Taming my budgie-not going well!

Question
Hi! I am having trouble taming my bird. I got her last summer in July. At first it scared her when I put my hand in her cage, so I started trying to tame her when she was out of her cage, and that went well. She never really liked my finger, but she didn't seem to be afraid of it either, and I had her climb on my arms. However then she started going on my head and shoulders to chew on my hair and regressed. I've managed to get her to stop doing that now. But my birds tameness is still getting worse. Now she has gotten aggressive toward my hands. Every time I get her on my arm she goes straight toward my hand so she can repeatedly bite it. She ignores me when I tell her to stop, and if the biting becomes so painful that I have to set her down, she gets upset. I've tried offering her treats with my hand, hoping that will let her know my hands are not bad, but that frightens her. Am I doing something wrong? Help! Thank you.

Answer
Dear Melissa,
thank you for your question.
I recommend clicker training, it's an excellent bird training method. Basically, you reward good behaviour with a specific sound and a treat to enforce that behaviour. For example, you let her step up on your hand or shoulder and let her sit there for a short time, then you make the click (with a special clicker, but you can also use a pen or something else) and offer a small treat. Repeat that for a few times and a few days, then you wait a bit longer until you offer click and treat. That way she learn that it pays to behave. If she bites, don't punish her, just put her down and start again a bit later. If she goes for your hand right away, put your hand near her and click/treat right away before she has a chance to bite. If she doesn't take the treat from your hand, you canj put it in a small bowl, but she must be able to see the treat immediately after the click.
You can find more info on clicker training and a very active message group at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click

I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer