Stepping Up My Cockatoo

I have a female Goffin cockatoo that is at least 6 years old. She and her best friend an Umbrella cockatoo were given to me by an owner who did not want them anymore and was going to have them euthanized. I was not going to let that happen, they are good birds. The (minor) problem I have with Pepper, the Goffin, is that she will not step up. This is a bird that when
she is standing on her cage or perch I can touch her anywhere. When I put my hand toward her abdomen for a step up she immediately drops her head for me to scratch. If I don’t and try to move my hand so she will step up, she will bite. She draws blood every time. She will step up IF she is walking on the floor and I offer her my hand or occasionally at night when she is ready to go to bed. I have tried offering all sorts of food rewards and she just lunges, grabs the food and drops it on the floor. If I try to offer a stick she becomes visibly upset and runs away. I have attended a class held by Barbara Heidenreich that shows you how to use positive reinforcement but Pepper apparently missed that class. We have had many storms and tornados this year and it is hard to get her to safety quickly when I have to get a towel and gloves to pick her up. I would appreciate any suggestions you may have on how I can motivate her to step up.

Hello Lisa!  My name is Chris Jenkins, and I am one of the Supervisors with Natural Encounters, Inc.  I would be happy to offer some advice that might help you out with the issue that you are having with your cockatoo.  I'd like to commend you on seeking out information on training your bird to step up using positive reinforcement, as too often this is something that many companion parrot owners choose to simply force their birds to do.

In order train your bird to step up, we have to figure out a way to make the behavior of doing so motivating for your bird.  When looking to train any behavior at Natural Encounters, Inc, we always start by asking the following question from the bird's perspective: "What's in it for me?"  In other words, we have to figure out why the animal would be motivated to perform the behavior in question.

From what you've described, when present your hand for your parrot to step up, it is immediately soliciting head scratches.  This is a behavior that I have seen in birds before, and I think that the best thing to do is to simply ignore it.  The key to successful positive reinforcement training is to reward behaviors that you like, while at the same time ignoring those that you do not.  If you present your hand persistently or at an increasingly close distance to the bird when it's not doing what you want it to, frustration can build up within the animal to the point that it may become aggressive.

It sounds like you are having some success with stepping your bird up in some situations, so we will seek to build on these experiences and hope to translate them to stepping up your bird regardless of where in its cage or in your house she may be.  I think it's important to look at how the situations where you've said the bird will step up to you are different from other situations.  In the case of being on the floor, my guess would be that the bird willingly steps up because, for a parrot, being on the ground puts them in a very vulnerable position, and she has probably learned that stepping up to your hand from there is the fastest way for her to get up from there and to someplace where she likely feels more comfortable.  As for stepping up at night, it may well be the opposite situation; while she may step up from the floor to get away from a place where she might feel uncomfortable, I would guess that she steps up to your hand at night in order to move towards a place where she wants to be at that time (her cage, as it's time to "roost" for the night).  Every action an animal performs is done to either get something that it wants or to avoid something that it doesn't want.  Our goal for your cockatoo is to teach her to step up when you want her to, so we need to figure out the best way to make stepping up, in a variety of different places, times, and circumstances, to be a good thing that she looks forward to doing.

A big part of this will be making sure to create as many positive interactions between yourself and the bird as possible.  I like to think of my relationship with a particular animal as a sort of bank account -- I can make deposits into this account by creating positive, rewarding experiences for the bird, but I can also make withdrawals from it whenever I am a part of an interaction that the bird sees as a negative experience.  If I build up a high enough "balance" from a long history of positive interactions, then the relationship doesn't suffer too badly when I make a small withdrawal (maybe by startling the bird or taking an item away that I don't want the bird to play with).  However, if I don't have a strong relationship (that is, if my account balance is low), then negative experiences can severely harm the overall relationship, even "bankrupting" it to the point where the bird wants nothing to do with me!

Before we even go into the details of training a bird to step up, I would like to make two suggestions that I think will help immensely.  The first is to take every opportunity to try to create positive interactions with your bird on a daily basis.  This may sound basic, but unfortunately many companion parrot owners just want someone to "fix" their birds, and don't spend enough time building up the strong history of positive interactions that are the building blocks of a bond that hopefully will last many years.  In my opinion, the most fun way to do this is to work on training your bird a variety of different behaviors.  The basic rules of positive reinforcement training are simple -- reinforce behaviors that you like, while ignoring those that you don't -- but they can be used to train any number of behaviors that you might want your bird to learn.  One of our favorite behaviors is to train our birds to put themselves away when they are on top of their cages.  You can do this by first showing them a treat and using it to try to bait them into their cage, and then fading out this bait and replacing it with a cue to go inside.  We usually use a treat to lure them down the front of their cage, and then dropping a treat or two into their bowl from the outside so that they have to go inside to get it.  We then let them climb back out and they do it all over again -- it's important to not close the door behind them too fast, as our goal is not to "trick" the bird into going inside, but rather to make going inside be something that it likes to do.  After going inside a few times to grab a treat, you might try just pointing towards the bowl where you've been dropping treats.  The bird might make a small movement towards the inside of the cage, and you can then drop a treat in the bowl to reward them for that.  Over time and with patience you can eventually get to where you can simply gesture towards the bowl, your bird will go inside, you can shut the door, and then give them treats in their bowl.  Each and every step in this training process creates more and more positive history between you and your bird.

My second suggestion is to try whenever possible to avoid negative interactions with your bird.  Negative interactions, such as forcing the bird to step up by pushing a hand upwards into their chest, can have a variety of undesirable consequences.  Not only are these interactions unpleasant (or, at worst, harmful) for your bird, but they will take away the trust and progress that is made in your positive interactions.  From what you've detailed in your question, a negative interaction that I would try to avoid whenever at all possible is the use of a towel or gloves to grab, secure, or otherwise immobilize your bird.  I would suggest that if you think that there is any chance that you may have to be able to secure your bird in a rapid fashion, then it is probably best to not let your bird out at this time or in this situation.  Severe negative experiences such as this make large withdrawals from our trust accounts that we build up with our animals, and the stronger the history they have with a particular negative stimulus, the more damage it does to our ability to maintain the trust that it takes to maintain our bonds with them.

Now that I've gone over some of the preliminary guidelines that I think will help you with your cockatoo, I will detail to you how we go about teaching a bird to step up.  Many of the details may be a repeat of things that you have heard in the past, but it will give you a good look at the things that we look at in the behavior of our birds in order to evaluate how to progress in our training with them.

Because biting is an issue that many companion parrot owners run into in regards to trying to step them up, we sometimes suggest that people train this behavior with their bird in its cage, so that the bird is secured in a safe area while training progresses.  Because it sounds like your bird already spends a lot of time outside his cage, you might also follow the steps below with her on top of her cage, which gives her a bit more freedom of movement.  The first step in this training is to evaluate the behavior of the bird when we first step up to them.  In order for a training session to be successful, we want to make sure the bird is not exhibiting any signs of discomfort or aggression that may be a sign to us that the bird does not want to interact with us at the time.  With cockatoos, we look at erect crest feathers, slow or rigid body movements, and tightened body feathers as signs that something in their environment is making them uncomfortable.  Some cockatoos will raise their crests when they are simply excited, so we will often look for several of these signs to be exhibited at once to determine whether or not it is a good idea to approach the bird in question.  We always want to set our animals up for success, and look to whether or not they want us to interact with them at the time is always the first step in this.

If your bird seems comfortable and interested in interacting with you, we then try to figure out what we can use as a treat in order to reinforce good behaviors during our training sessions.  The best way to figure out what to use for a treat is to take those items that are favored treats (which for many birds is a particular type of nut or seed) and to withhold them from your bird's regular diet and only use them in your training sessions.  This will ensure that these items retain a very high value, and the bird will learn quickly that participating in these sessions is the way to get these things that it likes so much.  If you find that your bird continues to ignore or reject food treat, you may be able to use small scratches on the head as a reinforcer instead.  The trick is to find something that your bird really likes and try to only use it during these sessions, as it will give this reinforcer special value that, at least initially, it can only get when you are playing the "training game."

Once you have a reinforcer that the bird likes and you've determined that the bird is comfortable with your presence, you can begin to reward the bird for maintaining its calm demeanor while you progress in your session.  If the bird approaches you as you approach her, try offering her a small treat or scratch.  We like to use small treats because they can be eaten quickly so that training doesn't slow down.  If she takes the treat gently from your fingers, then next you can present your flat hand at a safe distance away.  While many companion parrot owners let their birds stand on the side of their hand (on top of the thumb, with the palm perpendicular to the ground), we like to use a flat palm as it is a larger area for the bird to stand on, and can be held steadily more easily and will therefore be a more stable and comfortable "perch" for your bird to stand on.  Depending on the set up of the cage, you might be able to get your hand onto a perch in her cage while she sits a safe and comfortable distance away.  If not, then it’s ok to present your hand through the doorway, while she sits on a perch just inside.  Regardless of whether she is inside or on top of her cage during this training, I'd suggest trying to rest your hand on either a perch inside or on the cage itself (if she's on top of the cage), as this will make your hand much steadier.  If she puts her head down for scratches, lunges, or tries to bite when you present your hand, then back your hand further out of her space until you can reinforce her for comfortable, upright body language.  You can then start your approximations from there, edging your hand closer as she demonstrates good body language.  If she lifts her foot, reinforce her for that.  The next step would be to reinforce her for touching your hand with her foot.  How to do this will depend on where your hand is in her environment.  If your hand is resting on her perch, then simply bait her (show her the treat) so that she needs to move close enough to touch your hand in order to get the treat.  This may be where working with your bird on top of her cage may be an advantage, as she will have the power to choose to walk to where your hand is, as opposed to you having to encroach on her space in the cage by moving your hand continually closer to her in the cage.

The important point in all of this is to give your bird power in his environment.  If she isn’t comfortable with your hand moving in (i.e. she’s lunging or biting), then it would be best to keep a distance where she is comfortable (i.e. sitting still, not showing aggression).  When she does show good body language while she touches your hand, reinforce her for that.  Next, give her the opportunity to step up with both feet, and reinforce her for that if she chooses to do so.  It's possible that she may step up confidently and willingly right away, or you made need several repetitions at each step.  It all depends on her, and how comfortable she is at each step.  Her body language and behavior will tell you her level of comfort, and that's what contributes to her part in the communication going on between the two of you.  Your ability to read that body language and react accordingly is your part in this two-way communication.

If she is stepping up confidently, then go right ahead and ask her to step right back off (having never taken your hand out of the cage if this is where your training is happening).  Birds like to step up onto things, so make sure your hand is slightly above the level of the perch/top of the cage when she steps onto your hand and slightly below the level of the perch/top of the cage when she steps back onto the perch.  Because you've probably given your cockatoo many treats for getting onto your hand at this point, she may not want to get off!  It's important that she does, though, so that you can continue to practice repetitions of stepping onto and off of your hand, so you may need to show her a treat on the opposite side of her perch to get her to step off initially.  When she does steps off, make sure to reinforce her right away.

There are a couple of things to consider when you're deciding how much to reinforce her for stepping onto and off your hand.  It's possible that stepping off your hand may be more negative than stepping on, so be prepared to give her lots of treats and attention for going back onto her perch if she seems hesitant to do so.  It may also be possible that, if she's nervous stepping on the hand, she'd rather go back to the perch and, therefore more reinforcement should come for stepping on the hand and less for stepping on the perch.  But be prepared to change where she gets the most reinforcement. What was her strongest behavior at the beginning of the session may not be her strongest behavior at the end.  This is another example of how good training techniques create two-way communication between the trainer and the animal.  Her behavior will dictate how you reinforce her, and how you reinforce her will influence her future behaviors.

Once you are both comfortable at these steps and ready to move on, you can try to move her around a bit on the hand (take her out of her cage if that's where you've been working).  But I would encourage you to do lots of repetition stepping her up from a spot and putting her right back down again first.  Once she learns that stepping up doesn't mean that she's going anywhere, and she's doing it without hesitation, you can step her up, move her around a little, and put her right back in the same spot.  That can progress to where you're moving her around even more, and then even putting her down in different spots, first away from the cage, then towards the cage.  Once she's stepping up comfortably and coming with you towards the cage, you can try putting her inside and then bringing her right back out again.  Next, put her in the cage and ask her to step onto the perch, then step her right back up and bring her out.  Lots of repetition at each step is the key.  You can then generalize this behavior to other places -- from the top of the cage, off of a climbing toy, off a table, off of the floor, etc.  One of the sayings that make up the backbone of our training philosophy at Natural Encounters, Inc, is "Repetition builds confidence."  It's a gradual process, and one that requires lots of time and patience, but it's one that has been successful in the training that we've done with literally hundreds of birds over the years.

The key to integrating the above into your work with your Goffin's cockatoo will be to always pay attention to what your bird is telling you in with her body language, and to only push forward in your training at a rate that your bird is comfortable with.  If you are interested in reading more about bird behavior and training, I recommend you check out information on our website, http://www.naturalencounters.com, where you can find a variety of papers and articles that have valuable information for concerned companion parrot owners such as yourself.  If you are interested in a more hands-on approach to learning about the care, training, and enrichment of your cockatoos, you may also want to consider attending one of our Companion Parrot Owner Workshops.  Held at the Natural Encounters Training Facility in Winter Haven, FL, this 6-day lecture and hands-on training workshop teaches the principals and applications of the art and science of using positive reinforcement techniques in working with companion parrots.  Our president, Steve Martin, teaches the lecture portion of the workshop himself, while outside the classroom participants work with our Senior Trainers and other parrot owners to apply the information covered to a wide variety of parrot species.  Space in these workshops is limited and they usually fill to capacity quite quickly.  More information can be found on our website, http://www.naturalencounters.com, or by calling 407-938-0847.

Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Chris Jenkins
Supervisor
Natural Encounters, Inc