noodlehold
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 12/14/23
- Messages
- 4
Hey there!
So for the last year or so, I've been visiting local bird shops and helping out with training and socializing their birds. I've trained a few dozen to step up over the months, but a certain GCC seems to be stuck, and I'm not sure how to help him progress.
He is very skittish, but understands the step-up trick, and will do so as long as I remind him by luring him with a target stick or flashing the treat to him. But he is VERY nervous while stepping up, and will immediately step off after about a second or two. I'm not sure how to keep him on my hand for longer, as that would be the next step to his stepup training.
For all birds, I always keep my hand stationary, even bracing it against their perch so they know it won't move anywhere. And I only move on to bringing them away from the perch once they're completely relaxed while on my finger. But none of that matters for this GCC it seems. No matter how many times he's stepped up, he doesn't seem to become any more relaxed on the next step up. And he's had a few dozen training sessions over the last few months.
I don't want to have to bring my hand away to keep him perched on me, as I assume that will just make him more hesitant to step up in the future. If I try to delay my treat slightly to make him stay on my finger for longer, he gives up immediately and usually won't even try stepping up again for the next few minutes.
He's a cute bird, and many customers love his play-dead trick he can do on command that I taught him after catching him rolling on his back a few times, and capturing the behavior. But I fear he'll never find a loving home if I can't teach him to step up properly. Does anyone have any ideas on how to teach him to stay on my finger for longer?
So for the last year or so, I've been visiting local bird shops and helping out with training and socializing their birds. I've trained a few dozen to step up over the months, but a certain GCC seems to be stuck, and I'm not sure how to help him progress.
He is very skittish, but understands the step-up trick, and will do so as long as I remind him by luring him with a target stick or flashing the treat to him. But he is VERY nervous while stepping up, and will immediately step off after about a second or two. I'm not sure how to keep him on my hand for longer, as that would be the next step to his stepup training.
For all birds, I always keep my hand stationary, even bracing it against their perch so they know it won't move anywhere. And I only move on to bringing them away from the perch once they're completely relaxed while on my finger. But none of that matters for this GCC it seems. No matter how many times he's stepped up, he doesn't seem to become any more relaxed on the next step up. And he's had a few dozen training sessions over the last few months.
I don't want to have to bring my hand away to keep him perched on me, as I assume that will just make him more hesitant to step up in the future. If I try to delay my treat slightly to make him stay on my finger for longer, he gives up immediately and usually won't even try stepping up again for the next few minutes.
He's a cute bird, and many customers love his play-dead trick he can do on command that I taught him after catching him rolling on his back a few times, and capturing the behavior. But I fear he'll never find a loving home if I can't teach him to step up properly. Does anyone have any ideas on how to teach him to stay on my finger for longer?