Attempting "Step Up" Training

[nikku]

Hello, me again, Nikku. Beau is the name of my budgie.

I forget how long, but it must've been at least a week where Beau allows me to touch him (beak and front of body), although I don't know if he only allows me to do that out of fear (his feathers seem to always be flattened and he just stands there,  staring) or if he recognizes that I tend to give him millet whenever he lets me do it. He also knows a little of target training (he touches the end of a chopstick when I bring it up to him in exchange for millet) and I wanted to next teach him the "Step Up" action.

However, he still seems afraid of my hand when I gently push it against his belly, so I tend to stop (and apologize, lol) when he backs up or flies away. I forget how long exactly, but I've been attempting this for multiple days and to no avail. I searched online for answers on what else I can do (besides being patient and gentle, of course) and I came across an article that says to take out your bird by covering it with a towel, then isolating yourself with your bird in a room for a training session of about 30 minutes. The "covering it with a towel" bit threw me off because I'd never heard of that before (although I am a new bird owner...) and I just felt a little alarmed when I read it? The article said that this will make your bird associate the towel as being "bad" and not your hand. I just want to know if this is an okay method or not.

(Note: I searched up a bit about "budgies and towels" and another article said that there are times when you just have to restrain your bird and use a towel, but those were excruciating circumstances like the bird might hurt itself or it has to go to the vet but doesn't want to. This article also said that you should have your bird associate the towel with more happy things so that whenever you have to restrain it with the towel, it will hopefully be less stressful. So, 2 completely opposite opinions.)

[Hezz]

No; don’t. A towel is a bad idea. Stepping up is part of training/taming routine, as there are going to be times when you need to be able to ensure that your bird will do as you need it to do, whether it be to be put back into the cage for safety’s safe, or retrieved from an unsafe place in a room.

The least confronting way to get a bird used to your hands and to take the next step and actually step onto your hand is to entice with a favourite treat. Since your budgie is already familiar with millet use this as your training tool. Get him eating the millet from your hand, gradually make it harder for him to reach the millet. Hold a small piece in such a way that eventually he needs to step onto your hand to reach it and then allow him to feed on what you are holding. It is important to use only a small piece as he needs enough for it to be a reward but not enough to fill up on and not need any more the next time you practise. Do this several times a day, every day, until he will happily step up without a treat. You can then start to practise getting him to step back down onto a perch, giving him a step down command. This one is not nearly as easy a movement for them, so don’t be too concerned if you don’t get it.

[nikku]

So I got Beau to step onto my finger quite a few times. He doesn't do it unprompted though. I have to nudge my finger under him for him to step onto it. If he runs away, I stop and try again later. If he steps on with both feet and stay there, I continue testing the waters with him.

The first time he panicked when I moved and flew off. The second time, I stayed still for a bit and he seemed okay with me moving slowly, although he flew away again when he realized I was trying to get him out of the cage. The third time, I left my hand in the middle of the cage without trying to take him out so that he could hopefully get used to my finger. He stayed on it for quite a long time before he flew back to his perch. I think he went for his food.

The fourth time, I managed to get him out of his cage and had him at eye level with me because I remember reading or hearing somewhere that you should always try to be at eye level with your bird. I also tried my best to only look at him with one eye. He seemed to be checking out what was going on, but didn't fly away and stayed on my finger. He even let me sort of get my face closer to him than usual and he didn't seem too freaked that I was using two hands to interact with him (1 hand as a perch for him and the other to gently pet him). After a bit, he flew off back into his cage.

I tried getting him to perch on my hand again before bed. He did and even let me take him out of his cage. This time, he stayed on really long and I was able to slowly walk back and forth between his cage and my bed. He let me put my face real close to him again without flying away. I did this a couple times and spoke, praised, and thanked him, but when I leaned back, he began to pant. I assumed he was super afraid and was unsure if I should continue because although he was scared, he didn't fly away like he usually does so I tried to calm him by speaking gently. I praised him for being good, even offered him millet (which he didn't take), and thanked him for letting me hold him even though he must be scared. He didn't stop panting though (he only stopped when I pet his beak or chest), so I wondered if he was so scared he couldn't move. It made me feel really bad and so I put him back in his cage.

The next time he becomes like this (panting out of fear(?)), should I immediately cease what I am doing and just put him back in his cage, even if he's not flying off of me?

[mona]

For mine, I could move them around the cage with millet.. initially, in super slow motion and gradually normal speed..

Budgies tend to freeze out of fear sometimes. It's possible what we see as progress might be actually one step backward.. Panting is a sign of fear/nervousness.. maybe go a little slow..

You could continue just moving him around on your finger until he is super comfy.. his body language is relaxed (if he starts preening, that's the best way to know he feels safe). Instead of trying out out of curiosity, maybe make a plan on min number of days which actions you want to repeat.. Having it planned and slow is the way I go..and change it as per their response.

[Hezz]

When training you need to be the one to finish the exercise otherwise if he flies off he thinks has has “escaped “. Have him sit on your finger for very short times initially, then put him back on his perch. And hold off with the petting. This is not going to help your bonding at all. Wait until he is more comfortable with you and allow him to make the first move forward. Once you have a relationship going then you can offer a finger to ruffle his cheek feathers, or fluff his head feathers, and that’s about all of the places you should touch your bird. Anywhere else could be construed by the bird as mating behaviour.