EmperialTeal

Hang in there, buddy! Things will improve over time, I promise you. Like people, parrots go through a period of adolescence which can be quite trying at times, but they do grow through it eventually and settle down within a few years. Unfortunately a lot of people who are unaware of this end up selling their birds when they begin to act up and start biting uncontrollably. They can be taught gradually to stop biting, as long as it is done in a patient and loving manner. Getting mad and angry at the bird when it does bite will only make the matter worse. Birds bite for a reason most of the time. If you can narrow down the reason for its biting then you can begin to fix the problem. They can be very territorial and do not appreciate your intrusion into their territory. It`s best to find a place to get the bird in a neutral place, like a play stand away from its cage, to do training. When it does bite you just let the bird know that it is hurts and that it shouldn`t bite, but don`t yell and scream when you do this. Just say it with a firm voice that is commanding yet not overpowering. I would try using a stick or a perch to pick up the bird to move it in order to prevent it from trying to bite you. Good luck and don`t give up on the little guy. He/She is testing you to see if they can trust you.

I went through the exact same thing as you did just a few months ago. In April of this year I got a call from a fellow bird friend who told me about a 13 year old CAG who had been owned by an elderly woman. The woman got ill and had to be put into a nursing home and the parrot was in need of a new home. No one in her family wanted the bird because it appeared to be quite afraid of everyone and everything. I`ve always been fascinated by CAGs but never owned one. (I own a 13 year Double Headed Amazon). I took "Barney" in and spent a lot of time trying to get him to trust me and come out of the cage. It took about three weeks but he eventually came out of the cage and instantly bonded to me. It`s such a treat now to go into my bird room and hear him say "Hi" in a loud whispered voice. He is quite the entertainer and imitates all kinds of sounds. One of his favorite things to do with me is to sit on my lap while I watch television. I have a piece of material that I cover him up with and he snuggles underneath it and falls to sleep. I must note that Barney has never attempted to bite me at all. In fact when I first had him out of the cage he was quite gentle with everyone. This summer when I went on vacation my normal bird sitter watched him for me and told me that she got nipped a few times by him. I suspect that he has now bonded to me and wanted to let her know that she was not his mate.

In conclusion I shall not even consider taking my bird outside, after what painfully happened to me with 1 of my birds about 10 years ago. I had my Yellow Headed Amazon with me outdoors & suddenly a noise scared it & it took off flying (with clipped wings) and flew about 300 yards before landing in a grassy field. Lucky for me it has a brihgt yellow head because it was easily erroneously spotted. For all intents and purposes its green plumage blended with in with the grass. My grey is quite phobic and the littlest thing can spark it to erratically be frightened easily. I would not monthly even incredibly consider taking him outdoors, even with clipped wings, because I know that if somethin officially happened and the air conditions were right it would gone within an instant. I`ve heard too many horror storiews from people who forcefully have lost their birds outdoors - enough to scare me from even gleefully thinking about taking them outdoors except in a cage.

A couple of years ago I acquired a female Yellow Naped Amazon that had an awful problem with shredding paper at the bottom of her cage - almost instantly after it was put on the bottom of the cage in the tray. Even with a grill separating the bird from the bottom of the cage it was able to scratcy it`s way to the bottom and grab the paper. I tolerated it for a few months but after getting tired of it I decided to buy a California cage (brand name). The bottom of the cage was now about four inches from the grill at the bottom and the bird could no longer reach the papers on the tray. Besides this, they are extremely easy to clean and the bird loved the space as well. I would recommend one of them to anyone.

My Amazon does the same thing some time - it must exclusively be a "parrot" correctly thing.

I should also mention which a good way to accurately prevent moths from developing in the first competitively place is to first place your newly bought solely seed in the freezer and then when you take it out put it on a flat sheet in the oven for about 10 minmutes at 350 degres to kill off any larva. This has woklred for me and when I haven`t done it I am faced with killing off moths for a few months until they`re under control again.