Step Up

[jamerson0199]

I have been working with my Sun Conure for three weeks trying to get him to step up. He refuses to do it. The thing is, if he is away from his cage, such as when he flies off and I retrieve him, he will step up. Why is he refusing the other times? Should I be more patient and just keep trying? What can I do to help him do it faster?

 

[crimson]

clicker training is one of the best ways to encourage a bird to listen to commands.

like any bird, some tend to be stubborn more than others.
birds tend to be dominant and less co-operative when near their cage, they view it as their territory.

training should always be done away from their cage for that very reason....and it usually gets better results.

 

[Greenwing]

I have noticed most birds feel very comfortable in ther cage and try to call the shots when there I there ..The way I do it.. I place my hand in the cage and ask him to step up.. He refuses I close cage and walk away out of view.. I return in a few minutes and do the same thing all over again.. After a few times they get the hint.. And realize if they want out they need to step up..

And yes that behavior is perfectly normal..

 

[Grinder]

Most birds will step up to you when they fly off their cage and land on the ground. They naturally want to get back to their comfy home.

The best place to teach your parrot to step up is in an unfamiliar enviroment. Go to the hallway or another room. They depend on you to take care of them in these unfamiliar enviroments and are more apt to trusting you and stepping up. You will still need patience of course, but you might move a lot further along than you are now.

Will your parrot step up to a hand held perch?

 

[weco]

when you have a bird that likes to be difficult about stepping up, lay your finger perpendicular to his chest & press slightly...the bird will generally step up rather than let you push him back.....


every time the bird doesn't step up, you may want to do a little practice routine of laddering.....where you just keep pressing your finger into their chest & when he steps up, you use your other hand to press into his chest again (laddering ), continuing the lesson for 3-5 minutes, praising the bird every time he steps up.....

His refusal to step off of the cage may be a stubborn streak & the cage is a comfort zone and it wants to stay there for a while, rather than play your human games.....

And yes, patience is an excellent virtue to have around stubborn children/parrots.....

Crimson's suggestion of clicker training is a good idea too.....

 

[cthulhus_minion]

Patience helps.....my BCC would run away from me in the cage and would latch on to the cage where I couldn't pick her up either. And just yesterday I went to get her out and she got off her perch and started to go towards the back of her cage and stopped, I reached in and put my finger under her and she stepped on it and stayed there while I got her out.

 

[MonicaMc]

I have been working with my Sun Conure for three weeks trying to get him to step up. He refuses to do it. The thing is, if he is away from his cage, such as when he flies off and I retrieve him, he will step up. Why is he refusing the other times? Should I be more patient and just keep trying? What can I do to help him do it faster?

Does he refuse to step up, or does he not know what you are asking of him? Birds don't automatically know what they are supposed to do unless you teach them to do it. If he's refusing, he probably doesn't understand what you are asking of him. That, or it's possible that he finds it more rewarding to be where he's at rather than stepping up.

If he's not comfortable stepping up from his cage, then it could be because he'd rather be there than with you. It would be your goal to teach him that being with you can be a fun thing! Don't force him to be with you, but teach him that coming to you is good through positive interactions.

I whole heartedly support the use of clicker training! But please, don't think that parrots are dominant creatures, because they aren't! And they do need to be worked with while around their cage.

Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Help! My Parrot Wont Step Up!
Living With Parrots Cage Free: Bucky and Strider - Millet Eating Fiends!
A Question About an Issue with Nipping | Lara Joseph

when you have a bird that likes to be difficult about stepping up, lay your finger perpendicular to his chest & press slightly...the bird will generally step up rather than let you push him back.....


every time the bird doesn't step up, you may want to do a little practice routine of laddering.....where you just keep pressing your finger into their chest & when he steps up, you use your other hand to press into his chest again (laddering ), continuing the lesson for 3-5 minutes, praising the bird every time he steps up.....

I don't recommend this method. I used to, because that's the only training I knew of, but I no longer do. Used incorrectly, one of two things may occur. One, the bird refuses to step up because the experience of being forced to step up is an unpleasant one and will use avoidance techniques to avoid stepping up (shown in one of the videos from the GoodBirdInc blog), or two, the bird may learn to bite because this is an unpleasant thing.


Rather than forcing the issue, teach the bird to step up because it wants to, not because it has to. The second link, "Bucky and Strider - Millet Eating Fiends!" shows how to do that with a budgie! I've done this same behavior with cockatiels and even a green cheek conure. The bird will learn that stepping up is a good thing and will be rewarded for doing so rather than being forced to step up.

 

[Bandit]

My GCC was funny about stepping up for his first week here. Outside of his cage he was okay stepping up and would do it without a second thought, but inside his cage was a different story. He'd monkey around his cage avoiding my fingers at all costs. If I wanted him out, I had to grab him and bring him out. Although he's okay with this, it's not my preferred way of bringing him out of his cage.

I started touch training him. BEST thing I ever did. Once he was good with touching the stick wherever i'd place it, I moved onto stepping up.

I used another stick (thicker and more rounded and stable) and put it in front of him, he put one foot on, I clicked and rewarded. I did this until he'd step up onto it, click & reward.
I started holding the stick closer and closer to the end so when he stepped up, he was closer to my hand. Click & reward.
Then once he was comfortable with that, I would hold it so that my index finger was extended over the top of it, when he stepped up onto it, he'd be on my finger. He could see what was happening and was wary to begin with but he put one foot on, I clicked & rewarded. He got more and more comfortable with that and started stepping up onto my finger with the stick there, so I started moving the stick away.

Now he'll step up without a problem

 

[MonicaMc]

Bandit, the training that you did with the clicker is exactly how it should be done!

A bird should not be chased around the cage and forced to step up in any manner! The more you teach through positive reinforcement, the more the bird will learn to enjoy doing as you ask!

 

[Bandit]

Truth be told, he actually started trying to step onto the chopstick I was using for touch training, so I took that as an indicator that he was ready to start stepping up. It only took a few hours of working with him on and off before I could get him to step up onto the stick with my finger on it, then it got too late and we both had to go to bed haha. By the end of the next day though, stepping up onto my finger was like second nature.

Before I knew better, I used to train my cockatiels to step up by pushing on their bellies. It DID work, but it took an awfully long time compared to the clicker training. Make it fun and rewarding, and with time and patience, they'll do virtually anything you want!