Q&A for How to Train a Bird to Step on Your Finger

First, get both birds used to your presence by speaking kindly to them and offering tasty foods to eat. When they have more confidence, you will need to train each bird separately to step onto a finger, as they will distract each other if you train them together.

Find his absolute favorite food by offering small amounts of 2 or 3 foods in the cage at one time; see which one he chooses first and eats with enthusiasm. Then, offer him that food on a spoon to keep your hand out of the way. As he eats from the spoon, clicker train him to associate getting a reward with the clicker. Then, you can shorten the spoon and eventually start to feed from your hand.

The bird may be frightened, fearful, or defending his territory. Also, if he bit and you pulled your hand away, he may well have learned that biting gets you to go away. Start again as if he were a new bird, and slowly build his confidence and trust in you. As he bites, start by offering his favorite food or a treat on a spoon, talking to him while you do this so that he links your voice to good things. Over the next few days and weeks, shorten the spoon so that he's closer to your hand, until he's happy to be hand fed.

Little and often is the key! Instead of one long training session a day, break it up into many much smaller sessions so that you talk to the bird each time you pass his cage. Consider asking him to do one simple command each time you approach the cage, so that he grows used to your presence and you don't get bored.