I just thought I would get off the introduction page.

Although I haven't come up with or he hasn't told me his new name Baby and pretty birdie seems to be what I call him most.

He has been wonderful and the sweetest thing alive. We are bonding quicker than I could have hoped for. He snuggles with me and rolls around and plays with my fingers. I might add he has decided my nails are too long and took it upon him self to shorten them. I stopped this, but not before he got a few chunks here and there. Is this normal? Chewing of my nails?

He started pecking my shoulder yesterday and he vomited on me. He even walked up to my fingers and he doesn't bite but grabs them, I opened my hand and he pecked it and vomited in my hand...ew...and ate it.
He also snuggles in the blankets with me. And he is now becoming very protective of me. Nobody can touch me or him if he is with me. My son and husband can touch him if he is on his cage, but look out if he is with me!

We are going to have to work on manners I suppose.

He has helped me pack do dishes and laundry. He seems content on my shoulder or hanging on the front of my shirt.

Last night while we were watching a movie he snuggled into the blanket and went to sleep on my chest. (right between my...uh...cleavage... )
It was the coolest thing I have ever experienced with a bird.

Oh yeah, there's no doubt, the boy is in love! The regurgitation is a sure sign of that. You should be flattered. Try not to make a big deal out of it though. Ideally, your relationship with him should be as a friend, not be as his "mate". Us humans make lousy parrot mates.


Baby is a parrot. Chewing on everything is normal. They explore their world through their beaks. That's not to say its something you want to allow. If the gentle chewing turns too rough, you need to let him know, with a calm "no", or "no bite", or "easy". Something like that. Don't yell or sound excited, since to a parrot, that's a huge reward. They love to provoke a dramatic reaction, and this even has a name, the Drama Reward. Let him know its unacceptable, and divert his attention with a small toy, or even a perch or something that he is allowed to bite on.

I would recommend you start working on rules and manners right away. Be careful with allowing him on your shoulder, for a couple of reasons. This is particularly important if he's becoming protective of you. There is something called "Transference Aggression" whereby if they are on you and someone else comes near, and they can't get at that person, they may bite you. Its not personal, and its not being mean, its just what a parrot would do in the wild to try to drive their mate away from a perceived threat. They can't understand why you don't flee, and they try to make you do it. When the parrot is on your shoulder, it has easy access to some very soft and vulnerable bits (for instance, ears, nose, eyes, lips) and they can move very fast. Another reason to avoid shoulders is that if the parrot decides he doesn't want to leave your shoulder right now, he can make it difficult for you to remove him, because he can be hard to reach. Also, again, he has access to those ears if he gets miffed about you wanting him down. Some parrots are fine on the shoulder, some not. In any case, if you want to allow it, it should be an earned privilege, and not allowed if there are issues. I allow Quito pretty much free access to me, and she spends a lot of time on my shoulder or hanging off my shirt. I insist on her stepping up if she starts getting too cheeky though. Even so, there's a good chance I'll pay the price with a bloody ear or something someday.

I know its very flattering that he has chosen you, but if you want the rest of the family to be able to handle him you need to start working on that now. For this to work, they need to handle him a lot too, and they need to want to. You may have to leave the room while they do this for a while until he gets used to it. They should not attempt to remove him from you, that's just asking for trouble. You should reach a point where you can "hand him off" to them however. Does he understand and perform "step up"? If not, step up training is invaluable.

Congratulations, you've made huge progress! He's accepted you and decided you are wonderful. That is pretty darned cool, and a thrill that a lot of people never experience.

I will try to teach him step up, he only wants to get on my shoulder from his cage. I have been saying "step up" and offering my finger but he maneuvers to my shoulder and I have just let him hop on. Bad Mommy.
Anyway he went for my sons eye today. He is OK but has a bruise on his cheek. I put him in time out and told him NO but we did not yell our make a scene. I just put him to bed for a bit. He was mad at me for a few minutes when I let him back out. I think he thinks I betrayed him. But he went to my son, and then bit him lightening quick. I wasn't too sure how to handle it. But I know my husband will not let him stay if he becomes mean. I DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.
I cuddled with him for a few then put him on his cage to play. He seems content for the moment.
He has been tasting my shirt and actually is putting holes in them. I am wearing icky shirts right now, but would like to stop this habit. I just didn't want to try to correct to many bad behaviours at once while I am still earning his trust.
I love your advise and will follow it. I appreciate the explanations because it is exactly what we are going through with him. It really helps to understand what is going on in his pretty little head.

What would be a good toy for him to play with while on my lap? I gave him a rubber ball, it was my boxers so it is as thick as the conk type toys you fill with treats for nervous puppies. But he seems afraid of it. I rolled it in his cage and played with it, he seemed interested then, but immediately lost interest when I walked away from the cage.

Thanks again for all the wise words!

I know they love shoulders, but until he can be trusted, this is a bad idea. You can ladder the bird to stop him rushing up to your shoulder. A sun is not mean, but can bite in fear, or in play. Was this attack of your son deliberate or accidental? Was the attack airborne or on foot? Where you close to your son when this happened? What was your son doing or not doing? Sorry for all the questions I am just trying to understand what can be going through the birdie head. Putting him in a cage for punishment only works when he knows he did wrong.
With regard to your shirt, I have to say I think we all have bird shirts and good shirts although you will be able to teach him not to eat the shirt over time.
A good toy for on your lap is cat toys, dog toys can be a bit heavy for a sun and may intimidate him. Cat toys are sometimes to weak to withstand a beak so you have to look at what is available. A sun may also enjoy bells or hanging wood blocks, you can make these yourself by cutting raw untreated pine and drilling holes to hang up on safe rope.
Enjoy your sun they are great birds.

Ok I read the first post second, the bird is protecting you, his mate, this is the reason for the attack. Your son can only handle him outside your presence or this will just happen again.
With regard to chewing your nails, this can get painful when the damaged nail breaks off too short. Rather try discourage this with a small toy.