Pionus breeder recommendations?

[Telken]

So I'm seriously considering acquiring a Pionus, and I'm still early in the research phase, but I'm really struggling to find any breeders for these guys. I'm located in New England (eastern CT), and ideally would like to be able to meet the bird in person and not have him/her sent through the mail from Florida. That way we know if we're a match from the start (or at least have a better idea), and the bird doesn't have to deal with stressful shipping. Can anyone give me any recommendations? Failing that, does anyone know anyone in the region with a Pionus? Even if I don't get to meet *the* bird I adopt, I'd like to meet a member of the species at least.

 

[Telken]

Update: I found someone local trying to rehome his birds (one Bronze Wing & one blue-headed) on craigslist. I'm sorta inherently dubious when it comes to craigslist, but with my untrained eye these birds look pretty good.

Here are the pictures the guy provided:

Bronze Wing -- Screenshot by Lightshot (2 years old)
Blue Head -- Screenshot by Lightshot (10 years old)

Apparently they're both males, and they do have a regular veterinarian (I've been asking lots of questions), and they can at times be a bit loud. I am allowed to meet them before making a decision (which I'm still nervous about because craigslist).

The last set of questions I fired off to the person were:

- Does anything come included with the bird, ie the cage (or anything else)?
- Have they had any/all of their vaccinations?
- Who is their usual vet?
- When do you plan on rehoming? In other words, is this an ASAP thing?
- Why (in general terms) do you need to rehome them?
- Do they now or have they previously had any health issues or injuries?
- How loud and frequent is "can be loud"?
- What do you usually feed them (or what are their favorites)?
- Do you have a target price?
- Are the two birds very close with each other? The real question here is, if I were to only take one of the two, would they find that especially difficult to adjust to?

Is there anything else I should ask? Does anyone have any thoughts? Would it be better to go with the local choice or the mail-order choice? With this local guy, I don't know the bird's past as well, and I doubt he has full paperwork (but I may be able to get this via the vet?), but I don't have to subject him to shipping stresses and we get to meet each other before making the decision as to whether or not we'll spend a life together. With a mail order, he'd be coming straight from a breeder so his past would be covered, and most breeders have some sort of guarantee. Also, I don't know if an owner swap would be more traumatic with a young bird or a 2 year old. Do birds go through the same jading as kids in the foster system?

Guide me, senseis.

 

[Sterling1113]

Hey, Telken.

I got my Pionus, Pascal, when he was already 6 years old, from craigslist. Pascal is completely bonded to my husband and I, and is very well behaved, in virtually every manner. (Except for breeding season, then he gets.. uhh... "moody" LOL)

I think you'd be fine getting these two from craigslist, they appear to be in good feather, from what I can see the beak/nails don't seem to be overgrown either. They're both banded, too, so maybe you can use the numbers/letters to find out what breeder they came from, if you're REALLY curious about their past.

Are they living in the same cage? The pictures make it look like they're both in/on the same cage, so I'd be concerned about them being bonded to each other, and not caring to bond to another human. It isn't impossible by any means to have a pair of birds living together, and be completely people-friendly; just might take more time and effort. The two-year-old will probably have a hormonal period in a couple of years, so be prepared for mood swings. The 10 year old should be mellowed out by now and be less spontaneous during those times. (Keep in mind I'm speaking generally.. every bird is different!)

Glad you're doing your research and being cautious when it comes to these decisions, and thank you for giving an "adult" bird a chance! They can be so so so rewarding. I love my Pionus to bits.

EDIT: I saw your other thread, you started talking about bar spacing for a pionus' cage. My white capped pi (smallest of the pionus ) has a roomy cage with one-inch bar spacing and its perfectly fine. Figured I'd add it into here, instead of posting on both.

 

[Telken]

I've been talking to the current owner, and he thinks the 10 year old blue-headed probably wouldn't be as good of a fit for me (he seems to prefer women, etc). I'm going to meet the bronze wing, though. He wants to charge me 650 for the bronze wing (apparently he originally paid 1k?). That doesn't sound *wrong*, especially since bronze wings seem relatively uncommon. Any thoughts on this? Either way, I'm going to meet the bird before any decision is made.

I'm also going to find out whether or not this guy will include anything, ie the cage. Either way I'm not going to be taking him home the first time I meet him. The second time, sure. I especially want to see how the two birds interact with each other, in part to see if they're especially bonded.

 

[Sterling1113]

650 sounds high, but I'm from the states. Around here you'll see Pionus for around 600+ depending on the species from a breeder. So it might be normal for your area, if they're as hard to find as they sound. Hope you and the bronze-wing get along, I love bronze wing pionus.

Maybe you can offer him a bit less, if he doesn't come with a cage. My pionus didn't come with a cage and I talked her down because "I'll have to get him a cage, new toys, and I'll have to get him vetted, etc.." so maybe he's willing to wiggle a little bit on the dollar amount

 

[Telken]

Hopefully. I'm in the US, also, but I'm in New England (CT). I'm meeting the bird on Sunday.

 

[Sterling1113]

Oh, I'm sorry, my mistake! I saw the (CT) and my mind assumed it was some sort of time zone, wasn't even thinking of states. Whoops.

 

[Lynsey]

I got a white capped about a year ago. He is my first bird. I researched and picked a white cap. I went to my local bird store and they had one. I bought him first day I saw him. He was still being g hand fed, didn't get to take him home for another month. So glad I swooped in. Don't see them very often. He was $699. Since then they had one blue head for $799. I'm in Southern California. Otherwise I can't find them really available.

 

[RavensGryf]

Oh gosh NO $1,000??? ...and $650 rehomed?!! I have to say, that is out of the ball park completely.

Bronze Winged Pionus are one of my favorites, and I've had 2... Now I have my male Raven.

My first one (passed away) I paid $450 for her as a newly weaned juvenile from a bird store in 2005. I paid $650 for baby Raven who came home in January 2014 from a breeder.

Bronze Winged are uncommon, but they're still not expensive. It's supply and demand. Bronze Winged have some fans, but generally speaking, they're not real in demand. Blue headed are a little more common, yet they're so sought after because of their beautiful color that they still command a higher price. A few hundred more than BW on average.

My vet told me that in his experience with Pionus, he finds the male Bronze Winged to be the most cantankerous of the bunch. Lol, I love my Raven, but yep... He's a pretty crotchety one. Even when he was a juvenile. Not all the time, but as he's gotten older (2 years old) and he's "practicing" being hormonal, even though he's not sexually mature yet. Still he can be hard to handle. Like I said, I love him . The female BW that I had was much more gentle.

What was his reason for getting rid of the birds? Are you planning on looking at any more?