Small Parrot Bird Trick Toys

Imagine little Parakeet, Cockatiel or Lovebird shooting hoops like a pro!  Or, bowling a strike?

Most bird trick toys are made for medium to  large parrots.   But, we’ve found a new source for petite and small bird trick toys.  Basketball, Bowling and Skeetball.  Gosh, your small pet bird just might make the Parrot Olympics cut!

Parrotlets, Parakeets, Cockatiels and Lovebirds can be trained to perform tricks just like their larger cousins.  Most people underestimate these tiny, little parrots since they are designated as “beginner” birds.  All that really means, is that small pet birds and parrots are not only better domesticated, they of a size that makes troublesome instinctual behaviors  much more tolerable!  Chatter, nipping and mess.

But, these little pet birds are still pretty darn smart.  Did you know that the American Parakeet is one of the best talking parrots around?  Or, that the loving Cockatiel is not only a cuddler, but a wonderful whistler and companion.  Whatever the species, birds and parrots survive best in a flock.   Pet parrots and birds see their guardians as their flock.  A well loved parrot that is properly trained using positive bird training techniques will come to crave performing tricks on command simply to entertain and bond with YOU.  No matter the size of the little fellow.

That is why we find these new bird trick toys so important.  Yes.  These bird trick toys are affordable.  But, more importantly, this new line of bird trick toys helps the pet bird guardian / owner to experience an unimaginable bond with their pet.  And, what more could you ask for a small $5.00 investment?

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• Planning
• Problem solving including using tools
• Comprehending questions and giving reliable answers

This ABC News segment on the passing of Alex the Parrot shows just how smart birds are.

According to Dr. Irene Peperberg , a world famous research associate in psychology,  parrots ”understand things like categories of color, material and shape, number concepts, and concepts of bigger and smaller, concepts of similarity and difference, and absence; things we once thought that a bird could not comprehend, these parrots are showing us it’s possible.”  National Science Foundation, May 2, 2011.

In the movie Life with Alex : A Memoir, Dr. Irene Pepperberg and her team at Harvard and Brandeis Universities shows the world how Alex the African Grey Parrot has learned colors, shapes, and what matter items are made of.

African Grey Parrot Drives a Bird Buggy

Another fascinating example of parrot intelligence is “Pepper” the African Grey Parrot that is learning to drive a parrot sized Bird Buggy! Pepper, an intelligent parrot with separation anxiety had beset his owner, Andrew Gray, with ear splitting brash screeches any time he was left alone. Andrew, an engineering graduate student at the University of Florida responded to his parrots needs by developing the Bird Buggy. This little gadget is a joystick operated bird buggy that Pepper can navigate about the house in search of his Pal.
Wild birds are also known to be intelligent. Researchers at the University of Vienna and Oxford have conducted trailblazing research on the problem-solving abilities of New Caledonian Crows and Kea’s by presenting birds with an acrylic “puzzle box “ that contains food. In video footage, these two species show how they use a variety of tools and problem-solving strategies to “forage” for food. The researchers are publishing two new studies — one in cooperation with members of the Behavioral Ecology Research Group in Oxford — in the scientific journals PLoS ONE and Biology Letters
So, what does this have to do with you? Just like a young child with nothing to do, your parrot will find a way to stimulate its mind and solve its loneliness, possibly in ways that are problematic. Under-stimulated parrots tend to engage in attention getting behavior or anxiety related behaviors such as screaming and feather picking. Parrots quickly learn that negative attention is better than minimal attention and boredom. One of the fastest ways to encourage problem behaviors in our parrots is to provide attention for attention getting behaviors. We often do this unwittingly.
You can provide mental stimulation for our parrots with foraging bird toys, bird puzzles and teaching your birds tricks with specialized bird props.
Best selling foraging bird toys
Best selling bird puzzles

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Bird Training Video’s and DVD’s recommend Clicker Training for Birds

Bird Training DVD’s not only help you discover the intelligence of birds, but they provide several functions for you, a pet parent, too like:

• Improved human, parrot relationship simply with quality time
• Your parrot learns to want to please you
• You learn to understand and appreciate your parrot
• Parrot enrichment and parrot self esteem reduce undesirable behaviors
• Improved communication with your bird

