How to Train Red-Bellied Parrots

Red-bellied parrots are a small (about 9 inches long) parrot native to eastern Africa. They have brown heads, greyish-brown wings and green legs. Males have the eponymous bright red-orange belly, while on the females it is a duller greenish-brown. Red-bellies are members of the poicephalus group of parrots, like senegals and Meyer̵7;s parrots. They have a playful and sweet temperament, and make good pets. Natural mimics, they are relatively easy to train.

Things You'll Need

  • Treats
  • Clicker
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Instructions

  1. Training Your Red-Bellied Parrot

    • 1

      Take advantage of the red-bellied parrot̵7;s natural strengths. While every parrot is an individual, different species do tend to have different characteristics. When training your bird, utilize the natural tendencies of its species to choose your training goals. Red-bellied parrots are natural mimics, often learning to repeat phrases and gestures from a very young age without any training. Use this ability to teach your parrot what you want it to do, and then firmly establish the behavior with the techniques of positive reinforcement. While they can learn some vocal mimicry, poicephalus parrots are not known for being the best talkers; you may want to concentrate on whistling and acrobatic tricks.

    • 2

      Use positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is the best way to get an animal to do what you want. Never punish a parrot; they are not likely to understand what is going on and will just become stressed and even hostile. Instead, reward the parrot when it does what you want. Using small food treats is the best way to reward a parrot; praise and encouragement also are good, and can be combined with a training clicker to augment the reward with a distinctive sound. The parrot will associate the click with praise and treats, and so it will become an extra tool for reinforcing good behavior.

    • 3

      Train your parrot to do a complicated trick not all at once, but break it down into a series of smaller tasks. If you want to teach your red-bellied parrot to put a ring on top of a peg, a common parrot trick, don̵7;t expect the bird to get it all at once. First, teach the parrot that you want him to approach the ring when you put it down or offer it. Give him clicks or treats for getting close and eventually for touching it. Then do this until the parrot learns to pick it up. Once this is done, get your parrot to bring it over near the peg; when he moves in the right direction, respond with clicks and praise. Finally, teach him that when the ring is near the peg, you want him to put it on the peg. Once all the parts are understood, you can begin to chain them together, offering praise only when two, then three, and finally all steps of the trick are accomplished.