el pajaro esta muy travieso

The prednisone injections do help with head, neck and shoulder pain enough that I can sit here and type. Christmas/New year  is migraine season for me for some reason. I am guessing because it is dark, cold and dry.
Who really knows.
At the same time it is a busy time of year for me with customers who go on vacation and/ or visit family.
"Ray' a black headed caique who stayed with us for most of the month of December. Ray is a parrot in the true sense of the word. He is funny, engaging, loves human interaction and can talk. At the same time, he does other parrot  things like screams, bites and chews whatever is in sight.
He is a lot of bird in a small package. Thank God my husband adores and understands all my visiting birds. That makes life happy for me, and my boarders.
For all those considering owning parrot. Do your home-work. Life will no longer revolve around you. Your life will now revolve around your demanding 3 year old with wings!
Ray did his share of attention seeking screaming and biting. I had to observe to see what were the triggers in this behavior. The owners were worried because these negative behaviors were increasing and I wanted to help them before it got out of hand. All parrots do this to a point-even my birds do this.
This is normal but if it escalates to the point of it being intolerable then it is a problem. Sadly many parrots end up in rescues because of this.
Parrots do respond well to a reward system. When Ray was quiet  I gave him a blueberry and praised him in a quiet tone. He was rewarded for being a quiet boy.
Also I made him lots of destructo toys to keep him busy. A busy bird is a happy bird. He loved to tear fabric so I made his knotted toys made out of old t-shirts. He likes to chew paper so I made him toys out of shredded newspaper. I put a cardboard box with peep holes in it so he see a treat inside. This kept him busy chewing the cardboad to get at the treat. He would only squawk in the morning and at dinnertime which is normal. All  birds do that. They are merely announcing.
As far as biting, I would observe signs of what would make him bite. I would watch his eyes. If they were "pinning" then watch out. Usually when he was eatting and growling you need to leave him alone. Sometimes he would mouth my hand but he is just being tactile. That is not the same as biting.
I would say during the month of December with me working with Ray he was A-OK and his behaviors were managable.
Ray is a delightful parrot. He loves to sit with you and get his head scratched. He will lay on his back like a baby with his feet up in the air and laugh. As like all creatures including humans he loves attention (but given in a positive way)
As I relayed my suggestions and observations to the owner praising what a good bird he was. Ray then unceremoniously leaned over, grabbed and tore my brand new sweater! All I could think of is when I was a little kid my mother praised what a good kid I was to the neighbor and then I clocked her on the head with a rock (It was an accident, I swear!)
Maybe that is why I get along and understand parrots. I'm no different!