Looking for advice about recall training

[Britnicorn]

So I’m of course starting Raijū with “step up”, it’s taken a long time to get this far since he came to me not tamed at all, but now he’s stepping up almost every single time. The only problem is that most of the time he steps up he immediately flies away... he doesn’t trust me completely yet

Is there anyway to help with that? I’m not sure whether or not I should be rewarding him when he does that since he technically didn’t do it right, but he did it half right. I’m also not sure how to stop that habit either, I’m hoping he just needs to get used to me

 

[BirdG1rl]

@Ripshod
@Zara

 

[Wardy]

I am experiencing something similar with my newest conure at the moment however it is taking place in the cage she is a very nervy bird however is becoming more confident the more time i am spending training her, i have done targeting from outside the cage and then inside the cage. The point i am at now is i open her cage door call her towards the door when she comes down onto the perch near her door i reward her i then ask her to step up this can be a bit hit and miss at the moment sometimes she does other times she heads to another perch and i have to call her back down.

When she does step up i reward her as soon as she took the reward initially she was straight of my finger and would head off to the top of her cage to enjoy the reward now she jumps of my finger but doesnt head off to the top of her cage. I am giving her the reward as she has done what i asked her to and stepped up she is staying on my finger longer not much but i see it as her confidence growing and trusting me more it is very much a work in progress with her.

she actually flew out the cage yesterday whilst i was training her yesterday Mojo was out and had flown into the kitchen following my wife and KiKi just flew out ( something she has never attempted before ) followed Mojo into the kitchen there was mass panic My wife got Mojo to step up and brought her back into the living room i asked KiKI to step up and there wasnt a hope she did allow me to pick her up however and return her to her cage.
Picking her up was really not ideal however this was litterally her first time out of the cage Mojo was out and i made the desicion to pick her up and return her to her cage would be the best course of action at the time.

I thought this was the best action however i thought this would set things back i gave her about 10 mins to settle and then called her to her cage door she came got her reward asked her to step up and she did.

My thinking is the desired behaviour i am after is for her to step up so if she does she gets the reward she will stay on my hand the more she grows to trust me and she wouldnt step up outside of the cage as she was overwhelmed and now with the safe confines of her cage.

 

[GreenThing]

Agree with Wardy-- with behavioral training you definitely want to reward the desired action then gradually change the specifics of the action (i.e. very a very shy bird, reward even for putting a foot on the finger, then gradually increase the requirements for reward). To encourage him to stay longer, I might try moving the millet toward him slowly, so he sees it and knows he's going to get it for stepping up, but he is required to stay on your finger a bit longer. Both mine need to see the treat to step up, so I've been using that to stretch their patience (and at that point you ARE kind of rewarding them for staying, too).

I have more experience with dogs (and students ), but training-wise stepping up AND staying are two different actions, and he needs to be comfortable learning both, so I wouldn't withhold the reward when he steps up at this point (if it isn't well established-- it's the same idea with using intermittent reward, it can be MORE effective at reinforcing a behavior, but not if it is started too early).

 

[Britnicorn]

Thank you guys!! I’m very proud of Raijū for how far he’s come, he came to me as this little quiet ball of fear who wouldn’t leave his perch unless it was to eat/drink and now he’s screaming every day zooming around the room playing and he isn’t afraid of me anymore (just my hands, but even then he’ll ask to be picked up sometimes and stay on for awhile)

 

[Zara]

The only problem is that most of the time he steps up he immediately flies away... he doesn’t trust me completely yet

Does he take the treat then leave? Or just land then leave without eating the treat?

 

[Britnicorn]

Does he take the treat then leave? Or just land then leave without eating the treat?

Most of the time he leaves without eating the treat but sometimes he’ll stay, especially if Phoenix is eating it too

 

[Zara]

So really, the problem isn´t the step up command per se.

Have a try of this... you really want to hammer home how hands are not dangerous. They are safe, they bring fun things, food, toys etc.
Using millet (because it´s ¨adjustable¨, you can start with a long piece and cut it as he gets better around your hands).
Keep in mind, it could take hours, or weeks between each step of the video. If you start again on a new day, try back tracking a little as the starting point, OR start from the begining every time, but do a few mins before shortening. Whichever he is more receptive to.
Let Phoenix join in, he will be helpful

 

[TikiMyn]

Perhaps you are also asking too much too soon? If he quickly steps up, then leaves, perhaps he is not ready for that. I experienced that with my very first bird. Now I don't particularly train stepping up but mostly just bonding like Zara said. If they know they can trust you, they will come to you eventually, in most cases. Stepping up training is still very good, but perhaps for now take a step back.