Target Training Budgie
June 4th, 2009Mike
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.
My problem in using the target training is getting my new bird off the side of the cage in order to gain his attention. He is 2 year old Indian Ringneck and as soon as he sees me coming he jumps to the side of his cage and holds on for dear life. I’ve only had him for 2 weeks. If I have to remove him from his cage I have to towel him. And if I sit him on a perch he flies away. I think I need a few suggestions to get him to perch first, before taining him further.
I need some help in getting my new bird to stop clinging to the side of the cage so that I can begin target training. As soon as he sees me approaching him he jumps onto the side of the cage and will not perch for me. If I remove him from the cage, using a towel, to a perch he flies off. How do I gain his confidence?
Hi Chet,
Buffering takes up to 1 hour for the videos but completes on pause ! I might have to try another ISP.
Yes I watched the video, and targeting is interesting and looks productive.
I’ll give it a try.
Regards Ian
I keep trying to do the target training, but as soon as I take the millet away again my cockatiel screams bloody murder and won’t calm down for hours! How do I give him just a little treat without him going nuts because he can’t have more?
I just adopted an abused and neglected 1 1/2 year old female cockatiel – I’ve been working on this with her and actually got her to eat a tiny little piece of millet out of my fingers. I’m so proud of her and looking forward to the day when she’s my buddy and can enjoy life instead of hiding fearfully whenever hands come by. Thanks for these blogs!!
Megan and Eeeeva.
what that thing that u are giving to him plz tell me in this e-mail kushtrimm_8@hotmail.com
yea wats thte thing u’r givin him???
i have a african grey and i was wondering how would i know if it’s a male or a female,how there do the dna test.
Your vet can do the DNA test for you.
i had the same problem with Bette Jo Traggiai!pls help!my lovebird sees me coming he jumps to the side of his cage and holds on for dear life. I’ve only had him for 2 weeks. If I have to remove him from his cage I have to towel him. And if I sit him on a perch he flies away. I think I need a few suggestions to get him to perch first, before taining him further.Just like Bette Jo Traggiai!
pls help!
I used the target training with my new 3 month old cockatiel and it worked great. He’ll strategize to move anywhere the stick is to touch it for millet. He’s started stepping up on occassion too…but he is still very selective as to when he will choose to do this.
I think the worst thing you can do with a new bird is to reach into his cage and grab him. That must be terrifying to the bird and I believe would only prolong the training process. Usually My bird will step up on command when I reach into her cage, but if she is in her cage and backs away when I offer my finger, I don’t even give her the step up command. I figure she just isn’t in the mood to come out, so I leave her alone. Her cage is her home and sanctuary and I respect that. If I really want her to come out, all I have to do is come back into the room munching on something and she will come out to beg for a bite.
I think it is ok with a new baby bird to grab them to come out of cage at first. You have to get them out of their element and onto a training perch. We make up for the grab with a super rewarding experience outside of the cage. After a few days we no longer had to grab because we taught target training and step up outside the cage.
The alternative to (initially) grabbing your bird to come out is to either open the door and wait for them to come out (may never happen) or to train them through targeting to come out. The trouble is, that the new bird doesn’t know what to do and the cage is confining. On the other hand, the bird has lots of room to ignore the target stick and not try to do it. On a separate training perch, the bird can be more focused on training and learn better.
Believe me, this has caused no major detriment to my birds. I’ve grabbed both of them out of the cage to get them started and both of them willingly came out by the end of the first weeks. They were used to being grabbed by the store owner from where I got them so it wasn’t something out of the ordinary. On the other hand they were not used to being rewarded for it so they got to like the way I do it better.
Letting the bird choose whether to come out or not is ok with an experienced bird. A new bird does not know the benefits of coming out until you show them and the only way to show them is to force them out and then show how great it is so that they can look forward to coming out next time.
