Poicephalus Species

[Jessica M]

I like the Senegals,Red-Bellied parrots,and the Meyers.Which is best to choose?

These are qualities im looking for

1)Talks
2)friendly- good for a family setting
3)Playful
4)Independent/less demanding
5)Mostly quiet

I know all birds have their different personalities,and their are no guarantees,but different breeds have different traits.

[GlassOnion]

All of them. Also, there are no 'breeds' in parrots, only 'species' and 'subspecies'.

[Natacha]

Love all my Pois. Not sure which one I would pick over another..

1)Talks

If this is your main criteria, than I would suggest forgetting about getting a parrot. Even the species that are known to be "best talkers" - well not all individuals of that species will learn to talk. And while some Pois can learn to "talk", not all of them do and probably not to a great extent. Out of the ones you mentioned, Red-bellieds have the best reputation but just to prove how it doesn't mean all of them will talk, I have two and both are out spoken by one of my Meyer's, not that he "speaks" a lot either.

2)friendly- good for a family setting

I think how a bird is raised has a lot to do with this. Senegals generally are not labelled as the best in a family setting as they can be prone to be one-person birds. I think early and abundant socialization can help with this though, and my Senegal is the perfect example of this, being pretty good with everyone around her. Meyer's generally are more of the ones recommended for families as apparently they do best with more people than some of the others. Again, while I've seen this to be true with Meyer's that have been properly raised/socialized, my two are the perfect example how it can go wrong - both are rehomes; the oldest hates women and the other one needed some work to gain it's trust for everyone. Red-bellieds are true clowns, however they have a reputation of being a bit nippier and I've found that in the earlier days, it was true of my male (I got the female when she was already 5).

3)Playful

They are all playful in their own way.

4)Independent/less demanding

Wouldn't say it's very different from one to the other..

5)Mostly quiet

Pois are generally known to be quiet and I can say it's true with my guys. The Meyer's can be a tad noisier but it doesn't compare to a lot of other birds I've met.

[Jessica M]

Thank you for the advice,i also plan on getting mine from people who are re-homing their birds.Or from a Parrot Rescue.

[Jessica M]

Love all my Pois. Not sure which one I would pick over another..

If you could get another one what type would you get?

[Natacha]

Love all my Pois. Not sure which one I would pick over another..

If you could get another one what type would you get?

I'm getting a Cape parrot next and that will be it, at least for a long time.
Honestly, if I were to get another small one, I might be tempted to go for a Rueppels or a Brown head, since I have neither yet. If I were to stick to Senegal, Red-bellied or Meyer's, it would probably be the Senegal or Red-bellied, but mostly because my Meyer's having had very rough past are the trickier ones. But I know of some very sweet Meyer's too.

[liz]

My 20 year old DYH Amazon Rambo has such a large vocabulary that he is saying new things everyday. I thought it was hilariouse when my daughter put him in his cage for punishment. He was yelling "let me out" which I had never heard him say before. Yesterday he kept calling her to "comeere". She finally snapped at him "what do you want" he said "pick me up". That is also new.

Myrtle my 1 year old BF Amazon camed to me with the word hello. She has been repeating many words from us and Rambo that she did not understand. Then to my surprise she called "Moma comeere". When I got to her she was flapping her wings wanting me to give her a ride on my shoulder. (She doesn't walk through the house like Rambo except for the time I was gone a week. They said she looked all over the house for me.)

Cockatiels, Shadow and Tommy both talk a little. What little they say they understand and use it.

[Jessica M]

My 20 year old DYH Amazon Rambo has such a large vocabulary that he is saying new things everyday. I thought it was hilariouse when my daughter put him in his cage for punishment. He was yelling "let me out" which I had never heard him say before. Yesterday he kept calling her to "comeere". She finally snapped at him "what do you want" he said "pick me up". That is also new.

Myrtle my 1 year old BF Amazon camed to me with the word hello. She has been repeating many words from us and Rambo that she did not understand. Then to my surprise she called "Moma comeere". When I got to her she was flapping her wings wanting me to give her a ride on my shoulder. (She doesn't walk through the house like Rambo except for the time I was gone a week. They said she looked all over the house for me.)

I thought about the Amazons and African Gray's but they require loads of time outside the cage,also it would be hard for them to fly around my house,i don't like getting a birds wings clipped.Plus their bites would really hurt.I'm 17 so i don't need something that big,which is why i was looking into the Senegal or a Red-Bellied parrot,one of my best friends lives close to a breeder and she recommended the Senegal,Meyers or a Jardine parrot,a Senegal was her first bird.I have heard some good and bad things about the Senegal,so now it really depends on the individual bird.I plan on getting a book about Senegal's and their related species.

[Natacha]

I thought about the Amazons and African Gray's but they require loads of time outside the cage,also it would be hard for them to fly around my house,i don't like getting a birds wings clipped.Plus their bites would really hurt.I'm 17 so i don't need something that big,which is why i was looking into the Senegal or a Red-Bellied parrot,one of my best friends lives close to a breeder and she recommended the Senegal,Meyers or a Jardine parrot,a Senegal was her first bird.I have heard some good and bad things about the Senegal,so now it really depends on the individual bird.I plan on getting a book about Senegal's and their related species.

Out of curiosity, what is it that you consider lots of time out of the cage?
And...it's not because the Pois are smaller and possibly "less smart" that they don't deserve as much out of cage time. If unable to provide at least two to three hours per day, than I would reconsider.

And, having been bit by the smaller Pois, their bites can hurt quite badly - in fact, the worst parrot bite I've ever had was at the beak of my eldest Meyer's (the one that hates women) and I've also been bitten in the past by African Greys and Cockatoos (including a Moluccan Cockatoo), which, while they also did hurt, were not as bad as that one bite.

[Jessica M]

Out of curiosity, what is it that you consider lots of time out of the cage?
And...it's not because the Pois are smaller and possibly "less smart" that they don't deserve as much out of cage time. If unable to provide at least two to three hours per day, than I would reconsider.[/quote]


I think that bigger birds need to be outside of the cage almost all day.