Question by Thomas: Can I teach my parrot how to read?
My parrot (Tokeyo) is pretty well trained in talking, it talks a lot and we can have a conversation, and stuff. It knows about 250-1000 words. Is it possible to teach it how to read? And whats the best way?

Best answer:

Answer by walter s
if ur a really good trainer

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Question by D.H: Why does my african grey parrot bite me everytime I try to touch him?
I have an african grey parrot and he is really friendly with me, he steps up when he’s asked, and he whistles and talks and does not have any behavioral problems. He only bites me every time i want to scratch his head or touch him.

I want to know how to train him to stop biting… does spraying him with water every time he bites help?
How can I get him to trust me so I can touch him?

I love him and I really want him to feel safe.

Best answer:

Answer by exbrit69
Probably because he’s scared. If you did not have him since he was very young he probably doesn’t trust you. I have the same thing with an adult Indonesian parrot while the owl that i saved after it fell out of the nest is soft and friendly

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Question by Im AwSoMe: For anyone who was trained an African Grey parrot or any parrot?
I have this African Grey that is 1 year old, which i know is the perfect age to train them, but my dad wanted me to teach him this trick which i have no idea how to do. We have this key board that my dad wants me to teach him to play, any ideas how to do this? i Also want to know how to do voice commands, like when i say cat he meows. he already how to make the sounds but i don’t know how to make him do the sound when i say the names.

Best answer:

Answer by margie k
You have to have a ton of patience, and work with your grey every day for a long time, the more time you spend the more likely your birdy will pick up what you want him to. Also greys ( and most parrots actually) like drama, so if you change your voice or make a big deal out of what you are trying to teach him, he will like it more. And lastly, if he doesn’t pick up the tricks, etc. he is still lovable and wonderful, and will love you to death for spending the time and attention on him !! Because greys are just total suckers for that. Good luck and remember he is going to live for many many years, so if he doesn’t pick something up right away he will eventually. I have had my timneh grey for almost 20 years and she continually surprises me with crazy stuff she just makes up out of her birdy mind to say and do, and has learned all kinds of stuff, not always what I have wanted her to learn but still is just such a joy.

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Question by Qadir Qstraders: how to know whether the parrot is male or female?
i am fond of parrots, i like to train them, i love them but i don’t know the identity of male and female parrots? someone please help me and tell me that how to know the gender of parrots and birds? with thanks

Best answer:

Answer by hartshorntracy
the only true way is to have the parrot dna sexed!!

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Question by lebanese samer: how to train african grey parrot to stop screaming and stop be afraid from people and hold him safely and how?
i bring it new from two weeks ago and i want to train all things i can do

Best answer:

Answer by Blue Nose Lover
Wow, this is a tricky question.
African Grey’s are BIG birds.
Also, they WILL scream; no matter what you do..
Try http://www.google.com I am sure you can find out tons of information.
He probably isn’t afraid of people, he just needs more time to warm up.

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Question by Phillips: how do i train my puppy to never bite my parrot?
i just got a puppy, hes about 7 weeks old. i’ve had my parrot for about 5years. i have another dog, and he has never ever bitten him. on the contrary they get along, my parrot gets on top of him to clean him. my other dog simply doesn’t do anything to him. i’m afraid the new dog will try, how do i prevent that. he’s a small dog, a westie poodle.

Best answer:

Answer by cece f
Every time the dog jumps to try to ssnap at it or anything put lemon juice drop or a tabasco hot sauce drop on its tongue and say no bite thats how i trained my shitzu not to bite my cockateil!

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Question by ilyjonasbros: How do I train my parrot?
my quaker parrot won’t stop biting she’s 2 years old and hurts VERY bad when she bites!! HELP!!!

Best answer:

Answer by comtnman2003
Try a product call Bitter Apple, its made from of course green apple juice so you can imagine how that tastes. The only downside is being a bird with a beak she may not actually get to tasting it.

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Question by Aleasha C: How to Begin a Training Session With Parrots?
I recently took in a Great Billed Parrot for my friend. She worked all the time and could no longer keep the bird. I know the basics about bird care, but I don’t know how to train the bird. I just got him yesterday night. How long should I give him to adjust to his new home? He is very scared of people. How should I start approaching him? When I do begin training sessions, how long should each one be? Should training sessions be in the morning, afternoon, or evening? When I do take him out of his cage, do I need to close all doors and windows, or can I just keep the screens closed? I don’t know anythign about training parrots. Should training be calm or should it be exciting? Should I start with the “up” command? I’ve heard this is the easiest to teach a bird. Do I start this with a stick, or with my hand? How long will it take him to learn this command? If I do start with a stick, when do I switch over to my hand? Thanks in advance!

