Parrot Trick Training - Step 1 - Clicker Conditioning

We don't trick train our parrots so that they can do cute little tricks… We trick train them so they can utilize their incredibly intelligent minds. We trick train them to form a closer bond with them. We trick train them because they want to work for their food! In the wild they spend 80% of their day working for their food in the hopes that they might find a meal.
If you are interested in learning how to trick train your bird, I've created a brand-new group where I will give you everything you need to know....FREE!
/ letstrainourparrotstoday

[@birdgirl8390]

My cockatiel will celebrate his 1 year adoption day in September, I never tried clicker training because I thought he was too "simple in the head" or at least too stubborn. There was some stubbornness/frustration at first when he had to touch the target for the snack, like "O M G don't make me work gib food!" but it got better with every day and today I even got him to munch on an almond 😱 he's a hardcore seed adict, so my reaction to that was literally: 😱 Edit: in short, thank you for this video 😁

[@CenturianEagle]

He’s so cute! He looks small or something (and of course, adorable because of it.)

[@sueseverin1871]

Thanks so much Cheri, these are excellent videos with clear, simple instruction. Much appreciated.

[@nataliematson5164]

Thank you for posting such a calm and informative video of both the clicker and the target training in your other video. How you slowly go through the steps has helped me a lot. I like how you do not praise Ziggy during training as I find that the less I say during training, the easier it is for both myself and my bird. I am looking forward to my clicker arriving to commence clicker training and feel much more confident after seeing your videos.

[@wyattspop]

This was an excellent video, very well done for teaching my son to help train his 9 week old IRN

[@ivanstefanovic5880]

bravo maestro. God bless you

[@OMARZAKIALIRAQEY]

Cool

[@galacticadminsarah]

Yes

[@jennyconfer2483]

My parrot is named zeke also lol so neat

[@vogelkonigin3303]

So training on perch only? but I can still give treats when off the perch without the clicker?

[@Marlin123]

How did you get the infinety mealate back from the Birvengers?

[@Neptune8]

I guess I’ve been doing using my clicker wrong ? I always click when my baby tiel does what I want her to do. I never bothered conditioning. She’s very good at step up to where I no longer need to treat her she just does it when I command. But I’m going to try this cause i was attempting to begin teaching her recall but it’s not going well , she flys past me and right to her cage

[@tangerinemolar]

How long would it take for a bird to learn this? Also how do you get your bird to not be scared of anything my bird loves me and he is scared of everything else! Even a little toy ball. What should I do?

[@rp101aquatics6]

Depends one the bird and how much you practice with him

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Typically a few minutes is all it takes to teach a parrot the concept of "click equals reward"

[@AppleJuiceStudios]

My lovebird is actually afraid of the training stand or just stands at all outside of her cage..

[@birdwellnesscenter]

Start training on the cage door

[@glpezz1121]

I just started today with this and found your videos. How long do you need to do the clicker conditioning before you move on to the next step?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

glpezz1121 Until your bird consistently reacts every time you click. Could be 5 mins. Could be an hour. Parrots are smart...both of mine took mere minutes and they got it. You will be reinforcing reactions to your clicker in every trick you teach… This is just the first reaction.

[@jenna65453]

Hi there! i have 2 cockatiels that im trying to do this with. my oldest is a pro at it, but my younger one seems to have no interest... and he does love the treats im using! do you have any suggestions?

[@ParentingParrots]

I don't mean to intrude but I realized you asked this question a month ago and doesn't look like you got an answer. I think your issue is the hungry level of the parrot and you shouldnt be giving the treats unless the parrot is doing what you want. You already know he loves the treat so he just needs the desire to want the treat which would be how hungry he is....

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

jenna65453 I never got a notification about your comment at all. Sorry for the delay as I've just seen it now. The comment given to you is correct. You must train before feeding your birds their meals. If they are not hungry they will show no interest whatsoever. Good luck!

