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

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

Truman's Terrible Twos

Comments (0)

By Michael Sazhin

Saturday January 25th, 2014

Things have been going very well with Truman lately. I was running into a bunch of problems with him for the last few years and it really had little to do with me. Point is he was going through birdy adolescence or "terrible twos."

He wasn't terrible, especially compared to most other parrots, but I was disappointed. At times he was becoming hand shy, skittish, would fly away, or stay near and make a lot of noise. He did the persistent hiccup-like noises out of nowhere, sometimes refused to put on his harness or worse yet gave me trouble taking it off. Truman, being a Cape Parrot, is a late bloomer. His adolescence started later than Kili's and has lasted longer. Worse yet it hit harder and I would say caused more drama.

It just felt like he wasn't thrilled to see me and that things weren't like before. Truman was never bonded to me like Kili or Santina are, but at least we were pals. When adolescence hit, at times I felt alienated and like he was just indifferent to me. He was being a total teenager. "I hate you, I hate myself, I wish I was never born, go away, leave me alone, you don't understand me!" No amount of training, food management, special treats, or attention seemed to alter this. It seems like most training efforts were to keep things from getting much worse rather than toward making things better.

Well I persisted in continuing the training approach and luckily for the last 3 months or so he has abandoned his adolescent ways and has gone back to his sweet self that he was like when he was a baby. Actually he is better than when he was a baby! He can flight recall, perform tricks, wear a harness, fly outside, and let's me handle him better than ever. He's less prone to going all over place, pooping where he shouldn't, and not clumsy and getting hurt like before. Things are going well.

Things started getting better in the fall. Truman was easing out of the adolescent stage and on the flipside I was giving him more respect/freedom. I could not do this before because he would have killed himself with it if he wasn't ready himself. He watched Kili freeflying all summer and began to work harder in harness flight himself. By the end of the summer, I was confident enough to let Truman go and prove himself. He did an outstanding job and proved himself worthy of the adult treatment that Kili gets on his first outdoor freeflights.

Truman was already on the mend before Santina ever arrived. However, with my mind diverted her way, and less effort on Truman, he has really begun to blossom. He appreciates my time and attention like never before. When things were going badly during adolescence I was so proactive at trying to make them better. Now that I'm a bit preoccupied, Truman is making more effort to do the right things and behave well to get more attention/treats from me (and of course Truman already knows what to do but just used to choose not to do it). We're reaching good cooperation, mutual ground, and a good relationship.

The adolescence stage that parrots go through is really terrifying as a bird owner. You can't tell if you are failing as an owner or if these issues are driven by other factors. The exact onset, age, and finish aren't concrete but you know it when you've been trough it. It is so disappointing when you try so hard and can't get anywhere. The good things you had before begin to erode while new problems begin to surface. Well let me tell you, don't give up hope! It's a temporary stage and your persistence and patience to do things right will be greatly rewarded. I went through the same with Kili and when her adolescence waned, she was an outstanding bird. Now I can say that the same is happening to Truman. All the training and using the right approach despite the lack of results is now paying off. As the adolescence is shed, the good-training and behavior is becoming visible. I'm thrilled to have my baby Truman back.

A few lessons to share:
1) Don't give up
2) These methods really work even if you can't see that now
3) Get an older rescue parrot and skip the headache of parrot adolescence entirely!

View More Info & Comments

Teach your parrot to do Tricks with Parrot Wizard Trick Toys

Trained Parrot Home

Trained Parrot Home

Parrot Training Perches

The Parrot Forum

Youtube 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.