About this app
Smart parrots are speaking and playing, watch and learn how to train a parrot, and teaching your parrot to talk.
Especially for people new to parrot ownership, talking is usually the first skill they think of teaching and of which they presume their bird will be able to master.
The truth of the matter is, every parrot is different, and you should never acquire a bird — even of a breed known for talking — with the assumption that it will talk.
Watch your mouth. Some parrots will require little or no training to learn to talk, and may in fact pick up words and phrases you’d prefer they not repeat.
Excited utterances — such as things you might shout at the TV during a sporting event — are often more readily picked up by a parrot, and they’re listening more often than you may think. So be careful what you say around them.
Start young and stay calm. Parrots talk to other members of their flock, and it is easier to establish yourself as part of your bird's flock early in its life. Therefore, you are more likely to have success when starting with a baby bird.
Use a clear, calm, happy voice to repeat a simple word or phrase as you start the training process. Think about how you would try to teach a human child to say "Mommy."
Early in the process, reward any sound, then any approximately accurate sound, and eventually a recognizable sound with an immediate treat.
Repetition is the key element of training a parrot to talk. Simply put, the more times you say a word or phrase around a parrot, the more likely it is to pick it up and repeat it.
Train as often as you like. Parrots will not tire of conversing with another member of their flock, although you may.
Some experts recommend recording yourself saying a phrase and playing it back on a loop for the bird. Of course, by using this method you lose the personal interaction between the two of you.
Any parrot training plan, in essence, needs to be as individual as the bird you’ve welcomed into your home. Every parrot has a unique personality, and will require a particular mix of technique, patience, friendship, and bribery to be trained effectively. That said, there are some common tips that can help you prepare for training and — in most cases — teach some basic and useful skills.
While parrots are often quite friendly and caring, they are not in general known for being overly patient. Delays and mistakes during training sessions may not go over well, so preparation beforehand is important.
Gather up the supplies you will need for they type of training you will be conducting. These might include items like a hand-held perch, a towel, a clicker (if “clicker training”), a chopstick or drumstick (if “target training”), a leash/harness (if taking training outdoors), bitter apple spray (to make common areas of parrot nibbling like draperies unappealing), and, of course, treats.
Choose a treat that your parrot especially enjoys, and also that you can easily feed to your bird. Thin apple wedges, for example, can make a good hand treat for a parrot.
Rewarding your bird with a treat from your hand is essential to practically every type of parrot training out there. It also helps establish a bond between you and a new and/or young parrot.
Start the process with the parrot inside its cage. Slowly approach and present the treat. Stay calm and offer only encouraging approval when the bird eventually takes the treat.
Apple slices, again, make a good treat option if you’re worried about having your fingers nibbled upon. You can also wear gloves, if you so choose, though your bird may find those even more appealing to peck at.
