Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw
I'd like to hear about how my articles, videos, and websites have helped you and your parrot! So I am having this contest to encourage you to post your success story. Here's how it works. Describe in as much detail as possible what you have learned from the TrainedParrot.com, ParrotWizard.com, TheParrotForum.com, and Kiliparrot youtube channel and how it has applied to your parrot for a chance to win a free set of ParrotWizard Seminar DVDs ($35 value)! To make it more fair to people who put effort into their post, submissions will be judged on a scale of 1-10 and that is how many "tickets" you get in the prize raffle. A winner will be chosen on August 15!
But that's not all. There is a second prize that you can win and it will entirely be decided by the users! Win a free I <3 Parrots T-Shirt ($25 value) featuring Kili & Truman in size of your choice (S-XXL) by getting the most facebook "likes" for your feedback post. So be sure to write an informative post about your success and remind your friends to vote for your entry. Vote for other entries that you like to give other people a chance as well.
I found Michaels websites after running a google search on harness training as I had just bought an aviator for my green cheeked conure.I have been keeping pet birds for many years but I had never really focused much on training, my birds all stepped up, didn't bite, scream or have behavioural issues. They accepted being towelled and travel cages too and those birds I had that didn't I slowly trained them into accepting them, so I didn't really feel the need to trick train. I initially joined his forums, read through his articles to expand on the knowledge I already had but I still wasn't really interested in trick training as I constantly look for ways to improve their environment, toy ideas etc.
All the above changed after my Green cheek conure fell ill, before hand I felt we had a good relationship as it worked. I could get him to step up, scratch his head, handle his feet, get him back in the cage, play with him etc. After his course of medications he was literally terrified of me despite me doing everything I could to make the horrible meds a positive experience. Ollie wouldn't come near me and I couldn't get near him for some weeks after his treatment, even armed with his favorite treats he would fly all round the room leaving me late for work. I couldn't work on step up training as he would fly off before I even got within 2 metres of him which is when I decided I needed a new plan.
The new plan came in the form of Michaels target training guide, Ollie mastered it in one session the first few minutes inside his cage, the rest outside his cage which stunned me. This got me and ollie "talking" again at which point I restarted step up training the next day after seeing if he still remembered how to target. Since then I have taught recall, go to perch, him to put his head through the harness loop on command, "open" (the drawer on a foraging toy and to lie on his back.
I can do so much more with him now than I ever could before he got ill, the training has not only got our relationship back but improved things no end. I can handle him in any way I please, call him away from doing something I don't want him to do, increase his excercise levels and generally enrich his life. Now I know all this I wont hesitate to trick train my future birds now I realise it is not just a gimmick or something to show your mates. I have another bird Harlie who I haven't written about as I haven't done any trick training with her yet and I was already using the same methods of taming prior to coming across Michaels websites but I will once I have her confidence a bit more.
I have learned how to tame my bird. I have learned how to teach my bird to turn around. I learned to teach my bird to wave. I learned how to teach him to socialize. I learned different ways to put him back in his cage. Now last my favorite I learned to teach him recall. Thanks for all your videos and don't stop your awesome
I have a galah (rose breasted) cockatoo and I have learned that its definitely better to go slow with your parrot instead of ruining your bond with him by going to fast......thank you for all your videos and support
I love your videos it help me and my little Parrotlet to get more along he can do most of your tricks lol and I hope I win because 8-15 is my birthday!!
HI my name is Alex and my parrot has learned a heap of new things since i got her. She os a yellow sided green cheek conure and knows tricks such as wave, turn, wings, target, flight recall and can wear a harness. When we first got Mika she was 9 weeks old and all she wanted to do was sit on your shoulder and lean into your hair! she was very curious of things and just had to check them out. She loves to sit on our tv and loves to train. She is she is now nearly 9 months old and going through that nippy stage that all green cheeks do. i tought her all her tricks the same as michael (who inspired me to buy a parrot. She is my first ever parrot and i think im doing quite well with her now considering i have school to go to and have tought her all those tricks. She has just got the hang of fetch and now im trying to put a vocal que in and soon i will be uploading a video of her fetching here! http://www.youtube.com/user/theparrotmaster?feature=results_main Here is a video of a few of her tricks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhtU952yc7I&feature=plcp please Subscribe and check out my other videos. i have already taken her out side for a free flight but i now use a harness and here is a video of her very first free flight! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEIuix9W-tY&feature=plcp Thanks for reading please vote me!
hi my name is mohammed and i have ben watching your youtube channel since you had 2 subscriber and i really learnd sooo much here is what i learned firs was how to get your parrot to wear a harness and how to get your parrot to do recall and how to do the dead bird trick and how to socialize with your bird i realy watch all of your videos and i subscriped to your youtube chanel i have visted all of your websites like theparrotforum.com parrot wizard.com trained parrot.com and your youtube chanel and if someone talks bad about you i defend you from anything like one time i saw a comment on your youtube video where you wanted to name your new bird terman he said how about you name it gay lord because your one so i said if i where you i wouldnt be talking..... so i am really looking to get the dvd or the t-shirt because I'm a big fan and i real want to see more out of you i know you broke the world record for having 20 tricks pet 2 min and i loved that i love your bird name kili and turman really easy to remember just for us like you said in one of your videos plzzzzz i really want to watch your videos and i really want to learn from you and i really need the videos because i got my new cockatiel i got cockatiel because i saw you saying that you got cockatiel as a good starter so i said hay why i dont start like that and be as good as you plzzzz for you i will do anything you want me to do like some people just wants the prizes and they dont really care but i love your videos plz help me i will do anything you want
I have had parrots since I was a child. My first parrot a cockatiel named Mugg-ze was a delight and a great starter bird. He would recite the entire Andy Griffith song, say hello and peek-a-boo, and was a devoted friend. After Mugg-ze passed I decided on getting another bird, a little larger and more challenging. I ended up getting a Maroon Bellied Conure named Rascal. He was the most special little bird soul, however, he passed very young due to sickness. Crushed I decided to get another conure, my next parrot was a baby sun conure. I read many books, but at that time did not find much on how to really raise a trained parrot. The local bird store I went to always helped me out. She is a great little bird very handleable, sweet, and loving (maybe a little too loving!). Then the next challenge came. I decided to adopt a bigger parrot, not just any parrot, but an Eclectus. However, I became terrified. I realized, I needed to do A LOT of research. After searching site after site, I realized the past 5 years, so much more information had become available on the web. Then the next thing was sifting thru it all to find what was right from wrong. Luckily, I found the parrot forum, Michael's online you tube videos, and the trained parrot articles. Not only did I feel more confident about bringing home my adopted eclectus, but I felt ready to completely re-train my sun conure. I also realized I was doing everything wrong!!!!
The first few weeks with the Eclectus "Odie was difficult, but Michael's starter guide led me step by step on what to do. I immediately began target training. After target training I was able to have "Odie" stepping up without lunging at my fingers. Then I moved on to handling. I would touch his beak lightly while passing his play stand and would give him a treat. Now, a month later I can tickle him under his wings and touch his feet. Next step was teaching wave, turn around, and fetch. The delight of having family and friends over while "Odie" waddles over to pick up an item and put it in a bowl will never get old. The trained parrot articles made all of these tricks possible and I am slowly developing the relationship with my bird to have him as a healthy companion. Odie is learning so much and the list of things I am going to approach next, go on and on (cups, handling with a towel, basketball, rope, roll over, go thru a tube, etc!!!!). I also learned so much from the parrot forum. Anytime I have a slight hesitation or a concern I can go to the site and get an answer in minutes! It gives me such a security that I no longer feel alone or lost. When I brought home Odie I asked the parrot forum about how to approach introducing a new bird, and I received important safety information immediately.
Maxine my sun conure, is also re-learning. My sun conure was unfortunately overly bonded to me. I had to restart with her to get her focus off of me and on to other things. This process has been much slower in results, however, she has been this way for many years. I have noticed small steps already, in which are huge gains for me. I am working on her screaming, by a few suggestions I have read on the parrot forum and Michael's blogs. I have also put her on a different diet as well as designated eating times. To my relief she has stopped trying to use my hand as her own personal date!
My birds are being socialized by advice of the forum and Michael's blog. I have had friends over that have performed tricks with Odie and sang with Maxi. My friends and family have ignored Maxi's screams and when she is quiet given her praise. It is amazing how this site has made me more confident to let people know how they should handle my birds. My next adventure will be allowing both birds to grow out their wings and eventually flight training them. I am so excited for this next step and at the same time, regretful,after so much research, that they were ever cut at all. However, this site will help you learn things you never knew and luckily things can be changed! I am excited to have a family of healthy socialized flighted birds. My flock and I will continue to learn and bond with the help of The Parrot Forum and all of Michael's resources. Thank you to this site and all of its users!
