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Each day,
spend time engaging in some of the following sessions.
Step up and
Downs
Daily
The Toweling
Game Daily
Introducing
New
Toys
Daily
Potty Training
Daily
Be Gentle Command
Daily
Full Body
Handling
Daily
Taking Food from You
Daily
Pedicure
2-3 times per week
Flight suit training or Harness training
4 times per week
Showering
3 times per week
Dancing Mood
dependent
Before we
begin listing some training ideas, remember to only train when you are
in a good frame of mind. This will require patience on your part. End
your training sessions on a positive note, meaning not only are you
praising behavior but that your parrot is attempting to learn the
command you are teaching. Unwanted behaviors should never be reinforced
positively. I try to get our parrot to choose the command I am giving.
Throughout the training sessions, use lots of praise and reward with
treats.
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EXCITING NEWS!!!
Wow, oh wow. A
wonderful bird owner, who has nothing to sell, has made a website
www.parrotenrichment.com
just to share her ideas on how to keep your parrot entertained and
trained in his home. The website has motivational articles and
videos to help inspire you!! Kris also published booklets (free of
charge!) that are a great read for anyone who shares their
home with a companion parrot. The explanations are easy to put into
action in your our home, and there are pictures, ideas to help you
become a great "parront!" These booklets are in a PDF format so you
will require Adobe Acrobat. |
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Step Ups
(the most important lesson):
A critical
lesson for your baby to learn is the “Step Up” and the “Down” command.
This is something you want to practice many times a day. This doesn’t
mean practice it just when you get your baby out of the cage, but
practice this multiple times per day. It does mean that you should say,
“Step Up” when you get your baby out of the cage, praise him, but they
return him to the cage and do it again….and again….and again. I would
not go over the 10 minute mark during a session or your baby’s delight
in pleasing you may be exhausted. While young, the parrots are like
awkward toddlers so be supportive of their attempts.
Furthermore, practice this exercise away from the cage and in an area
that your bird has not claimed as his. The best choice in the beginning
is somewhere that the baby can concentrate on you or an area without a
bunch of distractions.
Many bird owners forget the “down” command. This is equally important to
remember to say. Always put the bird back down with him/her facing
towards you while making eye contact.
As your baby masters this, also teach him to “Step up” on a perch or
long dowel. I recommend this for those rare instances that you may not
be around and someone else is caring for your bird. What if the bird
gets out of the cage, you are not there to put him back in and the
caretaker is timid of that big beak? Also, teach your baby to “Step Up”
onto a towel on your hand. This is another good exercise for your parrot
to master.
Teach your baby to “Step Up” for others too. Anytime a friend visits
have them engage in a 5 minute session with your baby!
Teach your baby next to step up repeatedly from hand to hand. Your hands
become a birdie treadmill!! This process is called “Laddering.”
“Laddering” is a method we have used for a nippy or misbehaving bird. It
gets his focus back on me and on my being the flock leader. We will
ladder the bird 6-10 times while saying "Up, Up". (Please read more on
our Green Cheek biting page on the website for tips about this
practice.)
The
“Laddering is followed with a “Down" command and the parrot can be
placed on a perch or on his cage.
The Toweling
Game:
Click here to see us toweling baby Greys.
When time
comes to clip toenails, clip wings, administer medications or be
examined by a vet, your baby is probably going to get wrapped up in a
towel or blanket. You will want your baby to be comfortable with the
blanketing/toweling process for the rest of the ordeal may be stressful
enough.
We always
use a regular baby receiving blanket when playing with our babies and
even with our adult birds. Those terry cloth loops on regular human
towels just get tangled up with bird nails otherwise. The tight weaving
on a receiving blanket keeps toenails out. Some birds do not like
brightly colored towels or ones with striking patterns, so I stick with
the pastels.
The blankets
are good for cuddling, engaging in peek-a-boo, and hiding things under
to arouse his curiosity. Hide yourself under the blanket, make funny
noises and see if your new baby wants to come find you (or if your
children show up first). Hide toys or treats underneath to tempt your
baby to forage.
I often give
our babies and pet birds baths, then wrap them up in a blanket for
cuddle time. One or our new Grey owners snuggles her bird every evening
until the baby falls asleep.
Introducing
New Toys:
Your new
baby needs to be exposed to new environments and toys frequently. This
is why we rotate cages often. But also during your daily play time,
introduce new toys. Bring out the bells, the toy truck, the balls and
the baby toys and let them watch you play with them. Babies are much
more flexible than older birds, so now is the time to tap into their
natural curiosity.
Potty Training:
Our first parrot was a Sun Conure that came home to us and began eating
our daily breakfast with us on a play stand in the middle of our table.
We had watched parrot movies where the bird drags a bucket up to its
perch and draws out the Cheerio. Wanting to see how smart our new girl
was, we attached a small toy bucket to her perch and in went the
Cheerio. Bingo, she figured that out faster than I would have. The
bucket trick was no big deal, but what else came out of our mornings
together was potty training. Every time, that conure would put herself
into “poop posture” (watch for your baby to back up, wiggle her tail and
make a deposit), we would all say “go potty” with lots of enthusiasm.