I got my Umbrella Cockatoo when he was 6 mos. He is now 4 yrs. He was hand fed and allowed to be out and was touched and petted by customers. When I got him he said, “Hello, Hi, Step up”. Now his favorite saying is “Hi Baby” and “Nighty”. Once in a while he’ll ask, “Watcha doin?” or “3,4,5″ I can’t seem to teach him “Go Dallas”, LOL, I told my husband, maybe he likes the Eagles! Anyway, he is totally connected with me, but he bites my husband. He will let him pet him on the head, but then wants to go up his arm and bite his ear. How do I get him to like my husband enough to not bite him? Also, he loves people but wants out the cage when company comes over or he will squak incessantly. If I let him out he wants to visit everyone and won’t leave anyone alone–they are afraid of him. HELP!
I have a 5 month old conure. she is always biating me. she will step up to me, she will fly to me, she will shake my hand, but she still nips at me all the time. it hurts.. how do I stop the biting?
I also have two cockatiels. one is nine months the other is two years old. they still hiss at me all the time and do not let me touch them. they will not get out of the cage at all. the older one will say words we taught but thats it. where do I start? I want to be able to hold them.
Well as the article so clearly states, you can start with a training diet, clicker conditioning, and then target train the birds. Once target trained you can use the stick to point to where you want the bird to go, it’s fun. You mentioned that your conure flies to you. It is harder to train a flighted bird. It doesn’t sound like you’re at that level to train a flighted bird and you are getting bit, so I think you should go get your bird’s wing feathers clipped.
ok all what i want to know that when you are traning the bird you have three thing in your hand ,my question is what are these three things?
Wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chet,
Iam thrilled at the success of your methods but the demos that you have been sending to me do not have audios. I just cant hear a word. Someone checked my system & said the fault is from the mail. Can you please check & confirm? Eagerly waitng, please
Hi.
HI
than k you for all the tips I have a sun conur, he is two years old and he is very friendly, but there is no way that I can make him step on my finger he stars to bit me
he is doing very well in targeting unless he is asking to step on the finger.
Try targeting him to step up onto a perch first:
http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/biting-parrot-the-solution-part-2/
I have the same thing as most people how do you get you’re brid out of the cage. do you let them are do you make them come out?????
Sheilah,
Actually it’s a bit of both. Since this is a topic of interest to many people, I will write a blog about this really soon to answer this question. In the meantime, you may refer to my Biting article for one solution for getting the bird out of the cage:
http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/biting-parrot-the-solution-part-1/
http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/biting-parrot-the-solution-part-2/
http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/biting-parrot-the-solution-part-3/
what are you feeding to you bird,
can you give the name of that food to this id.
shahvez@rocketmail.com
Where do you get the clicker.
You can usually get a clicker in the dog training session of a pet store or try to order one online. They are usually really cheap but the shipping costs too much so in store is better.
i got parakeets at least 2-3 months ago maybe even 4 but i can’t tame them no matter what i do they fly away every time i have watched literally every utube vid available but i can’t tame them and i need to go to the store and get some millets so i hope this works to form a bond between us
I think you guys are just awesome and it works!!!!!!!!!!!!! only problem is i dont live in america hahaha do you have any suggestions on how i could get the organic pellets that you use, as the website said they dont ship out of the states
I want to train outside the cage this is why I was advised that clipping her wings would help, as geeting back in and stopping her from flight is difficult and distressing for her, any ideas
Another good organic pellet that might ship internationally would be Harrison’s. http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/products/index.html
I have three lovebirds Agapornis personata which I trained to fly off the 8th floor balcony leave for short periods or as they choose. They have total freedom and have even seen them effectively escape predators, they are semi wild hand raised birds.
the video s are working plus with the touch training they ate from my hand (reg seeds not millet)for the 1st time in their lives they ate from a hand!!!!
the videos are working plus with the touch training they ate from my hand (reg seeds not millet)for the 1st time in their lives they ate from a hand!!!!
I had a sun conure that did the same thing as the ringneck, i used the target method inside his cage, what i did was get him on a training diet, then open the side door. used millet , clicker and training stick. within two days he started getting on my arm and comes to me now as soon as i open the cage, hope it works for u
i can’t get my parakeet to eat milet? is there somthing eales i can try?also can u send another frear level training video the last one helped my bird flutter tons.
thanks so much david
Hi:
You and your girlfriend are natural bird people. So good to see, in a world where there are far too many parrot refuges and abusive situations for the pets we love.
