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Mango had been so sweet the last 2 days and last night he bit the blood out of my finger. My husband was standing there too....like 2 feet from us. Could that have been why he attacked my finger? It actually hurt my feelings. Silly huh?

From this little snippet of context, it seems that possibly Mango has bonded with you and sees your DH as his rival. He was telling you to get away from that tall guy and FAST! A lot of birds do that. It's a big reason not to have one on your shoulder. Even when the bird totally loves you, he might still bite to tell you to flee, whether it's perceived danger to you or to him.

ohhhhh...well, I guess that makes sense. He bit my husband the first day I got him...HARD....and Jeff has wanted nothing else to do with him. Of course last night I'm standing there telling him how much progress he's made and encouraging him to attempt to hold him.....when all of a sudden Mango chomped down hard!!! OUCH!!!! **deep breaths** Needless to say Jeff backed up and said "no thanks". Will Mango EVER like Jeff?

Just for reference......Mango has only been with us 5 days.

Baby Boy hates my DH. Right before his most recent wing clipping he had taken to flying at him to attack. Baby had been mistreated the first 6 years of his life, and frankly hates everybody but me. Including the dog and the cockatoo. I sure he's actually afraid, but he has a tough guy image to uphold. When I got him his name was "Spike."
I have told DH to not touch him, but he is allowed to give him treats and talk to him. In fact, I told him to give the bird a year to get comfy before trying again.

tonia1961 wrote:....Mango has only been with us 5 days.

Oh. I think you're needing more patience, a LOT more patience. I've heard and read many times that the first 2-3 weeks are the honeymoon period with a new bird. It's when they're uneasy about their new surroundings and people. They're on their best behavior and just trying hard to get along and survive. Once convinced they have a chance of not becoming dinner stew, they begin to loosen up and act like they have personality and likes and dislikes.

Since you're still honeymooning, it's much too soon for you to feel disheartened, Tonia. Watch, talk, enjoy, and if biting is how he tends to communicate, then keep your hands away from him. Think of him as a teenage foster child who's been through hard times. You wouldn't expect sweetness and light on Day 5! You must earn his trust and affection day by day. Some are quicker to trust and love than others, but 5 days is a very BRIEF rehoming period for any bird.

Patience and enjoy, Paca

Thanks Paca, for your advice. I agree...it IS a brief period of time and he is so precious. If it doesn't sound too ridiculous....I DO think he loves me already. He loves to sit on my shoulder and preen my hair (I have almost shoulder length naturally curly/wavy hair....so lots to preen...haha) He bows his sweet little head for me to kiss it and I adore doing so because he's got the warmest little noggin. I think it just caught me completely off-guard last night when he bit me so hard and I guess I took it a little personally. I have 2 young children too...Isabela who is 7 and Zoe who will be 3 the end of this month and they have STRICT instructions to NOT TOUCH THE BIRD. Since he screeches so loudly I don't think I have to worry about that. haha. I'll just keep talking to him and stroking his head (loves that) and holding him when he's in the mood.

It seemed that Baby went through about 5 personality changes in the first couple months he was with us. The screaming non-stop phase had DH ready to make conure stew.
The clingy period, although never over completely, was pretty early. Don't let him live on your shoulder. Don't let him climb up your arm on his own, or up your shirt or whatever. Only let him up there when it's you putting him there. Most people will tell you it's not generally good to shoulder birds, and they're right. And I shouldn't eat a whole bag of cookies in one sitting either! But make it your idea, not his.

tonia1961 wrote:... If it doesn't sound too ridiculous....I DO think he loves me already.... it just caught me completely off-guard last night when he bit me so hard ...

That doesn't sound at all ridiculous. Some love really quickly and we can usually feel that I'm back to thinking he was telling you to move further from your DH, his rival. Since you tried to hand him off to him earlier (and got bitten then too), he was probably afraid you might try that STUNT again

Teach him to step up onto a perch you're holding in your hand. Give him a tiny piece of something he considers a treat whenever he does that. Practice until he's quick to step onto it whenever you ask. Don't use it every time, but use it often enough that it doesn't make him nervous. Then your DH and the kids can walk him around the house and tell him all about it. That gives them a chance to have a friendship with Mango without risking a bloody bite. If you ever spend a night away, it allows whoever keeps Mango to let him out of his cage without worrying how to get him back in!

Birds are often much easier to teach new things during the honeymoon period.

Paca

I read some info about using the "UP" and "DOWN" commands and I've been working on that for 3 days and he's doing very well with that. Is it better to do that with a perch rather than my finger?

He needs to learn how to step up onto both, so train some with each.

Paca

Tonia,
I rarely post here, I'm mostly on Cockatoo or Bird Chatter but just decided to lurk here a little tonight.
I have a beautiful Sun Conure, Pebbles, who came to me when she was about 10 years old. Her first owner, an older woman with no man around, had to go into assisted living and couldn't take Pebbles. Poor Pebbles mourned for her for a year but still bonded with me. It's only been in the last few months that she has completely trusted me. Anyway........when the foster mom brought her to visit she was all sweetness and adorable to my husband, preening his mustache, hair, giving him kisses. So the foster mom decided Pebbles could stay and we adopted her that night. The next day and from that day on she will draw blood on me trying to 'protect' me from him!!! She absolutely HATES him. The only time he can go near her is if she falls to the floor (that doesn't happen often, only if she hears a loud and unexpect noise and tries to fly)and she will allow him to get her
up and put her back on her swing. Then she'll try to bite him!!!
Gloria