Blue-Headed Pionus Rio, my new son

[Nykia]

Birdienumnum-Thank you! I am happy to report that he is no longer afraid of the shower because i actually take him and drape a small towel on the shower curtain bar for him to sit on and besides high pitched calls, he loves it. When i am done bathing, I have him step up and actually bring him in close to the spray and he spreads his feathers and hangs almost upside down. So, when i shower, he showers and it is becoming a nice routine! I pat him dry with a towel and set him on a perch in front of a heater fan and he is dry in no time!

Noblemacaw- He is soooooo adorable with his baby sounds. He has stopped the head bobbing "baby beg" for the most part, except in the morning! I will cherish these green headed baby pionus days! I can't wait until first molt- to see his beautiful blue! I am completely bonded to him a month later lol. I am teaching him rules using the "respecting your parrot" methods. I do not punish, simply reward for the behavior I want. He already knows i get really excited and say "GOOD BOY!" when he poops. Next ill work on the pooping over a certain area to potty train.

 

[BirdieNumNum]

Yay that's awesome!! I'm glad he loves taking showers now . My GCC takes about 5 baths a day in her water bowl (LOL) but she's only been with me for 3 days, so when she's a little more comfortable I'll see if she likes the shower too .

 

[noblemacaw]

I started having the parrot shower with me since Mihijo was 2 and half months old in 1995. I have not showered alone since. I am always taking a parrot into the shower and making my roommates take one too. Now I am down to only one parrot but when Joaquin and Diego where with us they would have to take turns to take a shower with me.

Mihijo will be 17 years old in Feb. I hope to have many more years with my special friend and companion.

Each parrot behaved differently in the shower. Joaquin my eclectus use to spread his wings and flap. Diego my Illiger's macaw would pace the shower door handle then make me pick him up and hold him against my chest so he could get soaked. He was kinda noisy in there really enjoying himself. Mihijo Noble macaw falls asleep in there and will sometimes sway like he was going to loose his grip on the door handle. He also makes comfort noises while showering.

I will be getting a RFM this spring and I am not sure I will be taking him into the shower with me since he will be a much bigger parrot. I would have to work up the courage to do so.

Noblemacaw

 

[Kiwiwade]

Hi Nykia,

Congrats on Rio getting use to shower! Poe also loves her shower but she screams in joy when we are in the shower.... This is the only time I hear her making loud noise, but boy, it's loud!

I just had a vet took a drop of blood from her for DNA sexing. It was a tiny drop but broke my heart to watch her being scared. She wad also so afraid of our pumpkin. She truly had a terrifying Holloween....

Sounds like you and Rio are doing well on bonding and training? I wanted to ask you, since we have birds around the same age, does he let you hold him on his back on palm of your hand? Poe and I have been bonded pretty well, but she is still bit skittish when it comes to touching under or on her wings. I know it takes time to really have deep bond so I am not in hurry, but curious to know how you and Rio are doing?

Kiwi

 

[Kiwiwade]

Oops! Sorry I didn't notice your reply! For some reasons I no longer receive email notification. For Pionus Parrot site, you just have to email The site owner through " contact form" and request to join the forum. You give her user name you want and she will respond to you!

Rio is such a good boy that he eats veggies! Poe ONLY likes corn and if I give her any veggie mix with corn, she will eat all the corn and leave rest alone. I purchased a stainless steel skewer to make a toy out of veggies. Sure enough she showed interest right away and chew them all up, but whether she actually ate them or not is questionable.....lol.

Kiwi

 

[Nykia]

Kiwi-

Oh my poor little Poe!! I would be horrified as well watching the vet draw blood from my baby! Rio is afraid of bananas lol I guess certain objects or unfamiliar ones draw out the wild "fight or flight" response. Rio does not let me touch under his wings yet either, but does stay for about 10 seconds on his back in my hand. He seems confused as to what I'm doing and chews his feet for a bit, then decides he is done on his back. I have to wipe and wash his feet at least once a day because he sometimes walks in his poo while playing.. ( i need to work on getting a cage with a grate).

