Double yellow head amazon question

[nicvic]

Hi, I just recently lost my blue front Amazon, Hannibal. It was very sudden, he was not sick at all, it seemed almost like he had a heart attack or a stroke or something. It has been very hard dealing with the loss of him, he was a great bird. We are considering getting another bird sometime in the future. I work at a pet store so I deal a lot with birds and I am partial to the amazons. I am really considering maybe getting a double yellow and was wondering if anyone can tell me the pros and cons of this breed of bird. Are their temperments comparable to the blue front? How are they with the whole family or do they tend to be a one person bird? I know if I get another bird it will either be another blue front, a Panama, or a double yellow. I have interacted with the first 2 but never a double yellow, any info would be appreciated

[chapala]

The Double Yellow-headed Amazon is one of the "hot three" and along with BFs and YNs, the males can be quite aggressive once they reach maturity. That's not to say that A DYH can't make a good pet, but if I were buying one, I'd look for a female just to avoid some problems down the road.

By the way, all the different Amazons are separate species, not breeds. There are no breeds in the world of birds (well, if you leave out poultry!).

[nicvic]

Thanks for the info

[Newticus]

I have what I believe to be a male, double yellow. He is just over 2 yrs old and not fully mature. I have also worked really hard to socialize and train him. He is an absolute sweetheart, to me. He is a little one personish. He tolerates my partner and enjoys displaying for her and doing tricks, but he very rarely will let her pet him or take him out of his cage. Having said that though, chester really likes men and will sometimes let male strangers pet him. I hand raised him since he was 2 months old in the pet store I worked at, before I took him home he was biting everyone but me, and he has made my partner bleed, but never me. I have gotten some good bites, that scrape the skin off, but nothing to make me bleed and all of them were well deserved or understood.
He will come off the top of his cage without biting, and will just sit and relax on my shoulder while walking out and about with him.
He is an amazing talker and has a super playful personality. I will admit that I cannot pet him just whenever I want, but after a bit of playing I can almost always pet him. I have worked with a few amazons and he is the least stand-offish of all of them.
I may be in for a nightmare in a few years, but I have a solid base of training and socializing with him and I am not overly worried. I guess we will see in 8 yrs :) Also keep in mind these are only my experiences with a particular bird. I fully suggest going a playing with as many amazons as possible and letting the amazon pick you. Yes all the amazons have their own traits, but let the bird itself show you who it is before writing it off.

Melanie