Teach Your Parrot to Wave Hello

This is a simple trick that you can teach any parrot in a short period of time. You will be able to teach your parrot to wave hello in response to either a verbal or physical command.

Steps

  1. Prepare an area to train your parrot. It should be quiet and free from other distractions. Do this during a time of day when your parrot is interested in you and being out of the cage. Doing this during a feeding time, or late at night when they want to be asleep would be a bad time.
  2. Make sure your parrot has a perch to stand on while you teach this trick. If you do not have a perch you can use the back of a kitchen chair, or any chair which has a back that they can easily perch on, and not move too far around on.
  3. Get a long wooden object that your parrot will want to chew on. You can use a pen or pencil (just be careful and don't let them destroy it or be injured by it) or a wooden chopstick, or a Popsicle stick. You'll want to use an item that they don't normally play with too much, but that they're not afraid of and are interested in. If your parrot doesn't show interest in the objects at first, play with them yourself. Don't allow them to hold it, they'll quickly decide they want it if you're playing with it.
  4. Allow the parrot to see and touch the object briefly. Hold it near them to make it especially attractive. Once they take it in their beak and want it, take it away (gently and kindly).Hold the object just out of their reach until they raise a foot (usually to take it with their foot). Once their foot is raised, even slightly, praise the parrot (Good bird!) and give them the object immediately. Repeat this several times until they clearly make the connection between raising the foot and the object.
  5. Use the command you choose. However you will need to pick a phrase you don't normally use with your parrot. "Hello" and "Hi" alone are not good choices, because you probably say this to your parrot already, or they hear you say it all the time on the telephone. If you really want to use "Hello" or "Hi", change your tone and how you say it, so it's different than normal. Like Heeeeeelllo! Or Hiiiiiiiii!
  6. Learn a physical command, make it very clear and distinct. You can use both a verbal and physical command, and simply wave your first finger, bending it up and down. Offer the stick and say the command or action before they raise their foot. Once they complete the trick (by raising their foot) praise them.
  7. Be ready to lose the stick. Repeat the above, but do not give them the stick every time and do not offer the stick at all during the trick but keep it visible in your hand that you're doing the physical command with (or if no physical command, then the hand you used before). Reduce the reward to only occasionally. But always give the verbal praise when they perform. You also want a clear and distinct foot raise. If they only raise it a little bit, ignore it at this time. You want the correct behavior and they'll be testing how little they can do for the verbal praise.
  8. Lose the stick. Continue doing it, and reward occasionally with the stick as well, but keep it out of view while doing the trick. Once you've done all that, you can lose the stick completely. They now know the behavior (raising their foot) and know the reward (praise and attention).
  9. Continue to practice the trick on occasion and repeat the above if they appear to forget the trick. You won't need to start from scratch though, just use the stick again from step 7, and they should relearn it immediately. You only need to do this trick every week or so for them to remember and enjoy it.



Tips

  • If your bird gets tired or annoyed, stop. You should only work on training them for as long as they're interested. A good training session should last anywhere from five minutes to twenty, depending on your parrot's interests. Tricks are supposed to be fun and enjoyable for them too. It's a game that enriches their lives. As such, their needs should always be first.
  • Almost all parrots respond very well to verbal praise for tricks. You do not need to offer a food reward (though many will recommend it). If your parrot just won't respond to anything but a food reward, use one. Sunflower seeds cut in halves or quarters are good ideas. It should be only a small token amount of food. You should never starve your parrot though to make it perform. Any food reward should be a treat on top of their regular food diet.
  • Some parrots or birds may not be good around as others. Make sure your parrot loves you a lot before you attempt this trick.

Warnings

  • Never ever punish the parrot. You should never do so anyway, they do not respond to punishment. If your parrot does not perform the trick, you withhold the reward (which is the stick and the praise). If your parrot refuses to perform the trick several times, you should stop the session and return them to their cage. Give them their outside time and play time separate from training time.
  • Be patient and have fun. Some parrots learn this trick in under an hour. Some may take a week or two. All of them can learn this simple trick, if you make it fun for them and you.
  • Don't overdo it.

Things You'll Need

  • A Parrot
  • A stick (chopstick, Popsicle stick, pencil, or pen)
  • A stand for the parrot (you can use the back of a chair if you have no parrot stand)
  • OPTIONAL (food reward, like sunflower seeds)

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

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