Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that despite spending tons of time with Kiwi, I still can't get her to step up.
Once in while whe she will flutter down to the floor and I'll ask her to step up and she will, but only because she knows I will get her back to her cage. When she is in her cage however, I just can't get her on my finger or hand.
I've tried everything and she does everything to avoid getting up.
She still isn't trying to bite me so that's a good sign and helps me to keep thinking that she will step up one of these days... I think!
She did back up on my finger again with one foot, but that's as far as she got.
Over all though..she is turing out to be a great friend.

Any ideas?

Lisa

I don't know how you're going about it but initially you usually have to give them no choice but to step up. Take her away from sight of her cage, get her on your finger and gently press just above her legs so she will have to step up to keep her balance. Each time you do that, say "step up". Make a big fuss over what a "GOOD GIRL!!" she is for doing it.

A good exercize is the "stair" method - i.e. when she steps up from the finger on one hand, have the other one waiting to repeat the step up. Rotate hands a few times and then let her rest before repeating.

She will soon get the idea what you want her to do.

Yep, what he said. How long have you had Kiwi? Something else you can try is bribery to get her to step up out of the cage. Show her the treat and tell her she needs to step up for it. Chasing her around the cage to get her to step up is usually a bad idea, as it can make her defensive or turn it into a game. What I do with my guys is they don't get to come out unless they step up first. They quickly learn that stepping up equals attention and lovings and out of cage time. I don't push the issue either. If they refuse to step up, I say fine stay in there then and close the door and walk away. I ignore them for a half hour to an hour or so, then try again. With my too, it can take HOURS sometimes for him to give in and step up, but he eventually does and he's learning no step up = no attention.

I think I do need to get her away from her cage like QPdad said. I've tried taking her food dish away, because that seems to be her spot.
Every time I do the finger under the belly thing, she does the strangest thing...she puts her head down and tries to go under my finger.
She is doing great with everything else.
I have had her for a little over a month and we've come a long way in that short time.
When I first got her she would bite so hard and was pretty scary, but she has come to get to know me and trust me so I can now pet her. She doesn't try to bite be when I try to get her to step up, she just finds every way to get around or under my finger.
Like I said before...Her ex parronts had her from a baby until she was 2 years old and for those 2 years she wasn't expected to do anything.
Now I come along and say do this and do that and some things she enjoys, but sometimes she's like..."why do I have to do that?"
We'll get there...thanks to you all with your helpful ideas.
I have had birds before and never had a problem with stepping up with any of them. "Rita" my last Quaker who past away not too long ago...she was always excited when I asked her to step up because she knew it meant she was going to be close to me and we were going to do something.
Now I just have to get Kiwi to realize this.
Kiwi's a little more hyper than Rita.
The good thing is...I know she likes being around me. Whenever she sees me coming to her cage, she runs up to me and says "hello, hello hello" over and over.
And she is starting to relate to me very well.
Certain words she knows means certain things, which is a huge. She knows what stepping up means, she just doesn't want to do it. I trust she will though, because I'm not going to give up. It's something she has to learn!

I'll let you know how we do when I get her away from her cage,
Thanks!
Lisa

I don't know if this will help at all, and I also don't know how much it applies to birds, but I figured I'd write it anyway, lol.
I train dogs professionally, and one of the most important things is not repeating a command over and over again if the dog won't do it. I have taken the same approach with my bird.
What I mean by this is, if you ask her to step up, and she doesn't, don't keep asking her, because it will teach her that she doesn't have to respond the first time. Now this is all in theory, remember, but maybe worth a try. I would ask her to step up, give her a full three seconds, and then make her step up.
If you can't make her step up, I wouldn't ask at all, just work on it until she is consistently stepping up when you put your finger out, and then add the command. If you are constantly saying step up, she can become desensitized to the command, so to speak, where she no longer thinks of it as a command. You might want to try changing it to something else, such as hop on.
Again, not sure if any of this will work, but might be worth a try. Sorry if this seems rambling.
Good luck.
Lena.

lol....actually it isn't so strange. My Quaker does this when she doesn't want to come off her cage either. See, she *knows* she is suppose to step up but she doesn't want too By dipping her head that is avoiding you putting your finger against her belly to make her step up. She's a smart little birdie!!!

When Max does this with me, what I will do is distract her. I will get a toy and hold it above her head...when she goes to bite/play with the toy, then I will swoop my finger in there and say firmly 'up'. That usually does the trick.

Littlesis it sounds like you and Kiwi are coming along very nicely...It just takes time and that we do have... Like you said, the birdie's past has a lot to do with its behaviour now and you seem to be doing very well with Kiwi....Good luck in your persistence......

Georgie has this thing for when she doesn't want to step up, she tries to push my hand away with her head....like she's trying to shove it or something.

She does have the "Step up" down in her words, just not the action.

Don't feel bad, we're having a battle with her stepping up too. We've got to the point where we'll have to show her a treat to get her to do it.

I guess we should just keep trying.....you with your bird and me with mine.

Before too long they'll be stepping up all over the place...I hope.

How high is the top of her cage? Is it shoulder level or higher...If so...Get a stool so you are above her and see how that works....When ever they are shoulder level or higher they get this idea that they are superior and don't have to do what they're asked cuz they're on the top of the totem pole...by being taller than they are that means they are the subordinate and need to listen.

Okay, this might not be the proper way but it worked for me with Shrek (green cheek conure). I got him in October at 9 months old. He had been handfed but then put in a cage and not messed with because she was going to use him for a breeder. Then the breeder decided to sell him. He came to me terrified of hands but loves to cuddle. I found out he loves to sit on you shoulder because he jumped on one day when I was walking by his cage. So I started by leaning over and offering my shoulder, once he was comfortable with that I offered my arm,(the whole time wearing long sleeved shirts because he didn't want to touch my skin)and everytime I said step-up and praised him when he did. He still will not step up on my finger unless he is on the floor, however, when on his cage he will step up onto the back of my hand and I no longer have to wear long sleeved shirts.