What kind of Poi is best for me?

[PotatoBird]

I’m pretty far off from getting a bird but am trying to figure out what type of poi is best. I know a lot comes down to the individual but personal experiences/general comments on species would be helpful. Chances are I will be shipping a bird so I won’t meet it beforehand unless I get a Senegal. Im looking for a parrot that is okay with others (not a one person parrot), relatively quiet/not too high pitched voice wise, isn’t known to be supper bitey, and will be comfortable doing new things (I plan on getting an aviator harness and hopefully taking my parrot out and about). Thank you!

 

[BirdyBee]

What do you mean by.. shipping? Most ethical breeders will not ship a bird, same goes for most rescues..

 

[PotatoBird]

What do you mean by.. shipping? Most ethical breeders will not ship a bird, same goes for most rescues..

I didn’t know that! Thank you for the info! Whenever I looked for birds on other forums people said it was best to get them shipped. What are your thoughts on this breeder-

African Queen Aviaries

Jean Pattison's African Queen Aviaries, African Grey Parrots and other African Parrots for sale - Senegals, Meyers. Contact Jean Pattison for a speaking engagement.

www.africanqueenaviaries.com

 

[BirdyBee]

I didn’t know that! Thank you for the info! Whenever I looked for birds on other forums people said it was best to get them shipped. What are your thoughts on this breeder-

African Queen Aviaries

Jean Pattison's African Queen Aviaries, African Grey Parrots and other African Parrots for sale - Senegals, Meyers. Contact Jean Pattison for a speaking engagement.

www.africanqueenaviaries.com

I think she looks like a good breeder! She does clip wings, but that's a very controversial topic. At least she lets them learn how to fly before doing it.

You could also make a separate post asking about the breeder, maybe more people will give you their opinions

What I meant by "most ethical breeders don't ship their birds", I meant to say if the breeder only offers to ship their bird, because that is a very big red flag.

 

[PotatoBird]

I think she looks like a good breeder! She does clip wings, but that's a very controversial topic. At least she lets them learn how to fly before doing it.

You could also make a separate post asking about the breeder, maybe more people will give you their opinions

What I meant by "most ethical breeders don't ship their birds", I meant to say if the breeder only offers to ship their bird, because that is a very big red flag.

I did some more searching and found 3 breeders of various poi species that seem ethical within driving distance! Hopefully I’ll be able to meet my bird before bringing them home, and I can meet various species

 

[Laurasea]

I’m pretty far off from getting a bird but am trying to figure out what type of poi is best. I know a lot comes down to the individual but personal experiences/general comments on species would be helpful. Chances are I will be shipping a bird so I won’t meet it beforehand unless I get a Senegal. Im looking for a parrot that is okay with others (not a one person parrot), relatively quiet/not too high pitched voice wise, isn’t known to be supper bitey, and will be comfortable doing new things (I plan on getting an aviator harness and hopefully taking my parrot out and about). Thank you!

Welcome to the forums and great for you to start with trying to learn more. We have all started out new to parrots, so know how you feel. I hope you are able to find a good breeder and meet different species.

In general parrots are not easy pets. They are messy, often loud, they do bite. We try to avoid that by careful attention to body language, and building trust. A lot of parrots fear new things as they are a prey species. They are very sensitive to fumes , some chemicals used in non stick cookware are deadly to them and can't be used. Many of us switch to only stainless steel, glass, or cast iron. And have to research products safety.

But also such amazing creatures. There us really something special about thrm

Most parrots have a range of vocalizations, with alarm calls being more high pitched.
Im going to link some articles I like

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

Pet bird and parrot behavior information.

lafeber.com

Stress Reduction for Companion Parrots – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

To put it bluntly, keeping companion parrots is similar to trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. The fact that they do as well as they do is testimony more to their adaptability than it is to our husbandry efforts.

lafeber.com

 

[Skarila]

I could tell you more about senegal parrots.

While they aren't to be known as nippy (like conures, for example) their bite HURTS. Don't be fooled by their size, when I say that their bite can hurt, I mean it. Not piercing the skin yet leaving a painful bruise for a few days, or simply mauling the heck out of you. In the FB senegal parrot group I remember there was a member who's adult daughter had a fracture on her thumb from the sennie's bite. OUCH. Also my partner has quite a few scars from his senegal when she hit the terrible twos. Bites from a ringneck, emma's conure. green cheek conure, budgie, cockatiel and senegal, senegal wins by far. Got bitten quite a few times, mostly by accident and those hurt for days. So be warned. Also they litteraly have cobra reflexes. While you can read from their body language if they are telling you to back off, in my experience they are far more sudden.

If you can, go for an adult/a rescue. I know I would if I were to get a poicephalus parrot. Also another minus is that they are known to be one person birds, and even in the wild they are prone to change their breeding pair suddenly, meaning they might change their favourite person out of the blue. My partner's sennie is very well behaved and is very friendly with everybody. While she does have her favourite person, she is cuddly even with strangers.

Not to deter you from getting a poi, they are absolutely wonderful all in all. If I were to choose a certain species I might go with a red belly or a Meyers. They are smaller than senegals, and bit calmer, but equally spunky. Sadly rarer too, hard to get. Pois in general are great flat birds as even in wild they don't fly miles to no end but rather dash in short distances. Also they aren't as noisy or loud compared to other parrots. Our sennie is exceptionally quiet, but she can let out a painful shrill if she chooses to.

Be warned that pois are exceptional chewers, so loads of wood will be needed. Best way to learn about a parrot is simply to read about their behaviour in the wild. You can see by their huge beaks that it's meant to destroy stuff and make holes in the tree trunks Or destroy your furniture if you're not careful enough (then again, my budgie destroys my furniture too, just the sennie does it MUCH faster.)

Another thing to keep in mind with pois. They are NOT big flock birds. Unlike conures who like being in a huge heaps of fluff with 10 other birds on them, pois are more solitary like. While they could live in harmony with other birds, it's bit hard as they absolutely want their private space untouched. So a nagging budgie could end up without their toes, which happened to us. While they will not chase each other, getting too close could end up in another bird getting hurt. Sennies do quite well as solitary birds. Another thing is adding another sennie after 4 years, don't be so sure that the 2nd sennie will be accepted. Most likely not. If you wondered, while they do fly in flocks in the wild, the flocks are not really packed. They fly in pairs, and respect each other's personal space.

If you can get the book from Athan and Deter (authors) "senegal parrot" you could get a further insight on the matter.

Aaaaaand this post became ultra long, sorry.....