How to Train an Amazon Parrot

Amazon parrots adapt quickly to their owners, are easy to tame, and have a great vocabulary. They learn new words and sounds rapidly, and are easy to train. If you want a friendly bird that bonds easily to it's human; a single bird is best. Amazons have an inseparable bond to each other. Amazons will ignore their human companion after a second bird enters the home.

Things You'll Need

  • Favorite treats, pick a variety
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Instructions

    • 1

      Start out by being consistent from the very beginning when training your Amazon. Consistency is by far the most important part of correcting behavior. Be calm. Do not yell when your Amazon does something you do not want it to do. Screaming, yelling, or reacting in any other way than talking in a calm yet commanding voice will only increase the birds desire to repeat the negative action.

    • 2

      Teach the "step up" and "step down" commands as soon as your Amazon is strong enough to step up. This typically occurs in baby birds after they are weaned from formula. You must physically show your bird how to step up on your finger multiple times before the bird will start to step up. Typically in young birds this can be learned in a series of daily training.

    • 3

      Reinforce positive behavior to get rid of a negative. To stop the unwanted behavior, you must correct it immediately. From a behaviorists point of view, biting back, hitting, pinching, withdrawal of food or any other punishment, can in many birds, cause an intense excitement that increases the negative behavior. To stop the behavior, simply ignore it. It may take three or four times before your bird realizes that it's not a game and it's no longer funny. The bird get's bored. The bird stops.

    • 4

      Provide your Amazon with treats for good behavior. If, for example, your bird has been learning a new word, and suddenly he says the word; you immediately provide a treat. This does not have to be a food treat. It can be a head rub or a good preening, whatever you prefer. Good food treats consist of healthy, safe bird foods only.