Blue Front Amazon Biting

Question
Hi , I Have Only Had My BFA ( Born 4 / 6 / 06 ) For 3 Weeks Who Was Shipped From Colorodo . This Parrot Is Awesome & He Is Already Talking .
I E-Mailed The Breeder & Told Her That The Parrot Is " MEAN " Looking For Advice On What I Should Or Should NOT Be Doing . She In Turn Replied That I Infuriated Her By Saying The Bird Was " MEAN " She Said " That Is A Hand Raised Baby & It Has Just Had It's Entire Enviroment Changed , How Would You Like It "
I Can NOT Even Put My Hand Near The Cage WithOut It Trying To Bite Me .
I Am Becoming Upset & Frustrated With This Behavior Which It Probably Senses Too .
I Have Had A Friend Who Owns Parrots Tell Me To " Just Talk Nice To It " I Have Had Another Parrot Owner As Well As The Store Where I Order Its Food Tell Me To " Flick Its Beak When It Bites " Which I Have Tried Doing , But That Only Seems To Make It Even Madder .
It Also Will NOT Step Up ... If I Want To Move Him Say For Instance To The Parrot Stand In The Living Room , I Have To Open The Cage & Wait Until It Comes Out On It's Own . I Then Try To Get It To Step Up , But I ALWAYS End Up Needing To Get A Towel To Use To Move It .
I Really Do Like The Bird & HOPE To Keep It . It Does'nt HELP When My Friend Who Is A Parrot Owner Says " You Have The Rest Of Your Life With Him , He Will Come Around " , But Will It ? I WONDER .
My Opinion On It's Behavior Is It Seems That It Thinks That It Is The BOSS & I Particularly Need To Know What To Do Or NOT Do To Show It That It Is NOT The BOSS .
I Am Firm With It When It Presents NEGATIVE Behaviors . I Also Offer Treats Which It Will Take Out Of My Hand , But That's About As Nice As It Gets .
I Would Certainly APPRECIATE Any & All Advice & Suggestions From AnyOne Who Might Feel That They Have SomeThing To Offer .
I PROMISE To Try My Best To Follow Up On Any Advice & Suggestions That Might Be Offered .

              Thanks-So-Much ,
                    Lynn  

Answer
Hi, Lynn.  Thanks for posting and welcome to the world of parrots!

Your BFA isn't so different than other parrots at his/her age.  So, this bird is about 6 months old, you've had him/her for about 3 weeks, and this bird was shipped to you from Colorado by the breeder.

The breeder is somewhat correct in stating that this bird has made a huge move and it needs time to get used to it's new surroundings in your home and to get used to you.  Afterall, it was with it's previous owner for about 5.5 months, and now has a new owner, you, which s/he has to get to know.  Three weeks is not very much time.  

A mistake you could have made was to buy this bird probably sight unseen from a breeder in Colorado.  You don't say where you live, but I'm assuming the bird was probably shipped via airplane to you and you only saw pictures of this parrot if that much?  This parrot might not be tame at all.  Not all parrot breeders are truthful about the parrots they sell I'm sorry to say.  Some will say anything just to make a buck.  So, the tameness issue could still be a problem.  If this bird were not handfed as a baby and imprinted on humans, this could explain it's current behavior.  What guarantee(s) do you have related to this?  In other words, just because the breeder said this bird was tame, doesn't mean it actually is.  This is why it's best to buy locally where you can see the bird in person and check references about the breeder and the breeder's birds.

DO NOT flick your parrots beak as a means of disciplining s/he.  This will only make matters worse.  Doing this is physically disciplining your bird and is a no-no.  It will get you nowhere fast with your bird.

Your new BFA is at the age when it will try to get away with anything it can with you.  You have to set the boundaries and stick with them.  Every parrot thinks it's the boss of it's home.  It's OK to let them think that, but you don't want them reacting based on this thinking.  Do not allow your BFA to be higher than your eye level.  If you do, your bird will feel it's more dominant than you are.  This might mean keeping it's flight feathers clipped so s/he can't perch/fly higher than your eye level.  Clipping feathers isn't meant to keep the bird from flying...only to keep the bird from gaining altitude when it does fly.  You need for your bird to stay below your eye level, so you may need to keep some of it's flight feathers clipped.  

What do you mean you are "firm" when your bird presents negative behavior?  When your BFA exhibits negative behavior, ignore s/he completely.  Even an evil eye from you is positive reinforcement to your bird, so don't even look at s/he.  When your bird acts badly, just walk away.  It's OK to say "bad bird" or other, but this is a reaction that your bird wants.  However, you must ALWAYS reward positive behavior by providing your bird's favorite food/treat when s/he does what you ask.  Don't confuse your bird.  Your signals must be clear.  Hold the treats as rewards.  In other words, coax your bird to your hand/arm with the treat, then give it to your bird when your bird gets on your hand/arm and tell s/he "Good bird!"  What do you mean you are "firm" when your bird presents negative behavior?

Most parrots do not like their humans "intruding" into their cages.  Their cage is their safety zone, their personal space, their territory, and most will react negatively when their owner puts their hands inside.  If you corner your bird in it's cage, the only defense it has is to bite, so be sensitive to this.  Yes, you do have to service the cage, but try allowing your bird to come out of it's cage first before you service it (at least for a while).  Don't give your bird the opportunity to be bad by cornering your bird.  Avoid as many of these type situations as you can.  In other words, if you know your bird will bite/act badly in a certain situation, don't put your bird in this situation.  You want to avoid as many situations/scenarios as possible where your bird has the opportunity to bite.  This is part of teaching s/he that biting is not acceptable.

Also realize that at 6 months of age, your BFA is still teething.  Therefore, part of it's biting may be "innocent" and your bird just needs something to chew on.  Does s/he have toys/items to chew on/chew up?  Parrots use their tongues like we use our fingers.  Just because a bird puts it's beak around your finger, doesn't necessarily mean it wants to bite.  S/he might just be feeling your skin, skin imperfections, etc.

Instead of using a towel to move your bird, put your hand/arm out (or use a perch at first).  Yes, you'll get biten at first, but this is how you train your bird.  You have to show your bird that it's bites don't affect you (even if they do...you can cry in another room!).  If you are afraid for the bird to touch you, how are you going to work with your bird!  You have to get over this fear.  If you have a parrot, you are going to get biten now and again, even if the parrot is tame.  This is a fact of life when living with parrots.  Respect your parrot, don't fear it (s/he knows when you are afraid).  

When you work with your bird, try to do so in another room where your parrot cannot see or get to it's cage.  S/he will want to get to it's cage if the bird can get to it when it doesn't want to do what you are asking it to do.  Work with your bird when there are no other distractions around, such as visitors, TV on, etc.  Also remember their attention spans are very short, therefore, when you lose his/her focus, stop the training session and start again later.

Allow your BF to sit with you when you are watching TV, having dinner, messing around on your PC, etc.  Include s/he in as much as possible when you are home.  

Give your BFA some more time to settle down without expecting too much.  You both have to take the time to get to know each other...3 weeks isn't very long in the grand scheme of things.  Then take 1 step at a time.  Working with birds is basically common sense, knowledge (you need to become knowledgeable about parrot behavior in general), time, and patience.  Also ensure your parrot is on a healthy diet (seed only as occasional treat).  See my website for more general information on parrots:

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Come back with more questions as you need to.

Chrys