Color mutations for Amazons.

[Safira]

Amazons aren't a bird I'm particularly interested in, but I came across this website today and thought it was fascinating.

I wouldn't mind adding one of those color mutated birds to my flock, the blue one is my favorite.

Has anyone seen one of these in person? What is your opinion on them?

Voren Aviaries - Advancement of Psittacultural Science

 

[lizardsmells]

Having been involved in animal rescue most of my life I have to say I think this kind of thing is pretty disgusting. I feel the same way about 'designer' breed cats and dogs too. There are entirely too many unwanted animals in need of homes to be making 'new' kinds to appeal to those with larger pocketbooks, IMO.


This may make me unpopular, and that's fine. I admit I'm likely jaded after dealing with humans who make up lame excuses to get rid of their animals and rehabbing abused/neglected animals that humans couldn't be bothered to treat properly.

 

[FutureDVM]

Wow, I didn't realize there were color mutations for amazons. The "chocolate raspberry" ones are particularly interesting.

 

[Safira]

I have to admit I am not a big fan of the designer dogs either, but they were created by breeding other breeds of dogs together to create something different. Then inbred to perfect it.

Hybrid Macaws were bred by cross-breeding different species of Macaws.

But it looks like these birds came from the same breed of amazon (for example the yellow naped) and the color created itself. Unless I read it wrong, which is possible. So I'm not sure if I'm totally against this, though I would be afraid of the inbreeding.

 

[ann]

I have not seen one in person but there is a zoo in miami that has a blue mutation yellow naped. I think they are beautiful and its ok to breed that mutation as long as the original color still exists and that people dont buy it as a decoration, but as an intelligent feathered family member. they take my breath away, they're gorgeous!

 

[wenz2712]

I must admit I have never seen a different colour one personally, but they certainly are beautiful I cant really see any difference with interbreeding Amazons as people do with Conures and IRN, where their are many different colour mutations!!

Although I wouldnt agree with someone purchasing one just because they are lovely to look at.... Having a Parrot as we all know is a Lifetime commitment

 

[roxynoodle]

Every breed of dog we have today was created by humans breeding for certain traits. A dog has the same DNA as a wolf, but most of them don't look or act like wolves anymore.

I guess I don't feel there is anything wrong with breeding for certain characteristics provided it doesn't increase the likelihood of disease, or physical deformities, etc.

 

[MissyMe83]

Hmmmm. I was intrigued at first but don't like the inbred factor. Plus I find that the normal green yellow naped Amazons to be beautiful!!

 

[Pedro]

It is illegal to knowingly breed hibred parrots in Australia. Especially our Natives but sometime accidents happen. We do know that the Indian Ringneck has been bred with the Alexandrine to produce the first Lutino Alexandrine, now the sky is the limit. I only hope that the native colors of parrots, the color God intended them to be is never lost.

However mutations also happen in the wild. That is usually how a mutation kicks off. Breeders notice something different in feather color & that where it all starts. Some get lucky. Also it is mainly the almighty $ it's unreal how much someone will offer for a new mutation. For instance when the Violet Ring Neck first became available in Australia they were $40.000 each. Breeders that could afford them snapped them up & now they are worth $1.000 a pair. It's all to do with money.

Finally i have to say some of the mutations a beautiful. I love the blue birds. Some however are very ugly.

 

[henpecked]

This a subject i know something about. I consider Howard Voren a friend and have been to his aviary several times.Blue mutation YNA occur naturally, the only person breeding Blue mutations from different nest is Howard. The only Blue Mutation from one of two nest is owned by Howard.The Blue mutations are larger/smarter and better talkers than the average YNA. They cost, many from the related nest,(same parents,different years,"line breeding") Have an issue called "drooping wings",. I kcan buy these birds as immatures for about 8,000 @ . I've opted to buy "split to blue " birds that have different parents from Howard. I'll get less blue mutation when they breed,but good genes. The blue mutations must be seen to believed , pictures do not do them justice.PS, all of Howard's birds are natural occuring mutations. Yes he had the chance to collect rare birds that most of us never hear of ,but he was in the right place at the right time.Please don't refer to his birds as designer birds, NO ONE has better genes than Howard. PS Howard will forget more about amazons in one week than most of us will learn in a lifetime.

 

[lizardsmells]

I want to apologize ahead of time. My feelings on this issue are pretty strong. I am not trying to start any sort of argument at all, just trying to express my views on this sort of thing from my perspective as someone who's been involved in animal rescue her whole life. I do not think everyone has to feel or think this way, this is all me!

If Voren isn't breeding FOR those color mutations and they're just happening, that's one thing, but I really can't support someone who is breeding for those mutations specifically. I've just dealt with too many unwanted animals (and the WEAK excuses people have for abandoning them) to be able to swallow 'new' ones that are specific to the pet trade. Yes, we did this to dogs and cats and now have a ton of different breeds (and overcrowded shelters). But just because it was done in the past doesn't mean it needs to continue today when we should be smarter than this given the desperate situation in shelters across the US. We don't need 'labradoodles' or 'cockapoos' we have enough dogs and cats in the world! Slavery, debtors' prisons, and child labor used to be the status quo too, but we learn and grow as a species (hopefully) and stop doing things that are detrimental to society and life in general as we get smarter.

I think the birds are gorgeous (the blue variety is truly breathtaking!) and I have no doubt that breeder knows an insane amount about Amazons, likely more than I ever will, but it's not anything I can support and still sleep at night myself. Unless, as I mentioned, the mutations are just happening every so often in the occasional clutch and he's not breeding for them. Mutations are a part of nature, they occasionally occur and sometimes the mutation even becomes the norm, but just because it happens sometimes in nature doesn't mean it needs to happen on purpose in the pet trade. We humans have this ridiculous idea that we can muck about with nature and it's no big deal, but every time we've tried it's backfired on us (look at all the purebred dogs and cats in shelters right now for a prime example or at all the factory farming and the results of that or the cane toads in Australia or take your pick, examples are everywhere). The shelter I volunteer with has around 50 birds at any given time and they're constantly turning away birds because they're out of room. Out of those 50 there's around a dozen that are just your plain, garden variety, naturally occurring Amazon parrot. That's 50 birds that had a home and lost it and need one now. 50 birds without a home and countless others that have to be turned away for lack of space and resources. And that's just in my tiny little area of the world. One of the birds in the shelter is a catalina macaw and thinking of more hybrids coming into the shelter/rescue community just makes me sad when we are turning away non-hybrids left and right because there's already no where for them to go.

 

[henpecked]

Should we let these birds go the way of the dinasours because of habitat loss,human encroachment,etc. These birds are not hybridized to fill a market niche, they are natural mutations.These birds are not readly available for the pet trade and neither do they produce chicks every year.I understand where your coming from and do all i can to keep amazons from ending up in rescues and helping new owners of birds that do.

 

[lizardsmells]

Breeding for conservation's sake is another matter altogether. And if the blue mutations were a rare breed only found in dwindling habitats in the wild and being bred to preserve the species with an eye toward releasing back into the wild in the future I'd be all for it. But I think that's probably as far as you and I will agree on the matter