Simple but Guaranted Pet Bird Training Tips

Experienced bird homeowners realize coaching essential for an honest relationship with their pet birds. Once you begin a coaching program together with your bird, you would possibly conjointly find yourself noticing the nuances of your bird’s body language and understanding additional of your bird’s moods.

The Basics
Training together with your pet bird ought to be fun. Here are some coaching tips to keep you each happy.

1. Keep your sessions short. 2 or three 10-minute sessions a day works best to retain your bird’s attention.
2. Let your pet bird get used to props by leaving them near the cage for a number of days. Play with the things to pique your pet bird’s interest.
3. Realize a quiet place freed from distractions to figure along. Keep the cage out of sight, thus your pet bird’s attention is on you during the coaching session. The exception to the present rule may be a frightened or insecure re-homed bird that may ought to see its cage for reassurance.
4. Realize a special reward that you only give to your pet bird during coaching. A food reward ought to be one thing little and simply consumed inside a number of seconds. Or, if your bird enjoys praise or a head scratch, provide these instead of food.
5. Train at identical time a day, thus your pet bird will foresee to your new routine along.
6.  Keep it positive and provide countless praise if your pet bird gets even part of the trick or coaching correct.

Basic Commands
A few basic behaviors that every companion bird ought to apprehend are:

STEP-UP COMMAND: the most necessary behavior you can teach your bird is the Step-up command, in which your bird reliably steps onto your finger, wrist or onto a hand-held perch. Your bird ought to automatically provide a foot when you say “Step up” (or no matter cue you use) whereas you simultaneously provide the hand or perch.

A reliable Step-up makes it easier to retrieve your bird in an inconvenient or maybe dangerous situation. It conjointly ensures that other people will work with or retrieve the bird while not either party feeling nervous or threatened.

To get your bird stepping up, gently provide your wrist, finger or perch at the spot where your bird’s abdomen meets the highest of its legs, and provides the cue, “Step up.” Most birds will naturally raise a foot to step onto the offered object. Praise and reward the bird, and then repeat the accelerate a number of times.

Keep your hand or wrist steady, thus your bird feels assured stepping onto it.

STEP-DOWN COMMAND: you can conjointly train your bird to step down onto a playgym or its cage. If your bird likes hanging out with you, you’ll have to create it price its whereas to step down.

CONTACT CALL: you are your bird’s flock, thus naturally it desires to keep track of where you are. Teach your bird a special whistle, word or phrase to use when it desires you to retort. If taught correctly, this contact call will replace that ear-piercing shriek that your bird likes to use when you leave the area.

If your bird has already learned that screaming seems to form you reappear or respond (i.e. yell or admonish), it will take way more persistence and patience to change the behavior.

To teach your bird a contact call, use an even phrase – “Be right back” – when that you leave the area. call frequently to your bird whereas you are out of sight. this can let it apprehend that you are nearby.

If your bird makes the desired contact call, respond immediately by either calling in come back or poking your head into the area. don't respond when your bird is screaming.

Consistency is crucial during this coaching. it would not seem to be such a foul plan to often respond to your bird’s screams, but resist the urge. You’ll be rewarded in a while.

Other useful coaching Behaviors

Recall: This extension of the Step-up response is essential for flighted birds, but is additionally necessary even for wing-trimmed birds. Praise and reward your bird for approaching you to accelerate.

Bite a target stick: many experienced avian trainers suggest that the first factor you teach your pet bird in a coaching program is to bite the tip of a chopstick or alternative little, hand-held stick (not a perch). chances are high that, your pet bird will bite the target stick when it's presented. If you keep praising and rewarding the behavior, your pet bird will quickly notice that it receives attention when it does thus and can be glad to bite the target stick.
 

Once your pet bird has the idea that biting the stick brings praise, you can then use the stick as a tool for teaching alternative behaviors, like walking or flying to urge the stick or climbing a ladder to reach the stick. This can, in turn, be used to teach the pet bird to steer or fly to you when you hold the stick, or to climb a ladder so as to ring a bell.

Alternative fun ideas: comparatively straightforward tricks include teaching your pet bird to ride a small wagon; wave “Hello” or give a “high four,” or tap a mirror in response to a cue (such as “Who’s a fairly bird?”).

Common coaching Mistakes To Avoid

1. Stop biting from turning into a habit by not letting bites happen within the first place. Keep your hands out of beak range, and your bird are going to be less tempted to aim for them.
2. Don’t be intimidated. If your bird is acting aggressively, stand nearby until it calms down. When it's calm, you can leave. now your bird is aware of that aggressive behavior gets it nowhere.
3. Don’t expect your bird to be ringing bells on command immediately when one or 2 coaching sessions. Your bird will learn best if you continue to reward and encourage it with each little step it takes in your coaching sessions.