Exotic Pet Birds » Exotic Pet Bird Training http://exoticpetbirds.org Resources for raising a healthy Bird Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:19:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 How to teach your exotic bird some fun tricks. http://exoticpetbirds.org/how-to-teach-your-exotic-bird-some-fun-tricks.html http://exoticpetbirds.org/how-to-teach-your-exotic-bird-some-fun-tricks.html#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 01:10:18 +0000 admin http://exoticpetbirds.org/?p=23 The first things to have in mind when you are embarking on teaching your pet bird tricks are some basic training techniques and themes common to training any animal. You want to start with things that come naturally to your exotic bird and will be simple to reward and reinforce, so for an example many birds like to flap and stretch their wings. When they exhibit this behavior you label it and reward it with either food or praise or anything your bird likes. You are waiting for the behavior to be performed and then positively marking it with your voice or a treat. With repetition your bird will make the association between these three things and learn to do it when he/she hears the word you have labeled the desired behavior or trick. This simple approach can be used for all sorts of individual behaviors that your bird does in his/her daily life like jumping on and off his perch or picking things up in his mouth and carrying them around.
Once you and your bird have a good working relationship together and he knows a variety of commands for tricks you can start getting creative and stringing behaviors together so they become one seamless trick. An example of this would be teaching the pickup and the drop together in to a little bowl or some cute object like a basketball hoop. Birds are very clever and love the positive interaction training can bring to their lives so with patience and gentleness always at the forefront of your technique you will be amazed at the repertoire of tricks your bird can acquire.

]]> http://exoticpetbirds.org/how-to-teach-your-exotic-bird-some-fun-tricks.html/feed 0 Your exotic bird. Training it not to bite. http://exoticpetbirds.org/your-exotic-bird-training-it-not-to-bite.html http://exoticpetbirds.org/your-exotic-bird-training-it-not-to-bite.html#comments Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:09:53 +0000 admin http://exoticpetbirds.org/?p=21 The first step in training your exotic bird not to bite is understanding why birds bite. Naturally birds may beak at objects to explore or to hold on to objects and move around. However, every so often birds will bite. A bird owner will know the difference. One is a natural instinct and the other is a quick and sharp bite often out of fear. Fear is the main reason birds bite. They may be bothered by a change in their environment or feel threatened by a stranger.

Another reason a bird bites is to protect its mate. This does not always refer to another bird. Often pet birds will view their owner as their mate. If a stranger is near the ower and the bird preceives this as a threat the bird may bite. The best way to avoid this is to pay close attention to your bird’s body language. Get to know your bird and know how your bird reacts to different situations. Notice the signs before the biting occurs is the best way to prevent the biting.

The best time to teach a bird not to bite is during this younge age. If you dissapprove of the birds behavior do not yell. Instead hold your bird on your hand at eye level and frown at the bird. Talk in a soft yet stern voice. Birds are able to understand facial expressions. Then place your bird on its cage or perch for a few minutes. After these minutes please play with your bird and let it know that everything is now okay. This reinforces good behavior.

]]> http://exoticpetbirds.org/your-exotic-bird-training-it-not-to-bite.html/feed 0 How to train your Exotic Pet Parrot http://exoticpetbirds.org/how-to-train-your-exotic-pet-parrot.html http://exoticpetbirds.org/how-to-train-your-exotic-pet-parrot.html#comments Sat, 22 May 2010 07:21:53 +0000 admin http://exoticpetbirds.org/?p=37 Parrots are wonderful pets. You will quickly find that these birds extremely smart and their ability to learn make them fun to train. Keep in mind that any animal that shows signs of high intelligence can easily get bored, so your job is to train your pet parrot and spend the time it takes to make your bird into a wonderful pet. It takes time and patience to train a parrot, but with the proper training, your parrot will provide you with many years of friendship.

You can train your parrot when you follow a few steps. Whenever “school is in” for your parrot, it is always best to remove your parrot from his or her cage and train in a small quiet space. Your parrot is more likely to remain attentive and retain information when it is in a new environment. The next thing you will want to do, eliminate all distractions in your home. If your parrot becomes distracted during training, it will not learn well. That means that you need to turn off the radio, television and perhaps even the telephone. Also, remember that parrots are a lot like children. They have short attention spans, so short training sessions are recommended.

In addition, try to plan your parrot’s training time around their schedule, not yours. After mealtime is always, a good time for training because your parrot will be content and will pay attention. Your parrot will also appreciate plenty of praise. Even if you find that you were not very successful, do not let your parrot see your stress levels rise. This makes it an unpleasant experience for your bird and you will have a harder time getting your parrot interested in learning in the future.

When you are ready to teach your parrot a new trick, your pet parrot will respond well to treats and praise. Remember that all animals respond better to praise than punishment. Try to avoid punishing your parrot, even if he or she is acting naughty. Ignoring this behavior is your best bet when training your pet parrot. Parrots do not understand punishment or negative reinforcement. In fact, if you respond to your parrot’s bad behavior, your pet may actually see this as positive attention. Keep in mind that while your parrot will love food treats as rewards, try to accentuate the positive and encourage good behavior with lots of praise and play time. Otherwise, your parrot may only perform the tricks you want them to when some kind of food reward is available.

Repetition is the key to successfully training your pet parrot. Repeating these basic steps repeatedly until your pet “gets” the trick is the best way to train your parrot to perform. This works well for basic commands and advanced tricks. If you have just gotten your pet parrot, start out with very simple tricks, such as teaching your parrot to sit on your finger on command. Find a word for each trick and use it every time you train. Most of all, never force your parrot to train. If you find your parrot is tired or uninterested, then stop and try again another time.

As your parrot learns more command and tricks, you can begin moving your training session closer and closer to the bird’s cage. As they get better at their new skill, they will feel comfortable performing in his or her cage and in the hustle and bustle of your household. Birds learn quickly in most cases, and sometimes just by listening when not in training, which may cause embarrassment to you if they learn something inappropriate.

Training a parrot takes a lot of time and patience. You must love your bird and have a lot of time and dedication to make this partnership worthwhile. With patient training and love, you end up with a fantastic and well-behaved pet that will be with you for a very long time to come.

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