Sincerely, Stephanie - ME Odie the Eclectus Maxine the Sun Conure
Birds were a big part of my childhood, as my mother is a bird fancier who started with a flock of finches and then a plethora of peachfaced lovebirds before having a mixed bag aviary with pairs of princess parrots, red rumps, scarlets, cockatiels, bourke parrots and ringnecks. However these were always aviary birds, where they were left to fly, feed and breed on their own and we enjoyed their antics from afar.
It wasn't until a little grey and white budgie called Cheesy Poof came into my life much later, that I really appreciated what joy a companion bird can be. Already hand tame and quite mature by the time I met him, this little feathered fellow became my dear friend. He was a bird who loved his cage, but I set about trying to enrich his life as much as possible - introducing him to new fresh foods, giving him covered time at night, toys and as much out of cage time as he wanted. He was happy enough to come out of his cage, but after spending most of his life as a "traditional" budgie, he was never really interested in venturing out on his own.
I still remember the first day he repeated a whistle to me - how wonderful! Here was a creature of another species communicating to me, wanting to be part of my flock. My eyes were opened to just how intelligent and special these feathered ones are.
Sadly, the Poof died last year - my husband and I were both amazed at what an impact he'd had on us, and we were so grateful to have had his company. Still, our home wasn't the same without him, and 4-5 months down the track we knew it would be time for us to bring another winged companion into the family.
My experience with the Poof made me want to do things differently this time - I wanted to make sure that our next feathered friend was engaged and active, with a varied diet from the beginning and plenty of opportunity for exploring life outside of the cage. But I had no idea of where to start with an untamed bird, and I turned to the internet.
It was on YouTube that I stumbled across Michael's videos of Duke the Budgie, and I was absolutely amazed. I had no idea of the potential that had been there with our last bird! I read many of the Trained Parrot articles, and devoured all I could on clicker training.
The concept of clicker training appealed to me - as a child, I had also grown up with dogs in the era of choke chains, and never felt comfortable with the idea of hurting the dog to get it to do what I wanted! It seemed like a crazy idea, and the more I read about clicker training the more I realised how unnecessary it was. I decided that I was going to try and train our next bird with clicker training, and purchased a clicker.
In February 2012, I visited a bird shop looking for a hand-reared male, and walked out with a partially hand-tamed male budgie with an adorable pale yellow face, aquamarine body and bright blue tail. He joined our family and while we grew accustomed to each other, we decided to name him Wikileaks - or Wiki for short.
I began with doing all the things which Michael reminds us that a good parrot owner should do - introducing a variety of fresh foods, having a check up with an avian vet, introducing and changing toys regularly, and just giving him time to get used to my voice and my presence in and around the cage. I started introducing him to millet spray, and began clicker conditioning in the cage. I also started to really pay attention to his body language, and realised he was communicating a great deal to me already if only I was prepared to watch, listen and learn.
Wiki wasn't keen on stepping up, but I found that he was much more interested in target training, so we focused on that for a while. I wound up using targeting to get him out of the cage and into a step up. This was my proudest moment as a new trainer - my feathered friend wanted to come out of the cage and sit on my hand! Not because I'd grabbed him, flooded him or forced him, but because I had rewarded him and he trusted me.
Following the excellent example set by Michael, I've since applied all the "big parrot" work to my little parrot buddy. Unlike most budgies who eat as much seed as they can fit into their beaks, Wiki only free-feeds on pellets and green food, and gets a measured portion of seed in the morning, during his afternoon training in the form of millet spray and after his training when he returns to his cage. We do "vet training" by weighing in on the scales and practice towelling.
Kili has modelled some great tricks for us and our trick and behaviour training has progressed a great deal since February - target, turn around, wave, ring a bell, step up, short hops as pretend flight recalls, slinky spring runs, coin retrieve, basketball, fetch and tenpin bowling.
What have I learned from the Parrot Wizard?
You teach us how to be better carers for our birds by understanding them better.
I pay attention to the non-verbal cues (like the lifting of wings and head movements when he is planning to try to fly somewhere) and start to decode his language (like the special call which means, "I can hear you! Where are you?") and understand his mood (when he's tired, when he's playful, when he's cuddly). My bird doesn't need to bite because I don't push through the warning signs, I pay attention and give him some choice, and I use the clicker and reward when we get it right.
