Birds and touching (making harnessing impossible)

[Birds are loud]

How do I get my bird to be OK with touching. She allows me to pet her back, back of neck, under her ears, and shoulder areas. She seems to enjoy it especially her back but it's all on her terms. You pet the wrong feather and she lets out a scream and swings her head around and give you a bite if you don't withdraw fast enough. Not a bad bite, just a forceful pressure bite warning you that she can really bite you if you don't do as she asks. I cannot touch any other part of her body. This makes a harness impossible. So any outside time is done in her outside cage only. I'd like to be able to harness her and touch her for things like general maintenance etc. I should add as well that although she does step up and recall she only does it about half the time. Many times she'll click her beak as if to say "ha yeah no". Or she will beg and offer an alternative behavior like spinning.

[Pajarita]

Well, my dear, for one thing, you are never supposed to touch their backs, it's an erogenous zone for them and it arouses them sexually so it's a no-no with birds. For another, you don't really need to touch their bodies to put a harness on, you just need to get the bird VERY slowly used to it by inuring it VERY gradually (first the bird gets used to seeing it, then to touching it, then it gets used to been touched with it, then you start getting the head in, etc. etc).

[Birds are loud]

I knew lower half of body was sexual but not upper back like between shoulderblades area. Is that still considered a sexual zone? And in order to put a harness on I need to manipulate her wings witch she will not let me do. I would also need to get close enough to her chest to tighten it which again she will not allow.

[Wolf]

That is why you have to train them to accept the harness. The wings, you should start with just one finger at the joint and gently lift the wing a little bit and keep it lifted for a count of three and gradually working on lifting the wing higher and still holding for a count of three until you can lift the entire wing. The adjusting of the harness is just like with the wings as it is a matter of establishing sufficient trust from the bird to approach this area. Go slow and at the birds pace and you will get there.

[Birds are loud]

That's good advice. It really is. The problem is I have only just recently even been allowed to touch her shoulders let alone lift her wing for even half a second. It's the very basics of even being allowed to touch her wing that's the problem. If I could lift it for even a fraction of a second I wouldn't be here asking. Once I can lift it even just slightly the rest will be cake. It's not being allowed to touch it at all that's the road block.

[Birds are loud]

The best way I can think to describe my delema is that all the things I'm reading online are directions steps 1-10 on how to get your parrot over fear of being touched. The problem is I need step 0.5 before I can even do step 1.

[Wolf]

I think that the problem is that you asked for directions for steps 8 through 15 instead of what you really needed. Don't worry about it, it is normal for this to occur when everyone is new to each other and aren't sure of how to read each others posts or even what to put in them. These thinks are relatively easy to deal with as long as we keep talking.
To tell you the truth there is rarely any one cut and dried answer for anything when it comes to parrots. They are very intelligent and complex creatures and everything connects to everything which means that what works for one parrot may not work for another one.
In order to help you it would be best to start from the beginning. This will help us to know where you and your bird are in your relationship, which sounds to me to be just starting out as the bird is not trusting you. Lets see what we can learn about this from you. If you would, please tell us everything you know about your bird. Things like its age, its diet, feeding times, its daily schedule, time out of the cage, other people who are involved with the bird, what time the bird gets up and goes to bed, any other animals in the home, how the bird acts toward everyone involved with it, even the sex of the bird can make a difference( if you know it ), cage size and location, amount of human traffic around the cage.
Unfortunately, we are not there to observe all of these things ourselves, so we must depend on you to be our eyes and ears into your birds world. I understand that right now some of these things may not sound like they would be important, but I assure you that they are all very important to your bird and they all affect its behavior.
In the meantime, I would suggest that you start hanging out with you bird talking to it, giving it lots of praise, sing to your bird( they like this and don't care if you can carry a tune or not). While you do this watch the bird, but do not stare at it as that reminds them of a predator, see if you can start getting a feel for how the bird feels. I assure you that your bird is trying to communicate with you and it primary means of doing so is its body language and you need to learn to read it as best that you can.

[Birds are loud]

I was one of those suckers who thought they where getting a good deal buying a parrot off Craigslist (lesson learned). So I don't know any more about her than she does me.
Age: unknown

Diet: Walmart seed at last home but since I took her she has been on roudybush and home made chop. She switched over with 0 problems.

Feeding times: between 12pm and 4pm depending on what I have going on and whether or not we train that day.

