Hello

[Pajarita]

Yes, you do need to peel the banana but fruits like apples, pears, nectarines, plums, strawberries, etc should always be given with the skin on because that's where the phytonutrients usually are (make sure all of those listed are oganic -bananas, blackberries, raspberries, pomegranates and tomatoes can be 'regular', same as grapes but only if they are grown in the USA). Things like mangoes and papayas (also 'regular') can also be given with the skin on but watermelon, cantaloupe, etc, need to be peeled (wash with soap thoroughly even if you are going to peel it in case they have been contaminated with salmonella or e.coli).

[F0ZY]

I see thanks. I may have done some damage but I think everything is okay. Its finals this week at school and he was left alone much longer than usual. He was sitting in one of the front corners of his cage and did respond to the whistle usually give to let him know I am back. When I opened the cage he would let me near him until I gave him some food. After that he seemed a little better and he climbed on my arm and up to my shoulder. So I am not sure if its he was just mad or if it is something I should worry about.
Oh the other thing what do you recommend for getting him to stop nipping my ears. I have taken to covering them when I see going for them but I not sure if I am just making a game out of it for him.
Thanks again for your time.

[Wolf]

Basically treat it just like him nipping any other body part. Covering the offending ear shouldn't hurt, but I would also tell him "gently" as well. Remember he is not being bad, he doesn't know what this strange thing sticking out the side of your head is, he knows that he doesn't have such a thing, so it must not belong there. He may be trying to find out how to remove it.
I spent quite a bit of time working with Kiki, my Senegal, just turning my head to dislodge her from my ear, and telling her to be gentle. I took several months of bleeding ears, before I was able to convince her that this ear belonged right where it was and , no, I didn't want to have it surgically removed.
The recipe is actually pretty simple; it consists of one part patience, add 2 cups of patience, mix well, to this mixture add a dash of patience and a cup and a half of patience, chill out for 2 hours, season to taste with patience. Serve when needed and begin on the next batch.

[Pajarita]

LOL - I like Wolf's recipe! Fool-proof!

Funny thing is, I never had a GCC biting my ears, they always went for the neck or the very edge of the face (lower jaw) but I have a young (the only one -LOL) jenday which did the ear thing only he doesn't do it hard any longer. Now, it's a caress or some sort of a kiss... He also had a real bad habit of chewing holes in my clothes all the time (and I do mean ALL THE TIME!), I ended up with many, many T-Shirts with huge holes all over my shoulders and back (and pants, he would chew the back of the waist once he figured out the shoulders and back were not allowed) and all I did was say 'no' and the command (either "gently, gently, gently' for the ear or 'la ropa no!' -not the clothes!) while I would make him fly off by shaking myself. I would always give him a couple of chances by simply saying "Gently, gently, gently" while putting my hand up near his head which would distract him and make him release my ear or clothes but, if he did it a third time, I would say it in a firmer and louder voice (not yelling, of course) and shaking my shoulder so he would have to fly off. He would, of course, just make a U turn in the air and come back to my shoulder but, every time he did the ear too hard or start chewing the cloths, he would have to get off and, as they always want to be on your shoulder, he learned.

The trick is to bond with them deeply and, when they love you to pieces, use this love and their need for physical touch/company to show them what is acceptable and what is not. Parrots are not programmed to be obedient but all social animals are hard-wired to conform to the species social interactions parameters and that's learned from the adults. Parrots in the wild use the same system (a combination of body language and verbal communication). For example, if a juvenile gets too cocky for his own good and tries to take food from an adult, the adult would squawk and lunge at him making him fly off - and, if a mate preens too harshly, they would get the squawk and the cold shoulder so doing a human version of this works very well because they understand the message.

[F0ZY]

I see thanks I am so glad I have a reverse camera on my phone so I can keep an eye on him. Also are the peppers from Papa Johns okay for him.Th I am not sure which ones I get I live in Maryland.

[Pajarita]

Organic is always OK (except for things they cannot eat like onions, leeks, avocado, rhubarb, etc). And, yes, fresh hot peppers are OK to feed, they actually love them (mine had fresh poblanos yesterday as their raw veggie). Rule of thumb for me is, if I can find and afford the organic produce, I buy it regardless of whether is necessary or not. But I always buy organic for the ones that need to be organic. Every year, the EWG (Environmental Working Group, an independent organization) puts out a list of the 'dirtiest' dozen' and the 'cleanest fifteen' (see here for the 2014 one, recently released: http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2014/04/29/20 ... egetables/). You have to check it every year because items go from one to another from one year to the next - for example, tomatoes were in the 'dirtiest' list on 2012, went to the 'cleanest' in 2013 but now they put cherry tomatoes on the dirtiest, see what I mean?

[F0ZY]

thank you for the website info. I apologize for not responding sooner finals and family business.

[Pajarita]

No problem, we all have lives and obligations.

[F0ZY]

So he is going from mostly nipping and very little hard biting to almost no nipping and mostly biting hard but likes to rub his head against my arms and legs I am not sure what it is I am doing wrong but will just keep at it for now. I do have a few questions though. I noticed he doesnt like to sleep when it is time for bed. I woke up around 3 am the other day and heard him walking around the cage not sure how to convince him its bed time. The other thing is I will be leaving on a camping trip on memorial day weekend not sure how to handle this. I will also be leaving him for a week in early august again not sure how to prepare him for this I am afraid being gone that long might have some damage.
thank you for your time

[Wolf]

It gets difficult at times to give the correct answers with the limited information that we usually have to work with. Often a particular action can mean two three or more different things depending on the body language and cues that the bird exhibits in conjunction with the behavior.
In all likelihood the head rubbing, not beak rubbing ( they are different actions), is an invitation to scritch ( combination scratching gently and rubbing) your birds head and neck. This is a good thing and is a primary bonding activity.
The biting thing is more difficult to assess because you were given more than one way of dealing with it and we don't know what you are doing to reduce this behavior. The decrease in nipping is good but it is hard to say more than that because although the biting is now the predominate thing, the frequency of occurrence may be less overall (nipping and biting together). but we have no information on these things and as a result we can't say with any accuracy whether or not progress is happening or not.
As for your trips, you can possibly help your bird to adjust to them by scheduling a couple of mini-trips in advance of the actual trips, where all of the same things will happen just like on actual trips only on a shorter time frame. If you are going to use a sitter be sure to use the same one, etc.