how do you train a parakeet to sit on your finger?

Answer 1

Keep it Positive
The key to training your bird is to keep the interaction positive. Three concepts provide the basis for dove training:

bird does something good --> give a reward
bird does something undesirable --> ignore it
Never punish your dove
Obviously, this is a bit simplistic, but your goal is to shape your bird's behavior into what you want by a giving a reward for good things and ignoring (no reward, no reaction) for bad things.

The reward can be a favorite food treat, but simple praise or a play session with a treasured toy can be good motivation for some birds. If your bird is doing something undesirable, you must simply ignore the bird (your bird will not respond to punishment). A negative reaction can turn into a reward if your bird is looking for attention (negative attention is better than no attention), so you must be careful not to unintentionally cause some undesirable behaviors to increase due to your reaction. Ignoring behavior might first cause it to intensify, but eventually the undesirable behavior will most likely stop. How you approach training can help keep training positive:
Train only when you are relaxed. Positive training does take patience!
Pick a time when your bird is attentive and not distracted by eating, preening, or household activity.
Frequent, but short, training sessions are generally more effective. A few minutes at a time, several times a day, works well.
Pick a favorite reward (but don't overdo it if it is food).
Once your bird catches on to something, don't give a treat every time (switch to praise part of the time) or your bird may only do the behavior if he/she knows you have a treat handy.
End each session on a positive note. Wait for a successful attempt or at least a good try at whatever you are training, give a treat, and move on to something else.
Keep training sessions upbeat and fun for your bird.
Very Basic Training: Step Up and Step Down
If you had to choose only two things to teach your parrot, these would be then ones to pick. This means training your dove to step up onto your finger or wrist (or hand-held perch) on command, and then step back off again. These are relatively easy and extremely important skills to teach. Stepping up is quite a natural movement for a bird so it is generally easy to train this on command (stepping down is a bit trickier to teach). Getting your bird to step up and step down on command makes handling much easier and helps you to set some boundaries for your bird (for example, you can more easily remove your bird from areas of you home that are not bird-proofed, return a bird back to his or her playgym or cage, etc.). If you have a baby bird, he or she is probably pretty cooperative but starting early with the step up and step down commands is still a good idea. Not only does training a cooperative baby allows you to give lots of positive reinforcement, it sets a good foundation for training more skills to your bird in the future.

Answer 2

you have to be extremely gentle.

1 try to put your hand in the cage, but don't touch him. if he flies away, try again in about 15 min. repeat until he doesn't fly away.

2 the next day,or week, when he is comparable with you hand in the cage, start stretching it around and opening and closing it.

3 after he is comfortable with 2, probably about a day, and doesn't fly away, hold a small perch in your hand and move it towards him. if he flies away, try again in a few min.

4 after he is comfortable with that, move the perch rite above his feet, and say step up, wile gently pushing up on his abdomen. he should step up hold him there a few min. then put him back on his solid perch and leave him alone.this shows him that this thing really isn't so bad, and that it is safe to sit on.

5 next, after doing step 4 for about a day, every 15 min or so, get a short perch, about as long as your finger, and hold it with your finger on top, do step 4.

6 then do it w/o the perch. gradually move out of the cage, out of the room, to a different floor, until he is OK with it all. i wouldn't keep i longer than 5 min. out of his cage. the next day, add a min. to get it up to 6 min. next day, 7. animals need this gradual adjustment. it may seem to be taking forever, but he needs that. best of luck to you both!

Answer 3

Superglue it's little feeties?

Seriously, wouldn't that just take patience? Putting the bird on your finger and, perhaps, feeding it a seed it is particularly fond of, and doing that - over and over and over again - until it becomes comfortable with perching there?

Answer 4

By gentling putting your finger up against its stomach like a perch. Then move your other finger up against its stomach. And it will soon climb on your fingers as a ladder.

Answer 5

i work at a pet store and taught lots of birds how to do this even finches lol but it just takes time everyday. if he's scared of you use a glove to pick him up so he doesnt bite you and just hold him till he relaxes. after a few days with that. start saying step up he might not get it right away but its a good word to connect it. push up on his chest and put your hands over his wings gently he has to know hes safe, thats y he's tring to get away he doesnt feel safe, once on your finger make kissing nosies or whislte to him he will get it over time!!!! Good luck!!

Answer 6

budgie breeder, hahhahahaaha, say "step up"? What if the birds don't understand English

Answer 7

with patience and treats.