Do Amazons Color Extend In Time?

[Snabb133]

I have searched around on the internet about Amazons getting more of their colors the older they get and the more they molt. What I have found is absolutely nothing about that on google. Maybe I'm bad at searching, or I typed wrong. But I can't find any information on whether or not Amazons such as Blue fronts get more/less blue/yellow as they get older.

I have seen other threads about DYH's getting more yellow as they get older. Which is why I'm asking to take part of Your knowledge on why that is, and if that happens with other Amazon species too.

My question is, which I could'nt find anywhere. Do BFA's/Xanthopteryxes, YNA's or any other Amazon species except DYH get more out of their colors as they get older?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Don't know about BFs, but I do know that many YNs get more yellow as they get older. I truly hope our henpecked chimes in, perhaps even with a photo of his magnificent hen Jakiepoo.

My Hunter (she'll be 16 next month) only has a few yellow feathers on her neck, many of which are hidden under green ones. As a baby she didn't have a single yellow feather on her nape. She was all green.

 

[JerseyWendy]

....and I don't think you typed anything wrong while trying to Google it. I've been busy doing the same, and have had absolutely NO luck regarding color change in BFs.

Found this: Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot, blue front babies, hand fed baby parrots,amazons for sale

Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot, blue front babies, hand fed baby parrots,amazons for sale

Blue Front Amazon Parrot

 

[Birdman666]

Short answer, yes, they can experience some color changes in feathers through their life. Normally the biggest color changes come between the time they are juveniles and they are full adults, i.e. the first 12-16 years of their lives. The first 3-4 molts usually see the most changes. After that, the changes are pretty slight... though I have seen yellows turn white, and blues fade. (Vitamin deficiencies and stress can affect this. As can lack of exposure to sunlight apparently.) Sudden color changes can be an early indication of a vitamin deficiency. (Especially if the blues start turning yellow, or if the yellows start turning white.)

My 38 yo BFA had a patch of yellow feathers that actually turned white in her later years. (She had some health issues. I think this may be diet related. I didn't get her until age 35.)

Coloration on BFA's is pretty random. The best indication are the parents coloration. The offspring are usually close to that when they mature.

 

[Snabb133]

....and I don't think you typed anything wrong while trying to Google it. I've been busy doing the same, and have had absolutely NO luck regarding color change in BFs.

Found this: Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot, blue front babies, hand fed baby parrots,amazons for sale

Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot, blue front babies, hand fed baby parrots,amazons for sale

Blue Front Amazon Parrot

Thank you for the links, very interesting to look around indeed. Guess I'm the first to start a thread on this topic then. Hopefully people in the future will see this and help them.

Short answer, yes, they can experience some color changes in feathers through their life. Normally the biggest color changes come between the time they are juveniles and they are full adults, i.e. the first 12-16 years of their lives. The first 3-4 molts usually see the most changes. After that, the changes are pretty slight... though I have seen yellows turn white, and blues fade. (Vitamin deficiencies and stress can affect this. As can lack of exposure to sunlight apparently.) Sudden color changes can be an early indication of a vitamin deficiency. (Especially if the blues start turning yellow, or if the yellows start turning white.)

My 38 yo BFA had a patch of yellow feathers that actually turned white in her later years. (She had some health issues. I think this may be diet related. I didn't get her until age 35.)

Coloration on BFA's is pretty random. The best indication are the parents coloration. The offspring are usually close to that when they mature.

See, that is exactly the type of information I want & love, A.K.A Knowledge. And it's true that vitamin deficiencies and stress can affect the feathers as well as the exposure to sunlight. I have never seen Kiki's parents though, and I guess i'll have to wait for Kiki to molt her old feathers, which should be pretty soon I guess, because she was born in June 15th 2014, and she is 9 months young now. I will post pictures of her before and after when she has fully molted.

 

[Kiwibird]

Kiwi definitely has more yellow on his shoulders and throat than when we got him (aged 10). He has a little more blue too (though he never has had very much blue and probably never will have as much as other blue fronts). Unfortunately we don't really have many pictures from the first few years we had Kiwi for comparison, but he basically had no blue and now has a respectable 'splash' with a little more yellow on the shoulders and throat. As Birdman said, the most color spread happens when they are young, but it continues little by little throughout life. My mom has had her DYH for over 40 years, and while she hasn't 'added' much yellow each molt, if you look at pictures of her as a younger bird and see her now, it's a huge difference that happened VERY SLOWLY over the years.

