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 recently took a short trip down to Tallahassee and surrounding parts of the Florida pan handle. I flew down there with my dad and sister for four days and I'd like to share some of the parrot related encounters I had there.
The flight to Tallahassee was rather exciting as we departed New York through fog and low clouds. But once we climbed over top of it, we were met by the rising sun and blue skies. Cruising along at 8,000ft and 160mph, we made it to Florida in about 7 hours with a gas stop along the way. It sure beats flying by airline where they make my take my shoes off, steal my water, and treat everyone like they are guilty till they prove they aren't a terrorist. I depart when I want, have more leg room than my legs can reach, a lot of fun, and just freedom unrestricted by the terrestrial world we are accustomed to.
Here's a video with some breathtaking views of flight in clouds going down there:
Emerald Coast Science Center
When we were visiting the Emerald Coast Science Center in Fort Walton Beach, I couldn't help noticing the parrot cage by the entrance. Inside was a sweet Galah that allowed me to pet it through the bars. After seeing the museum, I asked the employee if I could hold the parrot for a picture. Reluctantly she agreed to try. She said the parrot is finicky and doesn't always come out. She came over to Kiwi's cage and opened the door. She reached her hand in slowly and urged Kiwi to step up. Kiwi did not bite but nor did he comply. He would pick a foot up and then put it down, turn around, walk away, do a dance, etc. The lady kept following him with her hand but with no luck.
Meanwhile my little sister kept yapping and saying things about me. "My brother is good with parrots. Let him try to take Kiwi out!" she would say. After several unsuccessful minutes the employee was getting frustrated and ready to give up. She finally said, "alright, you can try and take him out if you want but he could bite." She stepped away from the cage as I approached. In a single motion not lasting two seconds, I reached my hand through the open cage door, Kiwi stepped right up on my hand, and had him out of the cage melting away in my arms. The lady started in awe and proclaimed, "he must really like you."
How was it that this parrot who barely knew me for a minute stepped right up for me and not for a caretaker that it encounters on a daily basis? Did this parrot hate women but like men? Or could it mysteriously sense that I'm a parrot person? Well it's none and all of the above. I was analyzing the circumstance before I even reached my hand into the cage. I immediately knew what was wrong when the lady was pleading with Kiwi to step up. I could see her insecurity and reluctance. On the flip side, I noticed that Kiwi was not aggressive and would not have bit her if she was more determined to taking him out. But since she held her hand at a distance and didn't make him step up, he just opted to play games with her instead. The more she chased him around with her hand asking him to step up, the more he would resist and keep playing around.
By the time I was reaching in the cage for Kiwi, I already knew that he was tame, capable of stepping up, and I was not scared of him. This combination of confidence and knowledge of the optimal parrot step up approach, got Kiwi onto my hand on the first try and without incident. If I had waffled, the outcome may have been different. But using the approach I describe in that other article, I give the parrot enough time to feel safe and realize what's happening but not enough time to decide to do something different. Also, although I gave him the freedom to choose not to come to me (asking for step up rather than just grabbing), I guided his choice by swinging my hand toward him at a non-stop constant motion that if he didn't step up it would slice through his legs forcing him to step. I'm just trying my best to summarize my approach into words and step by step behaviors to make it clear that "being a bird person" is really just a sum of the behaviors that I perform to achieve the desired result. Thus it appears to any outsider that random parrots just like me but it's because I've developed an approach that works pretty well on most tame parrots (note I say tame parrots that at least know how to step up for someone. I'm at as much of a loss as anyone with a vicious untame parrot that steps for nobody). I explained some of this to the lady hoping that it may give her a better chance of working with Kiwi in the future and not getting discouraged. I hoped to demonstrate to her (and to you) that it is the method and not necessarily the person that allows it to work.
Not being scared of the parrot and being confident that I could get it out were major factors. Parrots don't like people who are scared of them because they are more shaky and unpredictable. Nor do they like people who are too forceful either. There is an ideal middle ground approach that is the culmination of confidence and respect for the animal. I wasn't scared for several reasons. First of all he already let me pet him through the cage bars and I saw that he didn't try to bite the employee. But more importantly, realizing that this parrot which is the size of Truman (Cape Parrot) and beak the size of Kili's (Senegal Parrot), that he really couldn't do much to scare me and I could work through it safely. Thus I made a friend and made Kiwi's day. And hopefully not only the museum employee could learn something from it but you as well!
