Input Needed on New Addition! :)

[kcbee]

Hi All - This is a wonderful forum! I've been having so much fun reading thread after thread.

I am looking into getting a third bird in a year or so. Right now I have a parakeet and a parrotlet. I love the bold and outgoing personality of my parrotlet, plus the talking ability is very cute and entertaining! Since I love this personality, for my next bird, I'd love another "big parrot" personality - plus I'd love a bigger body!

I don't want anything too big - so a medium sized bird would be great for me. I'm a bit scared of harmful biting, but I know much of that has to do with training, bonds, etc.

Right now I'm leaning towards a cape parrot, and my local breeder expects to have two babies next year. She said I could put a deposit down to be assured a baby, since there is always a long waiting list and a small number of babies about every other year. I'm very tempted to do this, but I thought I would post here first and you could give me your opinions!

What I'm looking for in a parrot is: (I know all parrots are individuals, but I'm generalizing here)
*Medium size
*Talking ability is a plus, but I know not all parrots talk and it is not that important. Just would be a nice bonus!
*Playful
*Able to amuse itself while I'm gone during the day
*Multi-person bird (quite important)
*Not known for being nippy
*Less aggressive hormonal stage
*Not super shy around strangers

I'm very attracted to Amazons, but I do not think they are right for me, based on my above criteria. I also love Maxmillian Pionus, but my breeder does not breed those. She does breed other pionus though. I think pineapple conures are adorable, but I think I want something bigger. Right now I'm definitely leaning toward a cape parrot. I'm just so nervous about putting a deposit down (though it is not binding in any way, it is a large sum of money).

I'm open to suggestions of birds I have not mentioned!

Any help/input is greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

[zazanomore]

Have you considered a Pionus?

They can make great famitly pets and are known for their calm personalities. They aren't known to be nippy, and as a bonus, they are quiet enough to be apartment pets.

I think a Cape parrot also fits the description of what you are looking for, but I know less about Capes.

[Natacha]

What exactly do you define as a medium size parrot? The difference between the budgie/parrotlet and a Cape parrot is quite a large one. Actually, the first two could be considered small in this case, the Cape on the large size and something like a Senegal would be in between.

*Medium size
See above

*Talking ability is a plus, but I know not all parrots talk and it is not that important. Just would be a nice bonus!

It depends on each individual bird.

*Playful

Playful with you? Quite a bit of birds can be playful on their own but to "actually play" with you is something different.

*Able to amuse itself while I'm gone during the day

Pois are known for this, it's one of the reasons I considered them and they are perfectly fine being on their own longer if something takes more of my time.

*Multi-person bird (quite important)

I find this is all relative to how well you socialize your parrot. Senegals have a reputation of being one person birds and mine couldn't be further from that generalization but I did put quite a bit of effort of socializing her early on.

*Not known for being nippy

All birds can be nippy. The bigger the bird, the bigger the bite...While I've found conures to be more nippy than a lot of birds out there, this might, once again, depend on each individual bird.

*Less aggressive hormonal stage

Again, depends on the individual bird.

*Not super shy around strangers

Socialization, nice and early, can probably allow for any bird to be a bit more outgoing with strangers, or at least tolerate them more.

[coral]

pionus are great birds but im biased since i own a blue headed one hes rehomed so has a few small problems because he wasnt well socialized when he was a baby. pionus in general are known for being quiet with a little screaming here and there, cuddles but doesnt need undivided attention, can along with strangers and more then one person but it depends how well you socialize it, they can play by themselves, im not really sure if theyll play with you though.. being nippy depends on socialization and if the bird is upset or startled by something, but i hardly ever get bit anymore, he does warn me. for shyness it depends again on socialization. oh they can learn some words and sounds but depends on the bird mine has a large word and sound vocabulary.
heres a good website that helped me decide on the pionus species.
http://pionusparrot.com/PionusParrots.htm

[kcbee]

What exactly do you define as a medium size parrot? The difference between the budgie/parrotlet and a Cape parrot is quite a large one. Actually, the first two could be considered small in this case, the Cape on the large size and something like a Senegal would be in between.

