Re: New to the forum - need some advice

by **Ronda** Tue Nov 18, 2008 11:58 pm

That is very awesome!!!!!!!!! She will just need time! And tons of patience! Keep in mind those two things and that we will be here to help as much as we can and you will do great!!!

by **ndulgme** Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:03 pm

Thanks to all of your wonderful suggestions, Miss Rosey Posey stepped up - not once, but twice last night. She kept saying "Hi Rosey - I'm verrrrrry pretty" and I would tell her she was a good girl and give her a little piece of cantelope (she loves it!!!). We'll do it again tonight. Thank you soooo much!!

by **Ronda** Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:29 pm

Hello ndulgme and welcome!

I agree with everything everyone has said. I have dealt with abused birds as well as them trying my patience for the last year to see where they have stood with me lol. I agree that you do have to get that "step up" command down pat. Take 15 minutes about 3 x's a day when you can and practice this with her. Find something she loves to eat! Make sure like Siobhan said that when you do it and she does, give her a treat and don't just return her to her cage because than she'll feel she is being punished. It is very good that she is not bitey with you, but don't think your out of the woods, we all get bit from time to time, but the most important thing to remember is when it happens don't over react. This may be hard to do, but be firm and say No bite and walk away if you have to but don't scream or try not to show any emotion in front of her. I would go ahead and practice with her, and don't back down. If she just isn't understanding and is willing than it will come easier than a bird that is just being stubborn. She just doesn't understand yet and it's practice that will make her understand. If you tell her to step up, she must do it. You can't back away and say well she's just not in the mood, when you give her a command you have to follow through with making her do it till she does. Push slightly on her belly to make her step up, if she doesn't do that, make her feel like if she doesn't step up on your hand she is going to fall off the perch. She will get the hang of it. She will adjust to your life too, and may be happier than just sitting on a perch for her whole life. A cage in a new place can mean good things, she will find that is her safety in there. Just remember that though cause they can get territorial over it. And that is fine, there is not too much you can do about that. You can tame it, but it won't go away and with some it's worse than others, but for now we will deal with stepping up. Just let us know what you have tried and what you need. We will all try to help as much as we can!

by **Lyric** Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:31 pm

Hello Ndulgme and welcome to the forum! Really, Siobhan has covered it all as far as stepping up is concerned. I might add that although bird owners are told to always ignore a bite my TAG can bite quite hard and sometimes I find myself flinching away. If I KNOW he is going to bite and need to pick him up anyway sometimes I will wrap my hand in a towel so the towel gets all the damage and not me. This way my bird knows that biting will not get me to leave him alone, he must do what I say but it isn't so harmful for me. Some people also use a perch or stick to do the same thing. The towel has always worked for me and he isn't scared of it, but he knows when I get it out that I mean business. As he has gotten older he is getting to where he bites less and less, but he still has his moments occasionally- especially if he knows it is time to get back in his cage and he doesn't want the fun to end.
I also would add that I wouldn't leave a bird loose unattended in the house. There are so many things that could happen- they could fly into some water and drown, destroy something they shouldn't, land on the floor and you might not know they were there and accidently step on them. It's great you were able to give Rosie a new home and I'm sure in time she will adjust and hopefully so will Pebbles.

by **Siobhan** Sat Nov 08, 2008 3:00 pm

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

First of all congratulations on your new Grey. It sounds like Rosey is a very lucky girl to have found you Wink

Personally I don't think it is safe to leave a parrot uncaged when they are unsupervised as they could harm themselves by chewing on electric cables etc. So you are right to cage her when you are at work.

Here is an article I wrote a while back to teach your bird to step up. I hope this helps ;

1. Choose the command you want to use and stick with it. It can be as simple as Step Up but it should not be a question and should be short and sharp.
2. Choose a time to train when you have Rosey's complete attention. You may need to go into a neutral room such as a bathroom away from the cage to begin training. Make sure there are no distractions for her attention such as other pets, or people.
3. Hold your hand at her abdomen above the feet and give the Step Up command. Try pressing lightly on her abdomen and slightly off balancing her.
4. When she steps up give her lots of praise and her favourite treat. As she gets better at stepping up you can decrease the treats, but keep praising.
5. You can have her step from hand to hand to practise. But when it seems she is getting tired or losing concentration, stop at the next successful step up, give lots of praise and end the session.
6. When it seems she has mastered the step up away from the cage you can begin practising it from inside the cage.

A couple of things to remember when you are teaching your bird to step up;
1. Never get cross with your bird, always be positive and ignore any unwanted behaviour
2. Keep the practise sessions short, but frequent.
3. If the bird appears to be going to bite your hand, relax, she may just be testing to make sure the perch (your hand) is stable. If she does bite, say firmly “No biting!” but keep your hand steady. Use a perch as a last resort.
4. If she doesn’t seem to want to step up, or understand what you are expecting him to do a gentle push on his belly will help her to make the step. When he steps up, remember lots of praise and treats in the early stages!
5. And lastly remember if a step up always results in a negative outcome such as being returned to the cage, your bird may start refusing to step up. Keep stepping up fun!

by **ndulgme** Fri Nov 07, 2008 5:24 pm

I recently inherited a beautiful 6 yr old Grey named Rosey from my Aunt who passed away. I've only had her for a short time and she seems to be adjusting well. This is my problem, hopefully you can give me some ideas. Rosey had been living on her playstand (uncaged) for several years with very little handling. She will allow you to rub her neck but she will not step up. I'm being very patient with her and I'm allowing her to take baby steps so I can "try" to win her trust. Unfortunately, I have to work during the day and I have an English Bulldog named Pebbles at home, which mean Rosey must be caged while I'm gone. Pebbles has not been around birds and I simply do not trust her if Rosey decided to check out the house. When I get home, I open her cage and allow her to come out, BUT....when its time to go back in her cage I have a heck of a time getting her to step up onto my hand to put her back. She doesn't bite or get upset, but no matter what I do to try to coax her up, she doesn't get it. Any ideas???

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