Experienced amazon owners help

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I have a GCC, parrotlet and canary winged. These birds area big part of our lives and do not spend a lot of time in their cages. They enjoy being part of our day. I have been wanting a larger more talkative bird, but not at the risk of my other babies. I was considering a blue fronted amazon baby, but read that they could have a personality change and become unpredictable once they reached maturity. Is this true because I also read that their personalities were the result of proper training or the lack of and not hormones. I just don't want to put my family at risk if their is nothing I can do to prevent potential disaster. Are BFA able to interact with other birds? I would never leave them unsupervised. I just don't want anyone confined to a cage unless it is absolutely necessary.

 

[jmfleish]

BFAs are hit and miss. We have four, two females, Cisco and Iris, and a male/female pair. Bobo, the male of the pair, is very territorial while his female companion, Harley, is easy going. Iris puts up with me but is in love with my husband. Cisco is exactly the opposite, loves me, tolerates my husband. The BFAs are part of a group of Amazons known as the "Hot Three" and can be hard to deal with as they grow into maturity. The best way to avoid this is to adopt an adult who already has a set personality. I think that some of it can depend on how the bird is raised too but the BFAs I've met tend to be one person birds for the most part.

With all that said, if you have a good harmony going in your house, I don't know that I would go with a bird that was not of the same size for fear of something happening. You never know if birds will get along with each other or not, but for safety's sake, I would always separate birds of differing sizes. Hope that helps.

 

[iamwhoiam]

My BFA, Casey, is OK with other birds but every bird is an individual and there is no way to predict whether or not an Amazon will be OK with other birds. Casey is generally friendly and likes to be petted except first thing in the AM. For whatever reason he is very grouchy in the AM (not a morning bird) and not very approachable. Takes him a few hrs and then he is back to being friendly again.

 

[BirdBro]

I'm just going to go along with everyone else and say BFAs, and amazons in general, are very individual birds. My guy is a sweet pushover who is safe around my Senegal and other smaller birds...but I've known others who were not. However BFAs, like a lot of South American parrots (excluding caiques), are generally pretty easy going in "mixed flocks".

My BFA also doesn't talk a great deal for what it's worth.

 

[Anita1250]

I have a 34 yr. old BFA, who I have had for 34 years. I also had an Orange Wing at the same time. The BFA hated the Orange Wing so much, he had to go live with my father. He did very well there until he passed at 46. I still have the BFA, who is a great bird.

 

[melissasparrots]

If you consider it a disaster when a bird grows up and starts acting like a bird, then don't get an amazon. Blue front males are far more likely to have a major personality change than girls. Girls might remain very affectionate toward their favorite person/mate. To all others, they might be nasty. Hit and miss again. Amazons are awesome birds but the males are among those that can have a big personality change. All birds grow up though and a cuddly baby will not necessarily make for a cuddly adult. Although, lack of cuddliness doesn't necessarily translate into aggression unless you chase the bird around all the time trying to make it submit to cuddles it doesn't want anymore. In which case you will likely turn a decent bird into a biter. Amazons are independent birds. They enjoy being petted but not at the expense of their independence. A fast way to make an amazon a biter is to assume it wants affection when the bird may have been very happy sitting on its perch having thoughts of world domination.