Pet Parakeet Care: How to Hand Train a Parakeet

How to Hand Train a Parakeet

Who ever said training a parakeet was hard is lying. I thought it would be sweet of me to buy my fiancé a parakeet for valentines day. She always talked of having one, and we could use a little noise around the house. What I mean by noise is the sweet chirping and singing of a new Budgie. This would have been the hardest animal we owned so far to train, or so we thought. We already have a cat, and cats come pre programmed to be a domestic, friendly, loving pet, that needs little or no training. Then we have two fish tanks, It was pretty tough teaching our guppies to roll over, or fetch, so we just let them swim around at their own free will. So it's time for a step up, and take on a bigger challenge. This is when we got our bird, or should I say her bird.

Let me introduce you to Marty.

First off, let me start by telling you we bought our budgie at Petsm**t. Now we all know buying from a big box store like that only makes it harder to train. When you use these stores, the birds are handled like freight, like another item to stock on the shelf. Then they stuff the birds in a small cage with about a hundred more birds. So naturally they start to bond with each other, they interact, and react with each other (one bird flies they all fly). Then you finally pick the one you want, and the birds first real encounter with a human is usually some punk high school kid who just reaches in and grabs him. Pulls him away from his friends and family to stuff him in a small dark box with little holes. No that's not scary at all, that's not going to have an effect on the birds opinion of people, he'll be fine, no problem right.......Wrong! This must have been pretty scary if not traumatizing. Next time I'll use a local breeder and get one for a little more money but already hand tame.

So you did the same thing I did. I felt sorry, what am I supposed to do? Little guy, stuck in a strange place, he can't leave. I'll save you birdie, we'll take you home and let you be free, kinda. First thing you notice is how gitty he is. He wants nothing to do with you, and would go to great extremes to not be touched by you, check out this video and you'll see what I mean.

Does your parakeet do this? We can help.

Rules of buying a bird:
A) Buy as young as possible
B) Buy a cage big enough for him flap his wings and stretch.
C) Have plenty of food on hand, never run out.
D) Provide a safe environment for him.
E) Buy a cuttle bone and a mirror.
F) They like to rip things apart. I use manila rope.
G) Ensure you have time to dedicate
H) Get him some treats too, they love millet.

Now you have a bird at home and he's afraid of everything and anything. We can get started.

(Week 1)
1. Firstly, leave him alone. Put the cage in a corner preferably, this way he doesn't have to watch 4 sides at all times, this will help him relax. He can sit in one position and see everything that's going on. If you don't have a corner put him in, put him up high. If nothing else, put a towel over his cage draping two sides. This will really help him be less jittery. It's nice if he can have some sun, but not full blown sun he can't hide from. Make sure to cover him at night and uncover him each day (this is a good chance to do some talking). Talk to him regularly, as you pass the cage, from across the room, and don't go in the cage, except to change the water and food. And for god's sake do this everyday. He will build a small amount of trust, he'll start to know you won't hurt him. I would leave him alone at least two weeks. Just talking to him as much as possible. Let him hear your voice and get accustomed to it. He will watch your every move and learn your daily routines. This makes a more stable home for him at first that he understands better.

(week 2-3)
2. When he's finally eating regular and chirping around, he is getting comfortable. This is a good thing. He knows you feed him and take care of him. He sees the same people everyday and starts to believe this is his "flock". Now the fun part, You're going to need a lot of patience. He is still not finger trained and this part takes time and patience. Bring the cage in a room that has little or no hiding places, (he will find them and you will be moving furniture to get him out, I promise). Once he's in the room and you got it birdie proof, turn off the lights. I mean a dark room, no lights at all. Go in his cage and put your finger under his chest closer to the leg side and lift up gently. Talk to him as you do this, so he knows it's you. Always use a soft voice and don't let him see you mad or frustrated. This will only scare him more. When he steps up just find a resting place for your hand and leave it there. He has no idea where he is sitting, and you'll show him soon enough. Do this every other night for a week, and try to do it at the same time, so he knows it's coming. Once he steps up on his own you can start the next step.

(week 4)
3. Now he's stepping up on your finger without even trying you say? Now the fun part. Grab a flash light, turn it on but standing on the floor (blocking the light). Once he's up on your finger, slowly pick up the flash light to lighten the room gradually. He still don't know it's you holding him, but he'll realize that as soon as his eyes adjust. Once he sees it, he'll probably jump off and panic. Don't worry put the light down (to darken again) give him time to adjust and start over. Work him like this daily or every other day. And soon you'll see he's sitting on your finger out of habit. It's becomes something he does all the time, but, at this point, in his cage (safe place) during the day he wouldn't consider going near you, this is all normal and will change as time passes. If you want to try to turn on the light in the room like i did, try. He might take well to it. Don't be let down if he's not completly trusting yet. If he spazzed out turn off the light and do it again. The trick is letting his eyes adjust to the dark.

Tricking him on our finger.

The lights were off for about 3 minutes or so.

(week 5-6)
4. So now he sits on your finger in his cage from the dark and he's not that jumpy, WOW! Now it's time to take him out of the cage. Still training in the almost dark, if you have any other pets this is the time to introduce them face to face, with no bars in between. Our cat is a good boy for the most part, he just want to smell him. We introduce them and talk to both the cat and the bird.

We remind the cat to be a "Good boy" and we pet him as he's checking out the bird. This way he associated the bird as family and wouldn't think to hurt him. Once he's had his fill, he'll walk away and get bored with the whole bird thing. Now have someone turn on a light in the other room. It'll be brighter than the flashlight, and it's like a shock to his eyes, and give you time to work with him. Always talking to him make step up over and over on your finger so he don't get distracted. His eyes will adjust and chances are he'll fly towards the light. Walk over there and pick him up with your finger, don't grab him roughly and break all the work you already did. He'll soon realize you're coming to his rescue. Do this as much as possible and be gentle with him. This is a scary thing for him and your his protector.

(week 7)
5. Once we got him used to being on our finger it was time to start doing it during the day. It feels like lost progress, but he has to put it together on his own and will soon be jumping up on your finger whistling Dixie. You'll be chasing him around his cage again, but it will all work out. Once you get him up on our finger, don't push it, let him see what's happening and adjust. Keep talking and drill the sound of your voice into his little brain. At one point you'll be able to take him out. Chances are if he sees his cage, he will take off for it. So I got a little trick for this, see video below.

Getting him out. takes a little practice.

You get him up and turn around quickly so he can't see his cage

Once he's out, take him to where he can't see the cage and won't be tempted. He will always try to go to the cage at first but with clipped wings he'll rarely make it, and you'll have to "Rescue him" and bring him up so he can reach. This develops a bond because you bring him back home every time. Using the same trick to get him away from the cage, do to get him back. So he don't fly from your finger but, step from your finger to his house.

(week 8)
6. You'll soon see, he finds it more interesting to hang out with you, rather than be alone in the cage. What I did was make it more accessible for him. I put some rope in places where I do things, like my computer for example. There's a rope going from a shelf to my computer monitor. He just sits there and watches me type. He finds that rather enjoyable and doesn't fly away. He also like watching us do dishes, he whistles with the sound of the water.

He also likes to sit on top of our laptop while the wife does her internet thing. There are certain places he he likes more than others. I found any of the curtain rods in the hose he likes. I think it's because he's so high and he can see the whole room. When he does fly down he'll wander the floor. Remember let the other animals check him out. If he's not in danger let them interact with each other. My cat is funny, he chases him while the bird comes in for a landing. The bird in turn lands and walk towards the cat and the cat don't know what to do so he jumps back. The bird want to check him out this time and the cats scared...lol it's hilarious

(the rest of time)
7. Soon your budgie will be interacting with you, you'll find him talking and squawking as you talk to people. He feels it's his contribution to the flock. And if we stop, he stops, it's so funny. He even tries yelling over us just to be heard, we acknowledge him and he stops. He just wants to talk that's all. They are social creatures that need interaction. Just don't ignore him and don't abuse him. Teach your kids why and how to treat the bird. Remind them that he is little, and he trusts them. They need to make sure he don't get hurt so he lives a long happy life.

