Trained Parrot Blog

Trained Parrot Blog

Kili

Type: Senegal Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: Senegalus
Subspecies: Mesotypus
Sex: Female
Weight: 120 grams
Height: 9 inches
Age: 16 years, 5 months

Truman

Type: Cape Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species:Robustus
Subspecies: Fuscicollis
Sex: Male
Weight: 330 grams
Height: 13 inches
Age: 14 years, 8 months

Rachel

Type: Blue & Gold Macaw
Genus: Ara
Species:ararauna
Sex: Female
Weight: 850 grams
Height: 26 inches
Age: 12 years, 5 months

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Nod
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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

How to Teach Parrot Turn Around Trick

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By Michael Sazhin

Monday September 12th, 2011

This article tells you how you can teach your parrot the turn around trick on cue. The turn around trick, also called spin by others, is where the trainer shows a cue and the parrot does a 360 degree turn around on its perch. This is a very easy trick to teach and can be considered a beginner trick. Any parrot from a budgie to a macaw can learn this trick. The only requisites are that the parrot be tame and already target trained. If this is not the case or if you simply need a refresher, check the target training and taming article before continuing with turn around.

The turn around trick is taught by targeting the parrot in a circle. So the first thing to do is to refresh your parrot's memory by doing some targeting. Make sure your parrot is willing to turn its head toward the target stick and to follow the stick. Hold the target stick behind the parrot so that it makes a 180 degree turn to touch the target. If it is not doing this, you can try holding it at 90 degrees and then move back to 180 when the parrot begins to turn toward the stick. Of course promptly click and reward the parrot whenever it touches the target stick.

Next work on getting the parrot to turn 270 and then 360 degrees to touch the target stick. Get it started by holding the target stick just ahead of where it is reaching and continuing to turn the stick around the parrot so that it can follow. Keep the pace such that the parrot can keep up with the motion of the stick but does not have the chance to touch it before completing the 360 degree turn. Continue practicing the turn around target method until the parrot reliably turns around to follow the stick. However tempting it may be, don't lure the parrot around with a treat instead. The targeting method is more effective because it learns the behavior rather than just going where food is. At this point you can start saying "turn around" or whatever the cue will be. Also you can stop letting it touch the stick upon completion and just click/reward when it completes the turn. It is important that the click is when 360 degrees have been turned rather than too soon or the bird may not learn to turn all the way.

It is convenient to have the parrot on a perch and below you so that you can target it around in a circle from above. This later helps transition the cue as well. I do not recommend teaching this trick on a flat surface because it is harder to get a precise 360 degree turn. On a perch, turns have to be a half or full circle in order for the parrot to perch. For these reasons an adjustable height Parrot Training Perch is the ideal tool for training this trick.

The next stage is to switch the parrot from following the target stick around to following your finger around. Hold your index finger along the target stick to accomplish this. Start by holding it high on the stick but progressively hold it lower and lower so that less of the target stick is visible and your finger is more obvious. Eventually don't hold the stick at all and see if the parrot will follow your finger around instead. Once you can get your parrot to turn around by following your finger rather than using the target stick you are ready for the final step.

Now all that is left is to recede the finger turn and it will become the cue. Start by targeting the parrot around less and less with your finger so that it still completes the 360 turn. Move your finger 3/4 way around, then 1/2, 1/4, etc. From the inertia of previous training, the parrot should continue completing the 360 turn with less and less targeting with your finger. Eventually you should get to a point where just showing your finger in a vertical orientation. At this point it's just a matter of switching this motion into the cue which can be a twist or flick of the finger. Just keep practicing and gradually switching the finger target to the finger cue that will become the permanent cue.

As soon as the parrot has caught on to the trick, I recommend mixing it back with previously known tricks so that it does not forget those in favor of the newer one. Once the parrot has completely learned this trick on a perch, you can practice it on a flat surface as well. Here is a video of how I taught Truman the turn around trick in just two training sessions:

Here is another video about teaching a Blue and Gold Macaw to turn around. You'll see that the technique is exactly the same and very suitable for any sized parrot:

Part of: Taming & Basic Training, Parrot Trick Training, Poicephalus, Cape Parrots
Truman Cape Parrot Turn Around Trick Training

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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.
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