Here's what works best for me. If the RB is on my hand and bites or starts to bite, I give my hand a sudden shake... not enough to topple him, but enough to stop the bite and show him that his perch suddenly shakes if bitten!
Thanks, I've read that this is an awesome method but I have also read that it makes the bird loose trust in you which I don't want to do but if you have had RB for that long I guess it must not.
It's all about consistency, and spending the time to develop a close bond. While not every method works on every individual by any means (in the human or animal world) I imagine a lot of what you have read about them losing trust is much more influenced by a) lack of attention or b)People shaking their arms far too hard.
You aren't trying to make them feel like you are about to toss them, or like the world is about to fall out from beneath them, really just enough (will depend on the bird) to break their focus briefly. Imagine a really really tiny earthquake in a place where they aren't common, the kind you just *barely* feel. It isn't anything scary, but when it happens it stops you from doing what you were doing and gives you one of those "wait, what was that" moments. That's really all you want to accomplish. And again, consistency, given time they will link the two together, and realize it only happens when he does certain things, and that to eliminate the annoying distractions, he just has to not do those things.
As far as the rolling around on his back being playful, yes it is normal behavior. Beak wrestling I believe is the term for it. Just be careful to monitor how worked up he gets, the more excited he is, the less focus he will have on controlling his bite pressure. It isn't anything mean or negative, just getting caught up in the moment. So when he starts getting too rough just give him a bit of a time out to let him calm down. I believe I've seen a few people recommend learning just how quickly they get worked up, and learning to stop before they get overly excited.
