Trained Parrot Blog
HomeStoreNU PerchesTrees & StandsTrained Parrot BlogParrot AcademyVideos
Subscribe to Blog
Your Name
Your Email
Dancing Senegal Parrot

Kili

Type: Senegal Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: Senegalus
Subspecies: Mesotypus
Sex: Female
Weight: 120 grams
Height: 9 inches
Age: 15 years, 9 months
Caped Cape Parrot

Truman

Type: Cape Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species:Robustus
Subspecies: Fuscicollis
Sex: Male
Weight: 330 grams
Height: 13 inches
Age: 14 years
Blue and Gold Macaw

Rachel

Type: Blue & Gold Macaw
Genus: Ara
Species:ararauna
Sex: Female
Weight: 850 grams
Height: 26 inches
Age: 11 years, 9 months
Trick Training Guides
Taming & Training Guide
Flight Recall
Target
Wave
Fetch
Shake
Bat
Wings
Go through Tube
Turn Around
Flighted Fetch
Slide
Basketball
Play Dead
Piggy Bank
Nod
Bowling
Darts
Climb Rope
Ring Toss
Flip
Puzzle
Additional Top Articles
Stop Parrot Biting
Getting Your First Parrot
Treat Selection
Evolution of Flight
Clipping Wings
How to Put Parrot In Cage
Kili's Stroller Trick
Camping Parrots
Socialization
Truman's Tree
Parrot Wizard Seminar
Kili on David Letterman
Cape Parrot Review
Roudybush Pellets

List of Common Parrots:

Parakeets:
Budgerigar (Budgie)
Alexandrine Parakeet
African Ringneck
Indian Ringneck
Monk Parakeet (Quaker Parrot)

Parrotlets:
Mexican Parrotlet
Green Rumped Parrotlet
Blue Winged Parrotlet
Spectacled Parrotlet
Dusky Billed Parrotlet
Pacific Parrotlet
Yellow Faced Parrotlet

Lovebirds:
Peach Faced Lovebird
Masked Lovebird
Fischer's Lovebird
Lilian's (Nyasa) Lovebird
Black Cheeked Lovebird
Madagascar Lovebird
Abyssinian Lovebird
Red Faced Lovebird
Swindern's Lovebird

Lories and Lorikeets:
Rainbow Lorikeet

Conures:
Sun Conure
Jenday Conure
Cherry Headed Conure
Blue Crowned Conure
Mitred Conure
Patagonian Conure
Green Cheeked Conure
Nanday Conure

Caiques:
Black Headed Caique
White Bellied Caique

Poicephalus Parrots:
Senegal Parrot
Meyer's Parrot
Red Bellied Parrot
Brown Headed Parrot
Jardine's Parrot
Cape Parrot
Ruppell's Parrot

Eclectus:
Eclectus Parrot

African Greys:
Congo African Grey (CAG)
Timneh African Grey (TAG)

Amazons:
Blue Fronted Amazon
Yellow Naped Amazon
Yellow Headed Amazon
Orange Winged Amazon
Yellow Crowned Amazon

Cockatoos:
Cockatiel
Galah (Rose Breasted) Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Umbrella Cockatoo
Moluccan Cockatoo
Bare Eyed Cockatoo
Goffin's Cockatoo

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

Glossary of Common Parrot Terms

Parrot Chop, Veggies, and Feeding Fresh for Parrots

Comments (0)

By Michael Sazhin

Friday April 12th, 2019

While I was in Arizona for Ginger's Parrot Rescue Grand Opening Event, I had a chance to meet with Christine Wood who runs Christine's Chop Shop.

Christine rescued an African Grey with major malnourishment problems and had to learn how to fix this bird's diet and nurse it back to health. As she started chopping away at loads of fresh vegetables, she learned that other people wanted some too and the Chop Shop was born.

Among many nutritional recommendations, Christine suggests that, "some of the best veggies are dark leafy greens. Any of the greens: carrot tops, beet tops... chard, bok choy, any of the fancy lettuces, the dark leafy greens have the most nutrients. And it's best for the parrots. It's lower in calories and so you can feed them more if you give them the dark leafy greens."

Some parrots tend to be deficient in calcium so Christine adds that, "you also need to feed, especially if you have an African Grey or a Cockatoo (one of the dusty birds), they need a diet that's higher in calcium. Broccoli is great, it's high in calcium. So is Kale, kale is one of top ingredients of what I feed my birds." Keep in mind that in order for the body to properly absorb calcium, Vitamin D is required. The most effective source of Vitamin D is natural outdoor sunlight so be sure to grab an Aviator Harness to get your parrot outside safely!

