Parrot Training 101

It's not as difficult to get started with parrot training as you might think. Whether you just brought your parrot home or have had it for a while, there's no reason to wait before beginning its training. In my opinion, one of the best things you can teach your parrot is to have a reliable step up response. What this means is that your bird will step up immediately onto your hand when you give it the command to "step up."

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So why is the step-up command the first thing you should teach your parrot? It makes it easier to take your bird from its cage, for one thing. It also helps when trying to remove the bird from a shoulder - either your own or someone else's. When being removed from a shoulder, a few parrots may attempt to bite. However, with the step-up command this becomes less of a problem. The step-up behavior is especially useful in situations where the bird might be in danger, such as if it would happen to accidentally fly out of your home. It's important that your bird learn to cooperate with you, and teaching step up is an excellent way to do that. As you can see, the step-up command is useful for several good reasons which is why many behaviorists suggest teaching it first.

It is generally very easy to teach a bird to step up to your hand. You slowly place your hand so that it is in front of your bird at around the height of its feet and in a normal speaking tone, give the command to "step up." Some parrots will step up automatically when your finger is in front of it. With others, you may need to press your finger gently into its lower abdomen area to put it off balance just a tiny bit. If you continue to press the bird gently backwards, you'll find that it should then step up willingly to your hand. Be sure to enthusiastically praise your bird when he steps up correctly. You can then practice a few more times asking your bird to step-up from finger to finger.

Some birds grab a hold of the perch and won't let go for anything. Who knows what is going on inside their heads, but this is how you handle this situation. Keep your one hand in front of the bird and move your other hand behind just a few inches away. What you are doing is giving your bird a choice of stepping up to your hand or being picked up from behind (which most birds don't like). Nearly one hundred percent of the time, the bird will wisely 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.

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. Best of luck to you and your bird as you explore further parrot training topics.