Kira & Step ups

[cprcheetah]

Sorry I have been MIA, my hubby was in a bad accident (hit a cement barrier 3 times going 60mph) the first of the month and totalled his car...he walked away with minor bruising and a pulled muscle but we have been spending the past month situating a new car...which needed a total engine overhaul...so busy busy here. Kira and Kermit are both doing well. Kira continues to do well with her step ups but will only do them if I get her out of the cage. Will she eventually get to the point of doing them herself (climbing on my finger to get out of the cage)?
She is about 9 months old now. She's a sweetheart. They both sit in their cages next to each other. The spend time together on the playground as well. I don't think they will have a problem living together once she's old enough. I will send pictures later. She's such a pretty girl. Thanks again, I LOVE my Kira bird.

[butterfly1061]

Sounds like Kira is doing well with the step-ups. Mine eventually learned to stepu-up without me even saying it. All I have to do is put my finger in front of them. All birds are different and it may work out the way you hope and it may not. Does Kermit do it? If she sees him doing it she may start.

Sorry to hear about your husband. I had a prretty bad accident last November and I'm still working with the insurance companies :mad: I too had to get a new car (the one totalled was new as well). It's no fun. Good luck to you both.

[DebSpace]

Hey, Heather, I was just wondering about you a few days ago. So sorry about your husband's accident. Glad he wasn't injured any more than that, but accidents do involve lots of paperwork and rearranging. Keeghan (Kira's brother) is still leary of my hands, but he steps up and goes inside his cage well on a dowel. He's a very good bird, loves to play and climb alot, eats his veggies well and loves to take baths. So scritches from Keeghan to Kira!:D

[Keltoth]

Hi, Heather! It's good to hear from you, I was wondering if life had kept you too busy to visit. Sorry to hear about your husband's accident, but am very glad that he came through it ok.

I'm sure Kira will eventually start stepping up on her own to come out of her cage. I'm a bit disappointed in her inclination to step up, as well as her brother's (Keeghan's) lack of interest in stepping up for Deb. I sent home a second bird with Keeghan that I had spent less time with as far as training and social interaction, and he is the one who steps up for Deb and wants to be in her business whenever she will let him do so. Due to the fact that both Keeghan and Kira would step up out of the cage just fine for me before they left the aviary - and yet seem to be struggling with it now (especially when other birds from that same season's hatchings have no issues whatsoever in their new homes), I'm starting to think that maybe I spent too much time with Keeghan and Kira and their other clutch-mates. It's no secret that I loved them above all the other chicks (even above Boo and Vixen, my Opaline sisters), and I am thinking that because I spent too much time socializing them and letting them tool around with me during the course of the day, they might have formed a bond with me that was stronger than I assumed it was. If this is the case, then I certainly did them no favors if they are now feeling lonely and untrusting of other humans because they were taken from the home flock and placed in new homes. Maybe they could feel that I loved them more than the other chicks and bonded with me for it.

If Kira is now stepping up on your fingers once she is out of the cage, then I think that eventually, she will start stepping up for you while she is still in her cage. Since she has no problems with stepping up when she is outside of her comfort zone, maybe you should consider asking her to step up and only letting her come out of the cage when she steps up for you. If she makes the connection that stepping up is the only way she will be allowed to come out of her cage, she might be more willing to do so. Of course, she might just decide that staying in her cage is preferable to stepping up and strengthen her desire to not comply, so I dunno if that would be a wise tactic to attempt. Since there was a point in her life where she was willing and even enjoyed stepping up to come out of her cage, it is reasonable to assume that she will eventually get to that point again. Keep in mind, however, that some birds just do not like to step up to come out of their cage; I have two such birds that enjoy interacting with me and stepping up once they are out of the cage, but simply prefer for me to lift them out of their cage in my hand, rather than stepping up themselves - even though they will happily step up on my fingers once they are out. Vincent is one of these birds, and he will run to the edge of his shelf/platform and calmly stand there, waiting for me to lift him out - but will back away and evade me if I offer him a finger or anything other than my hand, laid flat with the palm-side up. He was a bird that was not born in my aviary and that I got from another person when he was close to Kira's age when she first went home with you (maybe a month or so older), and the woman I got him from had no problems getting him to step up for her when I first met him, so I don't think that this non-stepping up behavior is all too uncommon at all for birds that have gone to new homes.

Anyway, I am glad to hear Kira is otherwise happy, healthy and loved. Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with her, and I enjoy hearing about her from you.

- Eric

[salderm1]

Hi,

I'm sorry about the accident Heather! I have read on other links that you are the knowledgeable one about hens! I think I just discovered my Link is a hen because yesterday he was putting shredded paper in his rump feathers! I gave him or her paper today and she hasn't stuck anything anywhere just is shredding it everywhere! I give her paper when she first comes out of the cage for the evening because she is very nippy when she first comes out and it is a distraction for her besides my fingers, ears, nose etc...Anyways, I might have some questions later for you if you don't mind!!!

Ok, now a question for Eric!!!
One thing I was wondering, is it important for a bird to learn to step up? Link hates fingers and will take one off is he gets a chance!!! I tried using a dowel but no interest at all he just hops over it! He has twice stepped up on my finger when he got spooked by something and eneded up somewhere he was scared of ie, the floor! His cage stays in my room at night and during the day then when I gethome from work I put his cage on the living room floor and open the top so he can come out at his leisure. He is usually out before I can get both flaps open! Then he flies to either the computer chair or couch which are about the same height as the top of his cage. Then he just kinda goes back and forth between my son and I and his cage. He usually falls asleep on my shoulder and then goes in his cage with a gentle nudge. Oh geeze, I just realized I wrote almost this whole post reffering to Link as a HE!!! lol Anyways, does a bird have to learn the step up??? (Short story made long!!!)

Thankyou for any input!!!

Sheri

[Keltoth]

Anyways, does a bird have to learn the step up??? (Short story made long!!!)

Well, that all depends on your intent for your bird. If you intend on your bird being nothing but breeding stock that is rarely taken out of his/her cage, then no - stepping up is not important. However, if you intend on having a pet bird that comes out of it's cage often and with which you want to interact, then yes; learning to step up is very important.

There are a couple of very good reasons for teaching your bird to step-up on command. The first reason is that the learning process of stepping up builds confidence and trust in both your bird and yourself. As your bird becomes more and more secure in stepping up, a significant measure of trust is built between the two of you, while at the same time your bird is learning that the human is the dominant partner in the relationship - not in a "do-what-I-say-or-else" spirit, but rather in a "I trust you and I'll follow your lead" spirit.

The second reason is that repetition builds habitual compliance in your bird, to the point that when you give the command to step up, your bird does it out of reaction, rather than thinking through the process. This can be particularly important in the case of an emergency where you need to physically control your bird ( a house-fire, your bird gets outside through an open window or a door left ajar, etc). The last thing you want to be doing in a smoke-filled room or when you are scampering up a tree is flailing about, trying desperately to catch your bird. It is in emergency situations that habitual compliance from your bird in stepping up can REALLY pay off.

Having said all that, learning to step-up is not all-important. If you get one of those birds that genuinely likes your company but just does NOT want to step up, then you have to decide if it is worth souring your relationship with your bird in order to force your will on it. It is possible to have a great relationship with a bird who will not step up, but don't fall into the trap of not doing everything you reasonably can to get your bird to step-up because it is difficult to get your bird to accept and comply.

- Eric

[salderm1]

Thankyou Eric! I will try to make Link step, but honestly, every time (in his crisis) he has stepped up! He trusts me so that is good!