Laurie
We bought a male cockatiel.Later we bought another female cockatiel.The male cockatieI died after eight months.The left female cockatiel,that we bought in January 2009,It is very aggresive with everyone.Doesn’t lets anyone to touch her.We can only rub her head and she likes it but if we touch her back,She screams as if she is injured don’t know wy we checked her but there was nothing but some kind of wings.We let her out daily.And she mosty likes to sit in front of the mirror.Even when she is out.Sometimes if someone touches her she flies. Can I still Train her.She can sing and I have taught her many songs too.She likes mirror a lot.And sings when it is placed in front of her.I just want to know can I train her still.If yes then how.I’ve got your movies and they are great.I liked them a lot.But I’ll try them after my exams when I’ll get time to.
I think my 2 year old african grey that we have had since he was weaned it smarter than I……he talks extremely well and whistles many tunes, but would often shy away from me unless I had food…..i tried the parrot pause, and after the second time he runs to my hand instead of away…..then acts as if he wants his head petted. When i quit, his comment was hmmmmm……I do have a question, for larger parrots (we have an amazon and an african grey…..do you still use something as small as a chopstick?
HI there: I saw the picks of the paraket. very nice.
Hi
I HAVE BOUGHT AN AMAZON . i LOVE HER TO BITS I DONT NO MUCH ABOUT HER HAS I HAD HER AS OTHER OWNER NEVER HAD TIME FOR HER . THE PROBLEM I HAVE THAT SHE KEEPS SQURKING MOST OF THE TIME IF WE DONT PAY HER ATTENSION . I have been told to cover her if she does this ? but i feel terible by doin so she also does nip alot could you please give me any advice . thanks
Tracy
Hey Chet,
i am so,so,so glad that i found your site because my male cockatiel was a bad biter and now he is neally as perfect as can be. Could you please send me {if you have one} a demo of how your bird will want to see you and be petted by you for we have a problem that when i want to pet or catch my bird, i can’t.
Thank you so much for your solutions,
Sarah
ha lol i’ve got that exact same bird gym.
but whenever i put mine on it, it either just sits there or it flies back to me!!!
anybody no how i can make him like his gym
thnx!
my cockatiel stepped up the first day i got him!! and the best part was i didn’t do the tiniest bit of traing whatsoever!!!
I have tried this technique with my birds, and it has been very helpful–when I first used it. My birds normally eat at night, and I tried the target-training with them before they ate and it worked very well. This morning however, they are not interested and I had a hard time getting them to do anything. I cut back on their food but I may have to wait.
Quick question–how do you get the bird to step-up without the target training?
I’ve accomplished it with one of my birds after long hours of building trust, but getting her out of her cage is still a hassle…
Is there a nice way to take a bird out of its cage so that it can focus?
Hi my Rainbow Lory isnt shy and loves to climb all over me.,he is five months old and he is still nipping and if I try to get him of my back he gets angry and bites hard.He is very smart and loveable but he can also be very mean.What can I do
I have a lovebird and want to train it do you know what a lovebird likes the most?
Where can i get myself a clicker?
They come in our packages with the Birdtricks.com training courses. You can also find them at your local petstore. Most people know them as dog clickers, but they are exactly the same thing.
My cockatiel is finger tamed but if I put the stick up to him he goes the other way and he is a scared of the millet. How do I get him do eat the millet please tell me mooney96@gmail.com
I have a baby parakeet, female. We have had her for 4 days, and she does sit on my finger. But she always trembles and after a few minutes wants to go back into her cage. On day 3 she came over to the side of the cage and acted happy to see me, but now it’s like she has taken a step back in her training. She doesn’t come to the side acting happy. I don’t know what happened? Maybe this is normal? Any suggestions? I started training her before I saw these videos.