Two bird training DVD series that capitalize on the learning style and intelligence of birds are the Fantastic Parrot Training DVD Set  and Good Bird, Inc. series.  These entertaining and informative bird training specialists can help you learn how to train a pet bird.  The Fantastic Parrot Training DVD series by Tani Robar.  While a little dated, in terms of photography, Tani Robar is right on about starting out simple and building upon success.  This 3 video series uses scientifically proven bird training methods that are positive and relationship building in nature.  Tani clearly explains the specific skills that each bird trick including its intended to purpose in terms of  building  upon your parrots thinking skill level.  Using a series of fun, easy to teach bird tricks you’ll discover the intelligence of birds while bonding with your parrot.  Fantastic Parrot Training DVD’s are divided into increasingly complex thinking skills:

Volume 2: Beginning Bird Tricks teaches your parrot (and you) how to learn.  It’s like the preschool of bird training reinforces attention, thus enabling your bird to learn more complex bird tricks.

Volume 3:  Intermediate Bird Tricks teaches your bird how to take a learning risk by performing multi-step bird tricks or even bird tricks that require some preliminary thinking skills

Volume 4: Advanced Bird Tricks helps you and your bird discover learning for fun!

A second highly acclaimed bird training DVD series are Good Bird Training DVD’s have world wide appeal because they are so user friendly.  Designed for the layman bird trainer, Barbara Heidenreich  literally walks you through bird training with a strong slant in terms of helping you capitalize on the intelligence of birds from how to help your very social, yet exotic pet integrate within a household and stay healthy and safe!  You’ll learn important bonding skills, how to read your birds body language so that you can actually communicate with it and life-saving bird training techniques to make life with your parrot easier.  In the mean time, you’ll develop a mutually satisfying deep bond with your pet bird that reduces innate and undesirable behaviors and helps you properly care for your parrot.

With all of these benefits, bird training with trick toys makes for a worthwhile investment!  Bird trick toys are expensive but keep in mind that they are also reusable, providing bonding and enriching experiences over time.  Your bird will appreciate the positive, self-esteem rewarding attention of performing a trick or even “re-thinking” a particular trick over and over again.

Read more about the intelligence of birds by discovering professionally designed bird trick toys and bird puzzle toys

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Virtually any rehomed parrot can be trained to be a great addition to the family.

Do Hormones Contribute to Rehoming Parrots?

Parrots, like any pet, will mature and develop hormonal or seasonal behaviors.  Hormonal parrots strut, flat back and become more temperamental.  They are more territorial than usual, too, making the parrot difficult to handle.  Do hormones contribute to rehoming parrots or placing them for adoption?

Most women can attest that hormones play havoc with moods.  Parrots, thankfully, experience hormonal behavior only once or possibly twice a year.  The hormonal behavior lasts several weeks at a time and are associated with the seasonality of daylight.  It is easy to forget during difficult weeks that the rest of the year a parrot is not hormonal.  Usually a parrot behaves according to the training and relationship it has established with it’s family.

With several pet birds, I experience parrot hormonal behavior every year.  The only time I’ve ever been bitten has been during seasonal hormonal behavior.  Smokey, my Congo African Grey bites quickly and what seems to be less predictably.  He breaks the skin when he bites.  Peachy, my Moluccan Cockatoo bites less than once a year when he is hormonal and his bites leave a bruise.  Learning how to read my parrots body language has been incredibly helpful.  As an inexperienced” parrot newby,” I was bit several times a year.  Now, I’m only bit once or twice a year total between my 7 parrots!

The screaming, destruction and biting that hormonal parrots engage in may result in rehoming parrots.  These behaviors are really irritating.  You may not be able to change your hormonal parrots agitation but you can manage it.  Learn to read hormonal behavior and train your bird to be gentle the rest of the year.

How do you know your bird is hormonal?

• Your bird tries to regurgitate as a sign of love.
• Your bird pants while crouching with a lowered head and wings dropped.
• Your bird shreds soft materials like paper and leafy bird toys in its drive to make a nest.
• You find your bird seeking out dark, confined spaces as though it were wanting to nest.
• Your bird lashes out realizing that you are not a “real” mate.”
• Your bird rubs it vent in effort to relieve stress of sexual desire.

If your bird is displaying these behaviors in late winter or early spring and it is of age, you can bet that it is hormonal.  Seasonal hormones are temporary and not a reason for rehoming parrots.   If you are experiencing this situation and fearful of your bird,  I suggest that you learn to read parrot body language and initiate bird training as soon as possible.

