Step Up Training Issue

Hello All,

I currently have 2 birds and am in the process of training our now fully weaned blue headed pionus.

He does not seem to understand step up at all, he instead runs away or just nibbles on my fingers when I ask for the command. He loves food but does not like taking it from my hand so this is not working as a motivator.

Would love to hear some ideas of how to work on step up without using food as motivation. At the moment when we need to move him and he does not step up we have to pick him up, he does not mind but we would love to have him step up instead.

Welcome!

I don't use the step-up method (can't) but as you are awaiting input, you could use the SEARCH tab to look for step-up threads...

The way I got em stepping up was fairly simple. When they are on their perch I took my whole hand pressing it up against their body just above the legs...with enuff force to put them a bit off balance and say "up up"...Usually... instinctively they will step up on your hand (at which time you can give them a fave treat and/or lavish with praise. Before long all you should have to do is put your hand out and give the command. My critters respond to many commands/request willingly. For instance.. when I have to leave the house and get them back in the cage all I have to do is ask them. Trust me... Birds are VERY smart and learn quickly. Keep your language simple and consistent. Gestures as well as verbal communication... And lavish with praise/affection/treats when they do what you ask. 30-40 years with birds in my life, they continue to amaze me. Good luck

WOAH! Sorry, didn't see this until now! Here's how to step up train a bird:

1. First, teach the bird to readily accept treats from your fingers.
2. Clicker train the bird. Look it up on google. Make sure they master this before step 3.
3. Target train the bird. Again, google it. Have them master it.
4. Target them around their cage a few times. Now that they're in the mind frame for training, hold a perch in your left hand, while you hold the clicker, target stick, and treat in your right hand (see how the Parrot Wizard holds things in his hand). Target the bird onto the perch (use the "touch"/"target" cue) by holding the target stick above the handheld perch, in such a way the bird has to step onto the perch to reach the target stick. When they get onto the perch and touch the target, click, then reward. Repeat this several times. DO NOT FORCE THEM TO STEP UP. If they don't feel comfortable with stepping onto the perch yet, just spend a couple more sessions targeting them around their cage while holding the perch in your left hand. While targeting them around, have them move towards the perch and away from it. Never target them closer to it than they're comfortable with. Just slowly work them closer and closer to the perch, but SLOWLY.
5. Once they've stepped up somewhat reliably several times, tell them "step up" while targeting them onto the perch, rather than saying "touch." As soon as the bird steps onto the perch, click, take away the target stick, and reward. At this stage, we're phasing out the target stick and introducing the new verbal cue ("step up"). We want to still target the bird onto the perch, but click and reward before they have a chance to poke the target stick. Repeat this several times.
6. Quit using the target stick. Hold the perch in front of the bird and say "step up". At this point, they should step up readily. If the bird's a bit unsure, show them that you have a treat for them if they step up. When they step up, click, and give them a jackpot. Practice having them step up, and target them off the perch, around their cage, step back onto the perch, etc. You don't want the bird to become annoyed or bored by not changing things up.
7. Eventually, you can ask them to step up onto your forearm. Even though he's a small bird, Noah wouldn't step onto my finger, but wanted to step onto my forearm. If the bird feels more comfortable with your finger, then ask them to step up onto your finger.


I know most people have been taught to force their birds to step up by pushing their finger into their bird's tummy, but that's a bad method. Instead of teaching the bird to step up because good things happen (i.e., praise and treats), they learn to step up because upsetting things happen until they step up in order to escape. Imagine you're a tiny bird, and this huge predator pushes their giant finger into your tummy. You don't want them touching your tummy, and it feels bad and you think you might fall because you're losing your balance. You indicate to them using body language that you don't like what they're doing and that they're too close to you, but they ignore you. You try to scurry away, but they keep pushing their giant finger into your tummy, making you almost fall over. You can't get away, they won't listen, and you're about to fall off your perch, so you step onto their scary finger so you don't fall. Suddenly, they're excited and shoving food in your face. You take it, but jump off their finger right away.

Finally, they aren't poking you, and you have yummy food, but you don't like their finger. It was trying to push you over, and it kept following you while you tried to run away. Wait, here it comes again! They're saying something, and now they're pushing their finger into your tummy, trying to make you lose your balance!

Okay, you get the idea. At no point is the bird a willing participant in this. What they learn from this is that they can either step up and get a treat, or be harassed by a finger. It's like giving someone the option to be paid $20 to watch the movie "Forzen" on repeat for 6 hours, or they can choose to get no money and have their car keyed. Sure, they might "choose" to watch Frozen, but they didn't really have a choice. With my method, using targeting, the bird can choose whether or not they want to step up. Heck, they can choose whether or not they want to even practice targeting! If they don't feel like target practice at the moment, DON'T FORCE THEM. Try again ten minutes from now. If they want to practice targeting, but don't want to step onto the perch, DON'T FORCE THEM. Basically they have two options: (a) do something fun and get yummy food, or (b) stay in their cage and do whatever it is that they find more enjoyable than eating treats and doing fun activities. If they choose the latter option, they can always change their minds and go with option A when they're in the mood.

