Pionus Questions

GracelynNBirds said:

UGH, I just did this and I pressed "more smilies" and it refreshed the page and now I have to restart, lol.

Anyways, I've been trying to get a second bird and I really like the Pionus parrots, but what I'm wanting is Bronze Winged and Maximilian Pionus, so all of these questions are about both of them.

1. Is a 36" x 30" x 72" cage with 1" bar spacing good for both of the Pionus parrots?

For EACH of them. They need their own cage. Bigger is better but that size can work especially if they're getting lots of outside time. I think 3/4" is best but I think 1" is OK - it has to be big enough that they can't get their head through the bars.

2. Does gender really matter? Any pros and/or cons about the genders? (like one is more aggressive, one can talk better, etc).
Maybe? I've heard the males can be more aggressive, more one-person birds but as always it depends on the bird's personality and how its socialized. I'm the favourite for my WCP but she definitely likes my husband. She gets used to other people but really screams at strangers. We adopted her as an older bird who did not have much socialization, though.


3. What do you feed your pionus and what brands of pellets do you recommend? (and veggies)
She loves lots of different types of veggies so we feed her everything! She particularly likes kale and peppers and beans but she gets everything (carrots, broccoli, peas, cauliflower, sweet potato, corn, zucchini, cucumber, etc). She occasionally gets carbs as treats which she likes (naan, bits of toast etc). Bits of almonds for training/rewards. For fruit treats she loves blueberries and apples. We use harrison's pellets.

4. If I were to have both pionus parrots, could they play with each other? Like if one was the same or opposite sex would the fight or are they fine
together? (playing, if I had both they would have different cages).
Really depends on the parrot. Many pionus don't like other birds but will tolerate having them around. Other times they are BFFs with another parrot. This cannot be predicted but there are threads about introducing and working with two+ birds.

5. Are they good when training and are they easy to teach tricks to? Ours takes a little while to learn something but once she gets it, she's golden. Very well-behaved parrot! She's older as well but I would imagine younger birds would be even easier to train.

6. Do they like forging or shredding toys? And what toys are best for them? I've heard they like a lot of different things, each parrot is different. Her fave toy is just paper that she can chew and shred but she enjoys destroying balsa wood and climbing on toys. She plays with little blocks of wood when she's out and will nibble on other types of toys (paper and leather "tentacles"). Not as toy-crazy as my conure but she also spent a lot of lonely time before we got her so I think she got used to zoning out rather than playing. There are other members whose pis love to destroy all kinds of things!

7. When first getting the baby, should I leave the wings clipped or not clipped?
Most people - even those who clip - would advocated leaving them flighted at least until they are fledged. Then there is a lot of debate...

8. Is it a good idea to let their wings not clipped? (as an adult and trained) That is an individual choice based on research and discussions with your avian vet and is not species dependent.

9. Are they good being put on their back or being messing with their wings (once bonded) Mine loves to be around us, loves hanging out on our shoulders (or playing on our laps) and getting her head scratched. She does not like to be cuddled, handled, or otherwise touched. I don't know if its just her but most of what I read is that they are not particularly cuddly birds but are generally very friendly.

10. Are they good when putting on a flight harness? (maybe one of those bird diapers/ cute suits) Have never tried but another member takes hers (Jimmy Bullet) out daily on a harness!

11. If properly socialized are they good with strangers? Depends on the bird. Ours screams her head off at them but will adjust to their presence with time (although will give them warnings every so often). She can make friends if they take the time with her. She was not well socialized at her last home of five years so that could be part of it. I've heard about others that enjoy meeting other people and are friendly and some that hate all strangers.

12. Are they good when going to places like the store? Not mine but other people have birds that enjoy going places. We've still brought her on a trip and are working to get her socialized at my parent's place. Work in progress!

That is all of the questions I can that of at the moment, but if there is anything extra I should know or any extra info you would like to tell, please do! Thank you so much and God bless!

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