[@user-st4ur2pz5p]

I have a cockatiel and she is soooo attached to me. She doesn’t let me put her down in a perch if she knows I’m beside her or my hand is there. Do you know how to make my bird not do that? Thank you so much!!

[@lizr9894]

birb_ slimey I hope you get a reply. I have the same issue with my 1 yr old regimes Sun Conure. He has started refusing to step down. Especially at night when it’s time for bed. It helps a little to play with him on the bed for a while first, but I want to train him to step down with the clicker. Also, both he and our 6 month old will climb onto us uninvited when we get near them, walk around to our backs and refuse to step up. Need help with our little graboids running the show! Lol!

[@laoshiane2852]

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[@lamisoft09]

I\'m not sure but ,if anyone else wants to uncover parrot trainer try Dalz Parrot Tips Discovery ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my colleague got amazing success with it.

[@CenturianEagle]

Moh Nekbil so you two are spamvertising. Buzz off, nobody likes that dishonest kinda stuff. It sounded interesting to me at first until I saw almost the exact same comment right underneath except from 2 months later- obviously that’s like a bot or something cuz no human would be dumb enough to post the same message more or less, rightttttttt underneath the first one.

[@H.C.Q.]

Can praise or "scritches" be used as the reward in lieu of treats with the clicker?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Not in the beginning no. The point of a click is that it captures a tiny moment in time when the bird did exactly what you wanted.

[@joanneeames6827]

Hi, I am using this example for an assignment at uni and was wondering how old ziggy is? and also if there are any other factors such as arousal which may affect his learning in this video, Thanks.

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Joanne Eames Ziggy was about a year old in this video but he learned this as soon as I got him at 8 months old. Kili at 5 months old has learned this and has moved onto trick training. The only factor for doing this is the level of hungriness. A hungry bird is trainable. A full bird is not.

[@shealawson1780]

Hi! I recently got a male budgie a few months ago. He is probably around 6 months old. I am still in the process of hand training. When I hold millet in his cage he jumps on my finger and starts eating but once he is done he begins to play bite my finger. I believe his molting/puberty is causing this hyper behavior. Do you recommend I wait for clicker training until his molt is finished and he is a little older?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

I believe it's never too soon to start bonding with your bird. The best way to bond is thru quality time via playing AND training. Follow all of my suggestions throughout my video series and you'll be best friends before you know it. Good luck!

[@elliotsmithson7014]

Try target training, also they usually don’t hit hard puberty until about 2 years

[@sandralodin7152]

I have 2 lovebirds I wonder how I do to click them to come to me thank you

[@elliotsmithson7014]

The KZbin @flocktalk has plenty of very useful training videos, which includes recall and stationing.

[@hassaniqbal7]

I have an Alexandrine and he is just a month old. Shoul I start this or wait a couple of months?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

You can start clicker conditioning when the bird is old enough to understand ... try it a few times and if he's not ready wait a couple weeks and try again

[@o0CloudySkies0o]

I really want to clicker train my budgie, but im having trouble finding what he considers his 'favorite food'. i've tried lettuce and millet and other fruits but he doesnt touch them. how can i find what he likes for the clicker training?

[@elliotsmithson7014]

Show a bunch of foods in front of him, watch him to see his favorite, try Small almond pieces or pine nuts

[@mohaa4313]

Does it work for two parrots together or should they be seperated ?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

One at a time

[@lupitamelendez9721]

Hey, doesnt matter what type of clicker? I can use my dog clicker?

[@darkwolf_gacha4003]

It doesn't matter what one u use 😄

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Dog clicker and parrot clicker are the same clicker 😉🫶🏻

[@btskz0613]

My uncle has gifted me a parrot a few days ago. Its new to the atmosphere and people of our house. So I've to wait until it gets comfortable right? Whenever I let it out of cage it just flies around the room non stop. Sorry I don't know much about birds 😅

[@wyattspop]

What type of Parrot? Yes, you need to wait until the bird is more at ease with it's new surroundings and the people in it to train at all, but with frequent interaction it's not unreasonable to begin in 10 days to 2 weeks, longer if you haven't been giving him/her outside time with you.