My bird wont leave her cage and if she does she flys then will just run back inside. but the target training works in the cage alot.
my bird that i got is 10 years old that was not treated right can i still help her she is a quaker parrot . I hope that i can help her be part of the family. Thank you Robbyn
i guess i was lucky my bird trusted right off the bat plus he never screams (cockatiel) i think he might have been handled he’s so friendly
My 18mth old African grey is nervous of anything new, including food treats and toys, how would you suggest i coax her?
hey this really works my parrat is listening to me and sitting on my hand to well not that much of sitting on my hand i do not think my magic wand works that well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hi i have a year and a half lovebird he was handfed and he would let me pat him and he would lean right against my hand but he just started this biting thing and it doesnt matter if i use a stick he lunges at anything to bit hes never bit anybody before and hes never been agressive like hes starting to do now do you have any tips about what i should do
i need help with my new bird he dont like people and willnt let u mess with him.i dont understand why but i’m shore he has his reasons. please help me
Thank you very much for the video and the tips.
I was very happy, because in my country I can’t find any literature on bird beheviour and training.
I have an African Gray Parrot.
I was told he was one year when I got him, but later I found out that he is at least eight years old and has already been kept by several other people.
Does it mean that it’s too late for any kind of training now?
He is very lovable and enjoys petting, and he can be very gentle but can also bite without warning or reason.
That makes me even more scared than him.
It’s not important for me to teach him any tricks, I just like to know how to make him stop the unprovoked biting.
I am expecting your reply on the dilema – is it to late to tame him now?
Never to late Sonja. I trained an abused african grey, and showed exactly how I did it during our live seminar last year. There’s always hope.
I have a 4 month old baby peach faced love bird. She was handfed and handled for the first 9 weeks but hasnt since then. I tried some of your method and within the first 2 days she now lets me reach in and touch her. i have also gotten her to perch on my finger. However I cannot get her to come out the cage to do it. Any suggestions? Also if she is out she just flies around. What do I do? I want a loving tam parrot
Summer
I don’t have a bird yet just doing home work and learn a much as i can before buying to not make a lot wrong thank wish I had the mony at this time to order your training will order within 30 days thank
I can’t get my bird to be nice even I hadbthe bird for almost three years It keep hitting me which hurts so is their anyway to train your bird not to bite? And it’s a lovebird
I am the proud owner of a baby peach faced lovebird. I used to have one when I was younger but we didnt do the proper research on them and they died
However this time around I am fully informed and educated n ready to enjoy my lovie 
The first day I got her she woujld freak out and fly all over the cage. I followed chet’s videos step by step only to be amazed at the results! Chet absolutely amazing work!!!! Not only has my bird cooperated with the simple tasks I ask of her but she now successfully comes out of the cage and steps right onto my fingers. I truly am impressed! Any other videos you have I will gladly accept. Sincerely,an impressed fan, Summer
I wish I could get all the training videos for free and train my parakeet but the videos were helpful!!!:):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Thank you so much for e. mailing back.hope to order your video soon. it will help our bird handlers
and the people that adopt birds from our shelter.the grey we have bites the hell out of the target stick and pulls it out of our hands. ??? Dawn a safe place shelter
I HAVE A QUESTION. I HAVE 2 HISPANOLA AMAZONS IN THE SAME CAGE. I HAVE HAD THEM FOR ALMOST 3 MONTHS, AND HAVE NOT WORKED WITH THEM MUCH AT ALL SO THEY ARE STILL KINDA WILD! HOW DO I START THE TRAINING, ONE BIRD AT A TIME, BOTH AT ONCE ? NEITHER ONE OF THEM WANT TO COME OUT OF THE CAGE, AND IF I GET ONE OUT, AFTER SEVERAL BITES, WHERE SHOULD I TAKE THE BIRD FIR TRAINING???
hi chet, my parrot has improved since i saw your vidio he has a mind of his own and is now starting to do as i ask him , then he gets a reward, i walk away when he bangs his toys and sometimes he screeches with a lot of attitude, hes hand tame and talking, hes 3yrs old,and i have had him now for 4 weeks, he is friendly with women but not so much with men, the biting has gone to just nibbling now , i need to stop the screeching,and refusing to go back in his cage,when he starts his attitude and tries to rule me. what can i do ?
regards,june.
