How food routines can help train your parrot

It might seem a little strange to think that giving your bird a new routine with their food would help with their training, but honestly, it isn't! If you have a bird who is food motivated (i.e doesn't prefer cuddles or toys as a treat) then you have an excellent motive to build a relationship on

Training helps bridge the gap between humans and birds and allows us to develop bonds through trust and positive re-enforcement. A bird who is full of food that they eat every day isn't going to want to work for the same food, are they? First things first, you need to get your bird into a feeding routine. Many bird owners will just feed their birds ad-lib. They just fill the bowl back up when it is empty. Sadly, people who don't do their research tend to think that all seeds or all pellets is acceptable. It isn't. If you try to feed your birds a natural diet, like myself, then you won't be using pellets anyway, but as most people do I will try and include them into a diet plan

For a bird who is fed a completely fresh and natural diet then you will want to feed them all of their fresh produce in the morning when they're most hungry and again in the afternoon/early evening (before dark). If you feed seeds then make sure you feed them on that last feed so they are not trying to digest them all day while you're trying to work with them! For your food treats you're going to want to use seeds (such as hemp), nuts (not peanuts!) and fruits. Smaller parrots usually appreciate some finely chopped up apple or millet, larger birds will love a halved grape! You want something that can be eaten quickly so you don't make your training session last any longer than it should do. You want to keep 'um keen! If you don't feed an all fresh diet then again, feed your birds the fresh foods in the morning. On the evening feed your pellets. Fill up your bowl and watch how many they eat (seriously, stand there and count them) so you know your birds limit. If they eat only 10, give them 10 the next day. If they eat all of those then add some more and see how much more they eat. Do that until you find their perfect balance. Birds won't eat any more than they already need. Be aware though that fresh foods spoil fast so in hot weather you may want to make the portions smaller but more frequent throughout the day. Ideally fresh food should be available all day long so that they do not go hunrgy

Save your fruits, berries, nuts and seeds for training treats

While you're figuring out this new diet plan for them, you need to be weighing them as often as they will allow. If they're a hands on bird then just get them to step up on to their scales every morning after they've had their morning poop. If you have a hands off bird then you need to make this as stress free as possible. If they can get into their carrier without too much worry then weigh the carrier first and add the bird to it. When you've got the weight off the bird and the carrier, subtract the weight of the carrier and there is your birds weight! It's quite simple. It's important to keep an eye on their weight though so it doesn't fluctuate too much. Obviously an over-weight seed junkie parrot is going to probably lose some weight if you can get them eating healthier, but they shouldn't be losing too much too soon. You do not want to starve your bird to make them work with you

Cutting down on the 'treat' foods your bird is most likely already getting in their diet can really help motivate them for a good training session. Remember. Keep them keen, keep the sessions short and stick to a good food routine!