why does my parrot bite me?!?!?

my parrot is an adut, red-crown amazon. few years old.got him as an adult. his previous owners smoked. i don't know why but he can't fly. when i call him he comes. he hasn't talked yet,but has started barking and laughing and whistling. he lets me pet his head for some reason he will try to bite me if i try to touch him anywhere else or if ur hand is within half a foot neer him why? is what i want to know. he is out of the cage at all times, we also take him outside but only when we are around because we have 2 cats a puppy (german shepard) 1 dog (akbash)and 9 chickens that will try to catch or eat him. he has not been harmed by any of them but they have tried. i have tried feeding him by hand, his favorite is penuts, when i give him that or any type of food he doesn't bite my hand. what can i do or try to allow the bond to grow, any suggestins

First off, congrats and good for you for adopting a parrot instead of buying one. Secondly, be extremely careful taking him outside and also he should not be loose in the house without constant supervision - anything can happen, a house is full of dangers to a parrot, not to mention the other animals. Some parrots don't let you touch them anywhere but their head due to the fear of a predator attacking them from the back, so you may never be able to fully pet the bird. He is showing he trusts you by allowing you to pet his head, that's good. The fact that he's vocalizing is a very good sign too. As far as bonding, you are doing the right thing by spending a lot of time with him and feeding him treats. He already is trusting you and will just get closer to you as time goes on. If you do something and he doesn't like it or it scares him, he will let you know, he will attempt to bite. So respect his wishes. Make sure you are feeding with a good diet of fresh and dried foods and clean filtered water every day. Avoid all fumes in the house and toxic plants etc. that he can get his beak into -you can get a list of these online. Wash your hands after handling another pet before touching your parrot as well, organisms can be transferred that aren't always healthy for the bird, especially in dog saliva or chickens can have mites etc.

Here is a site that will give you resources to work through this with your pet. Scroll to Bird Care and enjoy: http://zoocrewkids.blogspot.com/