 

[Snabb133]

Kiwi definitely has more yellow on his shoulders and throat than when we got him (aged 10). He has a little more blue too (though he never has had very much blue and probably never will have as much as other blue fronts). Unfortunately we don't really have many pictures from the first few years we had Kiwi for comparison, but he basically had no blue and now has a respectable 'splash' with a little more yellow on the shoulders and throat. As Birdman said, the most color spread happens when they are young, but it continues little by little throughout life. My mom has had her DYH for over 40 years, and while she hasn't 'added' much yellow each molt, if you look at pictures of her as a younger bird and see her now, it's a huge difference that happened VERY SLOWLY over the years.

Awesome answer there. These informative answers You all provided could not be found on google LOL. I have been wondering about these color changes in zons for quite a while and I just had to start a thread about it since nobody ever has apparently. Hopefully this will help other interested people searching around in Google.

The more You guys and gals share your experience & thoughts, the better not only I, but the rest of the world searching for info like this will have an understanding on how this works.

I'm REALLY glad there's experienced people like You.

 

[henpecked]

I think we've discussed this topic several times but maybe never had a dedicated thread. Yes all zons gain more color as they age. Even the O W As I've had for 30 yrs are much "yellow" in their older years. As wendy mentioned my hen nape of 45 yrs has much more yellow than she did as a baby when she had only a couple of yellow feathers on her nape. Her nape is yellow from the top of her head down to her back and she has a complete yellow collar around her neck. I'm at work or I'd upload a pic. Sure there's some on the forum. Search " mature YN."
PS I see there's a thread " Mature Yellow Nape" from Dec/2011 that has some pics of Jake. Use the forum search.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here is Jakiepoo!!

My Jakiepoo is getting so much yellow lately. Jake is a 41 yr old hen parvipes Yellow Nape. Just thought i'd share,she's the love of my life. Notice her yellow collar ?

 

[95talongirl]

Great info about the blue front. I often wonder this, as well. The ones at the shelter are all 20+, and don't seem to have much blue in the face. However, they have a ton of yellow on the wing, so that elands me to beleive they are the subspecies, and the lack of blue is more related to that than age.

mopar will be three this year, and while he lost quite a bit of blue from when he was a chick, he still has quite a bit. I will be curious to see how. Uh he ends up retaining over the years.

 

[Kiwibird]

Great info about the blue front. I often wonder this, as well. The ones at the shelter are all 20+, and don't seem to have much blue in the face. However, they have a ton of yellow on the wing, so that elands me to beleive they are the subspecies, and the lack of blue is more related to that than age.

mopar will be three this year, and while he lost quite a bit of blue from when he was a chick, he still has quite a bit. I will be curious to see how. Uh he ends up retaining over the years.

There are 2 subspecies of blue front amazons, a. aestiva aestiva and a. aestiva xanthopteryx. The "AA" BFA's tend to be smaller with more blue, sometimes covering most of their face and significantly less yellow. They are not nearly as common in the pet trade. The "AX" tend to be larger with more yellow on the head and shoulders but have less blue (sometimes almost none, like Kiwi or just a single large splotch on the top of the head), and are the primary type of BFA you see in the pet trade. Of course, there are mixes between these 2 as well, giving birds with lots of yellow and blue.

EDIT: I just went and looked at some pics of your Mopar. He looks like an AA to me, or at least has a lot of AA in him. A whole lot of 'splotchy' blue and very little yellow. He definitely isn't a AX like Kiwi (or Snabb's Kiki).

ONE FINAL EDIT: More info on blue front subspecies/characteristics: http://www.parrothouse.com/bluefronts.html

 

[Birdman666]

Great info about the blue front. I often wonder this, as well. The ones at the shelter are all 20+, and don't seem to have much blue in the face. However, they have a ton of yellow on the wing, so that elands me to beleive they are the subspecies, and the lack of blue is more related to that than age.

Could also be a sign that they are long term seed junkies and have not gotten enough vitamin A over an extended period of years. When blues turn yellow... that can be one of the causes. Get the liver values checked!