Stick/touch training to step up

[baigfaez]

Hello,

I have been working with my IRN on stick training (having him walk to and touch the tip of the stick and then getting a treat, not sure if there's a more accepted name for that) for a while now. He's always eager to walk to the stick and touch it, but when I've read about this training being used for stepping up I've seen that if you approach the bird with the stick and your hand between and just underneath him, he'll step onto the hand to touch the stick because they're more focused on the stick.

However, when I try this my bird notices my hand every time and becomes hesitant to move forward. He'll try his best to stretch his neck as much as possible but won't dare step onto me. Does anyone have any advice to help him get over his fear of hands as a perch? He's not normally that scared of my hands as I remove/adjust things in his cage while he's inside and he'll take food from my hands with ease.

When he bites my hand (not angry bites I think, he seems more curious when he does it) I don't react and pull away, because I want him to be sure that my hand is a stable surface for him. Is there something else I could do?

Thank you

 

[Laurie]

It sounds like you are doing a great job. If you have trained him to touch the stick then you and he both understand how to train. By the way, what you have taught him is most often called target training.

In order to have him step on your hand you will do as you suggested, however if he will not do it then you need to make it easier for him because if he does not succeed in completing the behavior then he won't earn his reward and he will lose interest.

Break down your behavior into smaller steps and then train them in order, until he does the final behavior, stepping on your hand to touch the stick.

Here are some possible steps.

Touch the stick when your hand is nearby, leaning over is okay.
Place one toe on your hand to reach the stick.
Place one foot on your hand and touch the stick (he will probably remove his foot at first)

Then progress to the next level of difficulty depending on the bird he may do any of the following
Place one foot on your hand and keep it there or place two feet on or, place one on without hesitation

Reward any progress.

Any amount of progress can be the next step. The point is to keep the steps just a little harder but still doable.

If he fails when you increase the difficulty go back and try again with the previous easier step, do a couple repetitions of that one and then try to make it a little harder again.

Let him get comfortable.

Also for this behavior don't move your hand that he is supposed to step up on let it become part of the perch. You can also position it in a way that he can walk along the perch and then just continue on to your hand.

Please let us know how it goes and if you have questions.

 

[baigfaez]

@Laurie

Thank you for your in depth answer

I always reward him even if he manages to touch the stick without getting on my hand, or I make it easier for him if he struggles too much.

How would I begin with those smaller steps? Do you think he will eventually place a toe/foot on my hand eventually on his own, or will I need to help him get it there?

 

[Leih]

Something I did with my lovebird was I'd put a treat on my hand and offer it to her with my hand in the step up position. She was very afraid of hands, and getting the treat from my hand in this way helped her get over that fear. I also offered her treats from my palm, with my hand open. We had lots of bites, but we got through it!

As for stepping up onto my hand, we worked on stepping onto a perch first.

Will your bird step up onto a perch? How long have you had him?

It definitely requires a lot of patience (it took 3 solid months for my lovebird to step up), all birds are different, but you're doing great and when you hit bumps in the road people here will help!

 

[baigfaez]

Something I did with my lovebird was I'd put a treat on my hand and offer it to her with my hand in the step up position. She was very afraid of hands, and getting the treat from my hand in this way helped her get over that fear. I also offered her treats from my palm, with my hand open. We had lots of bites, but we got through it!

As for stepping up onto my hand, we worked on stepping onto a perch first.

Will your bird step up onto a perch? How long have you had him?

It definitely requires a lot of patience (it took 3 solid months for my lovebird to step up), all birds are different, but you're doing great and when you hit bumps in the road people here will help!

I think I've tried placing a treat on my hand in step up position in the past, but I'll try it again as he may be a bit more comfortable with me now.

He doesn't step up on his perch when I remove it and put it in front of him. He'll just chew on it. He doesn't seem to like stepping up on anything except when he's inside his cage.

I've only had him for about 8 days so I know that's no time at all, but I'm just so eager to get him stepping onto me so we can really start bonding! lol

Thank you

 

[Monica]

Here's a rough breakdown of what you want to be doing with the target. You may need to repeat each step several times before moving onto the next one. Please keep in mind though, you want the training sessions to be short and sweet! 3-5 minutes is all you need, once a day minimum! But if you can work with him more often throughout the day, then great! Just keep the sessions short!