Hey mike, i have a few questions. i’d like to buy a Budgie and of course i’m not an expert so i’m not going to hand feed him, so what is the right age to buy one in order to teach him how to talk and do tricks?
how old did you get Duke?
have you ever clipped his wings?
whas duke hand fed? or what he an infant in a big cage with alot of birds?
We rescued a cage bound lovebird three months ago. He’s 5 yrs old. This lesson has worked wonderfully and we are making a lot of progress. Thank you!
I have 4 birds, two budgies and two Cockatiels. Both of the cockatiels are older rescues (we think they are around 12-15 years) and are terrified of hands. It’s hard to even get them to take millet from me. Is it better to remove the birds from the cage for training? We have a very large cage and they just try and run away even with the millet present. I’m a dog trainer, so the clicker concept it nothing new, I’m just having a hard to time getting the birds to accept the reward!
Hello, I just got a Yellow Nape and is about 3 yrs old but has nvr been handled, I did give the target training a try cus i have seen this before. But as soon as i came close to her cage and pointed out “Target” she moved away. I dont know if maybe in the pass she might have been forced to do things. But, she does seem to be a little friendly but will now allow me to handle her. Please help asap
Hi there,
Can I use a whistle instead of clicker? I am in Ghana at the moment where there are no pet shops! I have just adopted an African Grey which has fpr the last 10 years been completely ignores by her/his owner. Bird already eats palm nuts from my hand although tries to bite hand if I bring it too close to cage and have no food on it. I would like to target train it from inside the cage so eventually I get it to step up onto my hand and can bring it out of the cage (it hasn’t left it in nearly 10 years isn’t that sad?)
Any advice gratefully received!
Thanks!
cool thx
my problem is i have 4 love birds. i have had them only a week now and havent tried the training yet as have just stubled apon this website a day or so ago, the issue is -my birds all flap wildly when ever i put my hand in there enclosure to change water or put a toy in there for them etc etc , they stop after a while if i keep my hand still but i couldnt ever put one on a perch as it would fly off…, they dont bite me i general ,unless i had to hold them(and this was only when i put them into there cage from there shop box, i have a pretty large cage and thay can fly around i there quite easily , so they haven come out yet as i fear they would fly al over the room and i wouldnt catch them) what should i do to stop them flapping and flying around there cage like mad hooligans….so i can start training them to step up..and can multiple birds be trained??
i did not get my bird yet, but when i went to the petstore and the birds were completely wild! i asked if i could pet one,knowing i would do it at my own risk . one came close to me i was just about to pet it when it bit me! so i went to check out your website and i learned the trick! i love you training methods!
sweet.
hellow im helen i bought two love birds should i do the training in the cage or outside
what if i leave the birds and ti flies away
one of them bites if i touch her body or head
please help
I’ve got a problem like many of the others that posted comments here.
Every time i get close to the bird cage the bird gets wild and tries to hide and cling to the rails for dear life. if i take the bird out of the cage it flies away and it takes hours to catch the bird… how can i fix this.
also, is it possible to train one bird if the bird share a cage with another?
i found my cockatiel outside actually my dog did, it dosn’t fly well don’t know someone owned her or is a wild born bird. she is young. she dosn’t seem to know how to fly. when she does she always flys into the wall or objects and she dosn’t fly off the ground. only off of me or high objects like the cage or couch. she always is flapping her wings and seems unsteady when perched and doing this. she looks like she’ll fall off the perch. she prefers animal cracker cookies along with my cocker spaniel, he LOVES HER and i mean LOVES HER ! and she likes bread she’ll come for it . she won’t eat any fruit or greens i buy her so i have to give to the dogs. she has an attractiion for my rings and neck chain. i’ve gotten her relaxed to sit on me and eat from my hand and my lips if i put the cookie there. i can pet her with my face and nose but she dosn;t like to be touched on her stomach back or head and tail. only if she’s distracted with the cookies. she will share the cookie with my dog if i hold it out , they’ll both nibble it together, it’s cute but very strange. she HATE”S my other dog that found her in the yard, probably because she chased her across the yard until i got the bird which didn’t fly. so what do you think. i call her buggie. tony