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:
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.
Just over a week since introducing the parrots to each other, flock dynamics have greatly improved. I would not yet call Kili and Truman friends, but they are definitely more tolerant of each other. What I have been doing to catalyze their reconciliation is to force them to be closer and closer together and yet prevent fighting through positive reinforcement.
Kili has quickly learned that when she is close to Truman, she is more likely to get treats. When her beak is full she cannot fight. When she's not fighting, she gets cued tricks and gets treats. A short squabble happens from time to time but is usually the result of one bird getting in the other's way rather than any kind of deliberate aggression. Lately I've been seating them on a 12 inch perch together which forces them to be closer than they would ever naturally be. Neither one wants to give up the perch because that's where the training and treats are going on. So they just learn to deal with each other in favor of getting attention and treats from me.
Let me mention that there has not been any serious fighting or I would not be forcing them to be so close. At most they beak spar or take a lunge at each other but no damage has been done whatsoever. Most of the fighting comes from Kili but Truman is to blame for much of it as well. Normally it starts when Truman infringes Kili's space. The good news is that he is learning very quickly not to bother Kili and he is also learning to read her body language. I can see Truman back away when Kili starts signaling with aggressive body language but before she actually snaps.
So between the park visits, active training, and ultimately getting bored of fighting, the parrots are definitely doing much better with each other. In the park they can sit near one another and not bother each other at all. At home, Kili rarely flies over or makes any effort to attack Truman from afar. All remaining squabbles are coming from impeding each other's space and only when I set up that situation. So while at first while keeping them further apart, Kili used to specifically jump to his perch to attack him, now I can keep them on the same perch in the first place without fighting. Now with any greater distance apart, Kili doesn't even pay attention to Truman and goes about her own parrot business. Flock dynamics are definitely improving.
In the video you can see them chewing sticks together. It's good that they are more focused on this than fighting with each other. It's just a matter of practice now. The more time they spend near each other in a positive way, the less likely they'll be to fight each other in the future.
I began bringing Truman out to the park as soon as we had bonded enough that I could put the harness on him without bothering him too much. It's a good way for him to get some sun, air, and get used to various sights and sounds. Also I shower him and then dry him out in the sun. He dries much quicker that way and he gets really fluffy and enjoys getting pet. Furthermore all this helps strengthen our relationship as he looks to me for protection/comfort. Here is a video of a recent outing to the park both with Kili and Truman.
Taking the Senegal and Cape to the park together helps socialize them to each other on neutral territory. Kili is far less aggressive here and both parrots end up more focused on their surroundings than each other. They almost become friends on the basis of familiarity this way. I let Kili show off her tricks and Truman practice target and recall. The children at the park always gather around and enjoy watching the parrots perform but sometimes it can get out of hand so it's important to keep a close eye not only on the parrots but also the kids.
I showered Kili and Truman down in the water fountain but Truman flew off and landed in dirt so he needed another one. I waited until the parrots were dry before taking them home.
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.
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