Best answer:

Answer by Bill P
Training your bird at a young age is ideal when compared to re-training or correcting the bad habits of an older bird. Some pet owners can become sidetracked by the freshness of having a new bird and enjoying their cuteness while they’re still baby birds; however, you must remember that in order to set the stage for the future, it is important to socialize your bird, work on good communication, and establish trust at a young age. Just as human babies need to learn to eat with a spoon and play well with others before they tackle long division, baby birds need to start with the basics. Spend time with your young bird developing trust and teaching the basics of good bird behavior. For example:

Body handling. If you help your baby bird become accustomed to being gently handled now, you will prevent many problems later. For example, gently playing with your bird’s feet and toes will help it tolerate toenail filing. Gently lift its wings, so a trip to the groomer doesn’t become a nightmare later on.
Toweling: Start using the towel as part of your play with your baby bird, gradually working into wrapping your bird up in the towel. When you or your vet need to wrap the bird in the towel for its own safety, the experience will be much less stressful.
Beaking: Baby birds use their beaks to explore, but now is the time to let your bird know that anything beyond gentle nibbles is unacceptable. Frown and tell your bird “No,” and leave it alone for a minute or two, so it associates biting with being put in “time-out.”
Harness: It can take some time before a bird accepts wearing a harness or flight suit, but things will go more smoothly if you start when the bird is young. Once you get your bird into the harness, take it outside, at least briefly, so it learns why the harness is worth the bother. It’s also a good time to try out the carrier. Take short car rides that don’t end at the vet each time, and your bird might look forward to them.
You will begin to notice better communication between you and your baby bird. Working with your bird frequently allows you to become familiar with the body language and preferences of the bird, making it easier to know what your pet wants and how to respond to its actions. By taking time to teach your bird new tricks, you are encouraging desired behavior. Your bird will begin to demonstrate the favorable behavior because it learns it receives your attention then, as opposed to misbehaving. The stimulation training provides your bird is also very important to cater to their intelligence and appease their curiosity.

The Basics

Training with your bird should be fun. Here are some training tips to keep you both happy.

1. Keep your sessions short. Two or three 10-minute sessions every day works best to retain your bird’s attention.

2. Let your bird get used to props by leaving them near the cage for a few days. Play with the items to pique your bird’s interest.

3. Find a quiet place free of distractions to work together. Keep the cage out of sight, so your bird’s attention is on you during the training session. The exception to this rule is a frightened or insecure re-homed bird that might need to see its cage for reassurance.

4. Find a special reward that you only give to your bird during training. A food reward should be something small and easily consumed within a few seconds. Or, if your bird enjoys praise or a head scratch, offer these instead of food.

5. Train at the same time every day, so your bird can look forward to your new routine together.

6. Keep it positive and offer lots of praise if your bird gets even part of the trick or training correct.

Basic Commands

A few basic behaviors that every companion bird should know are:

STEP-UP COMMAND: The most important 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 should automatically offer a foot when you say “Step up” (or whatever cue you use) while you simultaneously offer the hand or perch.

A reliable Step-up makes it easier to retrieve your bird in an inconvenient or even dangerous situation. It also ensures that other people can work with or retrieve the bird without either party feeling nervous or threatened.

To get your bird stepping up, gently offer your wrist, finger or perch at the spot where your bird’s abdomen meets the top of its legs, and give 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 step up a few times.

Keep your hand or wrist steady, so your bird feels confident stepping onto it.

STEP-DOWN COMMAND: You can also train your bird to step down onto a playgym or its cage. If your bird likes hanging out with you, you’ll have to make it worth its while to step down.

CONTACT CALL: You are your bird’s flock, so naturally it wants to keep track of where you are. Teach your bird a special whistle, word or phrase to use when it wants you to respond. If taught correctly, this contact call can replace that ear-piercing shriek that your bird likes to use when you leave the room.

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

To teach your bird a contact call, use a consistent phrase – “Be right back” – each time that you leave the room. Call frequently to your bird while you are out of sight. This will let it know that you are nearby.

If your bird makes the desired contact call, respond immediately by either calling in return or poking your head into the room. Do not respond when your bird is screaming.

Consistency is crucial in this training. It might not seem like such a bad idea to occasionally respond to your bird’s screams, but resist the urge. You’ll be rewarded later on.

Other Useful Training Behaviors

Recall: This extension of the Step-up response is essential for flighted birds, but is also important even for wing-trimmed birds. Praise and reward your bird for approaching you to Step up.
Bite a target stick: Many experienced avian trainers recommend that the first thing you teach your bird in a training program is to bite the end of a chopstick or other small, hand-held stick (not a perch). Chances are, your bird will bite the target stick when it is presented. If you keep praising and rewarding the behavior, your bird will quickly notice that it receives attention when it does so and will be glad to bite the target stick.