Christine believes that variety is very important both nutritionally and to keep the parrots entertained. Christine notes that, "the large majority of parrots have Vitamin A deficiencies. They need produce that's high in Vitamin A. The dark winter squashes: butternut squash, acorn squash... those are really high in Vitamin A. Cantelopes if they want something a little sweeter and carrots." What do all those Vitamin A rich foods have in common? They're orange! If your bird is Vitamin A deficient, you can look into feeding more of those orange veggies or get Christine's Mega A Blend that already has just that.

Christine's Chop Shop

The way I understood it, the advantage of buying Christine's Chop Mix is that it comes with a massive assortment of veggies already in it. Even Christine agrees that feeding fresh is best. But there are plenty of reasons to buy the dehydrated of freeze dried chop mixes. Most notably is the included variety. If you only have one small parrot, buying some 25+ ingredients will get expensive and wasteful. Sure, if you have a huge flock to feed, you might go through it all. But on a small bird or small number of birds, it might be easier to get the benefit of the full variety by ordering your mix instead.

Christine says "I cannot preach enough how important variety is." This is why her chop mix starts with a 15-20% base of barley, quinoa, cooked dried beans, chia and flax seed, no more than 10% fresh seasonal fruits, 70-75% fresh, seasonal vegetables. Ingredients may include; kale and other greens, cabbages, bok choy, carrots, corn, peas, string beans, zucchini and yellow squash, cooked sweet potatoes, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, bell and chili peppers, jicama, radish, snow peas, brussel sprouts, assorted apples, papaya, assorted, seasonal berries and other seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Christine explains that the freeze drying process allows her to ship raw produce around the country while safely preserving it. She says that "when you freeze dry vegetables or produce your retain 97% of the nutrients and so that is considered raw."

Watch the complete discussion with Christine Wood both about her business and lots of tips on fresh feeding for your parrot. And check out what Christine has to offer at ChristinesChopShop.com.

Rose Breasted Cockatoo - Lost and Found Story

Comments (1)

By Michael Sazhin

Tuesday March 19th, 2019

During my two recent trips to Ginger's Parrot Rescue in Casa Grande Arizona, I got to see first hand the winding story of the lost and found Galah. I was visiting the rescue on my first trip to help get things set up for the new facility grand opening event and then I returned in a week with my birds to give presentations at the event itself. While this was all happening, a mysterious Galah came into our lives.

On the cold rainy morning of February 21, 2019, while out shopping for supplies, Ginger received a phone call from a lady that spotted a parrot outside her window. She described the bird as being "grey with a red mane". Ginger was not completely convinced that it was a parrot and worried that it may have just been one of the feral lovebirds that are frequently spotted in the valley. Ginger asked the woman to text her a photo of the bird and the moment she saw the picture, Ginger knew right away that it was a Rose Breasted Cockatoo (Galah).

Found Cockatoo in Laundry Basket

We dropped what we were doing and started to drive to Queen Creek. Already on the road, Ginger was instructing the woman who found the bird on how to try to catch it. By the time Ginger would get to the neighborhood, the bird could be long gone and impossible to find so it was very important to either catch or keep an eye on it. The woman called Ginger back and told her that she managed to catch the bird but that she was leaving in 15 minutes to the airport for a flight! She asked her mother-in-law to come over and wait for Ginger to come and pick up the bird.

Ginger was caught a bit off guard because she was out shopping and did not have a carrier to take the bird in. So, she stopped by a pet store and bought a carrier to be able to transport the found parrot in.

When Ginger arrived to the house, the mother-in-law was waiting and showed the bird being held in a laundry basket. Ginger swiftly picked up the bird and discovered that it was really emaciated by the protruding keel bone. She wasted no time in getting the bird an emergency visit at the local avian veterinarian.



Once the parrot was stabilized by the veterinarian, Ginger set about the task of reuniting the parrot with its rightful owner. At first, it seemed like a pretty easy task. Ginger came across a few lost Galah ads online and thought it was likely it was one of those peoples' bird. But pretty soon things started to get more crazy. Ginger's phone was going off all day with calls from people saying it could be their bird. To make things even more confusing, some people messaged and called which made Ginger feel even more overwhelmed as though there is an even greater number of people who think it is their bird.

Facebook Post about Found Cockatoo

Some of the potential owners were weeded out more quickly. For example, some stated that their bird had light eyes indicating that it is a female whereas the found Cockatoo had dark eyes indicating that it is a male. Other people were just way too far away, like out of state. Pretty quickly, Ginger narrowed down the list to just a few people that could legitimately be the parrot's owner. However, the bird was still in dire condition at the vet's office. It was still being given fluids and was weak and tired. It was unlikely that the owner would be able to recognize the bird because of how bad it looked and how sedate it was. Ginger had to postpone any meetings with potential owners until the next week in order to give the bird time to recover.

Ginger and I went to check up on the bird over the weekend and found it to be better but still pretty rough. He had started eating but looked tired and sedate. He seemed more indifferent to our presence than interested or scared.

A few days later Ginger got a call from the vet that the Cockatoo was doing better and was moved into the room with other boarding birds. However, the Cockatoo did not seem interested in other birds or people. At this point, Ginger started setting up meetings with some of the people who had recently lost a Galah to see if it is their bird. Ginger had those people come to the vet office to see the Cockatoo.



Ginger wheeled the cage into the visiting room and had the possible owner interact with the bird. Ginger was trying to see if the bird would make any known vocalizations, show a reaction, or step up for the person. Unfortunately the Galah was not responding to the people who would come to visit. In fact it would try to retreat to a distant part of the cage and absolutely would not step up. It was clear to both Ginger and the folks who came to visit that it was not their lost Galah.

I went back home to prepare to come back for Ginger's big event while Ginger continued the search for the rightful owner. Proving ownership of the bird was proving to be a difficult but important task. Without a microchip or leg band, there was no simple way to prove that someone owned the bird. Ginger was afraid that someone could lie that it is their bird so that they could claim and then sell it. This is why Ginger had to be a bit secretive and tricky in order to avoid any potential scammers. She asked callers particular questions that might help identify the bird.

With the bird in better condition and no owner found, Ginger had to take the Galah away from the vet and back to her rescue. She set up a large cage and continued feeding the bird well so he would regain weight. Ginger was becoming less optimistic about finding the original owner and was beginning to plan to search for an adopter once the 30 day owner search period was over.

I flew back to Arizona for the big event. This time in my airplane with wife, birds, and supplies. The new facility grand opening event and open house were a huge success. People from all over the Phoenix area came out to see the new rescue. Many of them marveled at the Galah and wished him a good home.

Then, one day before I was scheduled to depart, an incredible thing happened! Ginger got a call from a woman who was already on her way to pick her son up from school to come and see if it was their lost Cockatoo. When Ginger heard that they had lost their parrot 2 years ago, Ginger's optimism waned and she didn't want to waste their time. However, in half an hour they showed up at her door and were convinced there was a greater calling that brought them there.

Miracle! Family recovers lost cockatoo after 2 years

From the moment they walked into the room, the Galah seemed to perk up. For the first time since we met him, he raised his crest. Not all the way, but it was more than any time prior (even when we tried to get him excited). He let out a few chirps but was otherwise pretty calm. Ok, he seemed alert but maybe it was just because of visitors and by now all the meds wore off. The boy went up to the cage and the bird did not seem scared. At first, the parrot just watched but soon he started to come closer.

The mom went over to the cage and showed a video of her son playing the harp. The bird seemed curious but for all we knew, it could have been curious about any music. But then he walked up to the edge of the cage and gave the mom a kiss! He had not made contact with anyone else including the vet, myself, and Ginger! Soon after, the bird was giving kisses to the boy as well. And before long, with the door open, the Galah came out all by himself! He stepped up onto the mother's hand and recognized his carrier that they brought with them. It was the bird that recognized and showed us who his owner was!

Cockatoo returns home

The family got the Galah, named Echo, as a baby and he was just 1 year old when he flew out of a window. He had been missing for 2 years. It was amazing that he had spent more than 2/3 of his life away from them but that they were the only people he responded to. However, after bring apart so long and growing up as such on his own, there would be a lot of work getting him back to being tame and good with people. So, I gave them a signed copy of my book, The Parrot Wizard's Guide to Well-Behaved Parrots to help them rekindle their relationship. They took Echo home that night and he immediately recognized his cage and went to his favorite perch.

So if you or anyone you know has lost a pet, never give up! There is always a chance that it will come back to you. Here is the story of one such miracle of a Cockatoo that was lost for 2 years and ended up back with his family!


Here is a first hand narrative from Danna Goldman, mother of the boy Kaden and owner of Echo the Galah.

