Which of the Hot 3?

[texsize]

Of the "Hot 3" I only have one. Bingo my YNA.
I got him at about a year old and love him to pieces.
Can he be aggressive ? you bet. When he is like the best thing to do is ...
Don't.
Don't handle him. don't aggravate him. Just let him be till he calms down.
He can be very affectionate and cuddle with me when he feels like it.
He talks but does not sing. He is most vocal when my wife is on the phone. He will imitate tone of voice and some words. He really makes it hard to carry on a conversation when he wants to "help".
My spelling is awulful LOL. I am always asking my wife to spell stuff.
Bingo has picked up on this and when my wife spells something he will chime in with E's and Y's and for some reason 0's(zeroes).

As far as hormones go he goes into that mode most strongly in December and the beginning of January. The biggest changes in his behavior are(is).
Trying to mate with my hand. And change of attitude from friendly to rip your face off.
extra care is required when handling him and if you are carful you will be ok.
It only takes one time of taking for granted that he will step up not looking at his eyes or tail and then you have to head for the medicine cabinet.

 

[Birdman666]

They all MIGHT be singers or talkers... then again, they might not. There is no way to tell in advance, and it also comes down to does this INTEREST your bird, and how much training do you put into it.

My BFA was a singer. My foster YNA was a talker. My foster DYH was both a singer and a talker. I had another foster DYH that was a grumpy old man, and wasn't all that interested in interaction of any kind, except pattern whistling... DON'T TOUCH!

These are just generalizations, and they don't hold true.

And like someone else said, with hormonal amazons, hot 3 or not, there are certain times when you have to take "NO" for an answer. Pushing your luck will get you bit!!!

That's part of their nature. Understand that going in, or don't get one.

 

[BeatriceC]

We have a yellow nape. Goofy is a jerk. We adore him. He's actually wonderful and loving to exactly one person: MrC. Everybody else can go die in a fire. It took me three years to reach a peace treaty with him. He now behaves for me, and does what I need him to do (step up, move from cage to perch, to cage, let me take him to the vet, then towel him for antibiotic shots when MrC was out of town), but he lets me know in no uncertain terms that he is Not Happy about this. That said, he's also hysterical, full of personality, interactive with most of the humans in the house as long as they keep their distance, somewhat friendly with our macaw (hates he G2 and doesn't even notice the budgie and lovebird), and is generally an amazing addition to our family. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm going to echo the sentiments of others: Make your decision based on the individuals. Think about it this way. What if some alien species decided to keep earth creatures as pets. One of the earth creatures they keep as pets are humans. Say two aliens are debating between keeping a cat and keeping a human. One alien says to the other, "gee, I don't know, humans are just so aggressive. They fight each other and kill each other for no reason at all. They just don't make good animals to keep as companions." Then the other replies, "Well, if you get a human from Canada, those tend to be really nice, but if you get one from South America, those ones tend to be really good dancers." Would that make any sense to you? I hope it wouldn't as you recognize the vast differences in the individual humans that populate the earth. Yes, many of us separate ourselves into certain groups that tend to value certain traits, but that by no means define the individuals even within those specific groups. These birds you are considering are no different. Go meet some birds. Spend some time with them. Find one who's personality fits well with yours, then go make a lifetime companion out of him.

 

[SailBoat]

So, now that you have elected to enter the Wonderful World of Amazons and in addition have elected to enter this gathering of Amazons on the big side. Its time to put a couple of statements out there for you to consider.

- A Double Yellow-Headed Amazon (as with the other two) is classified as an Endangered Species by CITIES. Any DYHA hatched on or after January 2, 2017 must have 'Hatch Birth Documentation' that defines the Parents (species), the name and contact information of the Breeder, the hatch date, and the sales documentation for this specific chick to you! Once home, it is highly recommended that you take this documentation to your Certified Avian Vet (CAV) to be included in it file! The original documents are 'Lifetime' Documents, which mean that you need to keep them as long as you have this Parrot. If you choose to sell this Parrot, that documentation must be included as part of the sale to the new owner. Your name must be included as with the date and Bill Of Sale. Do Not Fail To Obtain This Paperwork!