Hope this helps I know it sure worked for me and I have video proof of it. Enjoy your bird, and remember he's a part of your family now, treat him like it. Once he's adjusted well you can put his cage anywhere. Try not to put him in direct sunlight he can't escape from. Birds are a shade loving animal.

Pet Parakeet Care: Train Your Parakeet to Talk

Parakeets are small, vibrant and lively birds that can be a wonderful addition to your family. While some parakeets learn to talk without coaching or training, some will require encouragement to get their beaks speaking. Some parakeets only start talking when their owners let them hear specific phrases, words and sounds. If you successfully train a parakeet to talk, you and your family will love your pet even more.

A nourished and well cared pet will more likely demonstrate an interest in repeating sounds as well as talking. A parakeet that is watered, well-fed, and has a mirror and other plaything in his cage is the best aspirant for speech training. This is for the reason that loved pets will want to gain knowledge on how they can communicate effectively with their master and provider.

It's important to note that the male parakeets are distinguished as good talkers. So if you want to have an outspoken pet, it's best to adopt a male parakeet. This doesn't mean that female parakeets just make sounds and do not talk, but in general the female birds are slower in adapting new words and training a female bird might not give you the results you are looking for.

Remember, even if you choose to train a parakeet that is a male, it doesn't give you a guarantee that it will talk. Some parakeets only become skillful in whistling, but talking is not a talent every bird of this kind desires to learn. You should be patient enough to see results. Some breeds of parakeets that are more likely to utter words are the Alexandrine, Australian, English, Plum-head and Ring-necked parakeets. They are also known for having the ability to distinguish individual objects and even people.

Parakeets find it easier to repeat or reiterate words exhibiting hard syllables. You should examine what words are more difficult to speak than others. One of the common phrases parakeets speak is "pretty birdie". This specific phrase encloses hard syllables that make it effortless for talking birds like parakeets to repeat or mimic. You should think of words and phrases containing hard syllables and say them to your bird frequently.

Birds respond well with a dark surrounding. So when you start your training session, you should darken the room to get your parakeet's full attention. Begin saying a phrase or word and repeat it several times. Teach your bird three times a day for about fifteen minutes each. Don't get disappointed if your bird didn't talk immediately. Put in mind that most birds take several days or even weeks before it speak the phrase or word you're teaching.

If you go to work during weekdays, consider making speech training sessions on a recorded tape and leave it to someone who stays in your house. This will not only save you time and effort but the training will be more consistent with this strategy.

If you follow these steps to train a parakeet, your pet will start repeating sounds and words in no time. This will also make your pet the center of attention in your home, making you the proudest mentor ever.

Pet Parakeet Care : Parakeet Training Tips

If you're getting a parakeet, you may be wondering how to train it to do tricks, or even to talk. So, here are a few tips to help you out.

First of all, don't give your parakeet access to any distracting toys during training sessions. Also, don't have any distracting music or TV programs on. Another good idea is to cover mirrors and close windows, so that your parakeet isn't distracted by its own reflection or by passers by outside.

Next, get yourself a training clicker or decide on a specific noise that you can make when the parakeet does well. Also, get an appropriate reward to offer your parakeet for a job well done. Most parakeets love a treat called millet, which typically comes on a stick.

When you're training the parakeet to talk, be sure not to confuse it by changing words. For example, to you and I the words "hello" and "hi" mean the same thing. To your parakeet, though, they won't even make sense yet. So, he won't know that they mean the same thing. Choose which one you want him to learn and use it consistently in training.

Finally, remember that parakeets have short attention spans, but decent memories. That means that your training session should be short, but frequent, if you want the best results. Ten minute training sessions 2 or 3 times a day is better than one 30-minute session. Although, regardless of session length, you have to have patience. It can take your parakeet quite a while to learn new words. It's not done in a day.