In this video I give you step-by-step instructions for teaching what I call “The Touch Training Technique”.

And I show you how to do it on a little parakeet, the very SAME day I brought him home from the pet store!

So here’s what I want you to do:

Step #1: Watch this 1st video where I demonstrate the “Touch Training Technique” on a untamed Parakeet.

Step #2: Then watch the 2nd video on the page to see what a FULLY “Touch Trained” bird behaves like.

Watch This Video First!

Watch This Video Second!

(This is what a well “Touch Trained” bird looks like)

If you liked what you saw, and you’d like to be able to teach your bird to behave like this, then check out our parrot training course here:

http://www.birdtricks.com/training-course

And please…

Leave me a comment if you’ve found this helpful!

Happy Training,

Chet

Cockatiels

I have a 2 1/2 year old cockatiel. I refer to her as a she, but I don’t really know what her sex is.  I called her Bobbi, just in case.  A couple of months ago I bought a mirror for her cage, and she sits there by the mirror staring at herself for long periods of time.   We are very bonded, but I am wondering now if she’s lonely and needs another bird to keep her company. Should I get her a mate?

-Stephanie

Yours is a very commonly asked question.  In fact, my first bird was a cockatiel and I asked the same question.  Tinky was super bonded to me and the family and wanted nothing more than to be with us.  Something was nagging at me, telling that he should have another of his kind around in order to be happy.  We got DeeDee, my second cockatiel, shortly thereafter.

I have learned over the years that parrots are very social beings.  They select mates which they are with for the entirety of their lives, in most cases.  When a parrot is kept in the home, they will bond to the humans in their life as flock members.  I was wrong in that they need another of their species around to thrive. The cockatiels are the only birds in my home that are paired (they are both male), but the others do very well on their own as long as they get the attention and time with me that they need and deserve.  They regard me as a flockmate.  Cockatiels love mirrors, like so many species of parrots.  Mine spend many hours reveling in their beauty, even though they have each other to be with.  It doesn’t signify loneliness.

You should know, however, that sometimes when you introduce a second bird into the family, especially if they are to be housed together, the bond between you and the first parrot might change as they discover their relationship with each other.  In my case, Tinky remains strongly bonded to me, while DeeDee is strongly attached to Tinky, but not so much with me.  That’s fine – they’re happy. Another possibility is that they might not like each other, not so common among cockatiels, but it does happen.  You would then have to house them separately, and this will bring the cost of another cage and its accessories.  However, they might enjoy watching each other from a distance during the day. If you do get a second bird that you plan to house with your cockatiel, make sure it is also a cockatiel as some different species of parrots don’t get along well although they are of similar size, such as a cockatiel and a quaker.

Another consideration is getting another of the same sex as the one you have, since I assume (and recommend) that you don’t get a pair intended for breeding. It is possible to tell the difference between a male and female cockatiel by their feathering.  A male normal grey will have more vibrant and solid coloring with a bright yellow head and an orange cheek patch.  The female’s head coloring is duller, has far less yellow with an orange cheek patch and she will have bars on the underside of her tail feathers.

Before you make the decision to get another parrot, ask yourself if you are spending enough quality time with Bobbi.  If the answer is yes, there is no reason to change an already good thing.  Your parrot can be perfectly happy and well adjusted loving just you.

Think for a minute about all the things your parrot does with its beak:  It forages for, transports and breaks apart food.  It builds nests and feeds the babies.  It’s used for climbing, gripping and balancing.  It’s used in daily grooming. It’s their tool of choice in picking the padlocks we put on their cages, and, in conjunction with pressure capabilities of up to 1500 psi in their jaws (in macaws, according to tests done with a veterinarian’s oral speculum), it is a formidable weapon. We mere humans require power tools to break apart surfaces a parrot can effortlessly crush. Anyone who has been on the business end of an angry beak regards it with awe and utter respect.