[@jesperjee]

How will I know when the bird is hungry?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Exactly the same way as the last time you asked. If you hold up a treat and he snubs it...hes not hungry and he's not doing any tricks. Forcing a training session, at this point, would only make your bird feel negatively about training. You can see that Ziggy is excited to train and will beg (do his repertoire of tricks without being asked) and react quickly to my commands. This is what you want to see... this is how you know your bird is hungry.

[@jesperjee]

@@LivingMyBestLifeIAm Haha. Sorry. Have had a lot on my mind. It would seem, however, that the bird seldom gets hungry since he has food available at all times. Some people suggest you remove food but that doesn´t seem ok to do so that´s why I´ve been looking around for "better" answers. Yours (given twice) is the best yet.

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

@@jesperjee Lol no worries. It actually IS ok to have mealtimes where any uneaten food is removed after a given time. Birds poop about 10 mins after they eat so given that...after a few poops your bird should be hungry enough to eat his favourite treat. First thing in the morning is a good time to train...before they've had a chance to leave their roost and head for the pellet dish. Good luck!

[@calixxlivin]

Hello where did you get your clicker?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Pet store

[@AlexKaragezyan]

I can’t find any bird clickers and I ordered a dog clicker will it still work with my female cockatiel?

[@ResinEssenceByCheri]

All the clickers are the same thing essentially. They are training clickers and can be used to train any animal. Good luck!

[@AlexKaragezyan]

CA woodworks but everyone has a Square clicker and I am thinking why?

[@rp101aquatics6]

@@AlexKaragezyan these square ones are usually cheaper but clickers are used for dogs but ppl starter using them for birds and other animals

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Any kind of clicker will work...any device with a quick consistent sound that the bird can learn means "good, yes, you did the right thing!"

[@rp101aquatics6]

How can I tell he is hungry my burd eats like at different times each day

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

If you offer him a treat and he is not interested....he’s not hungry. Only a hungry bird will do a trick for a treat. Try trick training before the first meal of the day or just after waking up to ensure your bird will be motivated by food. Good luck!

[@stevensanchez1192]

The morning is the best time to start training a bird since it most likely hasn’t had much food.

[@hobbiestv9449]

From where I can get clicker please?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Pet store, Amazon, Wish....

[@diiitto]

how many days for do this condition?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Daniel Rizky Both of my birds learned it after just a few clicks. If done properly, an understanding of the concept should happen very quickly. You can continue the conditioning for as many training sessions as you wish but once the bird understands that CLICK equals TREAT you can move ahead and start target training.

[@rachel-qz5vv]

hi, i have a question, I have a female cockatiel whom I want to start clicker training with. Do you think it'll be relatively easy to train a female cockatiel, about the same as a male?

[@tpclique5236]

fanfliction 13 yes

[@dad7790]

Is it possible to train Parakeets using clickers?

[@phononmusic]

yes

[@yazeedalqarni5022]

What are u using as a treat

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

CityOfBirds Use your birds’ favorite treat(s) for training. Ziggy’s fav is millet.

[@hobbiestv9449]

What Kind of Seeds you give please when you Training?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Usually sunflower seeds, sometime millet

[@hobbiestv9449]

@@LivingMyBestLifeIAm is it work with badgie?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Millet is good for Budgies

[@hobbiestv9449]

From where I can get clicker please?

[@elliotsmithson7014]

Any pet store should have some

[@ramyad2057]

One year parrot also we can train

[@izmizcha955]

Is this wroking for anyone? I need to know..

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Worked for both of my birds

[@missthang3266]

What if your bird doesn’t have a special treat? My bird runs away from millet

[@rp101aquatics6]

Try sunflower seeds

[@Babyfaceayla]

Try broccoli

[@sso_pancake6430]

You didn’t say bird you said the things you need ..so you don’t need a bird?

[@LivingMyBestLifeIAm]

Are you an idiot???

[@abigailwakefield8358]

This is funny 😂😂