Do I Need to Train My Parrot?
A very good question! The answer is a definite YES whether you have an African Grey, Cockatoo, Macaw or even a Budgerigar.
All parrots are highly intelligent, social creatures that require lots of stimulation in both the wild and in captivity.
In their natural environment parrots spend most of their life learning.
Young birds learn from their parents and will pick up new behaviors quickly.
From how to find food to recognizing a predator all young parrots have to learn to interact with others of their own species.
In captivity, parrots still have that natural instinct and desire to learn either from their parents or in the case of most captive birds - their owners.
So what happens if you decide not to train your parrot? Well quite simply this is often how unwanted or problem behaviors develop.
A parrot that is deprived of attention is going to try to get some whenever it gets the opportunity.
Any reaction from their owner is a positive experience to the parrot and will encourage the parrot to repeat the behavior.
So when your parrot starts screaming like crazy late at night it is trying to prompt a reaction from you.
If you start screaming (and often swearing!) back then your parrot will be very pleased, as he has managed to get you to respond.
This unwanted screaming will then increase over time as the parrot has been rewarded for doing it.
Most behavioral problems in captive parrots can be attributed to their owners.
It is very easy to accidentally reward your parrot and you don't even realize it has been done.
What you need to realize when training your parrot is that everything that you do while you are close to your parrot will affect his behavior in either a positive or negative way.
When your parrot does something and you react to it then that behavior will either increase or decrease.
An example would be if your parrot is in a bad mood and you try to take him out of his cage to give him a treat.
Most likely he will be reluctant to come and may back away from you or even show a sign of aggression to tell you he wants to stay put.
You give up but give him his treat anyway so therefore reward him for either being aggressive or backing away from you.
In the future this behavior is likely to increase as a result of this.
So you really need to think about everything you do when you are with your parrot.
Training is a vital ongoing process to keep your parrot happy and healthy.
You just need to make sure you are rewarding the behaviors that you want and avoid rewarding the bad ones (easier said than done!).
Once your parrot understands what YOU want from him it will bring your relationship to a whole new level which in time make a much happier relationship between you and your parrot.
All parrots are highly intelligent, social creatures that require lots of stimulation in both the wild and in captivity.
In their natural environment parrots spend most of their life learning.
Young birds learn from their parents and will pick up new behaviors quickly.
From how to find food to recognizing a predator all young parrots have to learn to interact with others of their own species.
In captivity, parrots still have that natural instinct and desire to learn either from their parents or in the case of most captive birds - their owners.
So what happens if you decide not to train your parrot? Well quite simply this is often how unwanted or problem behaviors develop.
A parrot that is deprived of attention is going to try to get some whenever it gets the opportunity.
Any reaction from their owner is a positive experience to the parrot and will encourage the parrot to repeat the behavior.
So when your parrot starts screaming like crazy late at night it is trying to prompt a reaction from you.
If you start screaming (and often swearing!) back then your parrot will be very pleased, as he has managed to get you to respond.
This unwanted screaming will then increase over time as the parrot has been rewarded for doing it.
Most behavioral problems in captive parrots can be attributed to their owners.
It is very easy to accidentally reward your parrot and you don't even realize it has been done.
What you need to realize when training your parrot is that everything that you do while you are close to your parrot will affect his behavior in either a positive or negative way.
When your parrot does something and you react to it then that behavior will either increase or decrease.
An example would be if your parrot is in a bad mood and you try to take him out of his cage to give him a treat.
Most likely he will be reluctant to come and may back away from you or even show a sign of aggression to tell you he wants to stay put.
You give up but give him his treat anyway so therefore reward him for either being aggressive or backing away from you.
In the future this behavior is likely to increase as a result of this.
So you really need to think about everything you do when you are with your parrot.
Training is a vital ongoing process to keep your parrot happy and healthy.
You just need to make sure you are rewarding the behaviors that you want and avoid rewarding the bad ones (easier said than done!).
Once your parrot understands what YOU want from him it will bring your relationship to a whole new level which in time make a much happier relationship between you and your parrot.
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