After she did the deed, she would get another Cheerio. All of us thought
this pretty neat and that Sun Conure was potty trained within 3 days.
Please don’t expect a young parrot to learn this quickly. They are still
in awe of the bright world we live in.
Since that time, we have had other parrots potty train very quickly if
we are consistent to say the words “go potty” and reward with praise
and/or treats each time we observe the process.
Be Gentle Command/Beaking versus Biting:
When young parrots rough and tumble with one another, they clamp down
and get a mouthful of feathers. But when they do the rough and tumble
with us, they get a mouthful of skin. All we get is pain. Thus, it is
your job, just like it is Momma Dog’s, to teach your new parrot when it
is not being gentle. Parrots use their beak like a third foot so you do
need to allow your bird to beak your hand. But, when the going gets too
rough, your bird needs to understand the “Be gentle” command. I
accompany this command with a gentle restraint hold by grasping the
parrot underneath the eyes around the back of the head on the
cheekbones. I hold the bird in this manner until it relaxes and say, “Be
gentle.” There is no need for drama or any loud commands.
Another tool is to have some foot toys on hand for them to chew on
instead of you. When they get nibbly, hand them a chew toy!
Taking Food From You:
A few
times a week, feed your bird some warm (not hot - 102-108F) baby food
(cooked sweet potatoes, cooked grits, cooked oatmeal, soaked monkey
biscuits). If you use a microwave be sure to stir to avoid hot spots.
Keeping your parrot used to taking treats from a spoon or syringe will
make it much easier to medicate him if the need should arise.
Full Body
Handling:
This little
piggie went to market, this little piggie stayed home…..play it with
your parrot too. OK, I am not encouraging toe pulling, but I am
encouraging you to touch your parrot all over. Try to make sure you
touch all parts and that he will allow you to gently open his wings. A
well-socialized bird should enjoy being handled. As he gets older, he
might resist the full-body handling if this is not part of your daily
routine. Touch each toe too and rub them with your fingers; it’s foot
massage time! Touch the flight feathers and try saying “wing” as you do
so. Many parrots grow to love a good scritch underneath their wings!
When our Congo Grey came here, the previous owner taught us the game of
“Gonna Getcha.” We would crawl our fingers toward our new pet and say,
“Gonna Getcha on your toe.” Liberty would draw back and run, but would
always come back for more. This chase game helped Liberty ease up on
those areas of her body that she was so protective. We still are
playing “Gonna Getchar tail” with her for she is so cute about tucking
her bum when we play this with her.
Pedicure:
While your
baby is young, take the time to teach him how to have his nails filed.
If you and your baby play with a file about every week, he will accept
it later on in life. Once mature, filing about every 3 weeks keeps the
nails down to a comfortable feel for your arm and hand. We also
recommend using a cement perch or a sandy perch to keep those nails
comfortable.
Play with
your baby with a nail file. The best file to use is one made for acrylic
nails. Shower him with praise and kisses while doing so. Always remember
you don’t have to do all of his 8 nails in one night and that you can
come back the next night. Some birds have dark nails and some have light
nails, but look for the quick inside of the nail and have good lighting
available. With the lighter mutations of Green Cheeks, you can see their
quick; whereas, it is difficult to see on an Eclectus. Here's a web site
with clear illustrations showing exactly where to cut the
nail in order to avoid the nail's blood supply.
http://www.birdmart.com/nails.html
There are
other ways to trim nails. Some use clippers. If we cut the nails, we
always do just a tip off, for it can bleed profusely if you go too far.
If there is any blood, we have always applied corn starch and pressure
to stop the bleeding. I do not use styptic powder for it burns live
tissue when it is on skin.
Many bird
owners also use a dremel tool to file the nails. I have never used one,
but do know that new bird owners should learn from an experienced bird
owner of from a vet. They do cauterize the nail as it files it, so
bleeding is not a factor.
Flight suit training or Harness training:
Rather than rewriting our website, I am going to refer you to our pages
that have already been written on this subject. Do put your bird’s
flight suit or harness on at least 4 times per week for the first 6
months to gain acceptance. Please remember to praise, reward with a
treat/cuddles and a trip outside to see the flowers!
Dancing:
Put in that favorite CD and turn on the tunes. Your bird will love to
dance and sway with you.
Showering:
Bathing is essential for your bird’s health and what better time to get
your bird wet? You can take a shower and play with your bird at the same
time. Babies are at first scared of the water so I place their shower
perch up high and let them merely observe me for a few times. Don’t rush
this by scaring them and dousing them with water. As they get
comfortable, I begin letting them get wet by dripping water off of my
fingers onto the bird. Always be careful of the temperature and don’t
burn the bird! Our pets are now so happy in the shower that they often
sing and let their voices bounce off the shower walls! My Blue Headed
Pionus turns upside down and spreads her wings in delight!
More Ideas:
Here is a
link with great ideas for games to play with your new baby!
http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/ideas.htm#games
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