How to teach a green cheek conure to step up?

by **Pidgeon** » Tue Dec 29, 2015 2:51 am

Hi! I was lucky enough to adopt a green cheek conure, hand fed. He is in perfect health. However i cant get him to step up. He will eat from my hand and come out of his cage and hang out on top of the cage. But he will not eat from my hand if i approach him i have to hold my hand out and he will come to take the sunflower seed. This is a massive step considering ive only had him for 3 days. He stepped up on the breeders hand. And one of his brothers was fully tame in 1 week so i know he and his siblings are adventurous. I just want to tackle this problem asap so he wont grow accustomed to avoiding my hands. He will also run away from perches i want to use the force and reconcile method but conures have very good memory and he may not forgive me. He is less than a year old he hasnt even been through his first molt but he is old enough to fly. Any advice would be greatly appreciated if yoy have any questions feel free to ask. Best regards, caleb. P.s. His breeders daughter was also able to handle him so i know he isnt just used to one person. :gcc:

by **Pidgeon** » Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:07 am

*UPDATE* he will only take the food from far away, by that i mean he will stretch out to get it he wont get too close and after he takes it he jumps back a little bit. Other than that though he is a fantastic companion! :gcc:

thanks!- caleb :thumbsup:

by **Chantilly** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:14 am

Hi Pidgeon!
Just keep on working on gaining his trust, singing and talking to him.
the way I taught my gcc to step up was like this:

: as you see, she has to step up to get the treat she wants :); image.jpg (23.51 KiB) Viewed 5915 times

If you put your hand inbetween him and the treat he will have to get over your hand to get his treat

Sorry for such a short reply but I have to go.
Hope this helps and please do keep us updated

~Chantilly

by **liz** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 6:56 am

Chantilly is right. I give praise instead of treats. I put my hand palm down and my finger touching the feet and say step up. If it does not work try again later. For birds "step up" is not a command. It is a suggestion.

by **Wolf** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:10 am

I really think that your primary difficulty regarding your bird is your own impatience along with a small amount of not understanding your bird.

At the time of your posting you have had your new friend for three days and are failing to take into account the fact that your bird is very likely afraid not just of you but its whole new environment. Yes your bird probably did step up for the breeder, his daughter and quite possibly for you while at the breeders. This is simply due to the fact that the bird was familiar with its environment and it knew and trusted the breeder and possibly his daughter as well. My Senegal Kiki will not only step up on people that she doesn't know or trust because she is comfortable in her environment and she trusts me to not allow her to get hurt, but take these away from her and she will not step up for you.

Parrots do not migrate outside of their territory and do not tolerate change very well, nor do they ever leave their flock or mates for any reason. This translates to when a lone bird is placed in a new environment and with new people it is afraid for its very life. First it no longer has the security of those that it knows and trusts and a lone parrot is an easy meal for a predator. Then you add in that the bird is in a strange new place and it does not know what dangers are lurking in unexpected places and it is no wonder that it is afraid and untrusting, you would be too.

Now, I am happy that you decided against the force and attempt to reconcile method as that is a form of flooding and usually has unforeseen consequences that may not even show up right away. If your bird is already comfortable enough to eat sometimes from your hand then I would start from the beginning with taming your bird in order to reassure it and to gain its trust as soon as possible. The bird will probably progress through this very fast so it is primarily to reassure the bird that you understand and can be trusted. Start by talking and singing to your bird and giving it a lot of " Good Bird" type of praise using its name if you have one for it and offering a treat through the cage bars. As soon as your bird is taking the treat from you through the bars calmly and consistently and shows that it is looking forward to these little session by coming towards you as you approach the cage you and the bird are ready for the next step. This is where you approach the door of the cage while talking and singing to your friend and praising it for being a good bird and then you open the door to the cage and offer the treat from your hand at the entrance to the cage. It is very important at this point that you offer the treat only at the entrance and not by reaching into the cage, you want the bird to come to you willingly as this is a sign of trust on the bird's part. when the bird is doing this in a calm and relaxed manner then you begin to use your other hand to hold the treat so that the bird needs to either step onto your hand with at least one foot or it needs to stretch to reach the treat. As long as it is trying to do either one of these make it easy for the bird to get a bite of the treat. If you will do this then the bird will shortly be stepping up for you all on its own and all you will need to do is add the verbal cue.

If your bird trusts you stepping up is a natural outcome of its trust as well as of its developing bond with you as it will want to be with and on you most of the time when it is out of its cage. This is primarily due to the fact that in its normal environment it is never alone from birth to death and it is always with those that it bonds to. It is one of those things that really does not require any training to occur it is a part of their trusting you more than any other reason.

I hope that you will find this helpful.

by **Pajarita** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:36 pm

Actually, all you have to do is wait until the baby trusts you and it will step up on its own. They love been with people so he will want to do it. Spend time with it, softly talking, singing and just allowing it come out of his cage at his pleasure. Offer him soft foods served warm twice a day, he will feel more comfortable when you do and he needs the extra nutrition.

Are you handfeeding it? Because it's always recommended you do when you bring a baby into your house. They always regress a bit in their weaning when insecure and they are always insecure when moved to a strange place with strange people (they are not puppies, you know, they haven't been bred to be people-oriented). It's also a fabulous bonding tool because you become a parental figure. Didn't the breeder explain this to you?

by **Pidgeon** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 2:51 pm

Thanks for the help! Yes i am also glad i did not use the force & reconcile method it seems like it would be too much for him. However sometimes he flies to a table next to his cage and he will get too freaked out to fly to the cage so i get one of his perches and press gently above his feet and he lets me give him a ride up to his cage with relatively no problems i also give him a treat after wards so he knows he did a good thing. I 100% agree with you patience is key. :gcc:

by **Pidgeon** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 3:06 pm

Chantilly wrote:Hi Pidgeon!
Just keep on working on gaining his trust, singing and talking to him.
the way I taught my gcc to step up was like this:
image.jpg

If you put your hand inbetween him and the treat he will have to get over your hand to get his treat
Sorry for such a short reply but I have to go.
Hope this helps and please do keep us updated
~Chantilly

Thanks for the help! When i first got him i stayed near the cage and did quiet activities all. Day. Long. He is trusting enough to come to me if i just hold the treat but when i put my other hand in the way he will come close and investigate but then he walks over to the far side of the cage. I train him on top of his cage mind you. He sometimes will fly to a box by his cage and i let him hang out there too. Then when he is ready to go back to his cage i get a perch and gently get him to step up. He only gets a little scared when i do this but he still will do it willingly, he just gets nervous. I give him a treat after so he knows he did good. Im just wondering how i can get him over the fear of my other hand being in the way of the treat. Best regards- caleb :gcc:

by **liz** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:21 pm

liz wrote:Chantilly is right. I give praise instead of treats. I put my hand palm down and my finger touching the feet and say step up. If it does not work try again later. For birds "step up" is not a command. It is a suggestion.

Sorry, I missed the three days. My method would be wrong.

by **Chantilly** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:08 pm

For now if i were you id just continue getting his trust and wait for him to come to you, wich eventually when he is ready he will. I also missed that you had also had him for only 3days as i was in a rush as i had to go outside.
But just continue talking and singing to her/him. :danicing: