So now what?

[Tallyollyopia]

I have two peach-faced lovebirds, Gully and Fern, and I've had them since September. They were, through no fault of their own and through pure human stupidity, completely wild when I got them. I've been slowly taming them, and I've finally gotten them to the point where they are completely comfortable having multiple people (as long as I'm there) around the cage. I would like to teach the birds how to step, so now what? How do I go about doing that?

[linda040899]

The least threatening way to do it is to use a perch or a dowel rather than your hands. You've made amazing progress with them and I'm thinking they will trust a perch the quickest.

[Tallyollyopia]

What's a dowel?

[Lovie]

A dowel (sorry for intruding here, but I just wanted to give some tips) looks like this: http://store.cincinnatidowel.com/images/products/628.jpg

It's like a long and usually wooden thing that looks like a perch. Some birds are nervous around hands at first, so using a dowel might help.

What you'll have to do is, using the dowel, press it against the bird's chest to encourage it to step up. If it does, praise it. If you want more detailed information: http://www.sevenparrots.com/OriginalArticles/WellBroughtUpParrots/Commands_StepUp.htm