But, how about those parrots that have already been placed in a shelter?  These birds are perfectly capable of integrating into a home where they are loved.  Respectable parrot shelters train you on how to bond with a parrot.  Just because a parrot has been relinquished doesn’t mean it will be a temperamental or aggressive pet.  On the contrary!  Rehoming is usually the human at fault.  Parrot adoptions from a shelter are a successful match for both you and the parrot in need of a forever home.

• Read this article to learn more about training a rehomed parrot.  Adopt an older bird that needs to be rehomed
• Prepare for annual hormonal behavior by learning parrot body language and eliminating sexually stimulation as much as possible.
• Train your bird with proven bird training techniques to build trust when it is hormonal.

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• Planning
• Problem solving
• Comprehending questions and giving reliable  answers

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Tk0-85ZSE]Dr. Irene Peperberg , a world famous animal behaviorist who holds faculty positions at Harvard University and Brandeis University   notes that parrots ”understand things like categories of color, material and shape, number concepts, and concepts of bigger and smaller, concepts of similarity and difference, and absence; things we once thought that a bird could not comprehend, these parrots are showing us it’s possible,” says Pepperberg in an article published by the National Science Foundation.  In the move Life with Alex : A Memoir,  Dr. Irene Pepperberg and her team at  Harvard and Brandeis Universities shows the world how Alex the African Grey Parrot has learned colors, shapes, textures as well as counting.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEqFV_3tUX8]Another fascinating example of parrot intelligence is “Pepper” the African Grey Parrot that is learning to drive a parrot sized Bird Buggy!  Pepper, an intelligent parrot with separation anxiety had beset his owner, Andrew Gray, with ear splitting brash  screeches any time he was left alone.  Andrew, an engineering graduate student at the University of Florida responded to his parrots needs by developing the Bird Buggy.  This little gadget is a joystick operated bird buggy that Pepper can navigate about the house in search of his Pal.

Wild birds are also known to be intelligent.  Researchers at the University of Vienna and Oxford have conducted trailblazing research on the problem-solving abilities of New Caledonian Crows and Kea’s by presenting birds with an acrylic “puzzle box “ that contains food.  In video footage, these two species show how they use a variety of tools and problem-solving strategies to “forage” for food.  The researchers are publishing two new studies — one in cooperation with members of the Behavioral Ecology Research Group in Oxford — in the scientific journals PLoS ONE and Biology Letters

So, what does this have to do with you?  Just like a young child with nothing to do, your parrot will find a way to stimulate its mind and solve its loneliness, possibly in ways that are problematic.  Under-stimulated parrots tend to engage in attention getting behavior or anxiety related behaviors such as screaming and feather picking.  Parrots quickly learn that negative attention is better than minimal attention and boredom.  One of the fastest ways to encourage problem behaviors in our parrots is to provide attention for attention getting behaviors.  We often do this unwittingly.

Provide mental stimulation  and learn about the intelligence of birds first hand with foraging bird toys, bird puzzles and teaching your birds tricks.  We’ll address foraging bird toys and bird puzzles in this post and bird tricks in a subsequent posts.

REFERENCES:

Alice Auersperg, Auguste von Bayern, Gyula K. Gajdon, Ludwig Huber, Alex Kacelnik. Flexibility in problem solving and tool use of kea and New Caledonian crows in a Multi Access Box paradigm. PLoS ONE, June 8, 2011 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020231

Irene Pepperberg Article University of Chattanooga Animal behaviorist Irene Pepperberg to present parrot research posted March 23, 2012.

BirdBuggy - https://sites.google.com/site/birdbuggy109/home

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   Expert tips for training your parrot to talk!

   Some of the best talking parrots are African Grey Parrots, Amazon Parrots, Eclectus Parrots, Indian Ring Necks, Quaker Parrots, some Macaw’s and American Parakeets!

