Not stepping up and/or doesn't understand stepping up?

I brought a Maximillian Pionus home about a month ago (he's now 6 months old) and he's been settling in nicely, although I can't really see his personality. He's pretty much tame towards me; he'll bow his head for scratches, take food from my hands and even let me stroke his whole body, but he will take a few nips at me if he's moody. There's one big problem I'm facing, though: how do I get him to step up? I've watched and read numerous guides. Whether I present my fingers/hand/arm in front of him or I try to lure him with a treat, he doesn't seem to understand the concept of stepping up. He's scared of perches/dowels I present to him or he just ignores them, and if I apply pressure to his abdomen when pressing my hand against his abdomen, he'll simply grab onto the cage bars or retreat elsewhere and start applying more pressure on his own bites. How can I resolve this?

(Could quite possibly be a female, I say 'what are you doing' to him almost quite literelly 50 times a day. Doesn't seem to be catching on to the vocalization.)

Please check out this video.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIaDDSeZKnI"]Parrot Training Workshop Live Demo - Step Up Training with a Macaw - YouTube[/ame]

I think it's the calmest, cleverest way of teaching 'step up' I've ever seen. This method uses a t-stand, but I reckon you could probably achieve the same effect by using a table or the top of your bird's cage: anything you can hold onto and lure the bird onto your hand with food. The hardest part is finding out which food is your bird's utterly favourite and then saving that alone for training sessions.

One word of advice I'd add is that it's tempting, while training, to sink into the pit of going 'step up, step up, step up' far too often. Any bird will get sick of that and learn to hate it, so only train for short periods (say, five or ten minutes) and reward profusely. Most birds I've trained get it within the first five or ten anyway and after that, it's just reinforcement and teaching the command. I think a lot of birds first start biting when over-enthusiastic owners do the 'step up, step up, step up' thing past the point of endurance.

Great link, Trish! Definitely my preferred method.

Well, I was going to chip in, but it's been covered! Good luck, keep us updated please!

I do not understand your disposal too. Can you tell me more about what you want? I think I can help you.

Thank you for the replies!
I've tried the method shown in the video with some sunflower seeds, and he's catching on gradually.

lebachu said:

I do not understand your disposal too. Can you tell me more about what you want? I think I can help you.

Click to expand...

Just trying to get him to step up.

Try offering bits of peanut or fruit too. The secret is in finding THE ONE thing your birdie loves more than anything else. My blokes will do anything for peanut butter smeared on my finger. They also like honey. I s'pose I'm lucky in that they're so darned greedy, just about any food item works for them.

I'm a great believer in spending the occasional period just chilling with my birds, simply holding them, talking to them and offering a treat every five minutes or so. Those are the times we really bond because the treats come with no strings attached and the birds learn that being with you is a pretty darned pleasant thing. Do keep us informed of your progress, won't you?

Good luck with your training...I was told my severe macaw stepped up.....she hates sticks and won't come to your finger or arm unless you bring her to an unfamiliar place like the bed room or bathroom. We use a breaded rope to get her to step up. Treats works well too...sissy loves cashews so that is her reward treat...please try a breaded rope as your step up mechanism ...it may be the object that works...keep us posted