Any tips on training a new parrot?

Question

I have a hand reared tame african grey, has anybody got any tips on training him, like going back in his cage and simple tricks

Answer 1

All greys have different personalities so it's a case of finding out what your bird's is. Like humans you can get introverted and extroverted parrots and each need a different approach and anjoy different things. My parrot enjoys music & rhythym but also likes time alone when he gets grouchy. Using his strengths and what he likes, he now 'dances', makes up beatboxes and makes his own whistled tunes which delight visitors. He also plays a toddler toy glockenspiel when he's out of the cage as he likes the noises and starts all his own tunes with "One, two" and a bit of a beat. He's good at language too and we combine the two with singing phrases and dancing to keep up his interest.

I guess that my top tips for bird training are:

1) Establish you're top in the pecking order in a non-threatening way by appearing taller than the bird. Lower the cage slightly. This lessons power struggles and makes the bird less defensive.

2) Make the bird feel at ease in your presence by gentle introduction to him and lots of soothing talk before starting any form of training.

3) Associate simple phrases with certain actions for example my parrot responds to 'step up' onto the arm, gets back into the cage to 'time for bed' and recognises he's overstepped his mark with 'bad bird' and then puts himself in his cage! He is rewarded with a head tickle (his favourite) if he does things when asked except obviously the 'bad bird' signal when he knows he's done wrong and gets some cage time as a result.

4) Reward your parrot with praise, fuss and occasionally a small food treat

5) Make learning and playtime fun with 'outside cage' toys and treats. Learning in small doses is also best, and let him learn, master and use his new tricks/commands confidently before introducing the next. Regularly practice old routines in the proper context so that the parrot remembers them.

.. and above all be consistent. They're very intelligent and are more than capable of understanding simple requests if they are clearly made.

And above all, learning should be fun for the parrot. If he's enjoying learning new things and getting lots of praise, reward and positive reinforcement, he's likely to pick up tricks and games very quickly.

Hope this helps!
Kez

(Owner of 8 year old Charlie)

Answer 2

Have you tried turning on the t.v. or radio, it may or may not help. You can buy birdsitter dvd's or you can also buy cd's with different sounds on them. I also have used a babble ball, my Amazon can mimic that ball to a tee. My Blue Front goes through her sessions of screaming, but for the most part she just talks and makes noises. They are very much like kids, so when they find something that irritates you, they keep doing it. I also agree with just trying to ignore it, unless it's just too bad to. You can also try covering the cage when he gets too loud, sometimes this works, but only for about 10-15 minutes, not hours. Also, make sure that you are rotating the toys and not leaving the same ones in. Has he always been a screamer or has this started recently? If it is just recently, it could have to do with mating, even though he doesn't have a cage mate.

Answer 3

well, if you really want a good answer you should research it, buy a book or at least look on the web. what I would suggest is, open the cage for a while on regular basis, dont feed it before that, when it is ready to come out let it, close your windows first, then when you want it back in the cage put the food in, be careful not too scare it of the cage, it should get used to its environment before it goes off flying around the room, lol
dont push it too much... it worked for my parrots, and i had a couple

Answer 4

if you have an african grey, you should get some books. they are very intelligent, very challenging birds and they are large enough to be dangerous if they are bored or not trained well.

do not let the bird be higher than your eye level. This is a sign of dominance to the bird, he will not listen to you.

reward with treats, punish w/ cage time.

keep him busy. they are very smart birds. do not worry that a concept is too hard for him. they can learn numbers, colors, shapes, all kinds of stuff.

the most important command is 'up'. you should have the bird so good on that that if you say 'up' from across the room, he lifts his leg up anyway. He should get up on your hand or anything else you put in front of him. the easiest way to do this is to put a treat where he has to get 'up' to get it.

keep his wings clipped at least until he listens to you very well.

birds are very conscious of tone. always talk to them, saying 'good bird' or whatever in friendly voices. Make training time sound like fun -- also keep it fun by forgiving mistakes and not making him keep going for long stretches. he has the brains of a 5yr old, but the emotional maturity of a 2 yr old (approximately) - you need to keep him focused for reasonable periods, do not drag it out until he masters something or whatever.

if he refuses to participate in training and it has not been very long (20 minutes or less) put him in his cage and ignore him for an hour, then try again.

Answer 5

african greys are very smart parrots and congradulations on getting one. well first you need a T stand in order to train it. the T stand is needed because some parrots get easily distracted when they are in their cage or around it. have plenty of fruits to give it as rewards when the parrot obeys you.

if you want it to go back to its cage, hold something eatable that your parrot like in your hand and let it follow you.

as for simple tricks do them first yourself and then encourage the parrot tot do them and don't forget the fruit rewards.

Answer 6

It all depends on its age, if it is a fairly young one say about 12-16 weeks old it should be easier to train as older birds tend to be more sensitive & require more time & patience. Try to get the wings clipped as it will aid all the time needed to spend in trying to teach it to do things(after 6 months the feathers will regenerate)the more time spent on lessons the faster the results.

Answer 7

invest £7 in a book called 'guide to a well behaved parrot' by mattie sue athan. It's the best book you can buy which will give you loads of good advice. Unless I want to sit here for the next hour and type, I wouldn't be able to give you all the info you need.The book will.

Answer 8

Have had mine for a year now and doesn't ever wanna go back in his cage best advice i received was to treat him like you would a toddler be patient but firm good luck!

Answer 9

I know what you mean, i have two African Gray's, they go back into their cage when i put in a custard cream, they will do anything to have a biscuit.

Answer 10

look out, i just received a Q from parrot. how do i train angular? they will ,really . they like to mimic their slave so do things he can copy from you.