How to Train an Eclectus Parrot

Eclectus parrots love to watch and even participate in activity. These birds flourish in a room where the owner's family does a lot of visiting. They can live to be many decades old, so they require lots of attention for a long time. They can be trained just like any other parrot and knowing how best to accommodate them will lead to a happy relationship between parrot and owner.

Things You'll Need

  • Eclectus parrot
  • Roomy cage
  • Chew toys and branches
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Talk to your bird all the time. These parrots love interaction and are very animated, reports Avian Web. They also love to participate in daily activities. Talk to your bird in the morning and before retiring and let it sit on your shoulder while you're doing dishes or watching television. Your Eclectus parrot will love the routine this provides and it will better bond with you.

    • 2

      Train your parrot to use its beak properly. When your parrot begins to bite, move your hand away from it and ignore the behavior. Go back to what you were doing before your bird bit you and it will forget biting because you didn't reinforce the behavior. Slapping or yelling at your bird is not wise, because your strong reaction reinforces the biting behavior.

    • 3

      Give your bird a chance to talk back. Teaching your parrot to talk is not complicated. Repeating one word or phrase over and over is all you need to do to teach your Eclectus to talk. Say the word or phrase first thing in the morning and the last thing at night and many times in between.

    • 4

      Give your bird a roomy, uncluttered cage. Eclectus parrots love to climb, according to Avian Web, and they must have room to play and climb without bumping things in their cages. They also need room to flap their wings. Don't clutter the cage with so many toys that the bird has trouble turning around. Keep your parrot in familiar surroundings. Eclectus parrots tend to freeze up when they are in new or unfamiliar situations. This is common and the best way to keep your bird from trauma is to keep it in the same area of the house most of the time.

    • 5

      Keep your parrot away from stress. When Ecluctus parrots get nervous or stressed out, they pluck their feathers. The causes of stress range from a bossy mate to cold temperatures to being placed in high traffic areas of the house. If you cannot remove the cause of stress, make sure your bird has plenty of chew toys and branches to nibble on at all times.