Birds by Captain Lloyd - Bird Training

In my thirty five years of involvement with the training of parrot family birds, it saddens my heart to see such a large number of birds being neglected because their owners have not an inkling as to how to get the most out of their birds.
To begin with, the parrot family has a very stringent pecking order. To get the most out of your bird, you must be at the absolute top of this pecking order. Every bird has its own idiosyncratic pattern of behavior. So these procedures will vary to some extent from bird to bird.
Before starting to train your bird, it is vital to have the wings clipped. If your bird bites use a towel to get him out of his cage.
With the bird out of his cage, place it on the back of a chair, or preferably on a training stand. Approach the bird with your palm open angling your hand so that it presents the smallest profile to the bird, remember your hand is larger than most birds. Moving slowly and deliberately towards the birds breast give the command "step up". Your objective is to have the bird's feet on your index finger with your thumb over both feet. Hold your bird's feet momentarily to begin with, increasing the time until the bird is comfortable in this position. Remember to say "good bird" each time the bird steps up. And remember, no sitting on your shoulder, arm or toupee.
The position at which you hold your bird is important. Your birds' instincts tell it the higher it is the safer it is. The safer the bird feels the more aggressive and resistant it will be. That is why you must keep the bird below your chin at all time until absolutely trained. If your bird is a hard bitter, I recommend a training stick instead of your index finger, as the training stick will not scream or bleed. It is also important to never use your finger to scold the bird. Do not shake your finger at the bird, as everything coming from your hands should be positive. Do not tell the bird to step up unless you take the time to enforce the command by insuring that he does so. We want the bird to respond to this command every time NO exceptions.
If you adhere to these beginning principals you will have a loving pet for many years.