2. Birds learn words that they hear in heightened states of emotion, so say “Gobble, gobble” in a very excited voice, much like a turkey actually gobbles.
3. Once you have your parrots attention, combine saying “Gobble, Gobble with using a clicker and a favorite treat.
4. The trick to teaching your parrot to say any phrase is to repeat it and make it fun for him.  Gain your parrots interest and curiosity,and he’ll be saying fun phrases rather quickly.
5. Click Here to get the Train Your Parrot to Talk DVD for expert tips. Train Your Parrot To Talk

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Genetics Could Explain Parrots Ability To Talk (via redOrbit)

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online Scientists say they have put together a more complete string of genetic letters that may control how well parrots learn to imitate their owners and other noises. Researchers unraveled the certain regions of the parrots’ genome using a new technology…

Related articles

• Why Do Parrots Imitate Humans? (slate.com)
• Wild Parrots Learn to Swear- Read, listen and learn a little English! (tinytexts.wordpress.com)
• Three cool animals that start with ‘T’ (hadnoclue.com)

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Smokey Eating Treats When Learning Tricks

Parrots are very smart and can be taught a huge variety of bird tricks. Well socialized parrots enjoy bird training sessions and find the interaction, itself, to be a “reward.” Some birds need more coaxing to engage or trust in bird training sessions. Bird training treats are an proven way to coax reluctant birds, accelerate the learning process and increase positive behavior.

Insure Bird Treats are Viewed As “Special”
Choose a bird treat that your bird has a passion for and use it exclusively for bird training. Popular bird treats are nuts and fruits, however, some birds love a particular seed.  Once you discover what treat your bird is passionate about, keep it “special” by storing it in a special container and in an area that you’ve designated as your Bird Training Area.  Only show it to your bird during bird training sessions. Your goal is to insure that your bird becomes passionate about bird training. The bird treats container will serve as a visual reminder of positive, fun training.  Seeing the bird treat container will create a sense of eager enthusiasm and attention.

LEARN MORE!

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Parrot Feather Sweater Price Reduction!

Just in time for Fall and Winter weather, BirdSupplies.com has reduced the price on several sizes of Parrot Feather Sweaters for Parrots.

Not only cute as all get out, Parrot Feather Sweaters keep your pet bird warm AND deter feather plucking behavior.

Some of our customers who have feather plucking parrots report that they sew funky wood or nylon buttons, thin leather strips or small, preen friendly bird toys on to the chest part of the Parrot Feather Sweater.  They then transfer these fun to preen items onto a sock that hangs in the cage.  But, there is an added surprise for that feather plucker!  Yeah, baby!  Some coveted bird treats are sewn inside the sock.  “Polly Feather Plucker” learns to look away from itself to forage for fun stuff and bird treats.

So, how can you successfully use this technique with your pet bird?

1. Purchase 3-6 Feather Sweaters or Bird Hoodies in assorted colors.
2. Sew a few of your parrots favorite “mouthing or nibbler” items onto the area that covers the spot your bird is feather plucking.  Key being bird safe textures that your parrot likes.  This process may require a bit of experimentation to find out what your parrot likes.
3. Once your parrot has become accustomed to picking at the nibbler items on the Feather Sweater or Bird Hoodie as opposed to its own feathers, get some white tube socks.  Stuff one with 2-3 of your parrots favorite treats.  Sew the same nibbler items on the outside of the sock.  Hang the sock in the bird cage.  Observe play for safety issues.  At this point, your parrot should be wearing a Feather Sweater that is NOT embellished with chewies and nibble toys.
4. As you notice your parrot spending more time on the sock vs. its own body, continue to provide new and interesting items to enrich and enhance foraging behaviors both inside and outside the sock.  If your parrot is continuing to nibble on the Feather Sweater, you may wish to spray the chest area of the feather sweater with Bitter Apple.  Or, consider some homeopathic parrot anxiety medications such as AviCalm.

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One of my latest reads, ALEX & ME, was over-whelming in terms of my enthusiasm for animal parrot research but it is  also a love story.  I imagine that if you love parrots, you’ve heard of Alex, the African Grey Parrot.  Dr. Pepperburg has painstakingly devoted her entire life to show the world that animals are more intelligent than anyone has EVER imagined. (DONATE HERE)

Dr. Pepperburg’s research is part of a growing mound of evidence that parrots and many other wildlife are intelligent and cognitive creatures with the ability to communicate.

What color?

So, we challenge you to read ALEX & ME.  You’ll walk away with a deeper appreciation of your parrots cognitive abilities and a desire to communicate more intelligently with your pet.  Check out the bird training props at Chirp n Squawk Bird Supplies, like The Ring Teacher.

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