How to Train a Parrot

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Any parrot training plan, in essence, needs to be as individual as the bird you’ve welcomed into your home. Every parrot has a unique personality, and will require a particular mix of technique, patience, friendship, and bribery to be trained effectively. That said, there are some common tips that can help you prepare for training and — in most cases — teach some basic and useful skills.

Part 1
Part 1 of 4:

Setting Up for Success

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  1. Think about how you would want to teach a small child. If they feel safe, calm, comfortable, and alert, they are more likely to take instruction effectively. The same is true for your parrot.
    • Find a quiet space where you and your avian student can focus on the task at hand. Choose somewhere familiar to the bird so it will already have a level of comfort before training starts. [1]
    • Don’t try to train when the parrot is overly agitated. Wait for a calmer moment. However, training with treats works best when the bird is hungry, so training before mealtime is usually the best scenario.
  2. While parrots are often quite friendly and caring, they are not in general known for being overly patient. Delays and mistakes during training sessions may not go over well, so preparation beforehand is important.
    • Gather up the supplies you will need for they type of training you will be conducting. These might include items like a hand-held perch, a towel, a clicker (if “clicker training”), a chopstick or drumstick (if “target training”), a leash/harness (if taking training outdoors), bitter apple spray (to make common areas of parrot nibbling like draperies unappealing), and, of course, treats. [2]
    • Choose a treat that your parrot especially enjoys, and also that you can easily feed to your bird. Thin apple wedges, for example, can make a good hand treat for a parrot. [3]
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  3. We’ve all heard that old dogs have trouble learning new tricks, and the same principle holds true for just about any animal, including parrots (and people, for that matter!).
    • Begin the process of training your bird as soon as possible. So long as your parrot has reached the point of being capable (if not yet entirely willing) to eat a treat from your hand, you can begin training. [4]
    • Hold multiple training sessions during the day, ideally at similar times each day for consistency, but more importantly when the parrot is in the mood for learning (that is, calm).
    • However, keep the sessions relatively short — no longer than fifteen minutes at a time. Once your bird begins to lose interest, it is best to end the session and begin again another time. [5]
  4. Rewarding your bird with a treat from your hand is essential to practically every type of parrot training out there. It also helps establish a bond between you and a new and/or young parrot.
    • Start the process with the parrot inside its cage. Slowly approach and present the treat. Stay calm and offer only encouraging approval when the bird eventually takes the treat.
    • Apple slices, again, make a good treat option if you’re worried about having your fingers nibbled upon. You can also wear gloves, if you so choose, though your bird may find those even more appealing to peck at.
    • If your bird is afraid of hands, hold an especially high-value treat to coax them over to you. [6]
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Part 2
Part 2 of 4:

Using Basic Training Strategies

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  1. “Shaping” is a training ideology that focuses upon rewarding the bird for approximations, and eventually deliberate acting, of the steps required to complete a training task.
    • Shaping is well-named, for it is all about molding behaviors through positive reinforcement.
    • As one example, if you were teaching your parrot to bathe itself in a small water dish, you would reward the bird for (among several other intermediary steps) looking toward the dish, looking at the dish, moving toward the dish, moving to the dish, testing the water, stepping into the water, and eventually splashing around.
  2. Pets ranging from birds to cats can often benefit from “clicker training,” which involves using a hand-held clicking device (think of the sound a pen clicker or metal juice-bottle cap makes) to indicate proper behavior worthy of a reward.
    • The “click” serves as an audible cue that an appropriate response has occurred, and should occur immediately upon said response and be accompanied immediately by a reward. Thus, you may hear the phrase “click and treat” to describe what is essentially a single maneuver.
    • For instance, if using a clicker during “step up training” — as detailed elsewhere in this article — the “click and treat” would occur immediately upon the parrot stepping up onto your finger/hand. Clicking can be incorporated into virtually any training program.
  3. Another training option, which can be used in combination with a clicker if desired, is known as “target training.” It uses a bird’s natural curiosity in investigating new objects to build a reliable response.
    • In a basic version of target training, a chopstick, drumstick, or other wooden wand is pointed in the vicinity of the parrot, and any contact with the tip is immediately rewarded with a treat (or “click and treat,” if desired). Slowly, over time, the parrot will learn to follow the target throughout the cage and around the room, in the process learning to obey a simple command prompt.
    • Target training builds a key basic skill, therefore, that serves as a gateway to more specific training.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 4:

