Parrot Tricks
Parrot tricks are one of the most enjoyable elements of raising your pet. Very few birds posses the intelligence and lovable nature of parrots. When opting to buy a bird for a pet, consider a parrot. For being a bird, they are extremely intelligent. Some experts believe that parrots have the intelligence close to that of a small child. That is simply amazing in itself, but it also carries with is so much potential for interaction between parrot and owner. One of the ways to interact with your parrot as well as sharpen its intelligence is to tech it some parrots tricks. When teaching your new friend new parrot trick, not only will bring you a great sense of accomplishment from interacting with your bird, but you will also be providing your little bird with many social skills which will improve its interaction with people as well as its overall wellbeing. Training your bird by teaching it some words and commands will surely prevent many problems with behavior which otherwise may arise.
One of the main parrot training rules not to overwhelm your bird. Having a short lesson as apposed to a lengthy one will help the parrot retain that which it has been taught much better. Having too long of a session will not only tire out your bird, but it will also leave it with negative feelings about the experience all together. Therefore maintaining a positive environment is crucial. Parrots are very sensitive creatures by nature, for this reason their mood should always be taken into account when teaching your parrot tricks. When beginning the training session is important that both the bird and the owner are feeling strong, energized, and ready for the challenge. Try to eliminate as much of the background noise as possible during your train sessions. Training in a quiet and peaceful environment, without interruptions, will provide you with the best chance for success.
Pick a time of the day when you know you will not be distracted. If you have phone calls coming in throughout the day, other animals, or small children that you need to attend to, trying to train your parrot will not go over very well. Proper lighting is another important element to consider when teaching your bird parrot tricks. It is a good idea to pick a room in which you parrot is comfortable and has spent some time before. Parrots are very sensitive, so they are able to sense the owner’s emotions very well. When teaching the bird the trainer needs to be relaxed and free of any anxiety or stress. The bird will sense it if there is any tension. This will decrease its learning ability drastically. If the owner is impatient, the bird will become uncomfortable and less eager to learn.
One of the first the easiest to teach parrot tricks that is recommended is teaching your bird to “step-up”. This trick is considered a stepping stone towards more difficult tricks. This basic trick however, is very important because it will help you interact with your bird, as well as keep it under better control. This trick is very commonly used because it asks the bird to step-up onto an object that is placed in front of it. The way to teach your parrot this trick is to simply reach out your hand ad set it right in front of your parrot’s feet. Then you just say, “step-up”. You must say this in a calm and clear voice as not to startle your parrot while it commits the command to memory. The bird will instinctively take a step onto your hand.
If you own a very large bird, the forearm should be used instead of the hand for the first few times, until the both of you become used to the trick. If your bird seems rather shy or unsure of itself at first, a piece of food to use as a reward will almost always help. When the parrot has success fully obeyed your command, the food reward should be given to help it remember the trick next time. After your parrot learns the trick well, the food may slowly be taken away and replaced with praise. Although it is still nice to give your obedient parrot friend an edible treat once in a while.
The “turn-around” is another popular command in the world of parrot tricks. In this trick the bird simply does one spin in place. A way to help your bird learn this is have your bird perch on something. Then take a piece of food into your fingers and hold it behind the bird’s head. Say, “turn-around” until the bird turns its head to take a better look at the treat. Usually the turning of the head will cause the body to turn as well. Sometimes you may have to slowly keep moving the piece of food in the direction of the parrot’s turned head until the body makes a full turn. You can see that patience is key when it comes to parrot tricks, but once the parrot has learned them, it is well worth it.
The most fun, as well as an incredibly amazing and rewarding trick is the trick for which parrots are best known for. That of course is speaking. Not only will teaching your bird human speech bring tons of joy and laughter anyone who is around, but a parrot who knows how to speak will usually replace its noisy screeching sounds with actual words of sentences. That is truly a wonderful exchange. Birds that are able to communicate by speaking are generally happier. This is because they are more closely bonded to their owners. When first beginning to teach your bird how to speak, you should pick a simple word that can easily be pronounced.
A word that contains more than two syllables would not be a good starting point. Pick an easy word, such as “hello”. Parrots have a natural tendency to mimic human speech, in fact, this is how they learn. After clearly repeating the same word slowly to your parrot, the bird should catch on and attempt it repeat after you. In the beginning your parrot’s efforts may sound like a chirp. But after a short while your bird will be able to vocalize the words properly and even speak in full sentences. In the end, teaching your parrot tricks like talking and others, will leave you with a well behaved and sociable pet.
