does anyone know if training birds is tough?

Question

I wanted to have a bird as a pet and wondered all the stuff to know about the dos and don'ts and if they're alright pets and what about that bird flu?

Answer 1

You will need time and patience to train a bird,but once achieved, they are great fun. If this is to be your first bird,I suggest you try a budgie as they are relatively an easy bird to start with.
Daily Care - Your pet budgie needs daily attention if he or she is an only bird. If he is tame, take time each day to take him out and talk to him. If you're having a busy day, try to take him out on your shoulder while you're doing housework or doing your homework. If he is not hand tame, take some time and give him some attention. Talk to him or watch him sing and hop about. Every night it is a good idea to use a light sheet or blanket to cover the cage. This will not only provide security for your budgie, but will also help to keep him quiet if he has a sing-in-the-morning personality and you want to sleep past sunrise. Just be sure to uncover him every morning.
Food and Water - You need to check your pet budgie's cage every day to make sure he or she has plenty of food and water. Especially when the days are hot, change the water every day to keep it fresh. It is important to supplement your budgie's diet, as a seed-only diet will not provide adequate nutrition. At least every other day try to provide your budgie with a fruit or veggie to munch on. Don't leave fresh foods in the cage too long, perhaps a couple hours at the most. Budgie favorites include carrot tops, dark leafy greens, and strawberries. You will learn what your particular budgie has a preference for. Just make sure to keep his diet varied to ensure your budgie's health and longevity.
Cleaning and Maintenance - About once every couple of day's you will need to change out the liner in the bottom of the cage. I used sand sheets. You may also use paper towels, or lining or bedding you can buy at a pet shop. Maybe about once a month you will need to take out some of the perches to scrape any accumulated poops off. If the cage has a grate on the bottom, also scrape the accumulated poops off it, letting them fall onto the liner below, and then change out the liner. About once every six months it may be a good idea to do a "spring cleaning" and thoroughly clean the cage. Take your budgie out of the cage and either put him in a room with someone for safekeeping or put him in a temporary or travel cage while you clean. Wash the perches with unscented soap and let them dry in the sun. Do the same for the cage and the tray. Hand wash the food and water dishes or run them through the dishwasher. Also give the toys a good cleaning. When you're done and everything is dry, replace all the equipment, put the cuttlebone and mineral block back in, and refill with fresh food and water.
Hazards - You want to do everything possible to keep your budgie away from hazards. Place his or her cage away from places where household cleaners and spray products such as hair spray are commonly used. And be sure you don't spray these things near the cage. It is also a good idea to keep the cage away from the kitchen, where fumes from cooking mishaps (such as an overheated Teflon pot or smoke from burnt food) could harm your budgie. Also be sure to place the cage away from drafts, such as near an A/C vent. When you take your budgie out of his cage, be sure that any fans have been turned off and that there aren't any other potential hazards looming around. Just be sure to exercise caution while your budgie is out of the cage.Which ever bird you get,the BASIC rules apply.I will just add,always remember,when a bird is sick,it needs a vets attention quickly!! If you suspect your bird is sick,keep it very warm, until you see a vet. This is very important. Bird flu with pet birds are not a problem.

Answer 2

Depends on what you mean by "training" birds.

It has been my experience that you really don't train birds. You simply re-enforce behaviors that already come naturally to them.

If, for example, you want a bird that talks you pick a species of bird that naturally mimics the sounds of its environment and then provide it with repetitive sounds that are meaningful to you (i.e. "Polly want a cracker...").

In the case of falconry it is a myth that you train a bird to hunt. They are inherently very adept at doing that. All you have to do is convince them that you are a good hunting partner and there will always be prey around if they stick with you.

I mention falconry because it is relevant to the idea that you don't really "train" birds. Raptors are definitely not "pets" and are illegal to posses without the proper licensing.

Answer 3

Birds are wonderful pets. I would start with a young male cockatiel, hand-raised and hand-fed so it will step up on to your finger. Male cockatiels will talk if trained; females do not talk. My favorite is the Lutino cockatiel, mostly all yellow, but there are many other color combinations, all beautiful. They will play with your hair, peck at jewelry and hair things, and anything shiny. When my large parrot tries to bite me, I grab his beak and say "No Bite". Any bird can unexpectedly bite, even if tame. Training birds is not difficult, but takes a lot of patience and time. You will need a hand-fed/raised one to work with it. Make sure your bird is in a dark, quiet place at night, and gets 12 hours of sleep. Feed it a mixture of seed and pellets, fresh vegetables (no avocado) and fruit, cuttle bone for calcium, mineral block, and various bird treats. Remove fresh food after a few hours if not eaten. Do not keep in a drafty place or too hot. In summer, birds will molt many feathers and worse if they're too hot any time of year. They have sensitive systems, so no Teflon cooking in area (poisonous), room fresheners, gas mowers, paints and removers, including nail polishes/remover, smoking. All these can kill your bird, so just use common sense to protect its lungs.

Answer 4

Bird Flu? Not from a little robbin or dove. Second, they could possibly be the hardest animal to train under a pet rock. They don't like to be caged. They don't like to not fly. They will be generally angry birds if you cage and house them. It's a bad choice.

Answer 5

I ahve a cockitel I think he is a great pet, the only thing I would tell you is if you want a bird that will come sit on your shoulder and be able to pet it, I would get a hand fed one, this means when they were born they had some one hand feed them so they would be used to humn hands. the only thing with that is they need a alot off attention, you have to play with them all the time or they wont like you. anyway good luck

Answer 6

it is not hard it just takes a little time if it is a big bird it may be hard dont worry about the bird flu the dos are be patient and dont rush your bird into trustring you until it gos on its own.feed it every day play with it for 2 hours every day also give it a bath under the sink 1 time ervery week and cleen its cage 1 time every week

Answer 7

Its like a dog. It depends on what kind of bird it is, what it's background was before you got it, and how stubborn it is. I was working with a Cockatiel my friend had and it would never listen. It only wanted to peck me. I did eventually get it to perch on my shoulder while I was there, but it hated fingers and would peck at them any time I had my finger too close. Just take time and offer it treats like you would a dog to train it. It may or may not work, but its the best thing I can think of.

Answer 8

I had lovebirds & cockatiels... It was a nightmare.

Birds always let off a powder from their feathers, so I was dusting 3 times a day. The cockatiels were mean. If you let them out, they crap everywhere.

The lovebirds were sweet, they had 2 hatching before we finally got rid of them. They still made that powdery mess everywhere.

If I were you I'd get a fish tank! LOL

I have a dog, a cat, a gecko & fish.

Answer 9

i have 5 birds they are great
they do need your attention everyday you can't just leave them in a room somewhere once your bored
you need to do research on the different types of birds to determine which one is for you

Answer 10

If you are talking about a macaw, they are high maintenance, long living creatures. Do your research before you make a decision to get a pet like that.