Poicephalus friends

[Jholt11]

Hi,

I have a brown headed parrot and am looking for another bird of similar size. They would be housed in seperate cages, however I would like to allow them to share a play stand for out of cage time. Are there any other parrot species that would get along well with my Brown head? The ideal bird would be quiet as my brown head, willing to interact with any member of the family ( the brown head seems to prefer me only) be a good talker (realatively for the species) enjoy one on one time, but also be good left in its cage with lots of toys during the day.

Is there such a parrot? I have looked at quakers, panama amazon (although this bird is probable too big) pionus, red bellies, or meyers.

I appreciate any info you might have to share.

One issue is that my wife does NOT like birds, only because she's afraid of them and the brown head doesn't seem to like anyone but me, so a bird that is a bit more easy going and "cuddly" might help to sway her like for birds.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Michael]

I found a Jardine's Parrot to be very cuddly. Check out my story about how I tamed a sweet Jardine's for a bird store. I would also say Cape Parrot but they are much more expensive. But the Jardine's parrot is a nice size, not particularly aggressive, soft, and loves being held. Also compatible with Brown Headed.

The criteria you described really are satisfied by most parrots and it has more to do with personality and training. For instance you say that your Brown Headed is a one person bird, but then again most other species will end up the same way of denied interaction with lots of people. The one person birdedness is best overcome through flight and good training. If you live in conditions conducive to one person birdness (like wife not liking birds), it is likely to repeat with any parrot you get unless you solve that issue directly first. Good luck.

[lzver]

I would probably recommend some of the other Poicephalus birds. Based on my experience I wouldn't recommend a Senegal. My Jessie is a very active, silly and cuddly bird but only with me and they are known to be one person birds. Having said that though, he was not well socliazed at a young age so this is my fault - not Jessie's. Another forum member Natacha has a Senegal that was very well socialized as a young bird and she doesn't have this problem.

A Red Belly may be a good option for you. They are around the same size and known for being the 'show offs' of the poichephalus family. My Lucy warms up to people faster than Jessie or Kylie and you'll even hear her speak in the presence of company. Michael mentioned a few options with a Cape or Jardines. With proper interaction, training and socialization a lot of these issues can be overcome.

One thing I would caution you about is your birds spending time out together, especially on the same playstand. Not that it isn't possible, but you always need to supervise them when they are out together and be ready to intervene quickly if needed. There is no guarantee that 2 birds will get along and like each other.

[Natacha]

Whatever other bird you get, I would recommend an extra play stand - you never know if they will get along or not and it's just better to allow them to have their own personal space. I have a few play stands around my living room and while some of my birds sometime share a specific play stand, they are always free to go somewhere else if they feel crowded.

With that said, I would also recommend another Poi - but I do have a certain bias towards them

All the small Pois are about the same for noise level.
As much as I do think that rehoming birds is a great thing since there are plenty of parrots looking for homes, it might be easier for you to get a socialized baby (hand fed or parent raised with human interaction) and continuing to socialize them, specially with your wife.

[GlassOnion]

I on the other hand, LOVE LOVE conures. They are cuddly, loving, love playing/falling asleep on their backs. I'm waiting on my green cheek conure who will be ready in several weeks.

If you're worried about the noise factor of the suns, jendays etc, then the pyrrhura family would be ideal. Eg, green cheek, black capped, crimson bellied, etc.
Although I hear of people who absolutely fall in love with the suns for their affectionate nature.

The pyrrhura conures are much quieter, small, intelligent and extremely acrobatic and cuddly, coming from the hours and hours of research + talking to several breeders. Also, the green cheeks are only about 150-300 as opposed to many other options.

I know you were looking at pois/pionus, but just putting conures out there as an option. Some are a lot cheaper than the pois/pionus, and conures are known to be tons of fun and enjoy cuddles. And since you said your wife is not into birds, a conure who enjoys being petted and getting scratched, and falling asleep in your hand, might just win her over!

[lzver]

GlassOnion, its good to provide advice/experience with other types of birds.

I would suggest that Jeff do some of his own research on conures. I would suggest going out and seeing conures, pois, etc in person, handling some, observing their behavior/noise level for yourself before making a decision.

I've never owned a conure, but have seen/met quite a few of them and I have to say I find them to be a lot louder than my poi's.

[Jholt11]

Thanks for the replies. I do enjoy my poi and generally he is pretty quiet. I have considered a green cheek conure, but I'm wondering does anyone have any experience with quaker parrots?

[zazanomore]

Thanks for the replies. I do enjoy my poi and generally he is pretty quiet. I have considered a green cheek conure, but I'm wondering does anyone have any experience with quaker parrots?

Quakers may be cute, but they can be LOUD! Green cheeks tend to be a lot quieter.

[GlassOnion]

Quakers are LOUD but also tend to be great talkers.
Green cheeks are much quieter and very affectionate, but probably won't be much talkers.

[Jholt11]

Is a quaker louder than an amazon? Would they be similar as far as noise is concerned?