You encourage us all to make better decisions about parrot welfare.
I'm committed to the ideas of free flight and independent play for a well-rounded bird who isn't over-dependent on his humans. When his wing grows back, Wiki will spend the rest of his life flighted. He is already a well-balanced bird who knows how to play with his toys, and who accepts all those in the house as handlers, not just me.
You encourage us to share what we've learned with others.
I share on the Parrot Forums and I participate in other budgie forums and encourage people to visit Parrot Wizard to learn about bird behaviour. In particular, I show videos of Wiki performing his tricks and to other budgie owners in the hope that like me, they'll stop underestimating the little guys and make more of an effort to enrich their lives.
There must be more to life for our budgies than a bell, a mirror and a bowl of birdseed!
Through trainedparrot.com I have learned a lot of valuable ways to use trick training to avoid unwanted behavior and encourage wanted behavior. In 2 months I have taught my baby canary winged parakeet to lie on her back on command, wear a flight harness, and to only poop in or on her cage. More importantly, and hopefully through the training process, she has not learned unwanted behaviors. She talks for attention instead of screaming and gives kisses instead of biting. I have always had a lot of animals as pets, but the psychology of parrots is definitely different. As nice as it would be if parrots learned tricks and behaviors just to please their owners like dogs, it just doesn't work this way. It is, however, the challenge of parrots that I really love. They are so intelligent and it isn't always easy to stay a step ahead of them! Thanks to trained parrot.com I have learned how to motivate my birds to do the things I want them to do and I love the quality time together trick training brings. The most influential thing trainedparrot.com has done for my birds though is probably teaching me the importance of flight. I used to believe keeping my birds clipped was in their best interest concerning safety, but now I know better.
I've learned a lot from Michael's youtube videos and his TrainedParrot.com articles. I've learned a lot because when I started I knew nothing. Now I'm aware of names of different parrots, natural habitat, some scientific words that usually go right over my head, behavior of birds and how to interact with my bird and take better care of it. Of course, Michael's trick training videos are inspiring and I enjoy seeing how much he cares about his parrots and birds in general.
My cockatiel is named Buddy, and he is my li'l buddy. He has been with me for two years now. He was a gift to my grandson from his mother, but he didn't really want a bird, so let me take the bird home with me. Buddy came from a chain pet store and was not hand raised, so he wasn't tame at all, but now we have a lot of companionship and communication. Still working on "wave" and "turn around," but whether he learns tricks or not is not crucial for me. He has learned to whistle "Dixie" and says "I'm a pretty bird," "hey, buddy," "whatchadoing," "there you go." First thing he does each morning is fly to my shoulder and we chat back and forth. He likes to watch videos with me on the computer (and, yes, he likes to pop the keys off the keyboard.) starts chirping away. His cage is open all day so he comes and goes as he pleases. In the evening I tell him it's time to go "nite nite" and he hops into his cage and goes to his sleep perch.
My learning curve high point was Michael's video about clipping the birds' wings. I felt inadequate and not a good bird owner because I didn't want my bird's wings clipped in spite of the urging of the vet, vet techs, pet store people. I felt bad because I wasn't heeding the advice of people who were more knowledgeable than me, and I wasn't able to articulate good reasons why I didn't want his wings clipped. It was only my inner sense of how I wanted this bird to be as natural as possible. Michael articulated l those good reasons and I felt validated about my decision to have a "free flight" bird at my house.
This is more than a comment, I guess more of a run on. Anyway, if it gets any "likes" at all, I'll be happy. Would love to win those prices.
Hi, I'm Alyssa, and I have a pearl lutino cockatiel named Logan. As far as we know she's a female and I love her dearly.I created a Youtube account starring Logan, but I didn't have any ideas of what to make them of. I searched for channels and the moment I clicked the link to your channel, I knew it would be my favorite. When I first got her, I wanted her to be just a companion bird, but once I saw Kili and Truman in action, I wanted Logan to be as cool as them. However, all I have trained her to do is wave, step up, step down, shake, and hi-five, which is pretty good in my opinion, but nothing compared to Kili and Truman. I have also considered leaving Logan free-flighted, but it will take Logan a while to get used to being like that. I feel like I take away Logan's purpose in life by clipping her wings, but my parents make me have them clipped. Also, I learned that discovered that its more difficult to teach a bird to fly if they aren't fully-flighted when they grow their primary feathers. Now I know if Logan is ever full- flighted, its safer to have her wear a harness when shes outside. I also discovered many varieties of bird-safe toys and a healthy diet I can use. I have now realized that are companions; not pets, and they love and adore their owners more then anything.
