New U2 - getting to step up?

[JaneyB]

Hi! We recently (in the last week) brought home an adopted 2-year-old U2 who has never been trained to step in or out of her cage. She is very friendly and loves attention and head scratches, but is reluctant to step onto my hand either from inside the cage or from the outside when I need to put her to bed. I don't want her stuck in her cage all day, but don't know how best to get her back inside when she needs to go. I know not to force her or chase her around. I have had large birds for many years, but they all stepped up without any issues. I think that I'm supposed to get her to a t-stand or counter for training, but therein lies the problem. She loves to come out and play on her cage. She loves me to come and talk and scratch her, but when I lift my hand and ask her to step up she either stands there, or walks away. (funny bird!) Coaxing with treats has not helped so far. We just have to wait until she's ready. Today my husband did have to "force" her in because we had to leave. I don't want to make her distrust us... Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Julianna]

Have you tried target training her? I've used it for other training, and I've heard it's really useful for training step up. (Target training is when you teach your bird to touch the end of a stick, such as a popsicle stick, chopstick, or whatever, when you hold it out. Then you can lead them around by moving the stick.) Once she's target trained you can just hold the target stick on the other side of your hand from her and she'll have to get on in order to target to the stick. Good luck!

 

[JaneyB]

Thanks! I've read about target training, and I'm going to try that. But, in the meantime, I'm not sure what to do; I want her to be able to come out of her cage. Leaving her locked up all day seems terrible, so how do I let her come out and play and still be able to get her back in at bedtime?

 

[JaneyB]

So yesterday, I opened Belle's cage and gave her a scratch and a treat, and then went and sat down. in the matter of about 30 seconds, she was down the cage, across the floor and climbing my leg for a cuddle!! How awesome is that, when she's been at my house for less than a full week! She still wont step up when asked, but I'm sure that will come with time. Last night about 30 minutes before bedtime, I put her back on her cage and she eventually went in on her own. But then in true Cockatoo fashion, she escaped through the water bowl opening while I was in the other room getting her fresh water. HAHA! Luckily she went back in shortly after. She must've known it was bedtime.

I think I'm in love.