That's really helpful! especially what you said about how parrots age and bond with you, how there's a big difference between the formative years and the later ones. I know my bird would be with me for three decades if I took care of him, or more, so putting in effort to make him bond with me, to me, feels worth it. I understand the long-term picture.
And that is absolutely right. When you put in the effort, you reap the rewards. A well bonded bird rarely bites, and it's usually a warning, not an "I'm going to hurt you as bad as I can" attack. Even when they hit puberty, it's not THAT bad when the bird is a loved, bonded bird and the owner is expecting/prepared for it. Puberty just takes many people by surprise who had no idea it was coming, they have no idea whats happening and handle it in all the wrong ways.
Also, I'm not afraid of biting period, but never having taken care of a bird leaves me questions like, even if I spend three or four hours a day with a bird, will this guy still tear my hand off every day? I know you guys who aren't bird newbies like me must laugh at that, but to pretend it doesn't cross your mind when you buy your first bird that you're responsible for on your own is nonsense. It's only human to ask those questions.
And I know there are birds that are just plain old difficult. I'm not going to pretend they don't exist. I'm just not going to worry about that, though. That's not worth worrying about.
I understand your fears, and it's perfectly normal to be a little wary of those beaks when you've not dealt with one before
. I grew up with parrots and had been bitten on numerous occasions before Kiwi came home, but I can see where the thought of getting bit might be terrifying to someone who's never had much contact with parrots before.
You are looking at getting a baby though right? A hand-fed one who's been raised by a responsible and reputable breeder right? The stories you hear about birds who are REALLY bad biters are NOT freshly-weaned, hand reared babies who are raised in an attentive, loving home. They are older rescues who have been traumatized severely or perhaps parent raised babies (or a very long time ago) wild caughts. Hand reared babies from good breeders might bite to test boundaries and will go through puberty someday, but they are not going to become BAD biters, ever, if you take good care of them. I know that I will occasionally get chomped, but I never worry about my boy going back to how he was when we newly adopted him because I know he is loved now and trusts humans.
And your looking at a pionus too, which are like mini-amazons (not as big of a beak=not as big of a bite, though I'm sure it may feel like it the first time he or she gets you really good
).
ALSO - Is Kiwi really wild-caught? How old was she and where from? That's fascinating. Does she have problems directly related to her being wild-caught, or has she worked out fine?
Kiwi is my bird. We rescued him and don't know his full history, but he is not old enough to be a wild caught based on what history we do know. He was likely born in captivity, but parent raised (parent birds took care of him instead of a human) as opposed to hand fed (human takes the baby bird from the parents at some point and finished weaning it so it does not grow up fearful of humans).
My mom has 2 older amazons that I grew up with. Her female DYH Lucy is a wild caught. She is a very sweet bird (my mom even used to leave her on my crib when I was a baby, she's that trustworthy) and has been a wonderful companion all these years. She is a very maternal and protective bird though, some of that is her being wild and some is her being a female. You asked about being territorial, and out of the amazons I've dealt with extensively, she is by far the most territorial (and the most difficult to back down when she's angry). While males can be more quick to anger, females have a maternal instinct a lot of people don't consider and can be much more stubborn once pissed. The good news though, unless you adopt an older bird, you will not be dealing with any wild caughts. Importation of them was banned a long time ago. And as I said, don't worry about gender when choosing a bird. They aren't THAT different and it's really one half dozen to the other about their typical gender-traits on which one is easier to deal with.