how to tame my parrot

Question
what do i do? he is only (16 - 18) weeks old.
every time i go near my (senegal parrot)It just growls at me, i can still stroke him on the beak but he still growls and i can tell it does not like it. It wont take any treats of me or come on to my hand or anything,or if i try to get him onto my hand or to take treats it tries to bite me what do i do?.

Answer
Hi, Michael.  Thanks for posting your questions.

A 4-4.5 month old parrot acts like this to see what he can get away with with you, as long as you haven't done anything to deserve this treatment.  Some people knowingly or unknowingly do things that cause a parrot to behave in this manner.  It's the same behavior a human child exhibits when it is young to see what it can get away with with it's parents.  He thinks that if he growls and/or bites, you will leave him alone.  You are reacting exactly the way he wants you to if you let him get away with this.  You have to take control and let him know who is boss and that his behavior is not acceptable.  When he growls at you or tries to bite, you must make him do what you want him to do by forcing him up on your hand and telling him "bad bird."  However, when he does what you want him to do, you must reward him immediately with his favorite treat for his positive behavior.  You also need to ensure both of his wings are clipped so that he cannot get away from you when you interact with him.  Clipping wings helps to keep a tame bird tame because the bird is at your mercy to get from place to place and cannot get away from you.  Same goes for when he tries to bite you.  You must let him know that biting is not acceptable (biting is a learned behavior...your parrot learned from you or someone that biting gets him his way).  You may get biten a few times during the process, but that comes with the territory when you are dealing with birds (you can expect to get biten now and again).  Biting is a way birds defend themselves, as well as allowing them to get their way with humans who are afraid of being biten.  If there's no threat to your bird, then you know he's biting in order to try to get his way.  Don't let him do this to you.  When he tries to bite, be that more persistent to make him do what you want him to do.  Of course, you can't force your Senegal to eat something that you are offering it, but when he tries to bite you when you are offering food, make him get up on your hand and then try offering him the food.  If he doesn't take it, that's OK.  You still made him get up on your hand, which is something he did not want to do.  Then you can offer a reward for him getting on your hand...if he doesn't accept it, it's his loss of a treat!  

A lot of birds do not like to be petted on the back/wings, so don't be surprised by this.  They fear this because in the wild, one way a predator attacks a bird is by landing on a bird's back.  Therefore, if your Senegal doesn't like this, you might be able to eventually get him over his fear of being petted by keep trying to pet him hoping that eventually he will trust you enough to know that you aren't going to hurt him.  Once you are able to begin petting him, pet him all over his body to get him used to this.  Also be sure to play with his legs/toes, as well as fanning out his wings so that when you have to clip his toenails and/or wings, he won't be afraid.  

With all the above being said, you also need to be aware that there are times during the day when your parrot wants to nap, preen himself, or just be alone to do what he needs to do.  You need to learn when these times are and let him alone during these periods.  For example, many parrots like to nap around 1200 or 1:00PM for a couple hours.  Don't bug him during these nap periods.  Also, most parrots do not like you to mess inside their cages.  Their cage is their personal space, their safety zone, and don't want you messing around inside.  Please respect this.  Of course, you have to service the cage, but choose a time when your parrot isn't napping, etc.  Try to have him outside his cage when you are servicing it.  Also, don't try to get your Senegal out when he's inside his cage.  Coax him outside his cage first, then make him "step up" on your hand (and use similar words when asking him to step up on your hand).

I have a partially completed website that might provide you with more information on parrots in general:
http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html
Visit if you'd like.  If you have additional questions, please come back.

Chrys