How to Hand Train Parrots
You just brought home a new parrot--it doesn’t matter which breed--and he wants to bite every time you stick your hand in his cage. With a little bit of time and patience, you can train your parrot not to bite you and to step up nicely onto your hand.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Sit next to your parrot’s cage for at least two 1/2-hour sessions every day. Do not interact with the parrot. You can sit there an read or quietly play a game. Do this for at least 2 weeks. Do not attempt to feed him or clean his cage within 2 hours before or after you do this.
-
2
Start talking to your parrot. After 2 weeks have gone by and the parrot is used to seeing you near his cage every day, start talking to the parrot. Get close to his cage and look at him while you are talking to him. Make this step a part of Step 1. You might sit and read for a bit, or even read out loud to him at this point. For at least 10 minutes of your 1/2-hour sessions, have direct verbal interaction with the parrot.
-
-
3
Let the parrot become comfortable with your presence and the sound of your voice. Never raise your voice around the parrot. After the parrot voluntarily comes to the front of his cage, you can try giving treats through the cage bars. If he attempts to bite you, revert back to Step 2. It could conceivably take over a year to complete this part.
-
4
Learn to safely take your parrot out of his cage. You don’t want to have your parrot confined to his cage after the first 2 to 4 weeks. Make sure you have a good parrot stand nearby. Make sure there are no kids or other pets in the room when you take your parrot out. Make sure all exterior doors and windows are shut and do not have a chance of being opened (this is better to do this in a room you can close off).
-
5
Hold on to the dowel and open the cage door. Put the dowel in front of the parrot and tell him to “step up.” You may have to gently nudge the parrot just below his chest area, but eventually he will step up. Carry him over to his playstand and let him get on the playstand. Sit quietly nearby and talk to your parrot. Use the dowel to get him back into his cage.
-
6
Pull your sleeve down over your hand and hold your hand in front of the parrot, just as you would the dowel, and tell him to step up. If he bites you, it is going to hurt, but the cloth may minimize some of the damage. If you get bit, do not rip your hand away from him, but push your hand gently into his mouth. This movement moves him backwards and sets him off balance a bit, and the parrot will generally let go of you. Do not show emotion when you get bit. Parrots love attention, even negative attention. Hard as it might be, do not show any emotion and do not say a word to him. Just put him back into his cage, tell him “no biting,” and simply turn your back and walk out of the room. Parrots hate to be ignored.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Some parrots come around in a relatively short time. You may breeze through the first step in a few days. Some parrots take years to trust a human again. You might be stuck on Steps 2 and 3 for years.
Always be patient with your parrot, especially if you know he had a rough life with his previous owner. Parrots make great pets, but they will never be truly tame. You must keep that in mind when you own a parrot.
Keep your parrots cage full of plenty of things to do. They like to chew up untreated blocks of wood, toys made of wood and plastic, strings of vegetables, old phone books hanging from the top of their cage and whatever else you might have around the house that is suitable for parrots to chew on.
Parrots can be a very dangerous pet. Do not let your parrot near your children. If your children are very quiet, they can visit through the cage bars (until the children are old enough to look like an adult, i.e. they need to be tall enough so that the bird does not realize this is a little kid).
Parrots who are prone to bite can bite you at any time, even once you have them hand-trained. A parrot could get scared of something walking by you and reach out and take a chunk of your hand off. Be very mindful of your parrot’s body language.
A parrot’s beak is strong enough to snap your finger in half and bites can be very nasty. Do not get a parrot if you think you cannot handle being bit.
Some parrot species live to be over 75 years old. Be prepared to deal with a virtual 2-year-old for the rest of your life.
Parrots are flock birds. They will consider you their flock. A parrot will stay with the same flock for his entire life. Do not get a parrot if you don’t think you can dedicate the rest of your life to him.