I’m the Momma in the story. We are BEYOND GRATEFUL to Ginger and Michael and all those who were a part of this miracle. I have written out the whole story from our perspective for you that may be curious. We are still smiling! KADEN’S STORY OF FAITH


OVERVIEW:

Kaden saved for years to buy a Parrot. June 2017 he purchased a Rose Breasted Cockatoo hatchling he named Echo. Feb 18th 2017 Echo got out and we couldn’t find him. Kaden felt God assure him the He was going to bring Echo back and that Echo wouldn’t die…just didn’t know when. Two years later, Echo was found, and we miraculously got him back! Echo is still shaken but content to be back in his cage and home.


HOW GOD SPOKE:

1. The day after Echo’s leaving Kaden and I prayed with Grandma and Lissette Bednarek, it was during that particular prayer that the Holy Spirit gave Kaden a supernatural peace and he just knew Echo wouldn’t die and God would bring him back. Kaden was sad but he never seemed to doubt that Echo would come back. (Phil 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your minds in Christ Jesus.”)
2. A young friend of the family (9 at the time) had a prophetic dream that Echo would come back. She described the place as beautiful with trees and a mountain in the background with a beautiful sky – like heaven. Kaden walked up and called to Echo from a tree and Echo came to him. She said it was confusing because Kaden looked and sounded a lot older.
3. I had gotten desperate in my prayers to God, trying to hold onto Kaden’s faith but begging God for clarity and help. It was quite hard to see my son so sad missing his bird and waiting for him. God clearly spoke the verse: Lamentations 3:26 “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” because of that word from the Holy Spirit I too attained the peace that God would bring the bird back in His perfect timing.
4. A year had passed. Kaden would get reminded every now and then of Echo and get so very sad. My friend Lauren was visiting one of those times. She was pained by seeing his pain. She hears God clearly and He speaks almost fluidly to her. I asked her to ask God what He’s doing with this situation. She went and prayed and talked with God. She came out and said, “God said he (the bird) is still alive, and the wait is for Kaden’s faith.” Again, we got another boost to keep our faith strong.
5. One day I was struggling with worry over Kaden and crying my fears out to God. In that painful moment God gave me a vision of understanding that He was going to use Echo to help Kaden in his faith so I need not worry. Again I could rest in His assurance.
6. March 13th 2019 as I was praying in the morning, I was hearing the rain and wind and I was so sad for Echo being out there. I felt urgency to check social media yet again. I connected with one rescue that connected me to the rescue where they were caring for a male Rose breasted Cockatoo!


WHAT WE TRIED:

1. Lots and lots of circling the dairy calling for him
2. Kaden slept in a tent for over a month hoping to hear Echo’s squawks at sunrise
3. Blaring recordings of other Galahs (rose breasted cockatoos) communicating in the wild hoping he would be drawn to it
4. Flyers aaaalllll over town
5. Called every lost animal place I could find
6. House to house knocking on doors giving them flyers
7. Social media
8. Giant spray painted signs all over Coolidge
9. There was a possible sighting by the mall: circled the mall walking and driving, calling, playing the Galah calls, brought flyers. Not allowed to post flyers so talked with the security manager and gave them the information and they posted in the breakroom, same with Coolidge and Casa Grande PD.
10. Lots and Lots and Lots of PRAYER


LOVING HEARTS:

An unbelievable amount of people had prayed for this situation. An example is Kaden’s younger siblings (the triplets) and their entire class at LCA (Logos Christian Academy). Both the 3/4th grade and 5th grade teachers told me how the class literally prayed every morning for Echo to come back. Those kids labored in prayer for Kaden! Little loving intercessors. When I told the Pastor at my church who is teaching the kids’ Wednesday class that the bird is home he stopped and said “EVERY WEDNESDY NIGHT we prayed for that bird – I thought he was dead but said ok we can pray but…two years…” Haha I get it. The young lady with the dream was one of those kids at church and school. She came home with me to see the bird that day I asked her to again describe what the place looked like and she kept saying it was like heaven. We realized – Echo was moments from death when he was found, and a much older Kaden came and got him! Another coincidence: The memory verse for that class on the day Echo was found was Hebrews 11:1-3

I also had friends who labored in prayer as the Spirit led them. Lauren, Nichole, Petra, Abby, and Joy in particular kept the faith with us and didn’t (seem to) doubt.


