some thoughts to help me decide on an amazon please????

[Abby]

Wish I'd seen this earlier Goldy.

I'm an aussie with a YC zon and a male Ekkie who live in one of those macaw cages with the divider. My guys came here about a year apart, Bogey, zon, was about 6 months old when I got him, Merlin was close to 3yo. The boys get along pretty well.

I've also got a grey, galah and currently 3 hahns that I'm doing some work with (in another thread about the girls). I can have the grey, ekkie, zon and galah out together and they all seem to respect each others space. My ekkie can't be out with small birds as he kinda decided one of the budgies in his previous home was a chew toy.

I will say my amazon is fairly quiet and a little neurotic (bit unusual for a zon) whilst my ekkie is very in your face with everything.

[Lori~D]

I would carefully Reconsider two birds of the same species if you want them to be pets. If you get a male and female Ekkie then you will surley have troubles when they are sexually mature and I find it very interesting that others would think this wouldnt happen?? I have heard Male Ekkies make the better pets and that would be my choice even tho the females are stunning. A Sexually mature female ekkie can be trouble to begin with without adding a male nearby. Thats said I do have a female BF and she chatters away and is very comical but not social with everybody. I think two males or male/female of two diff species is best and if they are handraised together they can become buds but that doesnt mean you wont be dealing with hormones later anyhow. If you dont want to deal with egg issues then go for two baby males raised happily together. Ever though about Ekkie and Grey? Zons can be a handful.

[becca623]

I would say a male eclectus and an amazon would probably be easier than a male and a female eclectus. Female eclectus can get very, very aggressive when they are hormonal. I fostered one who bite the knuckle of my toe so hard she broke it, she left lots of nasty bites on my hands that get infected, she tore one side of a conure's lower beak off when she managed to get in his cage through the food door. She repeatedly attacked my cats. She bit me more times than I can count. And she loved me. I mean she really loved me. I loved her. I still do. She is one of the loves of my life. I rarely go a day without thinking of her and missing her. It's hard for me to even talk about her. Every female I see reminds me of her. I still cry sometimes because I miss her so much but I had to find a home for her that provided the attention she needed from a male eclectus. She was a chronic egg layer too. My family thinks I'm crazy. I found a permanent home for her with a male who is afraid of humans and they are very happy together. I was the first human who was nice to her. She bonded to me but at the same time was extremely frustrated because I couldn't give her the "physical attention" she wanted. My male eclectus was terrified of her. They did not get along at all. My male eclectus and my female amazon are best friends. Amazons can be pretty hormonal and aggressive also. They aren't necessarily easy birds. If you do get an amazon, I would recommend the yellow crown of the two you mentioned. My amazon is a blue front. I adore her but she can be a pain. She doesn't care for much of anyone aside from my ekkie and myself. My personal favorites of the amazon species are the lilac crown and the panama. I think they are sweethearts. I've met and handled several yellow crowns too. I really like them.

[debbielabella]

landofvos.com has some great info about eckies. It dispels some of the myths about the girls. Yes they will go into attack mode if you let them get into dark nesty places, but other than that they are very affectionate. I believe Becca is speaking of a bird that had been abused that she was fostering. They are not all that aggressive.

[Abby]

Meanwhile back in Australia...

Just going to cover a few prices here.

CAG can be up to the $6000 mark nowadays.

YC zon, $2500 - $3500 depending who you go through. BF about teh same but my understanding is that the YC are a more settled, less prone to aggression species (ie not part of the hot 3). Any other zon species here and the price jumps dramatically.

RS or SI ekkie, $700 - $1000 depending on what state you're in. Vos much more.

[goldy]

hmmm....so we went to a great breeder and spent a while looking around, and spending time with the birds!
he didn't have eckkies, but all the other more expensive birds here..

suprisingly, the birds i was really drawn too, weren't the ones i was considering...

male eclectus aside, as he is still on the table,we thought, and especially my husband, that the amazons were a bit nuts!
rather frenetic....

we got to pat some 6 week old african greys, which were gorgeous,and saw their parents, who seem very calm and contemplative. we had never considered them, because of the $6000 aus price tag.

but the bird, that really took the cake was a blue and gold macaw!
we have always been a bit intimidated by them because of their size, and also the only ones i have ever met, we at a rescue place, and most had "issues" of sorts...
this one, was 18 weeks old and was a real little "*****cat:, as the breeder described him!
he was cuddly and let us all pet him,and hold him, including the children, and was very calm and gorgeous! i could tell from my husbands body language and reaction that he was in love with the macaw! and he has always said they were too scary...

we also didn't consider one because of the cost, similar to an african grey...
i will have to do alot more reading if i am to consider a macaw.

we are doing the training workshop with jim mckendry in a couple of weeks, that includes positive reinforcement techniques etc, and also environment enrichment etc....

all the other macaws in that area went nuts over me too, and were coming down to say hello, so that was nice....

i know i sound like i am ping ponging all over the place with ideas, but it is important that we decide what is the best choice for our family based on not only what we can give the bird, but what kind of personality fits in as well..
i also want to choose a bird the whole family likes, and my husband wasn't really into the amazons.
if the best bird for us, costs more, then we will just wait a bit longer before we get one.

any opinions welcome and considered from anyone who has something to say.!

[Abby]

Sounds like you're really thinking this through which is fantastic. If a large macaw is really what you're gelling with then it may be the way to go. ABK has quite a good book out on macs. I bought it recently because of the hahns girls and there's alot of big mac info in there. I'm a grey girl myself but they aren't for everyone. There's also some wonderful experienced mac owners here who will be able to give you great advice anytime you want it.

[goldy]

i just wish i knew of some people nearby who keep the different birds as pets, so i can watch them in a pet situation as opposed to an aviary.
i have watched lots of youtube clips over the last year, but its like trying to pick a guy off a viseo, unless you meet in the flesh, you don't pick up the fine nuances of behaviour, that either draw you to them or repel you!

if it was up to me, i would have lots of birds, but given we have young children too, we have to make sure that every one gets some attention,so lots of birdies has to wait until the kids are grown up! for now, two will be the maxium...

what do you love about the greys abby?

[Abby]

I met my first about 20 years ago while i was in my teens and just something with the eyes got me. This real soulful intelligence. Finally I got my own guy a couple of years ago. I'll be honest, he's a moody prat and can get the snots up over the slightest thing. We've all gotten into the habit of warning about new things. I have 3 kids who are now nearly 8, 11 and 14. the 14yo does really well with Arthur, he's not a big fan of the younger 2.

Arthur makes me laugh. He's a big talker and is so in context. He can be so sweet with this really cute "ok?" if he knows I'm frazzled, or because everyone else is making too much noise just yelling at the other birds to shut up or telling them it's enough.

In a lot of ways I find him like another child with this amazing intelligence both the verbal understanding but also the emotional. They just amaze me.

[Alan]

Macaws are great as well. I agree with Abby it seems that you are really thinking thru the right bird for you. I have 2 hahns right now. But along with Skye and Tocarra i am getting Trixie a blue and gold and then Morgan and Tikki both greenwings. I have went and played with all of the ones that I am gettng. All tho from the pics I am getting of my GW's they are bigger than the ones that I have played with. Tikki is about 3 times the size of Trixie and they are only about 10 days apart in age.


One is Tikki and Trixie and the other is all 3 Tikki Morgan and Trixie.

all3.jpg

tikkiandtrixie.jpg