Training Your Bird the Easy Way

When training you parrot, the "Up" command is the very first behavior you should train your bird. Whether you have a tame parrot that is just weaned or have an older, untamed parrot, the process is still important. It's a question of good manners to teach this parrot training method!

Training your bird behaviors is faster and easier when working with a hand-fed, young parrot rather than one that is not tame. You might find that it works best to use an untreated wooden dowel or an extra perch you have on hand. Just be sure the perch or stick is fairly long if training your parrot who is not tamed. This way, training your parrot can begin by asking the bird to step on a stick rather than your hand or arm.

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 your parrot has successfully stepped onto the perch, or even placed one foot on the perch at first, offer praise. Let your parrot know how pleased you are with love and treats. These steps should be repeated for approximately 10 minutes per session you spend training your bird. If possible, 2 parrot training sessions every day are best. It is not effective to hold one long session. If you can only train your parrot once per day, limit the session to 10 minutes.

Training your parrot is all about consistency! Once your bird steps up onto the perch, do not let it decided it can refuse to perform the behavior. You want your parrot to grasp the idea that it must do something when asked.

When training your parrot let your bird know that you will provide treats, love and attention when the bird steps up. Each time the parrot does the behavior, let it know you are pleased. Treats can be used, but never rely entirely on treats; praise is the greatest reward, especially for tame parrots.

As your parrot becomes comfortable stepping onto the perch, slowly shorten the distance from your hand to the bird. I find that when training untamed parrots, shortening the perch more than once a week can stress them and actually create a loss of the trust you've built. Progress slowly and regular training will help you and your bird accomplish your parrot training goals.

You will reach a point that the distance from your hand to the parrot on the perch is very small. Once your parrot is comfortable with your hand being that close, begin the final parrot training step - offer your hand or forearm (depending on the parrot's size) instead of the perch. Ask the parrot using the UP command to step onto your hand or arm.

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.

You can learn a lot about your bird's level of trust by watching the bird's body language training your bird includes learning to read its communications about comfort levels shown via posture, stance, and other body language elements. Parrot training is much easier if you pay attention to these clues.

Article Source: http://www.articles.ask-me-about.com

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