The parrot is the one who decides when and what they want to do. It is the guardian's responsibility to make the parrot want to participate. How? By using targeting, a hands off method of training. The target stick is seen as a completely positive thing. When the bird touches the target stick, they get a treat, guaranteed. At no point does the target stick hit the bird, push the bird, or do anything scary. The only reason the stick is ever near the bird is because the bird chooses to approach it. And once the bird learns they get treats when they touch the target stick, they'll be more than eager to touch the target stick. How else do we make the bird want to participate? By letting the parrot know that the parrot is the one in control! If the parrot wants to train, then they'll participate! If not, they'll probably be more than willing in a few minutes if you give them a few minutes before asking again whether they want to train. And when they decide they'll train with you, it's your duty to keep things interesting. At no point should the parrot feel like they're being forced to do things they aren't comfortable with.

Anyways, I think I'll actually make a video of me and Noah to teach new parrot guardians on how to train a bird. He's the first bird I've ever trained, and I use a reward-based, force-free method. He decides what his rewards are. He decides what tricks he wants to do. He decides how often he needs to receive a treat. Basically, he dictates the training session, and I respect his wishes. A lot of people will say you have to force a bird to step up even if they don't want to, in order to show who's boss. This is wrong. Never have I forced Noah to step up. Even if he's in the middle of raiding the treat container, I can ask him to step up (note that I ask him, rather than command him), and he will. He doesn't ignore me, run away, or threaten to bite. He just steps up. He could've kept eating the sunflower seeds. At no point would I have grabbed him or pushed my finger into his tummy. Most people would have thought he'd choose to keep eating the sunflower seeds rather than step up for me, especially since he knows I'm not going to force him to "obey". The reason he steps up 9 out of 10 times the first time I ask him to is because I let him choose. If he does step up, he knows he'll get to do tons of fun stuff with me, like preen, play in the water, fly, train, eat, cuddle, etc.

"It's like giving someone the option to be paid $20 to watch the movie "Forzen" on repeat for 6 hours, or they can choose to get no money and have their car keyed. Sure, they might "choose" to watch Frozen, but they didn't really have a choice."

My day is complete, and it's just begun. Thank you!

I'm pretty new with parrots but I've had success gradually working up to having my bird take food from my hand. I started out by introducing her to a treat she likes, it was sunflower seeds to start. I would put one on her perch or in her food so that she would learn to recognize it and know that she likes it, but it's not normally in her food. Now she knows it's a treat. Now that she knows what it is and that she wants it I would hold it out by her perch from outside her cage. I held the treat out and let her come to the edge of the cage and take it from inbetween the bars. I kept doing this for a while and would try to give her a treat when I entered the room so she would be excited to see me.
After she was comfortable with this and would promptly take the treat from my hand I started to hold the treat inside her cage. I would sit on the floor by her cage with my hand by the end of her perch holding a treat. I tried to invade her space as little as possible and hold the treat near where she normally took them before. This is where I ran into trouble as she was still pretty scared of me. What I ended up doing was leaving my hand in that place and not paying much attention to her since she was frightened. I'd sit with a treat inside her cage and read my phone or do something else so she didn't feel like my focus was on her and there's just a treat in her cage. It also helped to set the treat on her perch and then pick it back up. If she's not taking the treats from you outside the cage I would try something like this, leaving the offer out patiently and not putting the focus on your bird.
This was the step that took the longest and sometimes I would have to go back to offering through the cage. Even now if I bring a treat up to her face I'm too far into her cage and she gets scared, but now she knows I'm not threatening her and she's free to come towards me and retrieve the treat. Now that she's pretty comfortable and consistent with this I've stepped it up another level. Since outside the cage she'll let me gently pet her now, I've started to very lightly pet her before handing her the treat. It's not much but just enough to let her know that if I get to touch her she gets a reward. She's still skittish but less scared of my hand overall and will let me pet her inside her cage now as long as its not on her chest.
So try gradual steps like this and be patient with it. It worked for me, hopefully this was some help!

“Clicker training” really isn’t necessary to step up and target train birds. Like said above, you need to get your bird to eat treats from your hand before you begin the training. What does she REALLY like? Use this treat only for training and don’t give it to her in the bowl.

like said above training to take from your hand is the first step

remember that stepping up is the goal. I too don't use clickers as I lack the dexterity to hold one, a bird and a treat. Finding out the treat is step 1. I got a load of different foods not in the food mix I had and put it all on a plate in the cage, then the one that he went to first became the main treat.

Then I just held the treat in my open palm for him to go to at his own pace, then held in fingers. After that he learnt hands were treat givers and to be trusted. From that point on if he wanted his favorite treat (piece of raisin) he had to work for it. I began with every time he stepped up he got a treat, then down to every couple of times then down to rarely. He would continue to get the occasional treat for stepping up first time he was asked, especially if he did it off my shoulder. It's all about making them want to do the action