The beak itself is made up of keratin, the same substance as fingernails, and is attached to the jaw bones.  The upper part of the beak is known as the maxilla and the lower is the mandible.  The fleshy part where the beak meets the head is called the cere, where, on the upper maxilla, the nostrils, or nares, are located.  The beak areas closest to the head contains nerve endings and a blood supply but there is no feeling in the areas towards the tip.  Like our fingernails, the beak is in continual growth.

The shape of your bird’s beak will tell you about their natural diet and habits.  A hookbill is one where the top of the beak extends beyond the lower.  It is designed for cracking and breaking open nuts and hard skinned fruits. A raptor’s beak is designed for ripping and shredding. The softbill, which includes canaries, toucans, lories and budgies have beaks that are for eating softer foods which they don’t need to chew; such as insects, fruits and berries. The upper and lower portions of their beaks come together at the tip.  Let me assure you that the term softbill has nothing to do with the actual hardness of their beaks. They can deliver a painful bite. A finch’s conical shaped beak makes it easy to forage for seed.  A spoonbill has a beak perfect for digging and shoveling. Nature has provided each bird with the appropriate tool it needs for survival.
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So I bought my girlfriend a budgerigar which we decided to name Duke. He is a dark eyed clear with white feathers and black eyes. This is different from an albino which has no pigment and red eyes. Budgies are a type of parakeet native to Australia. The term parakeet refers to many long-tailed, small-sized species of parrots.

From the very first day that we got him home, the training began. Honestly, this is the easiest time to start setting boundaries and establishing routines. Think of it as starting a new school or being the first day at a new job. You would have to observer your new surroundings and go with the flow to fit in. By starting basic training from the very beginning, starts building a bond with the bird and letting it know that it’s how things are going to be.

The first training sessions basically consisted of having him step up on fingers and being clicker conditioned. We would just hold or perch him and click and immediately reward with millet. We did this several times a day for the first few days to make him get used to the concept of a clicker. Now we were ready to start some real training.

We used a chop stick as the target stick, clicker, and millet as the reward. My girlfriend held the target stick and clicker in one hand and millet in the other. We placed the budgie on a perch far away from its cage to keep him focused. She put the target stick in front of Duke just a very short distance away. Also she kept the stick pointed at the bird so only the tip would be visible and the rest of the stick facing back toward us to avoid him beaking the wrong part. He looked at the stick for about 10 seconds and then nipped it really quickly at which point she promptly clicked and gave him some millet.

We tried a few of these and then started holding the stick slightly farther away so that he would have to turn his head or take a step to beak it rather than just bump into it accidentally. In the following video you can see the result of target training a budgie on just the 5th try. We started holding the stick further away and at first he would not make a move toward it. Instead of bringing the stick in closer, we waited it out until he’d make a move for the stick and then reward. This is so the bird doesn’t start to think that waiting the stick out will bring it in closer by itself rather than having to walk over to it. If the bird is unresponsive to the stick from that distance for too long. Take it away and hide it for a little bit and then present it again closer.

Within a few training sessions since this video we can get him to run anywhere on his perch after the stick and up a person’s arm. Target training is a very easy and useful thing to teach your bird because it helps you show it where to go. I was once trying to show my Senegal Parrot to a man who was eager to hold the bird but she would try to bite his hand when he brought it near. I told him to stop and just place his hand near her perch and I held my target stick over his hand. My parrot walked right up onto his hand after the stick and he was absolutely amazed at how I used my magic wand to get the bird to come on without biting.

A few useful tips on target training your bird:

• Get your bird when it is hungry by taking the food out of its cage for a while. It will try harder and learn quicker.
• Try to do target training outside of and away from cage if possible
• In the beginning hold the target stick so that the bird cannot touch any part but the tip. You don’t want it develop a bad habit of touching anywhere but the tip.
• Start targeting close and then work your way out as far as bird seems responsive.
• Do not get into a pattern of targeting the bird into the same place or direction every time or it might learn a dance routing rather than targeting.
• Be patient and let the bird come to the stick rather than bringing the stick in toward the bird once positioned. The bird can only learn by experimenting and that does including failing as well.

I will keep you posted on the progress we are making with training Duke and any advice folks with parakeets can use.