Parrot Keeping Secrets

Parrots are amazing and very smart birds.

They have been tested for their intellectual abilities and have been proven to have the intelligence level of a small child.

For some, part of the fun of owning a parrot is to teach it tricks. 

But, teaching a parrot tricks is not just for entertainment purposes. 

Training a parrot will create a better behaved and more sociable bird and may solve some behavioral problems.

When teaching a parrot you need to keep the training sessions short.

You do not want to tire the parrot out and cause the session to be a negative experience for the bird.

You need to keep the training sessions positive and do not start a training session until you are both ready.

Training in a quiet room free of distractions will increase the chances of success.

Another good tip is to make sure that the room is well lit and that your parrot is comfortable in that room. 

You need to be relaxed when training your parrot. 

Not having enough patience with the parrot will affect the way the parrot learns.

An easy trick that most parrot owners start with, is teaching their parrots how to “step up”.

This is an extremely useful trick that will be used most often and throughout the bird’s lifetime. 

It is the simple act of asking the parrot to step onto the object that is in front of it.

This act can simply be done by placing one’s fingers in front of the bird’s feet and asking them in a calm soothing voice to “step up”. 

Use a forearm for larger birds. 

You can use a piece of food to entice the parrot to move forward. 

When the act is completed, the food is given as a reward.

Another trick that people like to teach their parrots is to “turn around”.

As the parrot is standing on its perch offer it a piece of food. 

As it reaches for it, move your hand slowly to its back so that the bird has to turn its head around to see the food. 

You may have to coax your parrot to do a full turn, however some birds will immediately turn themselves around on the perch.

Once the parrot has completed a full turn, the food reward is given to him.

Teaching your parrot to speak can solve the problem of the bird being too vocal with its screeching.

Some birds learn how to get attention this way. 

By teaching your parrot a word you can enjoy their vocalization more. 

You need to start with only one simple word that contains only one or two syllables.

Most people start with the word “hello”. 

You need to repeat the word slowly to the parrot several times, until the parrot makes a sound to respond.

Once the parrot responds, give him a food reward. 

The first sound he makes may not be the word that you are trying to teach him, but the idea is to get the bird to respond to a human voice.

If you repeat this drill several times eventually the parrot will start to mimic the word.

Teaching your parrot tricks is great fun!