Teaching Your Parakeet To Do TricksPosted: February 1, 2013 Posted by: NMR
Parakeets, also known as Budgies, are very loving and social creatures. They may be very small birds, but do not let that fool you. They are very intelligent for their size. Parakeet training can teach your bird to talk, perform tricks, and perch on your hand or shoulder. Parakeets absolutely love shiny things such as mirrors and bells, and with proper training, your bird will love gentle petting too. Just like with any pet, however, training your parakeet takes a lot of patience and time.
The very first step to training a parakeet is to get the bird used to your hand. It’s vital that you approach your bird slowly, because they may become afraid when they see your hand in their cage. It may want to bite you, but under no circumstances do you want to yell at them. Here’s a trick you can try to teach your parakeet.
To teach the "wave", have the bird sit on the stand, wiggle the fingers of your right hand as in a small wave, say "wave", or whatever verbal cue you wish. It could be "good bye", "salute," etc., just remember it really makes no difference. You will be dropping the verbal cue soon to go to the visual cue as you tell the bird that has mastered the trick to wave goodbye, or say hello. So, just wiggle your fingertips, then immediately offer your hand/finger for the bird to step on to them. The bird will undoubtedly try to step forward onto your hand, but don’t let it! The minute you see it start to lift its foot, pull your hand away, tell it good, and give it the reward you are holding in your left hand. It won't take very many repetitions before it gets the idea that all it has to do to get the reward is to lift its foot. You no longer need to offer it your hand to step on, just wiggle your fingers and the bird will begin tentatively raising its foot. When it does this readily, start withholding the seed just a few seconds longer. The usual reaction is to lift the foot a little higher. When the bird gets the foot as high as you think it is going to and then starts to drop it, reward it immediately, and you have the beginning of the wave. Do this only until the bird is lifting its foot readily and you can praise it.