My Severe (named Kelly) is a 16 year old little kid.
He has the intelligence - and temperament of a 2 year old as well. I couldn't imagine life without him in my home, that said, he is hardly perfect. I think much of how these birds can be summed up by what dog owners are often told. There are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners.
I inherited Kelly from a family friend who no longer had time for him (they were gone a lot, so he was caged most of the time). It took us time to get him to where we wanted him. The previous owner rarely handled him, never allowed him to ride on their shoulder and rarely tried to otherwise touch him. We have owned him for a little over two years now, and he has changed so much (so have we, if you think your bird won't affect you as a person and that you have total control, I laugh in your general direction!).
The GOOD:
He is now amazingly affectionate, he demands petting time, on his beek, head, back, and even sometimes his belly as he rolls over for some play/loving. He will force his head under your hand if he wants to be loved, he will rub his face on you often just to let you know you are loved, too. He is smart, he has full flight ability in our home and knows to fly back to his cage when he hears "Kelly, go to your cage, potty time", but if you forget, so will he
He is a great watchdog, he knows when the car is 30s away and will scream to let you know that someone important is almost home. He peacefully co-exists with my two dogs, this took some time, he bit them a few times at first, so they wanted to eat him too.
He eats almost everything we do, but he loves pasta, peanuts and peanut butter, potato chips and all sorts of meat. It's harder when you eat anything with dairy or chocolate, he is very invasive to try anything you have, and he doesn't like being pushed away.
Did I mention he can fly? Well, these birds are gorgeous, you won't know how fully amazing they are until you see them fly all the time. He will often fly places and we will find him in drawers, on the piano, in the bathroom, etc.
Kelly has amazing beek control, if he wants picked up off the floor I just reach one finger down, he will latch on with his beek very gently while I life him to where I am. He can also bite very hard if you interrupt what he is currently into, but I will discuss that more below.
He is good in the car, long trips or short, he will ride on your shoulder the whole time. He hates being stuck in his carrier in the car, he screams incessantly if he can't be out.
He is not a one-person bird as many others report. He loves me, my wife and my 17 y.o. daughter but hates my 11 y.o. son. We have learned is that if you want his acceptance and love, force yourself on him. My daughter suffered a lot of nips and bites, but she also has a "I won't be beaten by a bird" attitude, Kelly made her earn it, but now they have bonded.
He knows "NO" very well, better than my dogs, he also knows other voice commands, more than my dogs do, these are crazy-smart animals.
They are really healthy, fed the right diet and exercised, these are great animals.
The BAD / UGLY:
He can chew like nobody's business, much of our furniture has been personalized, drawers are gnawed, he will rip apart a pair of flip flops or a purse in 5 minutes, certain things we have learned need to be put away properly if you ever want to use them again. Don't let your severe get bored. Get toys that make them think, we have clips and pins, nuts and bolts on his cage and he will sit for hours trying to figure out how to undo something. Also make sure they have sanctioned items to chew, they chew to wear their beeks down.
Kelly hates change. He doesn't like new things in the house, he will attack books that weren't there before, a new lamp, but he does adjust.
Kelly can be nippy at times, but usually it's for a reason, we just have to watch his body language. Heck, we are allowed bad days, so is he.
He can be in your face 24/7, he loves companionship, if you don't then don't get a severe. He hates sharing time with whoever he's into in that moment, including the phone. You'll get a nip here and there if you don't give him your full attention.
he can be very clingy, especially if he is scared or nervous. They act like little kids, which is part of the attraction.
Kelly can be very noisy at times. If we get loud or excited - so does he. If he doesn't get what he wants, noise. He screams a lot right before bed, but always cooperates in getting into his cage for sleep time, he quiets right down as soon as his cage is covered.
I will add more as I think of it...
It is too dangerous with the size difference to let them interact at all.
