Training Your Parrot: The First Basic Manners Commands

Training your parrot in a few easy steps should begin with teaching it the "Up" command. This is a basic 'manners' command so training your bird will teach it how to behave and you can easily manage your parrot using this command. This parrot training works with both tamed and untamed parrots.

Training your bird manners and commands is, of course, easier if the parrot is tame rather than untamed. It just requires a bit more dedication and persistence when training your parrot that is not tame. You'll find it works best for untamed birds if you use a perch or wooden dowel (be sure it is not treated wood) which is reasonably long. This allows training your bird to begin without the bird being encouraged to touch your hand at first.

The first step is choosing location. I like to see people training their parrots outside the cage. Sometimes that just can't be arranged. You can work on training your parrot while the parrot inside the cage. This is easy if you have a large opening as the door. Any cages have very large secondary doors with smaller openings for inserting food and water dishes, making it easy to train inside this type of cage. Choose a dowel or perch appropriate for the type parrot species you own so your parrot will be able to stand comfortably on the perch.

The second step to watch for when training your parrot, during that very first session; simply place the perch below the bird's breast and above its feet. Say the word "Up" clearly but not loud or your parrot might be startled or scared. As you say the word, move the wooden dowel slightly forward so that your parrot will place a foot on the perch and step onto it.

Once the bird steps on the perch reward it with loving sweet praise, telling it what a wonderful parrot it is. Repeat these steps for 10 minutes per parrot training session with two sessions per day if possible. One longer session is not effective; if you can only train your parrot one session per day, stick to 10 minutes.

Training your bird requires consistency in order to be successful. Once your bird has performed the Up command, do not allow it to refuse to respond on cue, yet do not punish it. Simply push the perch toward it a bit more. Your parrot must understand something is expected when you ask it to step up.

When training your parrot let your bird know that you will provide attention, love, and treats when the bird steps up. Each time the parrot performs on request, let it know you are thrilled. Treats can be used, but don't rely on treats; praise is the best reward, especially for tame parrots.

As your bird gets comfortable stepping on the perch, you can slowly shorten the distance from your hand to the parrot. When training untamed parrots, do not shorten the perch more than one each week or you could stress the parrot, causing loss of trust. Progress slowly but surely toward your parrot training goals.

As training your bird progresses, a point will be reached where the distance from the parrot to you hand is quite small. Then next step is to ask the parrot to step directly onto your hand or arm. This parrot training step is a big move for your bird, so be patient and loving.

Parrot training in manners-type commands can progress quickly or slowly. A lot depends on you, your consistency and your parrot. If the parrot has been over-stressed or made fearful through abuse or trauma, it can take a longer time. If your parrot is only learning to trust you, the process can occur quite quickly. If your parrot is a tame, hand-fed baby, the process can happen in only a few days.

When training your parrot that was hand-fed, you can count on the entire process taking a short time - in fact, you'll probably start at the final step with the parrot stepping right onto your hand. I recently brought a just-weaned budgie home. He was not hand-fed but very young and trusting; he was learned the "up" command within a week and consistently performs the behavior whenever requested.

When training you parrot, watch for signs of its level of trust and comfort with the training by paying attention to body language. Parrots communicate with humans by using body language; all you need to do is watch for clues.

Article Source: http://www.myaddirectory.com

About the author: Mississippi 'Bird Lady' finally exposes her proven parrot training strategies to stop freakish bird behaviours like parrot screaming and plucking.

If You want to use this article on your website then select COPY THIS ARTICLE in the Menu on the right side!

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated