A pionus parrot is a friend for life. They can live to be fourty and above. Although I have only had a pionus for about a year life is very interesting and is falling into a pattern.
Every pionus is about the same in wanting to go to bed early. Sophie wants to go to bed at 8:00. She is content getting her sleep and gets up at about 7:30 she gets 11 hours of sleep every night.
A parrot needs 10-12 hours sleep a night. They take naps during the day. Pionus enjoy sleeping and are adament about getting to bed on time.
A parrot needs a well balanced diet. They cannot live on seeds alone. I have been told that pionus don't do well on pellets but I have not found that to be true. A good pellet mix a little bit of seeds and plenty of fresh fruits and veggies seem to be the best diet. Fresh water is a must. It is imperative that you change the water every day.
Pionus need toys. Although they seem to just sit there, pionus actually do play. Sophie loves to chew and preen. Some pionus like to hang upside down. You have to try lots of different toys to learn what your parrot likes. Building toys can keep both you and your bird entertained.
Plenty of perches are also neccessary for you bird. They need to move around the cage. Avoid putting all things around one perch. The highest perch will probably be the birds sleeping perch. Make sure the perches give the bird enough room to turn around, spread it's wings, and stretch. Also make sure the bird's head will not hit the top bars of it's cage while standing.
Parrots are messy and pionus are no exception to that rule. Vacuuming very day is a must.
If you feed your birds fruits and veggies inside of it's cage be sure to remove them after two hours because the food will become a breeding ground for bateria. It will also attract fruit flys and other insects.
Have a playgym for your pionus. A pionus loves to have a seperate place for it to go and explore. Toys are neccessary their as well. My flock, which consits of a budgie and a pionus, has a playgym, a table top perch, baskets, and a tree that they enjoy climbing on and hiding in.(The tree is one of those fake ficus trees with the fabric leaves)
A pionus needs tombe out of it's cage for at least three hours a day. Some of that can be playing on it's playgym, riding around on your shoulder(which is not advised if your bird is aggressive or can become aggressive easily)
Exclude the parrot from cleaning, an cooking, as those activities can be fatal to it. (and your eardrums as well. Sophie screams over and over again when she see's the feather duster until it is in the closet)
Do not use nonstick cookware anywhere near your birds. The fumes can be fatal.
Do continue resaerch as this site does not have everything.