Have you tried dried fruits or veggies? as long as they are unmolested without added spices or sugar.

I am considering doing an internship in South America on endangered parrots! I hope that i will be able to when the time comes in the next few years.

Thank you for the info on the other forum, i will send an email her way!

Happy Halloween to you and Poe!

 

[Kiwiwade]

Hi Nykia,

How wonderful that you may be able to sturdy wild parrots! One day, my husband and I would love to go see Pionus in the native environment. Have you read a book call Practical Pionus? There are so much interesting things about wile Pionus is this book by Russ.

Poe would not let us put her on her back. When she is dazed from head scratch and massage, we pick her up like a pigeon and slightly tilt her towards her back. We do this everyday and hoping one day she will be comfortable enough to be on her back.

As for veggies, We are trying every way we can think of to get her used to eating them. She does not hesitate to try everything, but just doesn't seem to like veggies too much. I know some of them would start to eat veggies all of sudden, so we just try, try and try.
It's fun to come up with ways to feed her veggies though. It's a fun challenge.
As I'm typing this, Poe is on my husbands chest on the couch, making the wee wee noise as she gets her nightly cuddle and scratch. It's so cute. She knows her " wee wee time" so every night around 7 pm, she fluffs up and when we ask her " Is it a wee wee time?" She loudly replies "Weeeeeeeeeee~!!" and we know she is ready for major cuddle...lol
We need to give her an hour or two of wee wee time before she agrees to go to bed.

Just curious, do you sturdy Biology or something in school?

Kiwi

 

[Nykia]

Wee wee time! That so completely adorable!

Rio does not like cuddling much, he seems content on his perch right next to where me and my brother sit every night. Keep trying on the veggies! She will start to eat them one day I am sure, just keep offering them. Have you tried offering them to her before her pellets? If Rio has an empty crop he will gobble down anything (except millet for some reason).

I am a Fisheries and Wildlife major at Oregon State University and plan on specializing in endangered species conservation. I am in my sophomore year now and really hope to do a few study abroad programs (peace corps). I am single with no children so animals are my "children" and I am perfectly happy that way! I just really believe that animals deserve and need people to fight for them, so i decided last year to go back to college.

 

[Kiwiwade]

Nykia,

I totally admire your passion. I also believe animal in general need someone to stand up for them and be their voice. It is our obligation t assist their survival since the reason of many species's extinctions are also by the hands of our fellow human!

I tried to give Poe the veggies when she was reall hungry, Poe is one hard headed baby, she just refuse to eat! I think she has an attitude of " I rather starve before eating veggies" lol I am sure she will grow up and eat her veggies soon enough. I remember I didn't like veggies when I was little either....

Kiwi

 

[Nykia]

Update-

Rio is doing well going for car rides

He is talking and says "Good Morning" "Rio" "Poopie" and a few other mumbles. He is always making low pitched gargling sounds that makes me thing he is practicing or learning his singing voice!

He is doing Wonderfully with potty training and knows what poopie means and goes on command about 75% of the time.

I have always wanted to see if I could successfully potty train a parrot and I am so happy he is learning fast!

He has learned to eat all kinds of foods so far - pellets(roudybush), Peppers (red, green, yellow), Spinach, Broccoli, corn, baby corn, lima beans, kidney beans, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, sugar snap peas, wheatgrass, sprouted seeds, apples, oranges, cucumbers, bananas and healthy nuts as a snack! He will not even touch junk food, my brother tried to give him a chip and he promptly threw it off the cage!

He will be getting a brand new cage soon that is big enough for a macaw and will be decorated by me with handmade toys and different perches.

He does try to regurgitate during snuggle time but has stopped for the most part after i stopped giving attention when he did this behavior.

He is ready for Christmas and hopefully another photo shoot soon in his stocking! haha.