Schedule: I get home at 9am. She screams for about 2-5 mins. Once she stops I great her and let her out of her cage. I go about doing other things occasionally responding to her chattering. Sometimes she screams alot during this time sometimes not at all. She usually lets out between 1-5 screams and hour. If I am good about responding to her chattering she doesn't scream but sometimes I'm to emersed in what I'm doing. Between 10am and 2pm we do 1-3 training sessions lasting between 2 mins and 15 mins. Click treat, click treat, etc. Some days she eats almost as many treats during her training session as she does pellets. Most of the time after the last training session I put enough pellets that she eats all of them in her dish and cover it with 2 layers of corrugated cardboard. Most days she'll scream at me to tear open the cardboard for her, which I don't. But then she tears into it and between foraging for her pellets and actually eating them this takes up the rest of her day. She doesn't eat all of the pellets at once she uncovers them eats her fill then plays with toys, preens, naps, etc. Then later she finishes what's left. By 7pm she is in the corner of her cage asleep unless I'm still up then she looks at me and clicks and chatters. Sometimes in an effort to tell me to turn the lights out so she can get some sleep. When I leave for work at midnight I close her cage and then everything starts over again.

Other people: The only other person who is involved regularly with the bird is my long term roommate. She used to be more willing to interact with him but both parties lost interest over time.I do take her on trips to my parents and she is OK with them. She does not like my 1yr old niece or my roommates mother. She will fluff her feathers and sway side to side and scream if they get close to her. Clearly warning them to stay away. But those visits are rare. I usually have my roommates mother giver her treats. As soon as the treat is involved her attitude changes to begrudged tolerance instead of blind hatred.

Wake up and bedtime: She us up as soon as I leave my bedroom be that 5am or 8am. She is always up by 8am though no matter what. Bedtime starts at about 6pm and she is asleep by 7pm.

Other animals: I keep over 40 species of animals so there are many. She is the only one allowed out all day. So I really don't believe she even notices the other animals even when they are out. My roommate does have a small dog but the bird never pays the dog attention at all. Not even when we are playing with the dog or giving it treats. It's really like she couldn't care less. Her and the parrotlet do not get along so the parrotlet is only allowed out during heavily supervised times. The conure stays on and near her cage but the parrotlet will fly right over to the conure and pester her if allowed. I have been slowly working towards training them to accept each other but it hasn't been a top priority.

How she acts towards us: As stated she and my roommate have both lost interest in each other. She will spin for him and give kisses but will rarely step up. But the feeling is mutual. He'd like her to be more interested in him but he isn't willing to put in the time. If something scares her and sends her into flight she will fly to one of our shoulders for protection.
She is pretty good with me. She always lets me pet her. She spins and gives kisses without hesitation. She does step up and recall but only about half the time. I think that ties into her fear of hands. Even when I pet her if I go in to fast she screams and threatens to bite. If I try to touch beak, feet, wings, chest I am screamed at.

Sex: unknown, I refer to her as she.

Cage size and location: 2 w X 16 d X 31 h the cage is located in the corner or the living room. The living room is the second highest foot traffic area of the house behind the kitchen witch is actually all part of one room.

I do everything in the last paragraph already except sing to her but both of us do randomly sing alot to no one in particular.

Thanks for all the questions.

[Pajarita]

Well, her light schedule needs to be changed to a strict solar one and you need to stop free-feeding high protein, something that is not healthy for the bird and which undermines the value of anything you might use as a reward or treat. But more info is needed. How long did you do bonding exercises with her before you started training her? And exactly what were these exercises? Have tried doing 'tickle tickle'? Also, have you consider getting the harness that snaps on top instead of the one that snaps on the chest?

[Wolf]

Well it sounds as if you are not totally in the dark and I see that you have made some changes to benefit her such as the chop, although I am unsure when she gets this. Parrotlets don't seem to be big fans of other species of birds, at least my parrotlet doesn't seem to be. And the more I learn about them it appears to be a species thing as opposed to an individual thing.
Although you have to be careful about scams on places like Craig's List, I don't think it is much more of a gamble as to what you get than a breeder or pet store would be. How long have you had her now?
40 species of animals is a lot, but I am assuming that from the way that you worded it that they are not birds.
I would like to hear a little more about the " fear of hands" thing if you can. Also how does this bird react to you when you first enter the space she is in and as you approach her cage? Dees she take treats from your fingers through the cage bars? It sounds as if the only time that she flies is when she is scared which prompts me to ask if she is clipped?
I am short on time right now, but wanted to acknowledge your reply, but I will be back online later on and will go from there.