How to Train a Parakeet?
Today, you will find a large variety of birds. The most well-known pet bird is the humble and brightly colored budgerigar or parakeet. Parakeets are usually referred to as budgies. They are social and friendly little birds. These medium-sized birds have a size ranging from 6 to 7 inches. They have a beak with a dark tip and a few dark wavy strips on their plumes. You can now easily find these green and blue-colored birds in pet shops.
Parakeets are the most intelligent birds. You can effectively train them with consistency and patience. They become ideal pets since they make a little mess and are generally easy to care for. Training your bird is an incredible method for bonding with him.
How to train your parakeet might appear to be troublesome at first. But after some time, it becomes more straightforward and can be loads of fun. These birds generally react better to training if they have been hand fed or possibly taken care of routinely. So, they are not terrified of people at all.
If you are planning to get a parakeet and want to know how do you train a parakeet well, then here is everything that you need to know about parakeet training:
How to Train Your Parakeet?
If you’ve recently decided to become a parent of a pet bird, a parakeet may be the right decision. But before you make this choice, you should become acquainted with the fundamentals of parakeet care.
Parakeets might not have the greatest vocabulary in the parrot family. However, they do have got the award of mimicry. Since these birds are usually obstinate and emotional, so a few people find it challenging when thinking about how to train a parakeet properly.
Many people love parakeets. Training this bird is a fun task that should be finished with utmost care. There are certain guidelines before getting started with the Parakeet training. Otherwise, things can turn out badly.
Child parakeets must feel comfortable in their surroundings. Allow them to get comfortable for a day or two. You can sit quietly where his cage is talk to it, offer bits of spray millet, and simply notice its behavior.
What Do I Need to Train My Parakeet?
It can appear to be challenging to train parakeets at first. However, if you start with fun and simple tricks, it simplifies the whole process. You will need to establish a comfortable climate for parakeet and afterward slowly train it to trust you.
Invest some quality alone time with your parakeet. Stay patient and quiet when close to the bird. You will have more achievement if your bird was hand-fed and weaned because this will create more trust.
Here is how to train my parakeet in just a few steps:
- Talk and mimic people speech
- Stop bad behaviors, for example, biting
- Become hand tamed
- Move forward on your finger
- Perform some basic tricks
How Do You Train a Parakeet?
1. Gain Trust
If your parakeet is new, it will require time to get used to its cage. Make your parakeet feel truly comfortable in your home. Your parakeet cannot be able to develop a decent relationship with you if the bird feels dangerous.
Parakeets are excessively fighty. You do need some time like a week or so to understand them. They can try to get away and would not have any desire to interact with you since you are very new to your pet bird.
Most people want to know – how to train your parakeet to trust you? The answer is simple. Taming your pet with hands can make them relax and quiet instantly at the same time. After a few times, you can try touching your parakeet. But do not overdo touching as that can make them terrified.
Ensure you feed them properly and be with them while they eat. It will allow your parakeet to trust you more. You should always begin with your bird’s trimmed wings because this restricts the flight of your parakeet.
2. Tame Your Parakeet
Make sure you see your parakeet now and again for the day so that the parakeet gets used to your face. It would help him accept your presence in a better manner. So, he would begin being comfortable with you.
Hand taming is a slow process that includes helping your pet feel comfortable while being touched. You can generally cultivate it in several phases. There are various approaches to consider when taming parakeets. However, specialists suggest having your parakeet wings expertly trimmed before you start.
To start hand taming:
1. Spend time each day sitting close to your parakeet’s cage to help him become acclimated to your presence. Repeat this process for more than a week.
2. After a few weeks, place your hand on his cage for about 10 minutes all at once a few times a day. Talk to him delicately in a calming voice. This would make him believe that you’re not going to hurt him. Eventually, he will quit flying to the opposite side of the cage and begin accepting your presence close to him.
3. You can try to have eye contact because that helps a little bit. However, understanding the eyes of a bird is extremely tough. One can do that. This would require some time. But, it would help you.
3. Step Up and Step Down
A parakeet usually contains a little brain. So, it cannot gain experience of things in one go. You would need to be patient at this time and must teach him things one by one. This is to step up or down. Teaching your pet to step up is the first behavior you’ll need to train him.
If he’s wisely hand-tamed, you can encourage him to step up onto your finger. Treat your parakeet gently. You can also get a few treats to energize him. Begin with training your parakeet to step up and down. Remember, if your parakeet would learn this, then a big part of your training procedure would be finished.
