Pionus - 2 from same clutch?

A.A.A.

A.A.A.

Regular Member
Hi.

We visited the breeder we're getting Skye from on Sunday. Got to meet all four of the babies in clutch (in their first cage & starting to fly now but not too confident on landing yet). Great day, the breeder has a nice set up, there was some poop (we'd gone before cleaning time) but not crusted & all birds were bright & active & the babies were sociable.
Mum got a message today saying if we were interested, they think that we would be a home suitable for 2 if we wanted. They said they were impressed with the research I've (we've, given mum has read up since saying yes to me having a parrot) done, the preparations we've made and the enthusiasm we're showing. Mum has said she'll pay part for the second bird (so one of them will officially be a shared bird, though we'll both be interacting with both, but it will be my responsibility to do most of the care as I'm the reason we're getting them) even though I can afford both on my own (if I sell my DSs and pokemon games collection I can buy more toy making materials, wouldn't have time for it anymore anyway).

Just wondering if anyone has experience with keeping 2 pionus (I'll be getting blue headed) from the same clutch and if male/male or female/female get on better if they've known each other from hatching, or even if male/female siblings would be able to bond without the risk of breeding. We don't know the genders of the babies yet, but I was looking at same gender pairs to prevent breeding.
I'd be looking to keep them in the same cage if possible because what I got as my "day cage" is much bigger than my "night cage" though both are bigger than the minimum size for a pionus so I can safely separate them if needed.
I have come across plenty sites saying parrots do better in pairs / groups than on their own, but so few are pionus specific, so was looking for anyone who might have experience. It took 5 years to get mum to say yes to one bird, but she agrees that 2 won't be twice the work of one, and will be company for each other when we are at work (she usually works late shift 3pm to 11pm, I work 8:30 to 3:30 with 30 minutes commute in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon).

Names chosen are Skye (Skye Blu) and Gemini (Gem).
Mum & me go aurora hunting, and saw white tailed eagles on Skye last time we went to Scotland so sky based names have meaning to us, and the parrots hatched around my birthday and I'm a gemini (gem - they're sapphire, emerald & ruby coloured).

Sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place.
 
As much as two from same clutch is good so they have their own species for company it's not good to end up with a male and female... Same sex only stops issues when they mature. Plus double the training and individual time needed by you until they each bond independently with you
 
DizzyBlue said:
As much as two from same clutch is good so they have their own species for company it's not good to end up with a male and female... Same sex only stops issues when they mature. Plus double the training and individual time needed by you until they each bond independently with you
Click to expand...

Thanks.
That's what I thought, I was just double checking as I have heard of some species bonding without mating & wondered if pionus was one. We have already said to the breeder we'd only be interested in same gender pairs so was more wondering m/m or f/f if we have the choice (the breeder DNA tests before sale but I will get a second opinion test at the first vet visit to be sure there hasn't been a mix up with ring numbers / samples in the lab or anything).

The time commitment isn't too much of an issue for me either, I have no social life so when I'm not at work I'm home, usually reading, watching TV, playing a game (Pokémon or on my phone) or doing a craft (knitting / sewing, I've got rid of my parrot unsafe ones already) at the moment, and mum seems more keen on interacting with the bird/s than when she first said yes given she's done research of her own so it might be more of a parrot each (hopefully with both of us able to interact with both birds).
All the sites I've looked up say to keep training bouts short, so can switch between birds rather than over doing it with one and then getting bored.
And I was already thinking that if I looked for another job (because I don't like my new boss) I'd be looking closer to home / for something with work from home as an option to cut my commute down (also thinking of asking to change my hours anyway to 4 days instead of 5 to have a rest day mid week for my arthritis, I can start & finish 30 minutes earlier/later on the 4 days without changing my set off & get home times due to traffic to lose less on my pay cheque & barely change the time I'm home with the parrot/s).

Excited = unusual sleep pattern (why I'm awake) with brain throwing what-ifs at me.
If they don't get along in the same cage as they mature and we have to separate them, the really big cage could go out on the patio as an aviary for time outside, and I could get two cages / one with a divider to go in that corner for the birds to have separate cages next to each other to prevent fighting. I already have a second (sleep) cage so could separate straight away not have to wait for the new one to come.
 
As babies they will get along its when they mature and the hormones kick in that's a neurotic time (dominance) after that's settled things change again.
I have two Grey's that are sisters same parents but one clutch apart.
Tuppence and Denarii. To begin with Tuppy was a flipping nightmare being a bully. She's highly intelligent and a tad neurotic in being flighty. Denarii calm cool collected and very into deep pondering. Denarii's hormones hit and Tuppy went to bully her BAM! Denarii bided her time then nailed her (knocked her down while they were flying) there's never been an issue between them since that day. They're friends Denarii won't stand anymore crap from Tuppy though. Tuppy is a true bully ie a coward at heart.
 