- The current state of the Breeder Market has become dominated by a 'Mill' approach to turning out Parrots. Turn them out as fast as possible, even to a point of sending chicks home that have not completed weaning to solid foods! This is an important issue from two very different points, both based on Starvation. (1) Because of the interest in quickly selling the chick, far too many are showing up at Avian Vets starving because the Breeder did not complete weaning to solid foods, nor teach the new owner how to formula feed a very young parrot. (2) As a result, this felt Starvation turns into behavior problems in which the Parrot cannot trust. This is a major problem since the ability to connect with Humans is fully dependent on the Parrot being able to Trust the Human.

- The search for a Breeder that is at the other end of the scale is becoming difficult since they cannot compete with the 'Mill' pricing and survive by selling to highly knowledgeable buyers that are will to pay the additional costs of a full and completely weaned baby. Because of the additional time and involvement of the Breeder, this group of Parrots tend to be far more social and do not have the Starvation Behavioral of the others. This group of Parrots also cost more.

- This Species is a long life Parrot, which means that it will likely outlive you! Having a Will that provides for the extended care of this Parrot is important for its well-being.

- This Species is likely larger then your current Parrot experiences. With an Amazon that have a weight of 500 to 575+ grams and a body length and Wing span that extend beyond 14+" (360+ mm) they do require space. More importantly, that baby will grow to the measurements above, some larger.

- This Species will transition from a young Parrot to an Adult and that transition can be very difficult for everyone. See the comments provided earlier. This period will test your relationship and your willingness to understand and help steer your Amazon though this passage.

I will provide some insight on looking at an older Amazons over the next couple of days!

 

[Ladyhawk]

- The current state of the Breeder Market has become dominated by a 'Mill' approach to turning out Parrots. Turn them out as fast as possible, even to a point of sending chicks home that have not completed weaning to solid foods! This is an important issue from two very different points, both based on Starvation. (1) Because of the interest in quickly selling the chick, far too many are showing up at Avian Vets starving because the Breeder did not complete weaning to solid foods, nor teach the new owner how to formula feed a very young parrot. (2) As a result, this felt Starvation turns into behavior problems in which the Parrot cannot trust. This is a major problem since the ability to connect with Humans is fully dependent on the Parrot being able to Trust the Human.

I was really sad to see this has happened. All the breeders in my town are gone except one and I have a feeling he got all the breeder birds from the others. Small breeders would have to develop a sterling reputation and charge a ton of money to compete with the bird mills.

 

[Idenmamiri]

Thank you again for all the amazing responses. I am really glad I decided to make this thread and believe I am going to be a better amazon caretaker because of it.

Pertaining to the mill vs small breeder, what would you consider Royal Bird Company? I have gotten in contact with many of their clients and followed up on their experiences, some over 2 years later, and haven’t heard anything but good things.

Sheila the owner is also very adamant about her babies going to well educated homes and her website and demeanor on the phone definitely speak to that. I respect her compassion for the birds and the extent she goes to for finding the right buyer. She will turn away people that don’t seem like they are ready for a baby bird.

In the videos she posts of each bird you can really tell she cares for the babies and really puts effort into making sure they are socialized and comfortable with human touching.

Unless anyone has any oppositions to RBC, I will be going with them as my breeder for my baby amazon.

Thank you all again, I am so appreciative of all the help from this amazing community.

 

[SailBoat]

Thank you again for all the amazing responses. I am really glad I decided to make this thread and believe I am going to be a better amazon caretaker because of it.

Pertaining to the mill vs small breeder, what would you consider Royal Bird Company? I have gotten in contact with many of their clients and followed up on their experiences, some over 2 years later, and haven’t heard anything but good things.

Sheila the owner is also very adamant about her babies going to well educated homes and her website and demeanor on the phone definitely speak to that. I respect her compassion for the birds and the extent she goes to for finding the right buyer. She will turn away people that don’t seem like they are ready for a baby bird.

In the videos she posts of each bird you can really tell she cares for the babies and really puts effort into making sure they are socialized and comfortable with human touching.

Unless anyone has any oppositions to RBC, I will be going with them as my breeder for my baby amazon.

Thank you all again, I am so appreciative of all the help from this amazing community.

Well, I have no oppositions. I guess there is no need to go into finding an Amazon at a Rescue center, so that's that! Saves me time!

So, Magna or Nominate?