How To Train Your Parrot: Step-up Practice

When learning how to train your parrot you should know that in the relatively new field of companion bird behavior management, step-up exercises were the first behavioral tool to be described as a patterning tool.

From its first days in the home, the baby parrot should enjoy practicing step-ups a little bit every day.

Although we may be able to begin step-up practice with a cooperative baby bird in familiar territory, unless a bird is cooperative enough and well patterned enough to step up from an unfamiliar perch in unfamiliar territory, it may refuse to step up from the cage or other familiar perch.

When learning how to train your parrot you should know that a formal routine need be no more than one or two minutes' duration and may initially have to take place outside the bird's established territory in the home.

A laundry room or hallway is usually perfect, as the bird will probably never spend much time in these types of areas, and therefore should not develop territorial behavior in them.

A cooperative bird can be successfully patterned to this exercise anywhere.

The routine is most effective when it includes:

1. practice stepping the bird from hand to and from an unfamiliar perch

2. practice stepping the bird from hand to another hand

3. practice stepping the bird from a hand-held perch to and from an unfamiliar perch

4. practice stepping the bird from a hand-held perch to a hand-held perch

5. practice stepping the bird from a familiar perch to and from both hands and to and from hand-held perches.

Once the cooperative bird enjoys all aspects of the above-described routine, it is not necessary to do the whole thing every day.

Just vary the use of hands and hand-held perches and the location of the spontaneous practice routines so that the bird happily maintains good interactions with both hands and perches.

Be sure to offer affection and praise after each completed step up.

Always discontinue step-up practice only after a successful completion of the command.

This is crucial to good patterning.

If the command is not successful or if the bird is not enjoying the process, we must alter technique, approach, or prompting mannerisms rather than continue with unsuccessful methods.

We must be careful not to reinforce unsuccessful patterns.

There is no substitute for warm, genuine human enthusiasm as a reward for the bird's success in stepping up.

Especially with shy or cautious birds, the most important part of this exercise is probably the bird's enjoyment of the process.

If the bird is not eagerly, or at least willingly, cooperating with step ups and step up practice when learning how to train your parrot, something is going wrong; and the owner should look for professional help immediately.

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