by Pajarita » Tue Jan 23, 2018 11:53 am
Well, you have two issues going here. One is that the 'nice' bird you had was a baby and you now have a young adult [two completely different animals in terms of temperament] and the second is that you have an aviary bird that was neglected. I am not trying to make you feel bad, mind you, I am simply stating with different words what you stated on your posting in order to give you a clear perspective of what is going on. Aviary birds revert VERY easily when not handled properly and very often. It's the way they are and why it's so difficult to keep them happy when adults and living only with humans [they would much, much rather be with birds of their own species].
You need to go back to square one in terms of taming. Spend as much time as you can with him in the same room, keep a strict and steady daily schedule of routines [but don't try training until he feels more comfortable with you] and keep your hands away from him. If you take your time and do not try to force him to accept your hands, it will happen [I have a wild-caught, ex-breeder conure that is severely handicapped and was terrified of my hands but now he doesn't even blink when my hands are half an inch from his face]. For now, use a stick to make him step up, if you need to, and always praise, praise, praise profusely whenever he does step up or takes a treat from your hand. Always let him when you are going to need to put your hands in his cage by repeating the same phrase {I use: "Excuse me - excuse me - excuse me"] and move your hands VERY slowly toward the bowls BUT, personally, I would recommend you let him out of his cage so you can clean it without him in it.
And do not do 'ladders', it's considered a flooding technique and no longer recommended as it backfires [as it happened to you]. Do NOT rub his belly, it's a highly erogenous zone, and do not put him belly up.