Trying Variations of the “Step Up”

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  1. As the name indicates, this skill involves your bird learning to step or hop from one perch to another as directed, with the target perch usually your hand, finger, or hand-held perch (such as a dowel rod). [7]
    • The step up is an ideal skill to teach early on for several reasons:
      • It is relatively easy to master for both teacher and student. [8]
      • It derives from a natural parrot behavior, the desire to move from perch to perch.
      • It is practical, as having your bird hop into your hand on command makes everything from playtime to cage-cleaning easier.
      • It leads into other, more detailed skills as a basic maneuver.
    • While the step up is a simple skill, there are numerous training methods of varying complexity from which to choose, a few of which are described in the following steps.
  2. If your new bird has some prior training experience or just a natural inclination, the simplest training option may be sufficient.
    • Offer your finger or wrist to your parrot (depending on the bird’s size and your preference), placing it in front of the bird at mid-breast level. Many birds will naturally step up onto the new perch without any coaching at all.
    • Create a cue for the behavior, either by saying “step up” or employing a clicker simultaneous to the parrot making its move. Reward the bird immediately as well.
    • If the bird does not step up unprompted, employ “shaping” and reward incremental behaviors, such as touching the perch with the beak, placing one foot on the perch, etc.
    • It will take more than 1 training session for your bird to get this skill down. [9]
  3. In this method, you use the treat more as a lure to coax the desired behavior, but the basic training principles are quite similar.
    • Hold the treat in one hand, and offer the other hand/finger to the bird at chest level. Orient your hands so that the easiest way for the parrot to reach the treat is by stepping up onto the offered perch.
    • If your bird does not immediately step up, reward any contact with the offered perch at first, and incrementally reward only the desired step-up behavior.
    • If you’re handy enough with the clicker to use it while both hands are occupied, it can be incorporated, and/or a verbal cue like saying “step up.”
  4. If other methods have been less successful, or you have been utilizing target training already, you can teach the step-up by employing the familiar target and reward system.
    • Hold your familiar target — a wooden drumstick, for instance — in one hand, and your desired perch (your finger, hand, or hand-held perch) in the other. Alternatively, if your manual dexterity is up to the task, you can do both with one hand, which leaves the other for holding treats, a clicker, etc.
    • Locate the target so that it directs the bird to the new perch, which should be located in the common step-up position at the bird’s chest.
    • Immediately reward positive behavior, and use the clicker or a verbal cue if desired. Eventually, the target will no longer be required to prompt the behavior.
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Part 4
Part 4 of 4:

