Are pionus 1 person birds?

[Nir]

Ofcourse i dont want to add another fid just yet or anytime soon but i have been thinking that my next bird i dont want him to be a 1 person bird. Mango is awesome but sadly no one else in the family gets to experience what i experience with him. he wont attack anyone as long as they dont touch him but i want my next fid to be equally okay with everyone else instead of being so deeply bonded. so how are pionus temperments? talking doesnt matter.

can you guys list some parrots who are not known to be 1 person birds and rather family birds. i want the size to be inbetween a senegal and a african grey. (no bigger or smaller so no cockatiels)

[marie83]

I don't know about pio but my green cheek will go to anybody,including children. although there's only me that can do certain things with him but I think that's due to me doing all the training. he does switch loyalties a lot though but for most of the time in the relationship I was in the split was more or less 50/50 as to who he chose to spend time with. that said though there's more to it than that his moods can change in instantand become very nippy but that is workable around with paying close attention to body language and training. he does know who doesn't have confidence with him though and will quickly learn who he can intimidate though. other than that the gcc are very interactive birds, always wanting constant attention if hand raised, though they are smart enough to be taught independence

[Jenny]

I have a white-capped pionus. She's pretty reserved, & from what I've heard, that's kinda the norm for them. I got on a pionus forum a while back, & read that they weren't tolerant of other birds in the house. My pionus is a re-homed bird, & had lived w/other birds in her past, so I took the chance & brought her home - where there is a very friendly tiel in residence! She's not awful to my tiel, but if she had her druthers, she'd have me to herself. The two of them don't cuddle or anything! My impression, & admittedly I'm no expert & I just have experience w/this one pionus, is that they would not be a friendly family bird. They're not extroverts. Then again, if you want a bird that any adult in the family could interact with, they might be a good choice from that perspective, 'cuz they're pretty laid back. My impression is that they wouldn't be very tolerant of loud or boisterous children. Not sure if this clarifies much for you....

[cml]

Leroy is equally interested in me and my wife, but in his pecking order, Stitch comes first.
He's also not intimidated by people, much less so than Stitch.

I think its hard to deduct if a bird turns out to be a one person bird from species generalization.
Stitch was great with people, but we moved and we havnt had a lot of people over - which has lead to him being quite afraid of other people than his flock (me, my wife and Leroy).

Imo, its mostly down to training!

[Nir]

when i mean okay with a lot of people, i just mean they will be willing to step up at the very least. they dont have to be handled anyway possible like i would be able to but stepping up to others and not killing them would be a nice start to work with lol. mango at this point will be okay with flying to someones shoulder or going near they if they have a toy but if the person doesnt move their hand from the toy or treat, they are going to get bit. and i socialized mango from day 1 everyday.

[cml]

when i mean okay with a lot of people, i just mean they will be willing to step up at the very least. they dont have to be handled anyway possible like i would be able to but stepping up to others and not killing them would be a nice start to work with lol. mango at this point will be okay with flying to someones shoulder or going near they if they have a toy but if the person doesnt move their hand from the toy or treat, they are going to get bit. and i socialized mango from day 1 everyday.

This is definetely not intended as being rude, but the problem probably lies in your training, and that you have inadvertantly done it wrong.
I realise that is tough to hear, but its very likely the truth. All birds can be socialized if done properly.

I have myself failed in socialising our birds for the last year, with the result of Stitch being frightened of other people than our family, and Leroy, while not being to fussed, doesnt like it either.
Niether bird will step up for anyone else than me or my wife.

The good thing is, you can train Mango to step up for other people, just as I can with Stitch and Leroy. It does take a lot of work, and you need other people to actually WANT to help you with the training as well. YOU cant teach Mango to step up for others, he needs to practice it with others, and they need to reward it. Michael has excellent guides on this, it might be on his blog or in a thread (I think its in the Senegal one person aggression-thread).

[Nir]

sure i might have..

but since i got him, he was always around people. i had roomates /friends who handled him fine everyday. then when i moved back home, he was being handled by my niece/nephew everyday about 2 hours.and throughout the day by other family members. but all of a sudden he didnt let them handle him anymore. in all honesty i dont really care that much since he is a angel with me and tolerates others but if all that didnt work of daily socialization then i dont know if michaels clicker training method for socializing will. also like you said others have to be willing to try and help and nowadays no one will cause they are scared of the bites lol. i still try but they just want to be around him just not touch which is fine by me.

the question about pionus was just out of the blue. i am not planning to get another bird anytime soon at least within the next 5 years.

[marie83]

It could just be that although your sennie was well handled there just wasn't enough incentive there to continue to allow it- or the rewards died off as the novelty wore off so the bird decided it wasn't worth it when there was a person available it would rather spend time with.

[Nir]

honestly mango being a 1 person bird isnt that big of an issue since he tolerates others so this really doesnt even matter to me. he is fine around other people as long as a hand doesnt come near him lol.

[hunt85]

good job guys, thanks for the post!