Training

Gaining their trust

As with most animals, the key to successful training is to first gain their confidence and trust. It is never too early to start training your bird but it is important to remember that successful training takes a lot of patience and practice from both of you! If you have recently brought your bird home for the first time, allow a couple of days for it to settle down, then approach the cage quietly, repeating a two-word phrase such as 'pretty boy'. This helps your bird become familiar with you and it will soon feel comfortable in your company. Once your bird accepts these approaches, you can move onto something more advanced such as finger training.

Socialising

Under normal circumstances, if you pay a lot of attention to your bird, it will be content even if alone in the cage. However, if you or your family are out a lot and your bird gets left alone for long periods, it is only fair to provide another companion. If your decide to introduce another bird, it is worth noting that birds, like humans, need time to get to know one another, and there may be some squabbling amongst them at first. If this persists, you should separate the birds for a few days and then reintroduce them to each other. Sometimes a talking bird will stop talking when they are joined in the cage by a friend, although occasionally one bird will mimic the other, effectively teaching it how to speak.