*Medium size
See above

*Talking ability is a plus, but I know not all parrots talk and it is not that important. Just would be a nice bonus!

It depends on each individual bird.

*Playful

Playful with you? Quite a bit of birds can be playful on their own but to "actually play" with you is something different.

*Able to amuse itself while I'm gone during the day

Pois are known for this, it's one of the reasons I considered them and they are perfectly fine being on their own longer if something takes more of my time.

*Multi-person bird (quite important)

I find this is all relative to how well you socialize your parrot. Senegals have a reputation of being one person birds and mine couldn't be further from that generalization but I did put quite a bit of effort of socializing her early on.

*Not known for being nippy

All birds can be nippy. The bigger the bird, the bigger the bite...While I've found conures to be more nippy than a lot of birds out there, this might, once again, depend on each individual bird.

*Less aggressive hormonal stage

Again, depends on the individual bird.

*Not super shy around strangers

Socialization, nice and early, can probably allow for any bird to be a bit more outgoing with strangers, or at least tolerate them more.

I do agree capes are a bit larger than most medium sized parrots, but I did interact with an adult Meyer's parrot at my breeders and felt it was a bit small for me. But I do not want anything as big as a macaw. I felt that going bigger with the cape would be okay because they are not known to be biters.

And yes, by playful, I meant a bird that is playful with me, playful while out of the cage, etc. I don't want a bird that would rather just sit and stare at me. That's why I was drawn to the Amazon, but after reading about them, I feel that they may be more than I can handle.

[kcbee]

pionus are great birds but im biased since i own a blue headed one hes rehomed so has a few small problems because he wasnt well socialized when he was a baby. pionus in general are known for being quiet with a little screaming here and there, cuddles but doesnt need undivided attention, can along with strangers and more then one person but it depends how well you socialize it, they can play by themselves, im not really sure if theyll play with you though.. being nippy depends on socialization and if the bird is upset or startled by something, but i hardly ever get bit anymore, he does warn me. for shyness it depends again on socialization. oh they can learn some words and sounds but depends on the bird mine has a large word and sound vocabulary.
heres a good website that helped me decide on the pionus species.
http://pionusparrot.com/PionusParrots.htm

My breeder breeds white capped, blue headed and bronze-winged pionus. Out of those three, looks wise, I am most drawn to the blue headed. I will do some more research on them. I like the "quieter" aspect of them, but I'm worried that parrot might be too aloof? I have no personal experience with them, but just from reading online I got the idea that they are more reserved. But I will do more research, for sure!!

Thanks for the info.

[GlassOnion]

Have you considered a Caique?

[Julsiebean]

Have you looked into Quaker Parrots? They are sweet, silly, amusing, very talkative, and beautiful birds! I've been around LOUD ones, and quiet ones. Mine is quiet (for a parrot!). My male cockatiel was far louder. She isn't messy either, which was a nice surprise. They do get a a bit bossy sometimes, but no more then any other bird I've met. Mine is a big green love bug, I can't imagine life without her!

[kcbee]

Have you considered a Caique?

I briefly looked into them, but some of the stuff I read online steered me away. I think they may be too feisty and into rough housing for me. But those are just generalizations I read.

I can do some more research on them. I do know they are very playful, which I want. Thanks for bringing them back up!

[kcbee]

Have you looked into Quaker Parrots? They are sweet, silly, amusing, very talkative, and beautiful birds! I've been around LOUD ones, and quiet ones. Mine is quiet (for a parrot!). My male cockatiel was far louder. She isn't messy either, which was a nice surprise. They do get a a bit bossy sometimes, but no more then any other bird I've met. Mine is a big green love bug, I can't imagine life without her!

It's funny you mention quakers. When I was little, I had two cockatiels. When I went to pick them out, the breeder had a baby quaker parrot I held. I instantly fell in love, but I was too young to care for that type of bird. Ever since then I've had the idea of a quaker parrot in my head. And that was the first parrot I thought of when I knew I wanted another one. But then after doing some research, I got scared away! Everything I read talked about how loud, loud, loud and bossy they are!

But now you saying yours is quiet, makes me think about quakers again!

Too many choices! haha