ive been training my parakeets for awhile now, but they just dont know that 'up' means to hop onto the perch. I can press it lightly against their chest so they lose balance and step on, but I want them to know the command and do it on their own. any suggestions?

It's just a matter of repetition - parakeets are very smart. Right now they're doing it because they have to - after a while they will do it because they choose to