Animal Pets and Friends Articles and Websites

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.

I suggest training your bird outside his or her cage. Sometimes that is impossible and in those cases, you can train your parrot inside its cage. It helps if the cage has a big door so you can move the dowel inside the cage easily. Of course, you should choose a dowel or perch sized properly for the species of parrot you're teaching.

In the first session of parrot training, you should position the dowel or perch above the parrot's feet but also below the breast. At the same time, say "Up" clearly. Don't shout or be loud, simply say the word 'Up'. As you speak, slide the dowel slowly toward the bird and it will naturally place a foot on the dowel or perch.

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.

How long training your parrot this behavior requires depends on you, your consistency and your parrot. If the parrot has been stressed or made afraid through abuse or trauma, it can take a long time. If your parrot is simply unfamiliar with you, you must prove to it that you won't hurt it and the process can occur quite quickly.

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.

Be sure to watch your parrot's body language for clues to the level of trust and level of comfort with the parrot training activities you are doing. Your parrot will generally communicate its comfort level using body language. You simply have to pay attention to the clues.

Author's Resource:

Nora Caterino can easily help you training your parrot straight from the comfort of your home. Now you can "spy" on her parrot training videos and audios online.

Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

Please Rate this Article

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

Not yet Rated