Am I missing something?

[HusseinBerjaoui]

When I approach the cage, my parrot lowers his head so I'd be able to scratch it for him. (He wouldn't let me touch anywhere else but his feet).
Anyway, when I do it, he moves his head away and/or friendly bite (not bite but like, just putting my finger into his beak). Sometimes he holds my finger with his foot while doing it.
I thought he's unpleasant with it, so I move away, but then he calls me (birdie) and lowers his head.
The scratches are never beyond 5 to 10 seconds, I don't apply pressure and I tried many ways (with/against/side to side feathers) and I don't know exactly what he wants me to do when he lowers his head.
It's been a month since he let me touch his head.
Am I missing something?

 

[Julianna]

The lowered head may not mean he wants to be pet anymore. It might have changed to mean something else, or this might be a slightly different behavior that looks the same to people. What does the rest of his body language look like? Are his feathers puffed or slicked? Is his wait low on the perch or is he standing up tall? Some details on the rest of his body language would be helpful. This could be a territorial posture telling you to get away from his cage. The "bite" might be a warning sign the a real bite, and not the friendly bite you think it is. So just an idea, he could be territorial of his cage. That might just be wrong, though. Does he show any other possible signs of being territorial of his cage?

 

[marceldacs317]

Yeah it may be similar but be completely different. a budgie that I had a while ago would do that. He'd lower his head more like to stay away from my hand if i startled him.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Try just putting your hand up against him to lean on with your thumbnail sticking out a little for him to rub his head on. He may want your touch, but not let you control it.

 

[HusseinBerjaoui]

There are no other obvious body acts, just lowering the head and softly tweeting once. I don't think it's territorial because it's also happening outside the cage (I'm not able to hold him, though).
One note: he also tries to remove my nail. Completely! And sometimes it seems to start a friendly act and turns then into aggression. And after seconds, he lowers the head again a does the soft voice.
I'm really lost, I'll post a video (if it's possible here) by tomorrow morning when he wakes up.
I hope he's just playing though, and no harm meant.

 

[MeganMango]

Does he have a lot of pin feathers? My cockatiels nip me if I touch a new pin feather, Im assuming it doesnt feel good and isnt ready to be groomed yet. Once they get longer they let me rub them. Lots of baths with help with this. Mango my red belly like to try to get at Dave's finger nails as well. He has stopped this by putting him down and walking away whenever he starts to pick at his nails. Its hard to say without actually seeing it first hand, but Mango just loves to play with his beak and isnt being aggressive. We have to prevent this though because it does hurt.

 

[HusseinBerjaoui]

Are pin feathers brown? Because I saw something brown.. I honestly can't see through his plumage it's so heavy and he's so small !

I couldn't take a video of him, he knows I'm doing something while recording and he freezes.

 

[MeganMango]

My birds have white pin feathers, but Im not familiar with Jardines. Blood feathers are new feathers that have a blood supply still, and they can look reddish brown at the core where the blood is. Be careful of these, you dont want to break it because birds dont have very good clotting mechanisms and can bleed out very quickly. Its a good idea to keep some powder to stop bleeding. Pin feathers are new feathers coming in after a molt.The feather is inside a waxy coating and the whole thing looks like a really thick hair. They are often itchy and birds groom eachother's heads to break the waxy coating and let the new feather out. This is the one place they cant reach on their own. Your bird might be asking you to rub his pin feathers, but sometimes its uncomfortable and they nip when you rub one the wrong way. After the nip my cockatiels put their heads down and shove their heads back into my hands. My tiels done nip hard and I just ignore it and keep scritching them. Since your bird is picking at your nails and holding your hand to nibble it, I would suggest not letting him bite you. This does not mean you should punish him or pull back when he gets you. Just try to avoid any nips before they happen (hard I know) and dont allow him to pick at your hands or hold your finger to nibble. It sounds like he wants your attention, so I would just stop what you are doing and walk away calmly. Come back after a few minutes and gently give him the attention he wants until he goes to bite again, and walk away. Its a real pain and takes patience, but Mango was VERY beaky, and now he never puts his beak on us. He has learned that it does not get him the attention he wants and so he doesnt bother. Please do get a video if you can, because its hard to tell without seeing it first hand. If you suspect he has pin feathers its best to give him lots and lots of baths. Whatever his preferred bath is, do it every day. When Mango was molting he showered with us daily and the vet told us this is perfectly safe so long as we dont force him under the water and we keep the house nice and warm so he doesnt get a chill.

 

[HusseinBerjaoui]

Indeed, this behaviour changed a bit after the shower. He still do it, but not as much as before. He was passing through a molt and these were definitely pin feathers. The brown one I saw was a blood feather since it turned into a new feather. Now I'm playing him music and he doesn't seen so responsive..
Thank you for the concerns my friends !!

 

[Pajarita]

The bird might be sick (he seems way too apathetic compared to my Jardine, she is a little firecracker!)