CONCLUSION:

God is real, faithful, in control, can use anything to reach us, communicates with us, and most of all LOVES US! That bird was a tool to touch Kaden and many others. One of my most frequent prayers for Kaden has been for him to hear God’s voice, to know when the Holy Spirit is leading him. He had a remarkable moment after that one aforementioned prayer. Now he knows THAT PEACE was the Holy Spirit and will be able to recognize His leading again and again. He also knows God does what He says he will do and is who He says He is. It was truly a miracle that the bird lived out there for two years and was returned, it was an impossible situation made possible by God and God alone.

Hebrews 11:1-3 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

Bird Room Tour

Comments (0)

By Michael Sazhin

Thursday January 31st, 2019

Although you may have seen glimpses of the various special features of my bird room throughout my videos, I have never specifically done a video that shows everything in one place until now.

I had my custom purpose built bird room put in when I moved from apartment to house. I selected the back of the house, immediately off the bedroom as the best location. This puts the birds on the quietest side of the house and furthest away from the street. Also by keeping them close to the bedroom it is actually an effective noise mitigation strategy. The parrots sleep more hours than I do so it is guaranteed that they are quiet when I am in bed. On the other hand, it puts the bedroom (and other rooms) between them and me during the day time when I might choose to spend time in the kitchen or living room without them. This places the greatest distance and most noise reduction for those kinds of times. Keeping the parrots away from the kitchen also reduces the danger of potentially toxic fumes.

While I occasionally get nasty comments about how I "just keep those parrots in the bathroom" there is only a hint of truth to that. No, they are not in a bathroom. The tile walls were deliberately built to contain the mess! However, the current cage room was formerly a stand alone bathroom and the big bird room was at some point a kitchen. I had the house plan reorganized and it made the dimensions of those kitchen and bathroom be perfect for setting up as bird rooms. However, nothing, not even the original plumbing remained when it was rebuilt entirely to become the bird room.

I had to have the electrically wiring run with outlets throughout the room to code. However, I had those lines shut off and tiled over to avoid having exposed outlets near birds or water. The only accessible power outlets are inside the closet which is closed when a bird is out unsupervised. The light switch was initially wired just inside the room by the door like a normal room but then immediately rewired to outside the room on purpose. This way there are no light switches inside the bird room. Instead, I can control the lights to both the big bird room and the adjoining cage room without setting foot inside. Further still, the lights are controlled by a timer so that the birds could maintain a more consistent schedule and receive a more natural tropical duration of daylight and darkness. This way, even if I am away from home, the birds can maintain their familiar schedule.

However, just turning the lights on/off at a specific time would not ensure that the birds are sleeping when they are supposed to. At different times of the year the sun rise would wake the birds before the lights would come on. So, I have a second timer that controls the motorized gates across both rooms windows. Thus in the early morning, although it may be light outside, it is still dark in the bird room and the birds don't go waking up the house and neighbors.

I have an outside door dividing the bird room from my bedroom because it is waterproof and provides greater isolation from drafts and noise than a regular door. The entire bird room is tiled and has a concrete floor with drain. The walls and floor can be hosed down and washed on a regular basis. Except for the cages, nothing else stands on the floor. All of the bird stands are hanging so that it is easy to wash underneath them. The bird stands hang using stainless steel cable and not chain so that the birds could not climb up the cable to the ceiling.

The bird room is divided into the main bird room and the cage room so that a bird could be left out all day while the others are in their cages. Since my birds are different sizes and can't be left out together, this is the most effective way to give them a chance to take turns enjoying the big room on their own.

There are two large sliding doors which reveal not only a closer but also a countertop and sink for washing bird bowls and bottles. Several more closets provide plenty of storage space for bird supplies. The air conditioner is covered by a custom built stainless steel cover to ensure that the bird cannot chew on the air conditioner and more importantly the wires. This also covers the dedicated thermostat. The bird room has its own heating zone so that I can keep the temperature independent and consistent for the birds. The heat comes from the floor which helps evaporate water after washing. The tiles help keep the moisture in so in the winter it is like a natural humidifier, keeping the moisture level more comfortable as well.

Here is a video tour to show you these various features of the Parrot Wizard bird room:


Now you are familiar with the layout of my bird room. Check out the whole line of Parrot Wizard trees and stands to help you create your dream bird room as well!

Happy New Year! Parrot Wizard 2018 Recap

Comments (0)

By Michael Sazhin

Monday December 31st, 2018

Happy New Year! 2018 has been such an exciting year with so much great Parrot Wizard stuff going on. I'm thrilled looking back at how much has happened in the course of 2018 and looking forward to what 2019 may bring.

I wish you and your flock success, health, happiness, and mutual harmony! Happy New Year to you your flock from the Parrot Wizard!

Here is a recap of some of the highlights of 2018:

-5th year anniversary of Parrot Wizard company
-Parrot trip to Texas
-Release of the Perfect Tree
-Visiting Santina
-Kili's 10th birthday
-Seminar in Norway
-Harness Training and Presentations in Germany
-Aviator Harness Adventures
-Taking Rachel to Coney Island
-Reaching 100,000 subscribers on YouTube
-Visiting Parrot Mountain
-Performance at Todd Marcus 35th Anniversary
-Flying parrots in my back yard
-Lori comes to visit
-Performing at the Parrot Palooza
-Rachel gets microchipped
-Releasing my Stainless Steel Parrot Play Stand
-Receiving Youtube Silver Play Button Award

I would like to extend a warm thank you to Andreas Zenger, Tor Arne Fallingen, Zac Marcus, Jack Lance, Lori Thorpe, Giovanna, Fletcher Hollingsworth for allowing me to be part of their events and visits! And I would like to especially thank all of my viewers, readers, buyers, followers, and friends for being a part of this whole 2018 Parrot Wizard experience. Thank you very much and have a Happy New Year!

Here's a Parrot Wizard 2018 Recap compilation video to sum it all up:

How to Teach a Parrot the Birdie Darts Trick

Comments (0)

By Michael Sazhin

Thursday December 6th, 2018

Wondering how you can teach a parrot to play darts? Here's an awesome trick to teach your parrot! This free trick training guide is about how you can train the Birdie Darts trick to your parrot!

It's a blast watching a parrot nail a bulls eye on the dart board! The Birdie Darts board is sized for any parrot small, medium, or large.

Here's a step by step guide on teaching a parrot to play darts:

Step 1: Get the Birdie Darts for your parrot from ParrotWizard.com.

Step 2: Make sure that your parrot is fetch trained. If it isn't, teach it to fetch before you start teaching the darts trick. If it is already fetch trained, just do a quick review to remind it what to do.

Step 3: Desensitize the parrot to the dart board and darts. Most parrots get scared of new stuff. The good news is that the more tricks you teach, the more the bird will get used to accepting new things. The best way to desensitize the bird to the dart board is to target it near the toy. Place the dart board on a table beforehand. Bring your parrot and set it on the table far from the toy. Get the bird into a rhythm targeting. Target it randomly in different directions and not strictly toward the darts or it may get suspicious. Target it around randomly but little by little, more and more toward the dart board. Let the parrot pay more attention to the targeting exercise and forget about the darts until you are able to target it right by the board at ease. It is better to take the time to do the desensitization exercise even if the bird didn't get scared than to scare the bird with the toy first and then try to change its mind.

Step 4: The Birdie Darts trick comes with 3 magnetic darts. You can set two extra ones aside for now and just use one dart. Give the dart to your parrot from one hand and then present your other hand and ask it to fetch the dart to your open palm. Using a clicker, click when the bird drops the dart in your hand and give it a treat. Positive reinforcement goes a long way!

Parrot Playing Darts

Step 5: Now it's time to teach the parrot to put the dart on the board. Hold your open hand in front of the dart board and ask your parrot to fetch the dart to your hand. Get the bird used to fetching the dart to your hand near the dart board.

Step 6: Continue having the bird fetch the dart to your open hand in front of the dart board, but now pull your hand away just before the bird drops the dart. When the bird is about to drop the dart into your hand, pull your hand back and away. The bird will end up dropping the dart straight down but the magnetic dart will grab onto the dart board. Click the clicker when the dart ends up on the board and give your bird a treat so that it realizes that the purpose is to put the dart on the board.

Step 7: Teach the parrot to make a bullseye by rewarding less frequently when the dart is placed far from the center. When the bird puts the dart closer to center than previously, click and reward. However, if the parrot puts the dart far from center, ignore. As the parrot learns to put the dart closer to the center, become more demanding by rejecting times when the parrot puts the dart further away. Eventually it can learn to make a bullseye with the dart on the dart board.

You can place all 3 darts on the table and have the parrot fetch all of them onto the dart board for a full game of darts!

Here's a short tutorial I made with Kili to illustrate the key steps of the process:


You can even have your parrot fly with the dart from far away like a long distance cruise-dart.
Older Articles Trained Parrot HomeNewer Articles
Trained Parrot HomeAboutSitemapParrot Training PerchesThe Parrot ForumVideosYoutube Channel
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.