step up?

Malcolm will step up when he wants onto my arm if he doesn't want to he walks away. Should I make him step up even if he wants to just sit there?

Okay there are two groups of thoughts on this question; 1. is never force your bird to step-up, you should respect his wants. 2. Step-up is a command and should not be used as a question as in "Do you want to step-up?" it's sort of like asking a 3 yr old if he wants to eat his carrots,or mac-n-cheese. I'm more of the second group because if your bird gets used to ignoring the command someday when you really need him to step-up he wont in time and you'll have extra disaster to deal with. I also teach birds Step-up and Step-back command because there are times you need to put a bird down and you can't have it trying to decided if he wants to do what you ask but just do it.

See I been reading a lot and having the two different views were confusing me, LOL but that's not really to hard to do.

If you force a bird to step up you could loose that's birds trust and also trigger some agresstion issues as well I'd say focus on step up training so you can get him to step up without any issues but never force a bird to step up if he walks away leave him for a while then go back to training.

I have two linnies. House will always step up even if he doesn't want to. Wilson, absolutely no matter what will not step up. He is extremely sensitive and I usually have to sing to him and then use a towel for him to climb on to. He is just very sensitive and if you push the matter he will just get more weird about it. I just have to respect Wilson and where he is. I hope someday he will step up at some point but I won't force the issue.

Malcolm just bites if he decides he is not in the mood to be held! This morning he woke up if a horriable mood and kept trying to get me for just walking around him. But, I have figured out the Mal is a huge Chris Brown fan and I just have to play him and Mal becomes happy and easier to handle.

Brittney said:

Malcolm will step up when he wants onto my arm if he doesn't want to he walks away. Should I make him step up even if he wants to just sit there?

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No, it's very good that he walks away when he doesn't want to, otherwise you will have a bird that bites when he doesn't want to step up. Sometimes there are reasons the bird doesn't step up - they might be scared of something, they're not feeling well, they're tired, etc. It's good to respect his boundaries. If he doesn't step up, just walk away and come back in a few minutes.

If you make a bird step up when they don't want to, they'll be come resentful of your hand. They know when you're about to ask them to step up, and they'll get aggressive if they don't want to step up but expect you to try to force them.

Birds don't take commands... we "ask" for behaviors, not command them. You need to think of "step up" as an invitation. I ask my bird "Wanna step up?" and put my finger in front of him. If he doesn't want to step up, he sits there and says "Step up" which is a signal for me to leave him alone. If I don't take that first warning, I get bitten.

That doesn't mean you can't train a bird to very eagerly step up. If your bird is clicker trained, stepping up is a great exercise. I used a target to teach my bird to step up. Most of the time, he steps up very eagerly because he looks forward to getting to do something fun. If your bird doesn't step up, it might also mean that spending time with you might not be as fun as whatever he's doing, so you need to make your "hang out" time with him more fun.

Like some said there are two different groups and go with the second group, AS LONG AS, you reward with a treat every time he steps up (while training to show it's something good) or by putting him right back down (as a reward if he is reluctant). I used these methods on my two RFM and it has worked wonders- one was just aggressive towards any and all humans and the other was practically wild and unhandable. Obviously, if he is seeming moodier after a week of doing this you should stop because he is just not going to cooperate with you no matter what.

I personally don't like to give options while training, because it is TRAINING not play time and every command is followed by a reward of some type. I expect a command to be preformed, not questioned or ignored. Also I don't want to be the person who has to do a dance, clap, walk away, and then sing a song just to get a bird to step up.

What about birds that will only do it from the ground? If you try from the cage they move away or run from you or any object you try to use. I have thought about clicker training but he runs from targets to. He will step up from the ground or his carrier with no hesitation what so ever. I assume he feels insecure down there and wishes to be in a comfortable height. So in this instance when I am trying to train him, do I press the issue in his cage or do I get him to the ground and just reward him for doing it from there? Forgive me if this hijacks the thread but the topic was perfect.

It's like raising a kid!!!! So many people have opions and think they are right If my son took a bite at me I would bite him back, but I prefer my birds that I bite not to be such cuties hehe.

my marie picked up step up by herself, never trained her with marie being a budgie and all

As Echoskybound touched on, you can get away without the traditional training and instead offer something fun every time your parrot steps-up.
It will mean that every time you extend your hand, your parrot will want to leave whatever they are doing in the hope that you are about to do something fun and exciting with them.

The rewards are great if you are willing to put in the effort, but there are some downsides to this method - such as a clingy parrot that doesn't want to step down.

I want him to want to be handled more. I would love to take him upstairs or outside, but unless I know I can control him I can't. His previous owner was able to cuddle him so I hope he will get better with me but Malcolm was never made to do anything

It'll probably be a little while before he's ready for cuddles. Birds definitely move at their own pace! But you guys are on the right track for sure.

With Kazi, sometimes it's an option and sometimes it isn't. There are times he *has* to step up whether he wants to or not. For instance chasing after my husband or one of the dogs or walking back into areas I can't get to and he can't be in. But if it's an option, it's always an option and I will always ask and am prepared to take no for an answer.

Sometimes I have to explain myself first if he doesn't want to step up (or off) and he learned really quick what 'be right back' and 'just for a second' mean. And sometimes those don't work and he requires more explanation ('just for a second while I feed the dogs') and he's fine. I think they pick up on our meaning and intent even if they don't quite understand the words.

i would not force the bird to step up but not let it walk away. let it know that it needs to step up when you say to, but dont be mean about it and "force" it. dont like shove your arm into tring to get it up(not that you would...)