Need help with taming

[YoYoLovie]

Hi there!

I got a lovebird about a month ago and I'm having trouble taming him...

He is not food driven at all. He eats his pellets, but doesn't eat anything else I offer. (Fresh fruits, veggies, sunflower seeds etc)
He did eat a bit of millet on a few occasions, but doesn't look too interested...
He moves as far away as possible when I'm near the cage and screams whenever I put my hand in the cage.

His cage sits right next to my desk where I spend most of my day, and I regularly talk to him when I'm at my desk.

Twice a day, I put my hand in the cage (resting on his favorite branch) with a bit of his pellets or a bit of millet spray. He screams and makes a loud high pitched whistle sound continually. And where he never showed interest in his toys, he now rushes over to them to slam them against the sides of his cage, making a ton of noise.
I usually keep my hand in the cage and gently talk to him untill he calms down, stops screaming/whistling and moves to a perch. (I figured making him come to my hand is probably too much to start with) this usually takes about an hour or so...

I've been doing this for three weeks straight (twice a day) and there has been zero improvement...

Am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have any tips?
I'm starting to get desperate...

 

[Laurasea]

Hi,
The slamming toys is displaced agresion, he is upset with you takes it out on them, lol which is better than you! It takes time, took me months with the budgies. You can try not putting your hand all the way in, you want to go so slowly that you are not causing a big reaction like this, only a small reaction like moving away. Do don't put your hand all the way in , if it is so upsetting. So after just having your hand st the open door quites upsetting him, then you move it barely inside the cage. Can take a lot of time, but you are right on the waiting until return to normal before removing. Love birds can be difficult to befriend if not hand raised , or hand tamed while parents raise. Hopefully Love Bird caretakers will offer some tips. But you are going to get there, hopefully, just takes longer than you think, took me 3 months with budgies..

 

[GaleriaGila]

Here is a link that many here have found helpful...
I hope you enjoy it.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

 

[BeatriceC]

You're going to fast for your particular bird. Some birds do okay with jumping straight to putting your hand in their cage. Others don't. It's okay if they don't. You just have to read their cues and go at their pace.

I suggest backing waayyyy off. Get yourself a comfy chair and a book and just sit in the room with him, somewhat far away. Read out loud to your bird. It doesn't matter what you read. My reading material of choice are professional journals (math and biosciences). Every day, scoot the chair a few inches closer. Read to your bird for ten minutes 3-4 times a day. Once you've read to him for a few days right up close to his cage, start reading to him with your hand outside his cage. After a day or two, hold a treat or a favorite toy through the bars, but still with your hand outside of the cage. ONLY after he's playing or eating with the offered toy/treat through the cage bars, should you move to actually putting your hand inside the cage. Also, my lovebird is also not food motivated. What worked for him was corn husks that I'd washed and dried myself, then braided into small ropes. Be creative and pay attention to what he likes, and you'll find something to motivate him.

 

[Nite]

If the cage is open from all sides, they can feel insecure in a new environment. Cover the cage except one side or put it in a corner. If the cage is too near where you sit and do your chores can be irritating for the bird. The first step is for the bird to feel secure in its new home and let them observe on their own. Once they become comfortable that is when they will start expanding their horizon. If he doesn't like his place he wont like treats or you or anything else for that matter.

While the bird is acclimatizing, the first step for the bird to like you is always food, basic food, not treats. The bird will soon know you are the one bringing it. You can fasten the process by not having a buffet available for the bird at all times, if you know what I mean. Also a bath, birds love baths.

After a few weeks once he gets used to his place and knows who is bringing the food, he will look forward to the food from you. After that you have to find out which treat/fruit/veggie he likes. You place them inside the bowl or cage from the outside, or feed it with your fingers from the outside of the cage. Find out what he likes. Also a treat can be anything, doesn't have to be something fancy, anything that the bird likes but isn't his normal daily food can be a treat.

Once you know which treat/fruit/veggie he likes. Now you can show your hand with the treat to encourage it to sit on your hand. You keep your hand on the door of the cage, not inside. By this time the bird will know your hand isn't dangerous because you been bringing food/bath etc with it. But still, you need to understand the cage is his home, you dont enter it till he completely trusts you, so you place it outside the door. Just like you wont barge into a stranger's house, same way. In the beginning he will probably just take the treat with his beak, but slowly you can start moving the treat farther away into your hand, so he has to step onto your hand etc.. I think you get the idea.

These steps are obviously a slow case scenario. Your bird might get comfortable faster, it depends. Each individual bird has its own personality.

 

[YoYoLovie]

Wow, it looks like I was rushing things! And here I was, thinking I was taking it slow...
Today, I tried holding my hand on the opened cage door (not inside the cage) and he responded great to that!
He started screaming and walking away from me, but when I stopped moving my hand, he stopped screaming and even came over to the perch near the door for a second!

Mango is definitely used to his cage and the cage is set up in a corner. The distance between me and him is about one meter when I'm sitting at my desk. Do you think I should move him away from the desk?

Thank you all for your comments! I will take all the help/information I can get!
For now, I will take things slower! I'll keep an eye on this thread for tips

 

[YoYoLovie]

A little update!
Mango looks like he's slowly warming up to me
Where he would first slam his toys against the cage and scream bloody murder when I offered my hand, he now calmly sits on a perch. The one farthest away for me, yes, but he doesn't climb up to slam with his toys
Sometimes, he hops to the nearest perch, screams like he is surprised, and hops back to his safe perch. I shower him with praise when he hops near me

He also started playing! I think he discovered the wood/rope toy on accident when he was biting at the carabineer on which it hangs, and missed to chew the rope instead.
But he started biting the rope from the bottom and working his way up the rope there are strips of leather in there as well and he seems to really love biting those!
He also started chewing on the leftover sticks from millet spray!
I might sound/be a bit overexcited, but this is the most birdlike I have ever seen him! I'm a proud mama