All birds have different individual personalities watch and study and it shines through.
My other grey Henni Penny she's old (43) and very wise unflighted and is a force to be reckoned with. Nobody messes with her she'd hog tie and spit roast the lot of them! I don't think she knows she's a bird and she doesn't like them :lmao:

Know the sleep fluctuations brain in a hyper analysis mode feeling too. Sometimes it doesn't switch off or it wakes me as it suddenly kicks in with something that just cannot be ignored.
 
Wendy Cooper-Wolfe said:
I would think you have seen @Roz website below

thinkparrot.com

Pionus Parrots As Pets | ThinkParrot

Initially cautious, the shy Pionus parrot is often overlooked in favour of the larger more confident Amazon or the cuddly Cockatoo baby.
thinkparrot.com thinkparrot.com
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Read it multiple times.

More a case of asking do 2 boys or 2 girls get on better if we have the choice? If 3 or more are the same gender in the clutch we won't be choosing the gender but will be modifying our behaviour & plans.

Mum says I'm over thinking it, but I like to be prepared, even if issues aren't likely for a couple of years.
 
Being an over thinker myself I find it useful although at times exhausting.

Let's ask Roz she's living with a cute munchkin pionus. Better from a person already living the dream :thumbsup:
@Roz but

Boy and girl?
Girl and girl?
Boy and boy?

If it's two that is :)
 
I don't have Pionus, but I do generally believe that most parrots do best with a companion. After all, a wild parrot is never alone. Also, the pressure on you to always be available for your bird for the next several decades will be reduced if the little rascals have company. Good luck!
 
When I first went looking for Pionus, all the people who had Pionus recommended a female. Males are more likely to get fiesty around breeding time, but not always - some are pretty laid back (I know of some really sweet male Blue-headed), and then you'll get some fiesty females. Kobe was sold to me as a female, but I could tell in his first week that he was a male - he was already trying to talk and into everything. I wouldn't change Kobe for the world, but he's certainly difficult, especially in breeding time. I have learned when and when not to handle him. Sally Blanchard once said that male Pionus can be difficult as their testes are larger in relation to their body size than those in other parrots. BUT personally I do tend to love the males since they have so much character, which goes for the Amazons as well. You might be lucky and find two females in the same clutch, but usually males outnumber females. Even if you end up getting one of each, you can always cage them separately later should breeding become a problem. Love the fact you are thinking of getting two. Can the breeder offer any advice re getting same sex or one of each? Will the breeder do a dna test on all the babies?
 
Here's a photo of me & babies 2 & 4 (the open cage behind was their bronze winged pionus pet the breeder was inviting out, though he was uncertain about us strangers)
IMG-20230827-WA0002.jpg

Breeder does DNA test all the babies (they're waiting on results) but this is their first clutch of blue heads (they've had maxis & bronze wings breed successfully before & have a clutch of bronze wings a few weeks younger than these). I had expressed an interest in female if I could choose the gender when getting one bird though was more bothered about personality & willing to learn how to interact with either gender. Personality was more important that gender though as I wanted a bird that would be ok on the occasions when I'm at work & mum works a morning shift / has to go out (less of a concern now they'll have sibling company), now it's going to be important that they get along with each other while still being out going enough to interact with us humans (I know a lot of that is decided by me & mum).
I'd rather get 2 same gender if there's a good chance of them staying friends as they mature even if I have to learn to be careful around breeding season as we don't have the space for another of the big cages I got for 1 bird & it would feel wrong having them in different size cages (why I'd make this one an aviary outside & get new same size ones if they needed their own space).
If it makes any difference, they said the father of this clutch was quite calm, it was the mother who was a bully (to the father and the breeder before abandoning this clutch, she's gone back to the person who owns the parents while this breeder looks after some of their pairs and helps raising clutches while not buying the adults, the mother is happier there).
 
Awwwww fabulous picture!! I would guess the one on the right is a male (looks like a flatter, wider head). Can't quite see the shape of the head on the other. May be wrong though. Will be interesting to find out the dna results.
 
One on the left (in my right hand facing the camera) is baby 4, one on the right (on my left finger in profile) is baby 2.

IMG-20230827-WA0035.jpg
Here's 4 in profile, & 2 looking at mum (behind the camera), I was grinning & laughing so much she took quite a few photos.

(Had another parrot dream woke me up)
 
DNA results are in.
1 & 4 are girls and will be Skye & Gemini
2 & 3 boys

Roz you were right about baby 2

I held baby 1 when I met them at the Stafford show as the first baby parrot I've ever held. And baby 4 I held when meeting them at the breeders house & felt slightly more drawn to just because it stayed on me under my neck (was the first Pionus I smelled the pionus scent of).
 
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