Teaching Your Parrot to Talk

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  1. Especially for people new to parrot ownership, talking is usually the first skill they think of teaching and of which they presume their bird will be able to master.
    • The truth of the matter is, every parrot is different, and you should never acquire a bird — even of a breed known for talking — with the assumption that it will talk. [10]
  2. Some parrots will require little or no training to learn to talk, and may in fact pick up words and phrases you’d prefer they not repeat.
    • Excited utterances — such as things you might shout at the TV during a sporting event — are often more readily picked up by a parrot, and they’re listening more often than you may think. [11] So be careful what you say around them! [12]
  3. Parrots talk to other members of their flock, and it is easier to establish yourself as part of your bird's flock early in its life. Therefore, you are more likely to have success when starting with a baby bird. [13]
    • Use a clear, calm, happy voice to repeat a simple word or phrase as you start the training process. Think about how you would try to teach a human child to say "Mommy."
    • Early in the process, reward any sound, then any approximately accurate sound, and eventually a recognizable sound with an immediate treat.
  4. Repetition is the key element of training a parrot to talk . Simply put, the more times you say a word or phrase around a parrot, the more likely it is to pick it up and repeat it. [14]
    • Train as often as you like. Parrots will not tire of conversing with another member of their flock, although you may.
    • Some experts recommend recording yourself saying a phrase and playing it back on a loop for the bird. [15] Of course, by using this method you lose the personal interaction between the two of you.
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    How can I make my parrot be quiet?
    Hayley Heartfield
    Bird Specialist
    Hayley Heartfield is a Bird Specialist and the Owner of About Birds, a Pet Bird Shop in Montgomery County, Texas. Hayley specializes in pet bird care, behavior, training, and breeding. Hayley studied Animal Science at Texas A&M. About Birds carries many species of birds and offers grooming and boarding services as well as bird care products.
    Hayley Heartfield
    Bird Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Don't yell or loudly scold your bird while they're making noise. Instead, wait until your bird is quiet before checking up on them. You can also move your parrot to another room, if needed.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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    Not Helpful 4 Helpful 4
  • Question
    Can Alexandrine parrots talk?
    Melissa Nelson, DVM, PhD
    Veterinarian
    Dr. Nelson is a Veterinarian who specializes in Companion and Large Animal Medicine in Minnesota, where she has over 18 years of experience as a veterinarian in a rural clinic. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1998.
    Melissa Nelson, DVM, PhD
    Veterinarian
    Expert Answer
    Yes, it is true that Alexandrine parrots can talk, it's quite interesting to observe.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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  • Question
    How do you tame a parrot?
    Melissa Nelson, DVM, PhD
    Veterinarian
    Dr. Nelson is a Veterinarian who specializes in Companion and Large Animal Medicine in Minnesota, where she has over 18 years of experience as a veterinarian in a rural clinic. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1998.
    Melissa Nelson, DVM, PhD
    Veterinarian
    Expert Answer
    You tame a parrot by careful repetition and lot of non-threatening contact with the bird. This is best accomplished when the parrot is young.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1795&aid=2580
      2. ↑ https://www.petmd.com/bird/training/evr_bd_training_baby_birds
      3. ↑ https://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1795&aid=2580
      4. ↑ https://www.petmd.com/bird/training/evr_bd_training_baby_birds
      5. ↑ https://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1795&aid=2580
      6. ↑ Hayley Heartfield. Bird Specialist. Expert Interview. 23 June 2021.
      7. ↑ Hayley Heartfield. Bird Specialist. Expert Interview. 23 June 2021.
      8. ↑ Hayley Heartfield. Bird Specialist. Expert Interview. 23 June 2021.
      9. ↑ Hayley Heartfield. Bird Specialist. Expert Interview. 23 June 2021.
      1. ↑ https://www.petmd.com/bird/training/evr_bd_training_baby_birds
      2. ↑ Hayley Heartfield. Bird Specialist. Expert Interview. 23 June 2021.
      3. ↑ https://www.petmd.com/bird/training/evr_bd_training_baby_birds
      4. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/magazine/how-to-teach-a-bird-to-talk.html?_r=0
      5. ↑ Hayley Heartfield. Bird Specialist. Expert Interview. 23 June 2021.
      6. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/magazine/how-to-teach-a-bird-to-talk.html?_r=0

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      If you want to train a parrot to talk, start with a young bird if you can, since young birds are more likely to bond with you. Once you have your bird, repeat the desired phrase around the bird until it picks it up. You can even record yourself saying the phrase and play it on a loop for your bird if you like. However, you should remember that every bird is different, and yours may choose not to speak. For advice from our Veterinary reviewer on how to train a parrot to obey commands, keep reading!

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