Sun Conure Won't Step Up, Won't Get Off Shoulder

[BridgetTracy]

I've posted a lot recently but new questions keep popping up .My Sun Conure knows how to step up, and the only time he will do it without a treat is when he is on the floor. Normally I lure him with a treat and let him eat it on my finger and set him on the bed. The majority of the time I ask him to step up,i don't put him in the cage. So i dont think he thinks I'm going to put him in. Sometimes he refuses to step up. When he is on a perch he will hang his body off the back so just his head and feet are on the perch. When I walk away he pops back up but when I show him my finger he goes behind it again. He isn't scared of my finger, he just knows I can't get him to step up that way. Also when I try to put him back in the cage he runs up to the top of the cage. I can never get him off of there either. Next problem, he won't stay on my finger. I try to block him and distract him but he always makes his way to my shoulder. He likes it up there and it is his favorite place. He hates it when I try to get him off. Sometimes I can get him to step onto a perch off my shoulder, but not often. Besides that, and when he will step up, he is an amazing bird. We cuddle and watch tv together and he loves head scratches .

He is around 6 months old now.
He didn't have a rough past, besides the fact that no other customers were interested in him. i would visit him and give him head scratches and hold him. So when I took him home he was already comfortable with me.

Sorry about the long post lol. Thank you

[liz]

He just does not want put back in his cage.

On your shoulder is a close as he can get to you. Myrtle spends a lot of time on my shoulder and has to see or be involved with anything I am doing.

[Wolf]

Generally speaking where are you putting him when you are asking him to step up in your last post? Also try and see if offering him the back of your hand to step up on helps any. Is there any reason that letting him ride on your shoulder is a problem?

[Pajarita]

Well, let's see if I can clarify a couple of points.
1) Don't worry about posting millions of questions, go right ahead and we will answer -that's what we are here for.
2) Just because you saw him and scratched his head in the store, it doesn't mean that he trusts you or that he is even comfortable with you (actually, going by the body language you described, he doesn't trust you at all). That process takes several months, actually (dogs will trust any human implicitly but not parrots, you need to win them over).
3) ALL parrots belong on their owner's shoulders unless they are BIG macaws which prefer the arm. No parrot likes to ride a hand or a finger. Mine do it without a problem because they know that I only use this for transporting them from one place to another and, besides, they have all the access to my shoulders, head, lap or whatever part of me they decide to perch on. People who don't want their parrots on their shoulders are not parrot people - it might sound harsh but it's God's truth and the reason for this is that riding their human's shoulder makes them feel safe (high up so predators cannot reach them) and loved (physically close to their human). Besides, how would you go about doing your stuff if the parrot is not on your shoulder? They need soooo many hours of out-of-cage time that if they are not on your shoulder, people would need not only a maid to do their chores but spend boring hours and hours and hours doing nothing -something the parrot would not appreciate, either
4) ALL parrots will step up when on the floor -even the ones that would NEVER do it from any other spot.
5) You should not be rewarding him for stepping up. Young hand-fed birds that trust you would do it on their own so, if you need to bribe, he doesn't trust you yet (the leaning back when you ask him to step up is a dead give-away!) and, if he doesn't trust you yet, you shouldn't be asking (would you insist on picking up a child who doesn't know you and doesn't want to be touched by you to the point that he leans back so as to distance himself from you?). It is, obviously, too early to be asking and you need to win him over. If you take the time to bond with him first, he will want to step up on its own.

[BridgetTracy]

Thank you for all of your replies!
1. When I'm asking him to step up it is normally me trying to move him to a different part of my room, such as the bed, table,or perch.
2. I don't mind him on my shoulder,i just have trouble getting him off when there is a time he can't be there. Like when we are cooking.
3. Pajarita, I realize that I have been going too fast. Thank you for pointing that out. I will give him more time.

[Wolf]

I would try to establish a schedule for him so that he expects to, perhaps remain in his cage until the morning cooking is over, that he returns to his cage during the middle of the day for his nap ( maybe a favored treat) and then goes back to his cage When you need to cook dinner.

If you have another way of keeping him out of the kitchen then these cage times could be on top of his cage or on a play station or something similar, provided that you also have the time to keep an eye on him during these times. I use one of those " magic screens" for this purpose in the doorway leading into the kitchen in my home.

Parrots actually love routines and schedules as they give the bird some sense of being in control of their own lives because they know what to expect and then it happens just as they expected it to. Parrots do not cope with changes in their schedules very well and that is stressful for them and causes them to feel more insecure because then they don't know what to expect.

[BridgetTracy]

I never thought about making a schedule, that is a great odea! Will start tomorrow. Also an update. I th8nk he wouldn't step up because he was taking advantage of me giving him a treat for it. This morning I tried and he went behind the perch, came back and tried again, same thing, and the third time he stepped up. All day he has been stepping up with no hesitation . So that problem is fixed. Also I've been working with him on stepping up off my shoulder which has been working well

[Wolf]

I don't know if anyone ever mentioned it, but parrots are very intelligent beings!

Yes they will train us if we are not careful and even then they are smart enough to manipulate us to get what they want.

[Pajarita]

Smart cookie, ain't he? He had you convinced you needed to give him a treat to do something he would have done anyway!

The trick with parrots is not to push them and to do anything and always 'advance' at their pace. In most cases, showing indifference works better than anything else - this is because parrots are programmed to need closeness and affection and, when you simply ignore them, first it relaxes their fear and, once they are over it, it makes them WANT to be with you.

And YES! Strict schedules are a must! I am really surprised we didn't mention this before. Nothing (and I do mean NOTHING) works better than having routines that are repeated every single day (and that means weekends, too). Actually, all animals are like that but, with parrots been as difficult as they are, it's essential.

[gophynna]

I never thought about making a schedule, that is a great odea! Will start tomorrow. Also an update. I th8nk he wouldn't step up because he was taking advantage of me giving him a treat for it. This morning I tried and he went behind the perch, came back and tried again, same thing, and the third time he stepped up. All day he has been stepping up with no hesitation . So that problem is fixed. Also I've been working with him on stepping up off my shoulder which has been working well

BridgetTracy, you said you have been wokring with yours to get him to step up off your shoulder. What has your process been like in detail? This is a huge problem I have with mine.