How to Quickly and Easily Teach Your Parrot the 'up' Command!
Author: Nora Caterino
The "Up" command is the very first behavior you should teach your parrot. Whether you have a tame, loving, hand-fed baby that is just weaned or you have an older, untamed parrot, the process is still important. It's a question of good manners!
Of course, the process for teaching the behavior to a hand-fed, young bird is much, much easier and quicker than teaching an untamed bird. It is, however, nonetheless necessary.
When you work with a parrot that is untamed, you'll find it works best to use a spare perch or untreated wooden dowel which is rather long.
I like to work with the parrot outside its cage, but if that isn't possible, you can perform the process with the parrot inside the cage if you have a large door opening and can move the perch about easily. Be sure the selected perch is comfortably sized for your parrot species.
image used from www.knowparrots.com
Place the perch just above the parrot's feet and just below its breast while saying "Up" clearly. There is no need to be loud or sharp, just say "up".
Move the perch slightly toward the bird so that it will naturally step onto the perch. Once the bird steps on the perch, reward it with loving sweet talk, telling it what a wonderful smart parrot it is. Repeat this process for about 10 minutes per session with two sessions per day if at all possible.
The #1 Element You MUST Know About When Teaching Your Bird This Trick - Or Else You'll Ruin The Training Session!
Consistency is the key!
It is important that you do not allow your parrot to refuse to perform the behavior after it has stepped up the first time for you. You want your parrot to understand that this is something it must do when requested. In return, you will provide love, attention, foods and playtime.
As your parrot becomes comfortable stepping onto the perch, you can slowly shorten the distance from your hand to the parrot. I usually find that with untamed parrots, shortening the perch more than once a week can stress them and actually create a loss of the trust you've built.
image used from http://media.canada.com/idl/vitc/20071116/36292-11938.jpg
==> Don't rush the process! Take your time and be certain your parrot is comfortable with each training level.
Eventually, you will reach a point that the distance from your hand to the parrot on the perch is very small. Once your parrot is comfortable with your hand being that close to it, begin the final step - offer your hand or forearm (depending on the size of your parrot) instead of the perch.
How Long You'll Take In Teaching This Bird Trick!
It depends on you, your consistency and your parrot. If the parrot has been stressed or made afraid through abuse or trauma, it can take a long time.
If your parrot is simply unfamiliar with you and you just have to prove to it that you won't hurt it, the process can occur quite quickly.
If you parrot was hand-fed, you can count on the entire process taking a very short time - in fact, you'll probably start at the final step with the parrot stepping right onto your hand.
I recently brought a budgie home that was just weaning. He was not hand-fed but very young and trusting; he was trained to the "up" command within a week and consistently performs the behavior whenever requested.
Be sure to watch your parrot's body language for clues to the level of trust and level of comfort with the activities you are performing with it.
About the Author:
Nora Caterino helps parrot owners from over 14 different countries in taming and teaching parrots to TALK. If you want to learn more about her parrot training videos - to instantly solve annoying behaviour problems like biting, screaming, or feather plucking - then join the 'Elite Parrots Club' and get super coaching from the 'Bird Lady':
www.eliteparrotsclub.com
