Parrot Training 101
It’s not difficult at all to get started with training your pet parrot. It doesn’t matter if you have a young bird or an older one; you can begin training right away by teaching your bird some simple behaviors. The step-up command is easy to teach, and it is also one of the most helpful things you can teach your parrot as well. What this means is that your bird will step up immediately onto your hand when you give it the command to “step up.”
Why is this important? For one, it allows you to remove your bird easily from its cage. Another is that parrots sometimes climb up on shoulders whether you want them to or not, so step-up makes it easier to get them off of a shoulder. Some parrots will try to bite when being removed from a shoulder, but this is less of an issue with a bird that is well-trained to step up. You will find that a bird that has learned the step-up command is easier to handle in unfamiliar or even dangerous situations such as if the bird would ever escape your home accidentally. Plus, it teaches the parrot to cooperate with you, which as you can imagine is an important advantage as well. So all in all, the step-up command is a great place to start when first beginning to train your parrot.
OK, Let’s Get Started
For many parrots, the step-up command is one of the easiest to learn, especially if you are working with a young bird. You simply place your finger in front of the bird’s feet and say “step up.” Your parrot won’t know what “step up” means at first, so you might need to press your finger gently against it’s lower breast area so that it feels a little off balance. Usually this will cause the bird to step onto your finger rather than be pushed backwards. Once the bird steps up, you should heap on lots of praise saying “good bird” or the word good followed by your bird’s name. Next, continue to practice step-up a few more times by asking your bird to step up from one finger to the other. This is called “laddering” for obvious reasons.
My Bird Still Won’t Step Up
Sometimes a parrot will cling to the perch for dear life. Wouldn’t you love to know what is going on inside those beautiful heads of theirs? In any case, here’s a way to handle this situation that usually works. While continuing to hold your one hand in front of the bird, move your other hand behind the bird and hold it a few inches behind it as if you are about to pick it up from behind. This presents the parrot with a choice - either step up to the hand in front or be scooped up from behind. Nine times out of ten, the parrot will choose to step up. When your bird steps up, be sure to let it know how wonderful it is for choosing to step onto your hand.
Daily Practice is Best
To get the best results, continue to practice step-up with your parrot. Start by practicing daily at first. Then you can have a practice session from time to time just to reinforce the behavior as needed. It takes a little discipline on your part, but step-up practice can be fun and rewarding for both you and your bird if you let it. And there you go! You’ve just taken your first step (pun intended) towards becoming a parrot training expert.
