Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw
Here is an article for the very beginners. This is not an article about actually teaching a parrot to step up, refer to this one for more information about actually training this. This one is about the actual approach to requesting a trained parrot to step up. This is great for members of a household that has a parrot that steps up but want to know how to hold it, folks who bought a tame baby parrot and want it to step up, and just anyone wondering about good ways to hold them.
I've watched videos online, seen people (who claim to be parrot owners) try to pick my birds up, and watched people at the bird store trying to handle the birds. I have amassed many observations of people approaching parrots the wrong way and it won't step up or even bites. Meanwhile I could reach for the same parrot and it steps right up. It's not because the parrot has a specific thing for me and not them but rather because I've developed a universal approach to picking up parrots whether mine or other. I was very disappointed not to have an article like this available to teach me how to hold a parrot when I bought my first and had no prior experience so I would like to share what I've learned with you.
First and foremost, you don't want to leave a bad first impression on the parrot. Avoid making any sudden moves anywhere in the presence of the parrot. This includes both within sight and earshot. If you slam the door, even though your parrot may not have seen it, it may be in a nervous/jumpy mood and picking it up will be more difficult. Always err on the side of being too cautious because if you succeed in interaction, you can slowly be more and more abrupt/normal and it won't bother the parrot, but if you leave a bad first impression it may develop a fear of you. Give the parrot time to adjust at first sight. Don't go straight for the parrot after entering the room. Go about and do some things on your own and slowly work your way closer to the parrot. Of course if you have an existing relationship this may not be necessary but if you are visiting someone else's parrot or this one is new to you, these are definitely things you'll want to do.
Now, once you have established a calm presence in front of the parrot, you can approach for the step up. At this stage the parrot might be on a stand, in the cage, or on someone's hand. It doesn't particularly matter what it is actually standing on as your approach should be roughly the same. Slowly walk toward the parrot watching for any signs of fear or aggression. Assuming the parrot is calm, proceed closer and closer. Stop and stand at half an arm's length from the parrot and reach your arm (right/left handedness doesn't matter, use what is convenient) away from the parrot at first. For small parrots reach out your index finger and tuck the rest of your fingers down. For a larger parrot use your wrist or entire arm. Aim the back of your hand toward the parrot so there is less available to bite or nip. Now from a distance your parrot will already see the cue for stepping up and it will come as no surprise that it is what you want. If the parrot is adamantly against this, you will know before your fingers are close enough to get chomped because you are taking your time approaching the parrot.
Move the hand toward the parrot at a slow but steady pace. This way the parrot has time to think and act. Aim for just above the legs but don't hold your hand at beak height as that will encourage nipping. Parrots don't step down well so definitely don't aim at the feet or below. Once you are within beak length from the parrot, there is no backing down. Bite or not, at this point you have to bring the hand close enough for it to step up. If you back off at this point, the parrot will learn to bite whenever it doesn't feel like stepping up and you'll have a much bigger problem. The time for changing your mind was before you got close enough if the parrot was showing any aggressive body language. If the parrot does start to bite, keep pressing in toward the parrot and that will force it to step up and stop biting. By leaning into the bite you overwhelm the parrot and it should relax the bite. Assuming the parrot doesn't bite, once your hand is close enough it should step up. If it does not, continue moving your hand toward the parrot and gently press on the belly until it begins to lose its balance and is forced to step up. Once the bird is on your hand, be sure to move your arm slowly and gently the rest of the time because you don't want the parrot to develop a terrible association of being on you.
As for grabbing a parrot, once again assuming the behavior is already learned by the parrot and it is strictly a matter of transferring to another person, use the same approach as for step up except swinging your arm from behind and slightly above the parrot. Keep your hand open with the thumb swung out to form a cradle that the parrot will be grabbed in. When you grab, squeeze from the sides onto the wings/shoulders but never hold by the belly because that will restrict breathing. Alternatively you can grab by the neck by holding your thumb to index finger together just under the beak. Not only does this keep the parrot firmly in your hand, it also prevents biting. This is a good grip to use for maintenance behaviors such as clipping nails or checking the wings. Don't actually squeeze the neck but rather make a circle between the thumb and index finger to keep the parrot from sliding out because the head is thicker than the neck.
In conclusion, it is about having a collected and deliberate approach to holding the parrot. If the parrot is not afraid of you and senses that you will be picking it up no matter what, it is much less likely to refuse to step up than if you are shaky and uncertain. The parrot can tell all of this by how you move and act so be confident in yourself and don't be scared and you will be surprised by how much more cooperative the parrot will actually become.
Here is a video where I demonstrate these methods and different ways of holding small and medium sized parrots:
Kili and Truman are definitely getting along much better overall. However, it's at the park where they do great together. They can sit side by side with their wings rubbing against each other and not even fight. At home there can be a squabble here and there but nothing too bad.
Parrots playing together on Kili's cage top
Kili dreaming of stealing Truman's toy
Parrots get in fight when Kili tries to steal toy
Taking my parrots to the park
Senegal Parrot and Cape Parrot getting along sitting outside together
Huddled shoulder to shoulder drying from a shower
My parrots and I at the park
Here is a video of my parrots behaving at a family outing I took them to. They say together on the same chair back without the slightest trouble. This is why it's great to take your birds places. They are much less aggressive to each other and to other people and it's a great way to socialize them overall.