I learned about senegal parrots in general since I had subscribed you few years ago at youtube, and I learned about his nature and behaviour. That is why I had also purchased one. It's a perfect pet and friend. Very inteligent. I always wanted african gray, however they need more space, are big and eat much. Senegals are very close to gray's however they can't talk as good.
Your vids are fine and informative, but it will be good to add some professional touch because some of them have very bad cut.
Your videos are awesome - there is actually not that much informative stuff on training birds - especially from the beginning up and watching your relationship develop like a soap opera has been great - from days out in the park and getting the birds to perform at school (which must have been a challenge in front of all those new people) I am not too fussed about the DVD win thing - you are clearly someone really dedicated to what you do and do not need school to get by in life as you have already found your talent and I am sure you will do well in it as you are already doing competitions to flog DVD sales...
It's one thing having good bird relationships and sharing it with others - but for the DVD you need good filmmaking skills - as having bought parrot training videos before you always get one or the other - but if you have both you will rise to top of this market no problem... I am a freelance filmmaker but I am in the UK - but if I'm ever out that way it would be cool to collaborate :)
Hello, I got my rehome grey named Linda about four months ago. I had no idea what I was getting into at the time because I only ever owned the occasional budgie or lovebird when I was a kid and never really got into training. I searched online for days at a time on training methods and when I came across your site I was dumfounded. It was at a point where I had already ordered a DVD set worth 300$USD and just about given up on ever stopping my bird from nipping at me and basically owning me. When I saw all the material you had I went and cancelled my order. I was very unsure of the DVDs to begin with but the fact you had all the material available for free was a big thing and I started scouring your website and forums for information.
Linda had multiple problems. She lived with a smoker who, while he loved her very much, never tried to tame her (she was handfed). All he ever did was hold her, talk to her, etc. which made her a very bad-mannered bird. She hated women (although she appeared to have no problems with me from the first moment), got on your shoulder as soon as you reached a hand for her and sometimes would just out of blue bite. She refused to go back to her cage, always trying to escape and would throw a tantrum while in it to be left out. At that point, I figured she needed more time with me (I'd spend approximately four daily hours with her on me, one or two of which completely dedicated to bonding and cuddling) so when I was home for the weekend I'd spend all day with her. As you can imagine, the situation went from bad to worse and soon she would yell incessantly to get my attention and I could not do anything without her on my shoulder, which made it really difficult to do anything. Then I came across your article on how to get a bird to go into the cage willingly. I reread it over a few weeks multiple times and each time I tried one more thing. At first I gave her a new toy every day. This did not seem to help very much. Then I made sure that I spent approximately the same amount of time with her but that she would still have her in-the-cage time even when I was around all day. I had already been giving full meals to her only when she was in the cage which surely helped but I also spent more time training her to be grabbed (another of your excellent videos). She is much more mellow now and will not oppose going into the cage so much. If she is in the cage and I am around she is rather content at just playing in her cage. We are slowly working on teaching her all your tricks (she has mastered wave, shake head and all other sorts real easy), right now we are working on grabbing her (kind of hard because my hand is small and she is quite big) and the wings tricks.
But while all this is very awesome I think the most benefit I got from your site was the harness training. You see, nothing I tried ever worked with her even getting close to a harness. Then someone on the forums pointed out she had taken a time where her parrot was mellow and content just hanging about and brought the harness close each time. I tried this and a miracle happened. Five minutes after I started she was begging for me to put the harness on so she could get the treat! We are now almost to the point I can put it entirely on her and I am happy to report a steady progress.
And one last thing... You have convinced me and my entire family to stop clipping our parrots. Your training methods are simple - and they work and you have demonstrated very well the advantages of free flight and how to handle a free flighted parrot. I am eagerly waiting for all her feathers to grow and to start recall flights.
Keep on the good work, I don't know what I'd have done without you.
Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
Trained Parrot site content Copyright 2010-2020 Michael Sazhin. Reproduction of text, images, or videos without prior permission prohibited. All rights reserved.
