as well! we have our good days and our bad days.

 

[Mr.Bird]

Good to hear about so many different Pi characters Keep it coming

 

[OldBirdLady1983]

Lets see my WC Pionus is a living doll and has never bitten me and talks some and has an amazing personality. She is a DNA girl and she got very sick on me and I had to give her baytril injections twice a day for 2 weeks and then we had to do a second round because she still wasn't getting better but after the 2nd round of injections she was on the road to recovery. She went from 255grms to 177grms in the matter of 2 days. I had to lay her on her back in my lap and then hold the needle and feel for a keel bone and then inject a tiny bit of baytril in her breast all by myself and let me tell you when it comes to one of my babies being sick I will do what I got to do to make them better if I can. She has always been a special bird from the day she entered my life when she was 10 weeks old and now she is over 3yrs old and is still such a sweet baby and I can do most anything with her. Maybe it is a female Pionus thing?

Now my Dusky Pionus is a DNA male and talks more than any Pi I ever been around, litterally he can pickup a few words over night but he is so different from my female WC. If he is in one of his strutty moods and if I am anywhere near he will seek me out just to nail me HARD! He drew blood on me the other day and didn't even give me a warning sign that he was going to bite. He can be so sweet and cuddly but has PMS every other month LOL!

I think maybe I either got really lucky with my female WC or just female Pionus in general make better pets or maybe it is the species of Pionus that are so different?

My WC is also very quiet and plays and chews on her toys where as my Dusky is LOUD and is always eating something. Over all I love them both to bits and will always have a Pionus in my life.

 

[all4stvoyager]

You know you want one of those Pi at TT

 

[newf]

My WC Murlin is around six years old and he is not a cuddly guy. He has been with us since he was a baby. He likes his head scritches, but they are on his terms. He LOVES food, no matter what I give him, he will eat it. He isn't overly interested in toys, but he does have his favorite ones. He prefers to entertain himself instead of us entertaining him. He isn't loud unless there is something bothering him. Then he will let you know he is upset/mad. He definitely has enough body language to let us know he doesn't want us touching him. He will strut and raise his hackles to let you know not to muck with him. He definitely is more my bird than my husbands. He tolerates him on the best of days. Especially the older he gets. We love him for who he is. He is definitely his own bird so to speak.