# Stepping up.



## Leoanna (Nov 23, 2010)

I've had my tiel Aniketos (Nikkita) for nearly two months now I think (I keep losing track of time).
He took quiet a while to acclimate, but now he has started singing and doesn't startel so easily anymore.

I got him used to taking treats (sunflowerseeds, wheat and millet) from my hand. He goes after my hand if i tell him to come now I'm trying to get him to step up. I can get him to go on my hand with sunflowerseeds but he hopes down again as soon as he has his seed and if at all possible doesn't step on my hand. Strange thing is Nikkita won't step up on my hand but he has no problem doing this
http://leoannars.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=scraps#/d33fk02 to get to his treat. To me that looks like it should seem way more dangerous to him then stepping up?

He's out side his cage nearly all the time when I'm around and has taking a liking to sitting around by my feet. 
He doesn't like my parakeets (I think he's afraid of them) and starts hissing if they get to close.
I'm thinking of clicker training him but if you get anywhere close to him with a stick he jsut tries to get away.


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## tweetycockatiel (Nov 18, 2010)

Leoanna said:


> I've had my tiel Aniketos (Nikkita) for nearly two months now I think (I keep losing track of time).
> He took quiet a while to acclimate, but now he has started singing and doesn't startel so easily anymore.
> 
> I got him used to taking treats (sunflowerseeds, wheat and millet) from my hand. He goes after my hand if i tell him to come now I'm trying to get him to step up. I can get him to go on my hand with sunflowerseeds but he hopes down again as soon as he has his seed and if at all possible doesn't step on my hand. Strange thing is Nikkita won't step up on my hand but he has no problem doing this
> ...


you could watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTiYpobrG8Q
 maybe your bird is still afraid of your fingers without foods/treats. in that video you can see that when pearl is doing good he gets a click sound with a nibble of millet as a treat.. by the click sound aniketos will recognize that he do what you want he gets a treat. your doing great whit aniketos. do it slowly goOdluck! 

regarding the parakeets, parakeets are bully bird. probably its normal that your cockatiel is afraid. hope my advice will help.

I've done this trick to my tweetycockatiel!
have a goOd day


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## Leoanna (Nov 23, 2010)

Thank you for the replay the video is quiet helpfull. I'm glad that Nikkita doesn't flip anymore as soon as he sees a hand  and I'm glad he doesn't bite at all.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

He's stepping up onto your hand sometimes so now you have to teach him to stay there longer. Use a sunflower seed to lure him into stepping up but wait a couple of seconds before you give it to him, and gradually extend the time that he has to wait before he gets the seed.

Try to find some activity that will keep him busy for some time while he's sitting on your hand. For instance, put several small seeds (like millet) in your hand so that he sits there for a while to eat them. Does he like mirrors or shredding toys? You can hold one in your hand for him to play with. 

You can clicker train him. If he's afraid of the target stick then at first you would reward him for looking at the stick from a distance that doesn't frighten him. Gradually bring the stick closer to him, rewarding him each time the stick comes a little closer and he doesn't run away. Before long he'll be close enough to the stick to touch it. There's an excellent clicker training group at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bird-Click/ and they can give you lots of advice.


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## tweetycockatiel (Nov 18, 2010)

tielfan is right.

patience is a virtue
put the stick a bit further to him then when aniketos doesn't react present a treat as it being advice by the video, then closer and closer until aniketos is comfortable with it and actually understand that if he touches it he gets a treat.

goodluck and have a good day


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## Leoanna (Nov 23, 2010)

Nikkita knows that he has to touch the stick, garanted he only did it because the stick was in his face and annoying him the first three times but now he's doing it with out a problem. He doesn't follow it very far yet but I think that'll get better with time. Other than that I'm feeding him millet from my hand once a day  Thank you all for the tips


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## tweetycockatiel (Nov 18, 2010)

CONGRATULATION

your doing great. now that nikkita knows that when he touches the stick he is being rewarded. good job.


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## Leoanna (Nov 23, 2010)

Thank you 
I'm not really sure what got Nikita as wary of hands as he is because he genarally isn't that much of a scaredy cat but I think it'll get better


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

was he used to your hands then all a sudden he got scared and backing away from you?


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## Leoanna (Nov 23, 2010)

No he isn't really scared of my hands (I can get close to him) but he doesn't want to step up at all. He rather lies on his stomache in my hand to reach a treat that is far a way than to step up. And if he steps up on accidant he starts to panick (not bad he just tries to get away as fast as possible).
He tried to land on me three times yesterday when I was hand feeding the budgies but he's not all that good at landing yet.


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