Tiel No longer likes stepping up

[Topple]

So my cockatiel , Cozmo, whom i've had for about a year and a half now, no longer wants to step up, he has been hand trained and has even been taught a few tricks.

Recently though (about a week or so ago) he outright refuses to step up, i bring my finger closer to him and he gets all annoyed and starts mock biting to move it away, he also refuses to eat from my hands as often, what could be the cause of this behavioural change and how do i fix it?

 

[tka]

What happens after you've got your tiel to step up? If you only ask Cozmo to step up when you're putting him back in his cage or removing him from something he's interested in, he will start associating stepping up with something undesirable.

 

[Topple]

Well he's a very playful and curious bird, which means he's brought the demise of many papers and keyboards, so i'd usually pick him up and place him somewhere else, and since i don't usually have time for playing he must have associated stepping up with with being removed from nice places. But then how do keep him from ravaging my keyboard, and how do i start getting him to trust my hands again?

 

[Pistachio1]

I put a towel over my keyboard and another over my mouse as my birb is out all day while I work. While he sometimes tries to climb under the towel because he knows his favorite toys are there this mostly keeps him away and the situation manageable. I also keep a decoy mouse around but he’s not very interested in it because it’s obviously not *my* toy.

 

[BirdG1rl]

Has anything changed in your appearance? Birds can be very sensitive to small changes like painted nails or dyed hair or new glasses.

 

[Topple]

Has anything changed in your appearance? Birds can be very sensitive to small changes like painted nails or dyed hair or new glasses.

Nope, literally haven't changed since highschool.

 

[Laurie]

I think tka is exactly right based on your reply. Moving forward I would make an effort to purposely do lots of stepping up that ends in a reward or treat. Just practice a bunch. Try and use distraction with a toy or something interesting to get him to stop messing with papers and such. Also if you have him step up then reward him and then move him and give him something else interesting to play with. Over time all of this together will help you win back his trust. If you don't have time to work with him at a given time then you might be better off not having him out.