I just got my lovebird to stand on my hand while i was feeding it :D your blog has helped me so much and ill continue with this training every day as long as i have the time :3 thank you!
Oh and is it normal that my lovebird totally trusts my hand outside the cage but wont take millet then, he seems to be too distracted or scared, whereas in the cage he takes millet but doesn't really trust my hands?
It’s normal but not exactly the best sign in terms of trust and things. Doesn’t mean they trust you entirely it just means they trust you more than the rest of the terrifying environment. Inside the cage the bird feels safe, they’ll be comfortable trying to take some millet, moving around, this is their safe spot where they can react properly. Outside of the cage the bird will be terrified, they’re very exposed and a result is that they won’t want to move, moving around means predators can see you so they stay still and hope nothing hurts them while they evaluate their surroundings. When pulled out of the cage the only thing the bird has somewhat associated with at this point is your arm, they’ll be frozen there because they don’t have any sort of association with anything else at this point so you’re better than all the other more terrifying things.
The reaction you get inside the cage is how your bird feels about your hands right now, the reaction outside of the cage is a forced response based on fear, the bird just has no other option. Best to keep them in the cage or let them wander on their own terms rather than continually putting them in that stressful situation!