How to Teach Your Bird to Step Up
All pets benefit from training and this includes birds. A natural physical behavior would be stepping up and is a fairly easy command to teach your bird. Added benefits of teaching your bird this command will include your ability to enforce your higher status, it will help your bird overcome his natural fear, and it will strengthen the bond between you.
Your training sessions should be short, around 15 minutes.
Always make sure to train in a room that has no distractions, be sure to be consistent, once you order a command make sure you stick with it. You should watch your bird closely for signs that show he is tired, afraid, or getting aggressive.
If you and your bird have not bonded much you will want to spend a few training sessions where you allow him to just get used to you. You can do this by putting your hand in the bird’s cage, as you do this move your hand closer to the bird each time you place it in the cage. Allow the bird to perch as he feels comfortable and if you wish you could tempt him with a treat.
During initial training you may wish to use a stick in place of your finger. Get the bird used to this by placing it in the cage and letting him look it over.
Always remember whatever you do to end the session with positive reinforcements.
Gently push above the right side of the bird’s breast above his legs with your finger or stick. Whether using your finger or stick you should always make sure to place them above whatever the bird is perched on. Once the bird is stepping onto your finger say “up” or something to that effect, just remember to stick with whatever you end up saying.
Hand out a small treat once your bird does as you have commanded; hand out some verbal praise as well. In some cases a bird may try and use their beak to help them up, do not jerk away because this will teach the bird that they have an advantage over you. Also, he will be hesitant to step up if the finger is pulled away.
The more comfortable your bird becomes you can take him out of the cage and train in other environments. Chances are as you leave the cage he may pay more attention to your training.
As your bird learns the command they will associate it with good things happening like attention and treats, and as training continues you could reward by allowing your bird time on a play gym. And finally, think about finding other bird lovers in your community and share ideas, that’s what we did here in Champaign.
Source:ezinearticles.com
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