Gulf World Marine Park
An unexpected highlight of the trip turned out to be the Gulf World Marine Park. I've been to lots of Aquariums but this one was a bit different. First of all, this was the most commercialized one I've ever encountered. They skipped all the boring (yet rare and educational) fish exhibits. Instead they just featured the stuff visitors want to see like sting rays, penguins, sea lions, and dolphins. We came just in time for the parrot show and dolphin show! You read that right, parrot show. Now why half of a "marine" park is dedicated to parrots is beyond me but this is a fact. They had about 10 outdoor aviaries and another 10 indoor stands with various kinds of macaws and parrots occupying them. I learned that they have over 40 rescued parrots that are homed in cages outside public view but they get circulated around the public displays throughout the day.
I was pleased to see unclipped parrots performing tricks including flight during the indoor parrot show. No need to explain as I included bits of the show in the following video. After the show I got to chat with the parrot trainer and exchange some ideas about training while getting the inside scoop on food management. As you watch the parrot and dolphin shows, pay attention to the cues, bridges, and rewards in addition to the behavior. Can you tell what kind of reinforcement schedule is being used?
I included just some small bits of the shows and recommend seeing them for yourself if you are ever out to Panama City Beach, Florida.
Finally here's a shot of Joe Junior, a 14 foot Florida Alligator I photographed on a bank of the Wakulla Springs State Park.
I came across a Parrot Foraging Tower at the bird store while shopping for some supplies. It was very expensive but the store owner seemed fairly eager to get rid of it by lowering the price to just expensive. Thus I brought the tower home for Kili and Truman to play with.
Kili being the trained parrot that she is was ready to learn the trick but only with my guidance. She would not just play with the tabs and figure it out on her own despite the treat being in plain sight. She waited for me to show/tell her what to do but then mastered the basic task very quickly through clicker training. She already knew the pull command from the magic drawer trick so it was mainly a matter of clicker training her to apply it to the tower. But the tower is much bigger than she is, so she couldn't go beyond two tabs to pull on.
Truman on the other hand became master of the parrot foraging tower. Not only is he tall enough to reach the top tab if he stands on his tippy toes, but his hooked beak is perfect for pulling the tabs open. Truman had a slight advantage in that he watched me train the trick to Kili. However, I never worked with him and the only rewards he got for attempting the trick were from the tower itself. After just a handful of almonds and sessions, Truman learned that pulling all the tabs out was key to getting the nut to fall out. Still, he does not follow any logical sequence for pulling the tabs. However, from a reinforcement standpoint, the sequence is irrelevant and the nut will only come out when all tabs are pulled out.
All advantages are on the side of Truman with this one. Not only on size and strength but also perseverance. Kili is more focused on following commands and doing tricks to earn treats from me. If the toy isn't rewarding her quickly enough, she'll turn to me and say hello or show her wings for a treat rather than keep working at it. On the other hand Truman is slower and more thoughtful. He'll approach the tower from different sides and keep working for 10 minutes if he has to until the nut is his. Then he'll spend a few more minutes still, working the nut out of its shell. Quite the entertainment package for a brainy Cape Parrot. In the video you can see Truman step away and think before approaching the tower again. He takes many breaks but he doesn't give up. His persistence pays off with a large tasty nut.
What treats are you giving your parrot for tricks is the question I am asked time and time again. I'm not sure why people are so fascinated by this. Perhaps they think I have invented some special magic treat that has the power to make my parrots succumb to my commands. I am always a bit reluctant to answer this because the treats I use may not be successful or even healthy for other parrots. People assume that if they would use the same treat that I use, they might achieve better success training their parrot but this may not be the case. So really this question should be split into two distinct questions:
What treats do you use to train Kili & Truman?
What treats should I use to train my parrot or parakeet?