After receiving much interest in the stands I use for all my parrot training, I have finally decided to release these on sale to the general public. Originally I designed a simple set of stands for the purpose of teaching Kili to target back and forth between them so that she could learn to fly as I would increase the distance. Since then I have made numerous improvements to the design and have found countless uses for these stands. Just to mention a few:
· Target training · Perch to perch flight training · Recall flight training to your hand · Training parrot tricks such as wave, shake, nod, turn around, wings · Advanced and variable height flight recall · Potty training parrot to poop from stand onto newspaper · Socializing parrots to each other · Place for parrot to hang out and play with toys
They are lightweight and portable so they can easily be moved from place to place. Yet they are heavy enough to be durable and support a small to medium parrot landing on them at speed. Some of mine I keep in a permanent location so the parrots know where they are and can fly there for safety (or toilet). The other stands I move around depending on what I am training. Typically I keep the height a bit below my head but sometimes I raise them for video or special training. If I'd like to sit in a chair, I can bring the training stands down to remain at a convenient height for training.
Parrot training perches eliminate the distraction that colorful play gyms and multi-branched climbing trees can create, keeping your parrot's attention on you for training. Since the two stands are independent, the ways you can line them up are numerous. Set them up parallel to each other to teach the parrot to fly between the two stands. Set the perches up perpendicular to each other to keep two parrots on them but not fight with each other. It is easy to add a newspaper at the base to collect any mess.
The newest accomplishment I would like to share is finally putting Kili's cage back to the bird area. For the last month while Truman was here, as well as several months before his arrival, I had Kili's cage in a different area in preparation for quarantining Truman. While the quarantine failed as the result of parrots flying around, I still kept the cages separate for some time to prevent aggression and to prevent Truman from bonding to Kili rather than me. After a month of tremendous progress, bonding, and safe introduction to Kili, I decided that putting their cages together at this point will be just fine. And it certainly has been going just fine. Kili does not make any aggressive advances to Truman when they are in their separate cages and they seem to be getting along just fine. I had them in much closer range when I trained them on a single perch, so the natural unsupervised distance is much greater. The move was gradual but quick. For about two days I moved Kili's cage halfway toward Truman's. For one day I had her cage in the bird area but as far away from Truman as possible (about 3 feet). And then finally I went all the way and brought the cages together to their long term spots.
To even go a step further, I let the two parrots play on top of Kili's cage. I was curious to see if Kili would exhibit territorial aggression or not (as they had been previously introduced on neutral territory). The good news is that for the most part they got along just fine. Truman was more concerned with playing with Kili's toys and Kili just wanted attention and petting. Kili has been molting a lot lately and loves petting like never before. She even bent her head down to Truman invitingly. Truman took up the invitation and walked over to preen her but the moment he got close Kili snapped at him. She's a tricky little devil.
I am glad to have my apartment back in order with the birds a bit away from where I spend my time. They seem to be getting along just fine with only an occasional squabble here and there. I think Kili finally found her match.
I bet a lot of people are wondering whether or not it is difficult to train a flighted parrot (particularly one that was never clipped). Well the good news is that for the most part is is barely even noticeable that a tame hand raised baby parrot isn't clipped at all. Truman will make several large flights per day where he goes back and forth down the room a few times and may fly off or to another place from time to time. For the vast majority of time he is out however, Truman is not flying around all over the place but rather on a perch playing with stuff. The few flights that he does make are pretty harmless and would certainly not be worth clipping him over.
Here is a video that presents some of the realities of trying to train a flight capable parrot. Sometimes things don't go the way you want to. I'd like to share some footage that was taken as part of the wave training but not included to avoid distracting from the wave technique. This is just to illustrate some of the other things that go on when training a not clipped bird.
Sometimes things are not so easy though. For instance in the middle of wave training Truman randomly decided to take a lap around the room and then eventually landed on his cage. He certainly wasn't planning on going there because he flew the other way first but it just happened to make a good landing site when it caught his eye. I try not to reward him for these fly offs by giving it unnecessary attention or treats. Sometimes I will walk over and get him after a brief wait. Other times I will recall him back to me.
Another time during wave training Kili just decided to fly straight at him. Truman took off and Kili followed him in close pursuit. As Truman rounded the far end of the room I called to him and he came back to land on me while Kili found an alternate landing spot. Eventually I called Kili back too but not right away in order to deny her attention for her little stunt.
All in all, keeping a parrot flighted presents many more training opportunities than hindrances. However, it does require extra patience to be able to work with the occasional fly off. You have to accept that you cannot control the parrot and it is free to fly away whenever it wants. Yet with good training and a positive attitude you can teach the parrot to want to be with you and want to train. Ultimately it is far more rewarding to work with a flight capable parrot that cooperates with you because it wants to and not because of a stroke of scissors across its wings.
Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
Trained Parrot site content Copyright 2010-2020 Michael Sazhin. Reproduction of text, images, or videos without prior permission prohibited. All rights reserved.
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