Note: I'm sorry if this seems like a repost of the thread below me. I wanted to add my own input but was fearful of hijacking the discussion - so I figured I would just make my own thread. My bird's problems seem to be a touch different anyway.
Some background: My Senegal parrot is about 2 1/2 years old now, by rough estimate. She came from a home that didn't want her when she was about a year old. I have no idea what she experienced while there. Living with me, however, I feed her consistently pellets and vegetables (plus a little more junk food than I care to divulge, haha). She used to be adoringly tame. I could roll her over onto her back. I took her outside with me. I played "got your beak" with her. She would come to me when I called her. If she heard a scary noise, she would run to my face and hide under my chin or in my hair. She would actively seek me out if I disappeared from a room. She never seemed to be very fearful of anything when I was around, excepting only a few things. If I open any doors, she'll shriek and fly away. Fast movement by other people used to spook her as well, although this was rare because I rarely had company. She hates other birds, too. Always has. But she's seemed to be fine as long as I keep the other birds away from her and she gets her favorite shoulder on me.
The problem: One day I was feeding her some baby food (instead of cooking sweet potato) and she made a mess all over her feathers. So, gently, I wet a sponge and tried to wipe some of the gunk off. The first three strokes were fine. She seemed uneasy but willing to endure it, or so I thought. The fourth stroke caused her to shriek and fly away. It wasn't unlike what had happened before with opening doors, so I just calmly walked after her. I knelt down, held out my finger and told her to "step up." She walked over to me, hopped on, I petted her and then put her into her cage. I didn't really think she would need to recover or anything of the sort, I just wanted to signal that the "sponge bath" was over.
Well, the next day, I tried to take her out and she shrieked at me. Every SINGLE time after that incident, when I try to interact with her, she has screamed at me. Most of the time, she screams if she even hears me say "step up" so I've tried training her to respond to a new word: "Come here." Sometimes this works. I gave her space and time to calm down. I've tried re-taming her. I tried sitting by her cage, reading and watching TV. I can open the cage to feed her SOMETIMES without being screamed at. There was even a point when I thought she had gone back to normal. I could tell her to "Come here" or "Step up" and she would without screaming. If I ignored the screams, she WILL still step up... But she looks so nervous that I don't have the heart to compound her fear by FORCING her to stay out of the cage.
Since she hates birds, any time I work with her I make sure it is JUST her and I. I even tried changing her environment, once, and brought her to my boyfriend's house (BIG mistake! She got loose and tried to fly away). I've tried positive reinforcement - holding out a treat that I know she loves and offering it to her. If she screams, I retreat and wait a few minutes, then try again. If she's quiet, she gets the treat. EVERY time I think I'm making progress, though, something spooks her and she freaks out and I have to start all over again. And by "Something spooks her" I mean NOTHING happens. She just, seemingly randomly, goes crazy and screams like something is trying to kill her. I called a vet about it once, thinking maybe there's a deeper issue but the vet told me he wouldn't be able to do anything. That I should just make sure I'm feeding her right and spending time with her.
My plea: If anyone could help me, I would sincerely appreciate it. I love this bird so much. This issue has been going on for about 4-5 months now. Every time I make progress, she randomly freaks out and I have to start all over. I momentarily thought about finding her a new home... but I just don't think I can bear to part with her. She used to be such a fabulous pet. Now... I still work with her but I admit it's VERY discouraging to make progress and then have it destroyed. I've desperately tried searching for SOMETHING that sets her off (thinking maybe she catches sight of a picture, a toy, lights, something) but there are no consistencies. I've tried using different rooms, even going into my closet. So please, if anyone can help, I would truly be grateful.