Once your bird has the idea that biting the stick brings praise, you can then use the stick as a tool for teaching other behaviors, such as walking or flying to get the stick or climbing a ladder to reach the stick. This can, in turn, be used to teach the bird to walk or fly to you when you hold the stick, or to climb a ladder in order to ring a bell.
Other fun ideas: Relatively simple tricks include teaching your 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 pretty bird?”).
Common Training Mistakes To Avoid

Prevent biting from becoming a habit by not letting bites happen in the first place. Keep your hands out of beak range, and your bird will be less tempted to aim for them.
Don’t be intimidated. If your bird is acting aggressively, stand nearby until it calms down. When it is calm, you can leave. Now your bird knows that aggressive behavior gets it nowhere.
Don’t expect your bird to be ringing bells on command immediately after one or two training sessions. Your bird will learn best if you continue to reward and encourage it with each small step it takes in your training sessions.

The Basics

Training with your bird should be fun. Here are some training tips to keep you both happy.

1. Keep your sessions short. Two or three 10-minute sessions every day works best to retain your bird’s attention.

2. Let your bird get used to props by leaving them near the cage for a few days. Play with the items to pique your bird’s interest.

3. Find a quiet place free of distractions to work together. Keep the cage out of sight, so your bird’s attention is on you during the training session. The exception to this rule is a frightened or insecure re-homed bird that might need to see its cage for reassurance.

4. Find a special reward that you only give to your bird during training. A food reward should be something small and easily consumed within a few seconds. Or, if your bird enjoys praise or a head scratch, offer these instead of food.

5. Train at the same time every day, so your bird can look forward to your new routine together.

6. Keep it positive and offer lots of praise if your bird gets even part of the trick or training correct.

Basic Commands

A few basic behaviors that every companion bird should know are:

STEP-UP COMMAND: The most important 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 should automatically offer a foot when you say “Step up” (or whatever cue you use) while you simultaneously offer the hand or perch.

A reliable Step-up makes it easier to retrieve your bird in an inconvenient or even dangerous situation. It also ensures that other people can work with or retrieve the bird without either party feeling nervous or threatened.

To get your bird stepping up, gently offer your wrist, finger or perch at the spot where your bird’s abdomen meets the top of its legs, and give 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 step up a few times.

Keep your hand or wrist steady, so yo

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Question by z: how do i train an adult quaker parrot?
my parrot keeps trying to bite me. I searched for hints but they only show hints and tips on baby parrots. its getting annoying.

Best answer:

Answer by Shelly L
Hi Z,

Despite the difficulties you are currently experiencing with your Quaker, they are one of the easier types of parrots to train. There is one ground rule however, and that is to never hit, yell at or in any other way punish your bird for biting or other bad behavior. Parrots don’t understand punishment, it never works and the only result is that your bird will trust you even less and become harder to handle.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some Quakers are very territorial around their cages. Sometimes just teaching the bird to step up onto a hand-held perch solves the issue, because once they get away from the cage they are no longer aggressive.

What happens over time is that a Quaker that starts out aggressive around their cage can become aggressive away from it too, because the biting behavior becomes a habit. So what you need to do is break that bad habit. Of course, the big question then becomes, how do you do that?

One thing that has worked for me in the past is to train the Quaker to step up to a hand-held perch or stick, as I mentioned earlier. Start out with one perch, and practice having the bird step up to it and then back to its cage, both to and from the inside and to and from the top. Once the bird has mastered that, then introduce a second perch (one held in each hand) and teach the bird to step up from one perch to the other, back and forth.

During this time, don’t try to handle the bird with your hands. Also, it’s best to keep the practice sessions short and have them 2-3 times a day rather than having one big marathon practice session. Try to have fun with it, praise your bird enthusiastically when it does well – food treats at the end of the sessions are greatly appreciated… for the bird, not for you.

Sometimes this takes just a few days, sometimes a few weeks – how long depends on you and the bird. But when it is stepping up reliably from the cage and back again and from perch to perch, then it’s time to try having the bird step up to your hand again. For a bird that isn’t used to being on the floor (and I don’t recommend allowing a Quaker regular access to the floor), you can have the bird step up to the perch and then gently set the perch on the floor. Most parrots feel uncomfortable on the ground, and at that point they often willingly will step up to your hand just to get away from the floor. Immediately have the bird step up to its cage, and give lots and lots of praise.

Do this several times a day, and pretty soon you have a bird with a new “habit” of stepping up to your hand WITHOUT biting – yay! Keep up the step-up practice using your hands and perches through the rest of the bird’s life, and you shouldn’t have to deal with the biting issue ever again.

There are a few Quakers that are just super territorial around their cages no matter what you do. For these, continue using the hand-held perch to remove the bird from its cage and then handle him or her normally away from it.

If you’d like some other tips on how to care for and train Quaker Parrots, you can sign up for free email lessons at http://www.quakerparrots.com. Hope this helps!

Shelly Lane
Author of Quaker Parrots Made Easy

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Question by I love cookies: Do parrots trained to speak English really understand what they are saying?
I’ve seen trained parrots talk before, but does anyone know how much of what they say is actually understood by the birds?

Best answer:

Answer by coastalfood
being around them, i believe yes .. to an extent

you can almost have a conversation with them, and they do use words to get what they want, or tell you things like , i love you, i’m angry, etc

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