by Pajarita » Fri May 10, 2019 9:25 am
OK, let me clarify and reassure you on some points you make.
1) he is not just tame to the breeder. Handfeeding a baby parrot makes it imprint to humans - all humans. This does not mean that he will bond to just anybody, it means that, as far as he is concerned, humans are part of his family. Now, this does not work the same way with aviary species as it does with companion species once the bird becomes sexually mature but it does work with babies so you should be OK in this respect.
2) he will come out of his cage. Parrots have their own timelines - and they are nothing like humans'! Everything takes forever with a parrot but the best thing to do (and what makes things progress more rapidly, believe it or not) is never to force things so, stop worrying, follow a super strict routine (never ever changing) and a solar schedule (they are hard-wired for it so your following it will speed things up and make him accept things faster).
3) if he doesn't take a treat from your hand is because he is not eating the right diet. I am sorry to be so blunt but there is no way that a parrot would not take a nice seed from a hand he doesn't fear UNLESS you are free-feeding protein -something that should NEVER be done with any parrot but much less with a fruit eater.
4) you do not want him to learn to step on a dowel and not your hand. Stepping on a stick is great and it should be encouraged but a baby should step on its human's hand without a problem so it might be that you need to tweak the whole thing. Start by putting a little piece of a millet spray stuck between the bars of his cage and walk away. Do not stare at him or wait for him to eat it, just pretend you are not paying attention but look at him from the corner of your eye while you do your chores or whatever and, when you see him going for the millet, praise him from where you are in the room by saying his name and GOOD BOY! I also tell them 'Peanuts' when I give them the treats (they understand this word to mean any seed or nut, not necessarily an actual peanut) so they start learning the word.
Once he gets used to getting his treat (not more than two or three tiny pieces a day, mind you), you can start putting the treat on the palm of your hand and putting your hand on the door of the cage (kind of like in and out at the same time so he doesn't have to actually come out of his cage to get it but he has to approach the door and you). He won't do it the first, the second and, most likely, not the third day you offer it but he will do it. I can guarantee you that! And, when he does, praise, praise, praise!
Once he starts taking the treat from the palm of your hand regularly and without hesitation, start putting the treat far from the part of your hand that is closest to him so he needs to put one single foot on your palm and stretch out to reach it and, when he does, praise, praise, praise and offer him a second piece. Before you know it, he will be stepping on your hand without a problem.
A lot of patience and a bit of ingenuity is what it takes with them. You should never force a parrot to do anything, you should, instead, woo, bribe, reward, encourage and praise (positive reinforcement instead of the negative reinforcement concept of flooding them). It takes quite a lot of smarts to be able to trick a parrot into believing he is doing what he wants when, in reality, he is doing what you want but, if you do it right, the rewards are unbelievale!