Amazon Nibbles a Little Too Hard

[ACKislander]

My husband and I just got our Yellow-naped Amazon last week and are new to understanding his/her behavior. In general he is friendly but can be a little moody at times. When we come near him he wants badly to climb up our shirts and stand on our shoulders. Once he gets there he nibbles our necks, hair and ears... sometimes his nibbles hurt. It's hard to tell if he is being affectionate, playing, or trying to be a pain in the neck (literally).

He also chews on our shirt collars and buttons, which we do not want to encourage. Does anyone know why he is biting our necks? Can we break him of the shirt/collar biting or are we destined to keep him at arms length?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Parrot Parent]

My sun would do the same thing when he was alive. Instead of enduring it, I chose to correct the behavior. I didnt mind him gently holding my finger or ear but if he applied too much preassure I would hold his upper beak. I would NOT hold it hard, just held it for a little while. Then I took him and offered something else to do. like eating fresh fruit or playing with a toy. He never held a grugde on me for doing this and the nipping stopped after a while. Be careful if you do this though because some birds might take offense to this.