How to Get Your Parrot to Step Up

 Here’s a simple guide today on how to get your parrot to step up.

How to Get Your Parrot to Step Up

During daily care, you should frequently talk to your parrot, play with it, and interact often. This will help your parrot become more affectionate with you and strengthen your bond. Over time, your parrot can learn to stand on your hand for food, lie on its back, or even do little tricks like somersaults. Playing with your parrot daily also makes it easier to check its health. When a parrot is familiar with your hands, it won't struggle during treatments, X-rays, or other examinations if it gets sick, making the treatment process smoother.

Interaction is a gradual process. Initially, your parrot will certainly be scared of your hand. This requires consistent patience and kindness from you to help the parrot realize you won won't harm it. Only then will it slowly drop its guard.

Three Steps to Training Your Parrot to Step Up

1. Overcoming Fear of the Owner

Most parrots bought from pet stores are raised and fed by their parent birds, so they are naturally afraid of humans from a young age. When your parrot first arrives home, don't rush into training. Let it settle in for a few days to get used to its new environment. Then, approach the cage repeatedly so it becomes familiar with your presence and understands you won't harm it.

The night before training, remove the food bowl. In the morning, use your hand to offer the parrot's favorite food to entice it to step up. While feeding, make several physical contacts with the parrot to familiarize it with your hand, which will make petting easier later on. Some new parrot owners like to reach in and grab their parrot, especially rushing to put it on their hand as soon as it arrives home. Most will get bitten, sometimes even to the point of bleeding. This also makes the parrot very wary of you. So, I advise newcomers to take their time and not rush; start by approaching and interacting daily.

2. Using Your Finger as a Perch

Gently extend your index finger and place it below the parrot's belly. Give a command like "Up" or "Come here" as you extend your finger. Position your finger under the parrot's belly to make it easy for the parrot to step onto it. Some parrots might not step up immediately. In such cases, you might need to use both hands: one hand holds a favorite treat, while the other is placed below the belly, gently touching one of its feet. Seeing the food, the parrot will usually step up readily.

3. When Your Parrot Doesn't Obey or Flies Away After Stepping Up

Many parrot parents find that their parrot stands on their finger initially, but then flies away once it's eaten its fill, sometimes even landing on the owner's head. This often happens because parrots prefer standing in high places, where they feel secure. When they are at a higher position, they perceive themselves as being in control. This behavior is not conducive to further training.

You must call out a command to make the parrot come down. Check if it shows signs of fear. When it's about to step down from your finger, give a specific "down" command. By repeating these steps several times, your parrot will quickly learn.

Little Parrot Insights

Parrots actually love playing with people because, in the wild, they live in flocks and have many companions. For a parrot kept alone in a home, the owner is its only contact. If the owner can't be with it all day, the parrot can become incredibly lonely. Therefore, when you are in the same space as your parrot, actively engage in physical contact.

Hand-feed your parrot treats, even through the cage bars. A parrot afraid of hands might still be willing to eat. By repeating this a few times to eliminate its fear of hands, you can take the first step in training it to step up. Frequently talking and chatting with your parrot can reduce the distance between you. When a new person comes to the house, make sure your parrot doesn't feel abandoned; many intelligent parrots, like African Greys, can become jealous and depressed if a stranger arrives.

If you have a pair of parrots, they will preen each other. For owners with a single parrot, you should spend more time helping your parrot preen its feathers. It's like scratching an itch—just as cats and dogs enjoy being scratched, this will strengthen your bond. Parrots' favorite spots for scratching are behind the ears, on the neck, and under the chin. Gently scratch these areas, and your parrot will give you a look of pure bliss. Be careful not to touch their rump, tail, or wings too much, as these areas are more sensitive.