1.) Reward your bird for looking at target
2.) Reward your bird for moving his head towards the target
3.) Reward your bird for taking a step towards the target
4.) Reward your bird for taking another step towards the target
5.) If he doesn't run away, keep rewarding him for remaining where he's at. (if he runs/backs off, you may need to start over again)
6.) Reward your bird for taking a couple more steps closer.
7.) Encourage him to come closer yet again and reward him.
8.) Reward your bird for reaching for the target
9.) Reward your bird for moving and reaching for the target
10.) *JACKPOT REWARD* Give your bird lots of goodies for touching the target!


One thing you do want to do is to have your hand be an extension of whatever it is your bird is on. If your bird is on top of their cage, then either place your hand on top of the cage *OR* put the outside of your hand against the side of the cage, but at the top. Your hand could also be an extension of a perch or any other item! Don't make it a physical step up is what I'm saying. Barbara Heidenreich has a great video as an example of this behavior!

 

[baigfaez]

Here's a rough breakdown of what you want to be doing with the target. You may need to repeat each step several times before moving onto the next one. Please keep in mind though, you want the training sessions to be short and sweet! 3-5 minutes is all you need, once a day minimum! But if you can work with him more often throughout the day, then great! Just keep the sessions short!

1.) Reward your bird for looking at target
2.) Reward your bird for moving his head towards the target
3.) Reward your bird for taking a step towards the target
4.) Reward your bird for taking another step towards the target
5.) If he doesn't run away, keep rewarding him for remaining where he's at. (if he runs/backs off, you may need to start over again)
6.) Reward your bird for taking a couple more steps closer.
7.) Encourage him to come closer yet again and reward him.
8.) Reward your bird for reaching for the target
9.) Reward your bird for moving and reaching for the target
10.) *JACKPOT REWARD* Give your bird lots of goodies for touching the target!


One thing you do want to do is to have your hand be an extension of whatever it is your bird is on. If your bird is on top of their cage, then either place your hand on top of the cage *OR* put the outside of your hand against the side of the cage, but at the top. Your hand could also be an extension of a perch or any other item! Don't make it a physical step up is what I'm saying. Barbara Heidenreich has a great video as an example of this behavior!

My bird had no trouble touching his target stick fortunately so we didn't need to go through all of the previous steps. Unfortunately he still has no interest in stepping on my hand or even stepping near my hand when I place it on the side of his cage like that. Sometimes he'll bite my hand (I think because he knows I hold his treat in there), but he never puts his foot on. I practice every day and he still doesn't seem to be getting any more comfortable with my hand as a perch

 

[Monica]

My bird had no trouble touching his target stick fortunately so we didn't need to go through all of the previous steps. Unfortunately he still has no interest in stepping on my hand or even stepping near my hand when I place it on the side of his cage like that. Sometimes he'll bite my hand (I think because he knows I hold his treat in there), but he never puts his foot on. I practice every day and he still doesn't seem to be getting any more comfortable with my hand as a perch

Can you get a training session on video?

 

[baigfaez]

Can you get a training session on video?

I'll try to record it in a bit. It'll be hard because I need 2 hands to do the training lol

 

[baigfaez]

Can you get a training session on video?

Here it is. You can see him stretching over my hand to get the stick rather than going near it, and that has been a usual thing for him.

Also, just for the record I have been training him to expect the treat at different intervals which is why I had him touch it twice. I didn't want it to seem like I was teasing him.

He also has a bigger cage on the way, just in case his current one seems small. Because it doesn't look big enough for him to me either

 

[Monica]

The video didn't come through, is it private?

 

[baigfaez]

The video didn't come through, is it private?

Sorry I thought you'd be able to watch if I gave the link. It should be public now

 

[Monica]

I'm glad you are getting a bigger cage! And I can also see how hesitant he is.

Since this is a new behavior, I would recommend to reward more often. Every time, in fact! You might also try having your hand flat on the edge of the cage. When you ask for the last target, I would recommend lowering the requirements. We want to set him up for success and he kind of looks like he's failing.


You are definitely heading in the right direction though! And, as you mentioned, it hasn't been a long time so I would say you are making great progress! Just keep it up!

 

[Fergus Mom]

Having read about target training, but never done it with a bird, it looks like you're making great progress here from the video!