Male Eclectus or Male Blue Fronted Amazon?

[Phsyco_BirdMan]

Hi everyone, i need help deciding what bird i should get, either a Male Eclectus or Male Blue Fronted Amazon. I love both birds and want them both but i can only get 1. I have a female sunday conure (sun conure x jenday conure). My grandmother has a male eclectus and a male sun conure that are really good friends and cant live without each other. iIlove both birds but would like to choose one SOON!

thanks

 

[charmedbyekkie]

I realise you say you need to choose one soon; however, I would encourage you to not rush it. These birds live for decades (longer than most marriages).

If you have worked with both species under your grandmother's supervision, you would know that those two are incredibly different. Their body language is completely different, their vocalisation is different, their expectation of interaction is different, and their diet is quite different as well.

I recommend you read around this forum - in both the Amazon community and the Eclectus community. If you do go with an eclectus, be sure you can provide their diet.

I'm not sure what stage in life you're at currently, but in addition to which species, I would strongly encourage you to consider if any additional parrot (as I realise you have a conure) is feasible at this point. An additional parrot, regardless of size or species, is another responsibility. Do you have the excess cash to drop if one (or both) needs emergency avian vet care? Do you have the additional time it takes to interact with two parrots, one-on-one time? Consider that two parrots may hate each other (you can't expect two people to live happily together, even if they did choose each other as roommates - think of all the horror stories of terrible college roommates). There are many more factors to consider, but I hope these few will help get you started in making an informed decision

 

[saxguy64]

Well said by charmedbyekkie above. I have had both,and as said, they're VERY different. Not sure why the rush into a lifetime commitment. I personally would recommend spending time with the specific birds you're considering. Not "an Ekkie", but THE Ekkie, or Zon, and get to know them as an individual. I also second the words of caution. While you have seen two birds that get along well, that is never guaranteed. My current flock, a male Ekkie and female YNA have to be out separately. Despite the Ekkie's attempts to woo her, my Zon wants no part of it. He's been lucky to have had only one foot injury thus far, so I now have to be extra vigilant when it's out of the cage time. These are two of similar size though. Consider the size difference between a conure and a larger species, and the very real potential for disaster.

Again, we don't know your particular living situation, and we're not here to judge. This is just a group of amazing people who truly care about their birds, and are happy to offer advice when asked. I hope you'll take your time when considering such vastly different options, or maybe be open to others not on the radar, that choose you, instead of you picking them. Best of luck to you.

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[Kiwibird]

I am a bit biased towards amazons for many reasons, but one major consideration with eclectus is they need a very specialized diet and are prone to very serious health complications if their diet is even a little off and it can happen very quickly. Amazons are much hardier birds, and while they definitely still need a healthy diet with an abundance of fresh produce, it takes a truly horrible diet for a very long time to make an amazon sick.

Personality wise, my male BFA (adopted as an older rescue) is a funny and rather opinionated guy. He is not a very cuddly bird, nor are most amazons (especially males) but he is still friendly and social and loves being included in all household activities, usually preferring to sit on a portable perch and LOVES to go out and about (weather dependent) with us in his backpack carrier. Like most amazons, he loves food, baths and toys. My guy won’t fly, but amazons can be skilled flyers if raised that way (mine has been clipped his whole life and can’t seem to learn as an adult). Like most amazons, he seems to get along ok with other amazons but isn’t terribly interested in other species. He seems happy as a single bird, though that is likely due to his background. I would never allow an amazon to interact unsupervised with a smaller bird, they can be pretty aggressive if they want to be. Speaking of, amazons, especially the males, do have a reputation for hormonal aggression but rest assured, it’s pretty hard to be ”surprise” bitten by any amazon. They are very expressive parrots and display clear and obvious signs they are in an foul mood and it would be most unwise to place a body part in their vicinity at that time. All amazons should be stick trained (I.e. will step up and ride on a wood dowel, for times they are too angry to handle). Thats about all I can think of off the top of my head about male amazons. If you take good care of them, they’ll be an awesome companion for life!