How do I teach my budgie to “step up”?

barcode_711: How do I teach my budgie to “step up”?
I don’t know how old he is, but he is definitely young. However, my father bought him at a store and not from a breeder. How do I teach him to “step up”?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Dan G
Begin by slowly placing your hand in the cage, without trying to touch the budgie. Speak in a calming way to the bird, being careful not to frighten it.

Once the bird accepts your hand in the cage without flying about, slowly move your hand closer to the budgie. With patience and several training sessions, you’ll reach the stage where you can have your hand near the bird.

Once your budgie is calm when you have your hand nearby, put your index finger against the budgie’s breast – just in front of the legs – and press very gently while saying “up” at the same time. The bird should step onto your finger.

Don’t take a budgie out of its cage until it’s stepping up onto your finger when you say “up”. Before you let your budgie out of the cage for the first time, shut all doors and windows, and cover windows and mirrors so your budgie doesn’t fly into them. Never let a budgie out of its cage if a fan is on, a fire is lit, something is cooking on the stove or if dogs and cats are in the house.

At first your budgie might be reluctant to come out of the cage but if it will step up onto your finger, you can gradually move the bird out of the cage while it is sitting there.

Answer by CCorso
Place finger right up against the front of there legs and say “step up”.
The feeling of your finger being placed up against there legs will make them step up….after it being repeated several times it will eventually learn.

Answer by ivbnabadgrl
Point your finger and press it against his belly just above his feet (long ways like it was a log he had to step over)and as soon as he starts to lift his foot say “step up” and continue moving your finger against him until he steps up. You can alternate back and forth or reward him with a seed he likes, after he does it. Do little 5 minute sessions every hour and don’t forget a treat. This way he will like to be handled when he thinks he’ll get a treat. Always position your finger so that he must step UP and not down. They don’t like to step down.

Answer by wrestling Queen!
Ok if you havent tried to do anything with it yet then the first thing to do is put your hand in the cage, just put it without touching bird or anything else and leave it there for about 30 seconds
its normal if your bird gets spooked and flies around bt just keep your hand in there until it comes down(usually it flies around for like 10 second) do this several times a day until it stops flying around when you put your hand in the cage

second thing you gotta do is get a perch
put the perch close to the brid, it will usually fly away but just stay still until it calms down & retry and when you get sloe to it with the perch say “step up”
it will certainly not step upon the first try unless the bird is a genious.it usually take a week.
when the bird has learned to step up with the perch try using your figer as the perch & say step up!
im sure you will figure out the rest.

good luck =]

Answer by Jordan S
Put your pointerfinger under his belly and raise your finger. Then your keet will have no choice but to step upp on your finger