Hello, everyone. I have been browsing this board for a week or so now and it seems like a great place to ask about my bird.

About a month ago, I purchased a Nanday Conure, my first bird. Don't worry, I didn't adopt him/her blindly, I did a few months of research and talked to other bird owners. I'm not sure if what Dante is doing is just him acting his age, 4 months, or the beginning of a life-long problem. When I first got Dante, he'd gladly "step-up" out of his cage. A couple of weeks later, you have to physically take him out of his cage, while he is screaming and biting. I am careful not to hurt him and I make sure he has let go of everything before I remove him. I know they are territorial of their cage, but he refuses to come out any other way. Something else, the other day I kept handing him one of his toys, a hollow ball. He kept taking it and throwing it back... stupid me, I thought he was enjoying it. All of a sudden, he bit me and wouldn't let go. That was the first time he made me bleed and only, so far. Sometimes when I am holding him out of his cage, I'll be calmly petting him and then for no reason, he bites and/or screams loudly. I really don't know how to "punish" him because I read that they are very sensitive and using your hand or screaming can traumatize them.

Something else that isn't so serious, I am just curious as to why he does this. I will give him fresh food. Not a seed-based food. As soon as I put his dish back in his cage, sometimes he'll stand on it and take his beak and throw about half of it on the floor, or out of his cage. I have also offered him many, many fruits, which are safe for him and he won't eat any of them. He gets one avi-cake every morning and millet in the afternoon. Maybe I should stop the avi-cakes and offer more fruit?

He has many toys in his cage, leaving him enough room to freely stretch his wings. He also has a small metal shelf with a "birdy buddy" on it. There are three perches, but he only uses one. I try to make it so he doesn't get bored in there, switching his toys every other day, although he is out about 1/3 of the day, total.

Am I doing something wrong to cause this behavior? He used to be really sweet and still can be, just not all the time.

Thank you, ahead of time.