Heeelp... I need a amazon expert!

[MandyG]

Captwest has more experience with females so his advice would be best here. From what I've learned second hand, females can be quite aggressive too. I think what matters more than the gender is the amount of taming, training, and socializing you put into the bird.

Do you have any preference in species yet?

[becaroonie]

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[TheNzJessie]

you owned a scaley lorikeet? im jealous. i have a rainbow lorikeet which is my second one. i wanted to get a scaley but no one was breeding them at the time so it was between a red collar and a rainbow

i cant say anything about amazons as i have never owned

[becaroonie]

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[MandyG]

I like the blue fronted amazons. They were actually my first choice when I started looking! Then I found the yellow crowns and fell in love. Do you have chaco blue fronts (amazona xanthopteryx) where you live? They're beautiful, I find them to be a lot splashier in color.

A lady I know has a blue front (amazona aestiva) and she loves him. Very sweet and a great talker. Quite the personality too, he likes to pick up plush dog toys and fly over her, her daughter, and their dogs and 'bomb' them. Life with an amazon is never dull

[lzver]

I love to read all the Amazon stories

Even though I determined that an Amazon is not the right kind of bird for us right now, I still love them! If things were to change and I all of a sudden had more time (like winning a lottery - I know keep dreaming) an Amazon would most certainly be joining my flock. And a TAG most likely.

[Giantmoa]

I never thought I wanted an amazon, but then I met the blue front at my volunteer job and fell in love. Unfortunately she doesn't like me and I don't have the time to work with her on that but that doesn't stop her from being fun to interact with. We whistle to eachother and "sing" and chatter. She cuddles with her favorite people and is a complete angel for them and is a monster bird to the rest of us when we need to handle her. The one thing I have to say is that basic training, like stick training, is really benificial down the line for any difficult times. I've never owned an amazon but they're my dream bird and though I adore my gcc, there is nothing like having an amazon around. So good luck with your possible future amazon, and do try to meet one first if you can

[TheNzJessie]

yea they're pretty cute. I loved his little yellow speckles. I miss him like crazy.

I found a old pic of him, proof of this naughtyness...



stealing coke lol. this was him at my mums work, she worked at a call centre and no one seemed to care we bought my bird in lol. they loved him.

I remember he had a really gross tounge tho lol

too cute! yes they are very sneaky. i will own a scaly one day. or i will be working ast a zoo with scalys. one or the other i will have one! hehe

[reyz324]

i have had my amazon for almost 10 years now, i hand fed him myself and he is the greatest bird ever. he has only bit me once but that was because he got his wing stuck in a cage(idk how) but had to get him out and out of panic he bite me, he surprisingly is not to loud as many people/books claim they are.

[snakesentwined]

[quote="MandyG"]Snakesentwined, I couldn't have put it better myself! If the "she's" had been "he's" I would have thought you were talking about my little boy! [quote]

hehe - nice to know that the best of the Amazon traits tend to come through if you let them

As to the male vs female - I really think the jury is out on whether it's better for female keepers to have male birds and vice versa. But males are reportedly more agressive 'in season' than many females - and in her book, Jenny recommends females for most of the more agressive species.

I'm glad you are fixed on getting an Amazon, Becaroonie - although I do hope you manage to find a nice one, or we'll feel guilty for persuading you!