How to Train a Bird to Step Up?
1. When the parakeet steps onto your finger, gently offer him some small bites of the millet and delicately tell him how great he is. It will remind him it’s a yummy treat.
2. Slowly and tenderly place him into his cage with your forefinger extended.
3. Press it tenderly against the lower part of his abdomen as you all the while say “step up.” Most birds move forward since they naturally need to perch on the most elevated point available.
4. You can work in repetitions by setting your other index finger before and marginally higher than the finger. If your pet is settled already, you can request him to step up again.
5. Repeat this process a few more times as long as your pet don’t appear to be excessively worried. If he is concerned, allow him to rest before you hold another training session. With some practice, stepping up will turn out to be natural to him.
Training Your Parakeet to Step Down
Teaching your parakeet to step off of your finger is much easier than teaching him to step up. Here are the steps for it:
1. Slowly return your parakeet to his roost.
2. Place your hand near the perch, but marginally lower than it so that your parakeet is leaned to step up onto it.
3. As you do this, request your bird to “step off,” and afterward reward him with a small more millet when he does.
Teach Talking
It would be amazing to see parakeets talking. When your bird got comfortable in its cage and becomes completely familiar with you being near and begins liking you, get him associated with what you do while moving around it. You can begin talking to it so that it will get you what you are saying.
Additionally, try to teach him words with the present situation. For example, when opening the cage, you can say, “Want to come out?” And so on. With time, your parakeet will figure out how to mimic these words.
You always start with little words like hello, goodnight, or even hey. This process also requires some time and patience. The proper spot and time for talking lessons are important. You can utilize a single word before it so that your pet can gain proficiency with it properly. However, this would take some time, but the outcome would be stunning. You can teach many words to your parakeet as you like.
Also, parakeets like music tunes and high-pitched sounds. So, they generally respond well to them. Ladies and children can easily train them. Parakeets are loud birds and will try to speak with you in a loving and caring voice.
Teach Your Parakeet to Like You
When parakeets begin understanding your tone, they will start responding to it. Sometimes, they even try to copy the tone of your words. If you want to how to train a parakeet to like you, you need to gain his trust first and afterward give rewards for his behavior. Parakeets usually become mature when they reach the age of one year. They love getting affection from their owners. So, you can scratch under the wings and on the heads of your pet.
Make sure you make your bird feel comfortable in a new environment. You can play with your bird and also provide the best nutrition for parakeets like Millet spray, Grass seed, Chickweed, Dandelion leaves, Fresh fruit, and vegetables, etc. But how do you know if the parakeet trusts you? Parakeets usually flap their wings while staying in their place to show they are cheerful. Through the above-discussed training steps, your parakeet love and likes you most probably.
Teach a Parakeet Not to Bite
Firstly, try to understand the reason why your bird bites and then understand how to train a parakeet not to bite. The first thing to remember is to be gentle. The main reason behind it is that never hit a parakeet or talk harshly to him.
Parakeets react better to kindness. So, when you talk calmly, it helps them get out of fear, jealousy, and tiredness. To completely train the parakeet to quit biting, try to give it enough toys. Also, set up its sleep plan. Remember, a few birds get aggressive and begin biting when they need more rest.
Teach a Parakeet to Get on Your Finger
Your parakeet will get accustomed to your hands as they enter his cage. When you want to know how to train a parakeet to get on your finger, just give him fresh food and water. After that, hold your hand in his cage for a few minutes. Now, talk to your pet when you put your finger on him.
He will most likely fly to the highest point of his cage, energized by the originality of being outside. Give him some minutes and afterward, ask him to step onto your hand. Repeat this for a long time. Keep a treat in your second hand to reward him. This will fully encourage him to fly to your hand when you open his cage door.
Teach a Parakeet to Do Tricks
When you understand how to train a parakeet to do tricks, you’ll be amazed. You can teach your parakeet cute tricks that will amuse audiences of all ages. It includes a fetching trick, skateboard trick, tennis ball trick, football trick, etc. Most parakeets are naturally fun-loving. So, it’s very easy to teach them tricks like waving hi, dancing, singing, talking, and so on.
Final Thoughts:
Parakeets are friendly birds, simple to tame and train. Give them time, attention, and build trust with them. Continue appreciating them in high-pitched sounds and give them a few rewards and food or toys after they successfully follow your order or come nearer to following them. Provide them with a cage that is comfortable and makes them happy. Remember, when a bird is comfortable in its climate, it is not difficult to train them.