Before I answer the first one, I'm going to explain the answer to the second instead. I don't want people to fixate too much on what treats I use because they may not work for a different parrot. So instead I'm going to teach you how to choose treats for your parrot instead. I will start by categorizing parrots into two categories:
A) Small parrots and parakeets (Budgerigar, Cockatiel, Green Cheeked Conure, Parrotlet, Lovebird, etc). B) Most other parrots (Senegal Parrot, Sun Conure, African Grey, Cockatoo, Amazon, Macaw)
I'm leaving out parrots with specialty diets (Lorikeets, Eclectus, and others) because what they consume as a treat may be more species specific and really up to the research of the owner to understand their diets. So for most parakeets and small parrots selecting a treat is actually really easy: millet spray. Budgies, Cockatiels, and other tiny parrots just go bonkers for that stuff. The seeds are nice and small but so are their beaks so its a match made in heaven. These birds have rapid metabolisms so it's not much time until they are ready to have some more. Most of the time withholding their normal in the cage food for 3 hours should lead to sufficient motivation for training for millet spray.
Millet Spray is a very effective trick training treat for Cockatiels, Budgies, and other parakeets
Millet spray has its pros and cons as a treat. A really good aspect is that the individual seeds are very small and not that filling unless eaten in large number. You can vary the value of the reward by the amount of time you give the parrot the opportunity to nibble on the millet seeds. A very good job could be rewarded for 5 seconds of nibbling on millet while a normal reward may be just a bite of a seed or two to maintain hunger for more training. Another benefit that is great for beginner trainers or new birds is that you can vary the length of the stick of millet you use. Normally millet spray is sold in long strands. Use a scissor to cut off anywhere from 1-6 inches from the end. In the beginning a longer stick may give enough buffer between trainer and parakeet to give both the confidence they need to interact (parakeet that it won't get harmed and trainer that he won't get bit). When you are really proficient at training, breaking off a single ball of millet will work to your advantage because you can hide it from sight when the bird needs to focus on the task at hand rather than the lure.
You can hold a stick of Millet Spray to maintain adequate distance from your parakeet
The main downside of millet spray is that it is very messy. Little seeds and husks will shed like the falls of Niagra. This is bad twice over. Not only will it make a mess requiring cleanup but it will also distract the parrot while it tries to pickup seeds off the surface rather than train. Keeping a handheld battery powered vacuum and using it frequently is a must if your parrot is not sitting on a tall training perch away from the surface. Always make sure that the millet spray you are using is fresh because it does spoil if sitting too long. Lastly, if it isn't already obvious, don't put millet spray into the parrots cage so that you can maintain it as a trick training treat. If it eats it in abundance in the cage, it won't work as hard to earn it in training. Virtually all parakeets are introduced to millet spray from the store/breeder but if yours really has no clue what it is, then leave it in the cage initially until it is eating it with confidence. But once it is familiar, only use it as a treat. There may be some other treats you can use for small parrots and parakeets so consider some of the following advice for larger parrots as well.
Now onto treats for most other parrots. The thing is, parrots come in so many different species and are such complex creatures that no single treat is universal. This is why I suggest a method for establishing treats for each individual parrot rather than suggesting a specific food. First off, it is important to realize that many parrots have not tasted all possible foods that could be treats. So if the breeder, store, or past owner had never offered a certain food to a parrot, it won't know that it wants it. Don't be surprised that offering an almond or sunflower seed to a new parrot brings no response. People think that by giving their parrot the same things I give mine they will earn its trust but it is completely possible that the parrot doesn't even know what that food is!
Before you can even discover what treats will be effective for your parrot, you have to begin by giving it a chance to taste each one and evaluate what it likes. The easiest way of doing this is to offer lots of different foods in the parrots cage for a few days/weeks. You don't want to overload it with treats to sample or it won't eat anything healthy so a good way of doing this is to feed it a normal healthy diet and only when it finished eating to put in a few treats to try (and offer different ones each day). At the end of this article I will mention what treats I use for my parrots so you can use those as a starting point of things to try. But short of chocolate (including chocolate chip cookies and anything containing it), avocado, coffee, alcohol, and anything toxic to humans, most foods can be tested as treats. You may be surprised at what they like. Just bare in mind that the unhealthier the food, the less often you should offer it as a treat no matter how much the parrot likes it. If you're looking for advice on getting an already tame parrot to taste new foods that it may not want to try (but you think it would like), take a look at how I taught my parrots to eat pineapple.
Nuts and Seeds are a good starting point as treats for training parrots
In the beginning a parrot may not eaten certain foods but don't automatically assume it doesn't like them. It may just be scared of them. Only if it rejects them consistently while favoring other foods is it a good indicator that this is not a suitable treat. Don't rule out trying these foods again some time down the line if you think they are good treats because sometimes a parrot will start to like something it didn't before. Once the introduction of various foods is complete (or at least under way), you can begin to observe which foods are the favorite when offered together with others. Let's say you want to see whether your parrot likes banana, sunflower seeds, or almonds the best. Put a few little pieces of banana, couple sunflower seeds, and couple pieces of almond in the same bowl. Put this in the parrots cage (or offer from your hand if it is already tame) to see which ones it eats first. If there is an evident pattern (for example eats all banana pieces first, then sunflower seeds, and leaves all almonds), then it is likely that is the order of preference the parrot likes those treats. If it eats them randomly, then either it likes them all about evenly or hasn't developed stronger preferences yet. If there is a pecking order of preference for treats, keep it in mind and use the most favorite treats more sparingly as a super reward for break throughs in training.
There are two ways to use variety of treats to your advantage. Either use a complete variety in each training session starting from the least preferred treats in the beginning to the most preferred treats at the end or use the same treat the entire training session but change treats between training sessions. There is an advantage to each of these methods. By using a variety of treats in a single training session, you can maintain motivation longer by improving treats as the parrot becomes less hungry, more tired, and hopefully improving behavior. On the other hand by using a different treat each day you can save on effort/waste (cutting up 10 different fruits could be costly and ineffective for every training session). Since it may be a week or more since the parrot got to have that kind of treat, it will be motivated to train for that taste/nutrient even if it isn't as hungry or the best treat. I have definitely noticed with my parrots that by bringing out a treat that hasn't been used in a long time, that they will work harder for it even if they weren't made as hungry by food management.
Establishing treats for parrots depends as much on what you don't give as what you do as part of the normal diet. By not serving things perceived as treats in the cage as part of meals, you improve the desirability of treats for training sessions. However, since treats only account for 5-20% of the parrot's daily meals, the blander cage food should still remain desirable. Besides the health benefits of getting a parrot off of a seed and onto a pellet diet, training is another great reason to do this. If a parrot is eating seeds in the cage all day, good luck trying to get it motivated to train for seeds. If there is no way you can get that parrot onto a pellet diet, the least you can do is to go through its daily rations and pick out every single favorite seed and put them aside for training and only feed secondary seeds in the cage. Ideally though, a healthy pellet diet will both balance the less healthy treats you give and make them that much more desirable. I limit cage food to pellets and vegetables only. Everything else I use as treats both for nutritional balance and training reinforcement. This works very well because it ensures the parrots don't get too much of what they don't need and I get all the credit for the pleasure of those foods.
Foods you eat yourself can often be as motivating as treats specifically for parrots
Without getting too much into food management, I want to point out that if a parrot is hungry, even ordinary cage food can be rewarding for training. How hungry the bird is will play a large part in how hard it will work for certain foods. It is requisite that the parrot at least be slightly hungry to work for any kind of treats. Imagine having such a big meal that there's just no room for desert no matter how good it is. Well don't train your parrot in that kind of state. Once again, without getting into advanced food management, the very least you gotta do is train the parrot before it goes over to the food to eat. You can safely remove the food from the cage for 3-6 hours prior to training for any kind of parrot, do the training with treats, then put the parrot back into the cage to complete its meal. So my point is that if you can't come up with any treat that is better than what the parrot already eats as its staple diet, it can be used as a treat with sufficient hunger. On the other hand, no matter how good a treat is, it won't be effective for repetitious training if the parrot is not hungry at all.
Keep in mind that as your parrot discovers new foods, times change, and hormonal changes occur, effectiveness of treats may vary. For example going into winter and declining in home temperatures, more fatty treats may be most desired while going into summer sugary things may become preferred. Pay attention to this by checking the vigor with which the parrot eats certain treats or which treats it is willing to work for.
Lately I have been finding that for continued training (but not necessarily for initial training) just using a treat that hasn't been used in a while can be sufficient motivation instead of more aggressive food management. How much the parrot desires the taste of a specific treat vs how hungry it is for eating anything are important factors in training. I would suggest sticking to the favorite treat method (as long as parrot is hungry enough that it would like to eat) unless greater motivation is required for more advanced training behavior. Remember that motivation/hunger is only one side of training. Just because a parrot isn't learning a new trick does not necessarily indicate that it is not hungry or doesn't want the treat. The parrot may be distracted or just doesn't understand what you want. You can test motivation by cuing an already known trick to compare. If the parrot eagerly performs other tricks then motivation is not the issue.
As the parrot becomes more accustomed to the treats and the concept of training, try to use smaller and smaller treats. This increases the value of each treat and prolongs the amount of motivation you can get out of every training session. While at first you may be giving an entire almond or slice of apple, eventually you should be able to cut these into bite sized pieces. Not only will you save on time between tricks for eating, but you will be able to get more repetitions for the same amount of food. A good indicator of size is a treat that the parrot does not need to life its foot to chew. If it can swallow the treat in one piece, you are ready to continue immediately. Unfortunately seeds can't be broken down and the parrot will take more time to work on it.
Now onto the question that is on everybody's mind, what treats do I use for my parrots? I will break this down to 4 parrots (2 deceased) and ballpark order the treats based on effectiveness as motivators for training.
Kili - Female Senegal Parrot Sunflower Seeds Apple Banana Saflower Seeds Walnut pieces Peanut pieces Almond pieces Oatmeal Grape Pasta Popcorn Dried Corn Other Seeds Pellets
Truman - Male Cape Parrot Almonds (especially whole) Walnut Pecan Mango Grape Apple Pineapple Peach Banana Sunflower Seeds Corn Pasta Popcorn Pellets Other Seeds
There may be some other foods I did not mention but they do not play as major of a role in training as the above foods do. Sometimes the chance to taste a table food never tasted before can go a long way. I don't like using manufactured treats like newtriberries and other things. First of all they are way too big, the parrot will fill very quickly on one or two of these treats. Further they mix everything together. I can get a lot more effectiveness from dividing up the effective ingredients and offering them as treats individually. Don't forget that not all rewards must be food. Toys, scratches, attention, shoulder time, or getting to check out what you're doing can all be used as effective rewards for behaviors such as recall. For more basic information about how to begin taming and training a parrot, refer to my taming article.
Kili and Truman enjoy getting a whole nut for a job well done
As a trainer I really like to use nuts and seeds as treats. They are easy, don't spoil quickly, and highly motivating. The good thing about seeds is that you can easily buy a mix cheap and eating it as a complete experience for the parrot. I think they enjoy breaking them out of the shell as much as the taste. However, they may take a while to work on and leave a mess of husks. This is why my favorite treat to use for training is nuts. I'll crack an almond, walnut, or peanut and keep the nut between my fingers. Then I break off pieces prior to each reward depending on how much I want to give. I can freely walk around without having to return for more treats. The birds can eat it without dropping anything or making a mess. I break the pieces small enough that they usually swallow it in a single bite and are ready to continue training. However, by using a treat I'm normally too lazy to use (fruits or stuff I'm eating), I can sometimes get unbelievable boosts of motivation. Perhaps I won't get as many repetitions as a normal training session but I think it helps lock the behavior in as more memorable for the awesomeness of the treat it earned like a whole kernel of popcorn. But I never give my parrots food "just because." They need to know that getting special treats depends on their good behavior. So at the very least I recall them over or have them do a trick for the special food.
Many parrot owners do not realize it but they are often rewarding their parrots for being bad. This is positive reinforcement working against the parrot owner and the reverse of our intentions in parrot training. It is as much, if not more important to avoid rewarding undesired behavior as it is to reward desired behavior. This will become much clearer when I offer some examples I frequently come across:
Example 1: The owner is eating at the kitchen table when the parrot flies over and lands on the kitchen table. The owner figures the parrot is hungry or attracted by his food so he gives some food off the table to the parrot. Now the owner can't keep the parrot off the table both during meals and between. By giving food from the table to the parrot, the owner positively reinforces the behavior of landing on the kitchen table. The owner may even think that this is cute/harmless behavior but it should not be encouraged for many reasons. I won't even get into the fact that I don't want feathers and poopy feat landing in my food. There are often sharp objects such as forks and knives on the table as well as burning hot foods and drinks. The more a parrot is accustomed to landing on a table, the more likely it is to get hurt by one of these at some point.
Solution 1: The best way to discourage landing on the kitchen table is to never encourage it in the first place. Never, ever, ever, ever give food to the parrot after it lands on the kitchen table. Landing on the table never equates to receiving food. But the parrot still wants it so this does not solve its motivation to get that food somehow. This is why if the parrot is not caged during meals (simplest solution), then an alternative method of reinforcement must be permitted. Take a piece of food from the table before the parrot has landed in your soup and step away from the table. Recall the parrot to your hand, reward for flight recall, and then send it back to its perch to eat. This way you are not only sharing food with the parrot, but also keeping it busy for a while from bothering you more. More importantly this rewards recall while at the same time making landing on the table even less worthwhile. Don't flight recall from sitting down at the table because this will encourage the parrot to keep flying to you while you are at the table. So instead, before it has the chance to fly, step away and teach it to fly to your hand while standing up.
Kili pigs out on corn and frozen mixed vegetables for being a good bird
Example 2: The owner wants to relax and use the computer or watch TV but the parrot keeps nipping for attention. So the owner picks up the parrot, says no, then puts the parrot down on its stand and offers a toy to keep the parrot busy. In this case, the parrot is positively reinforced for nipping the owner with both attention and toys. Furthermore, what the "no" which the owner perceives as a scold, in operant terms becomes a secondary reinforcer really meaning "you'll get toys and attention for what you have just done" (similar to a clicker). Doing this simply ensures that the next time the parrot gets bored, the first thing it will do is start nipping. Ignoring the nipping may be futile since variable ratio reinforcement becomes more resistant to extinction.
Solution 2: Instead of rewarding the nip with a reaction, foresee the situation and distract before it can happen. So instead of giving a toy after a nip to alleviate boredom (which is seen as positive reinforcement), give the toy before you sit down to do your own thing. Make sure the parrot is taken care of and occupied so that you don't have to deal with unwanted behavior afterward. This way you are rewarding the parrot for being on its stand and taking care of itself rather than for bothering you. By preventing the nip (whether it is caging when you are busy, giving toys before you do your thing, or not allowing the parrot onto your shoulder in that situation), you guarantee you won't be inadvertently reinforcing it. If the nip happens anyway, such as getting temporarily distracted with parrot on you, ignore the nip and do nothing first. Before it has the chance to nip again, put it down on its stand and ignore for a short while some more. Then cue the parrot to perform a trick and reward with a toy for doing the trick. This way there is no connection between nipping and getting what it wants. The reinforcement is provided in return for cued behavior and not nipping.
Example 3: Whenever the owner leaves the room, the parrot starts screaming. So the owner goes back so that the parrot would stop screaming. Please don't ever do this. The parrot is making a complete fool out of you if you do. This is the parrot training the owner using negative reinforcement. If you walk out and the parrot screams, too bad.
Solution 3: Don't come back until it stops screaming. Just leave, go do what you have to do. The parrot will eventually get tired and stop. You have no obligation to prevent it from screaming when you aren't even home for it to bother you. Of course this is more problematic when you live with other people who remain to hear the screaming. But trust me, this will only get worse if you keep rewarding it. For the sake of the long term, just deal with the screaming for leaving in the short term to reduce it in the long term. If for any reason you need to go back not pertaining to the parrot (like you forgot your keys or something), go in without making eye contact or going near the parrot. Just focus on what you need while pretending the parrot isn't even there to avoid giving any sense of attention in return for screaming.
In conclusion, whenever your parrot does something you don't like, don't do anything your parrot might like in return. If you aren't used to analyzing behavior under a microscope, then a good rule of thumb is not to do anything at all because odds are it will just encourage it anyway. Instead, when you have identified the unwanted behavior, try to prevent it next time all together. Cage the parrot in circumstances where it may be dangerous for it to be out. When it is more of a matter of nuisance, make sure you are either ready to give attention/supervision to the parrot or preemptively devise ways to keep it busy. Provide toys or foraging opportunities to give it something to do instead of bothering you when you don't want it. Don't play with the parrot or give it attention just because it is annoying you in attempt to get it. But also go out of your way to reward your parrot for being quiet and staying on its perch. It is easy to forget about a well behaved parrot (as opposed to the one that won't shut up or stop biting). Get up and reward the well behaved parrot with toys, treats, or attention for doing what you want from it. As a general rule of thumb, try to make sure your parrot is "earning" every good thing you do for it with good behavior as a requisite and not just because you want to be nice/generous. If it earned it, then it is far less likely that you are rewarding it for undesired behavior.
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:
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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