Pet Parrots

The Most Popular Parrot Species Chosen For Pet Parrots

As with most animals, the different parrot types have certain characteristics but overall, the most popular parrot species in the larger types that are used for pet parrots are chosen because of their talking abilities.

Parrots make wonderful house pets and if you want a pet that will entertain then a parrot is the answer. They have so many hilarious characteristics and if they are not happy with something they will soon let you know! Parrots are very vocal when it comes to their own needs and comfort. Get several hungry parrots feeding from a food bowl and you will soon know what I mean!

The four most popular larger pet parrot species.

1. African Grey - with lovely shades of grey in its feathers this is a parrot that grows to about 14 inches. This parrot also has either maroon or bright red tail feathers and a touch of the same color at the bend of the wing.

2. Amazon parrot - these parrots come in several colors and are a very loyal parrot. Very popular among them in the parrot owner's world is the yellow headed Amazon parrot

3. Cockatoos - these are a magnificent looking bird, a bird with an attitude! But what fun they are. They are very interactive with their owners, but if upset they can be really destructive.

4. Macaws - what a stunning looking species and those colors! They are just so bright and beautiful. When studying the macaws you are in aw of how something can be created with so much beauty and detail.

These parrots all have excellent talking abilities (though some won't talk unfortunately) and will quite readily learn tricks to entertain. They are active parrots and need to have toys around them so that they can occupy themselves when no-one is around.

It is no mystery that the budgerigar owner would contend that it is one of the most popular species, and in the smaller parrots it probably is, the the four mentioned above are the four top overall contenders.

One feature of the parrot as a pet is that they do groom themselves quite well. They will preen their feathers every day, keeping them shiny, clean and laying flat. All they require from the owner in the way of grooming is a water spray every day or two and the odd trim of the nails. Not much time involved there, is there?

But, that's the upside. The downside is that they will require more time spent on their living apartment. Most do like their cages, but they are not that house proud. Parrots will chew things up and throw them around with quiet (well, sometimes) abandon and expect the owner to clean up their mess. Didn't I say they had attitude!

Have you ever seen a parrot eat from a seed tray? Once their favorite seeds have been husked they will sweep their broad beak through the tray and scatter seeds far and wide in the hope of finding more of their favorite morsel down below. The mess they can make in just a few minutes will make you shake your head.

A very good way to see more about the different types of parrots is to visit a parrot forum where parrot owners discuss the various parrot types and this will give you an insight as to what parrot you may like, and let me tell you, some of the stories are hilarious. Parrots most definitely take their place in the hierarchy of the family unit.

Training Pet Parrots at Home

Training Pet Parrots at Home

Training pet parrots has a lot of benefits, like teaching some simple commands to handle your parrot easier and strengthening the bond with your parrot. It is not only the entertainment when a parrot can talk and do tricks. Of course the success of training parrots process means lots of praise and attention together with favorite treats.

Keep it Positive

It is very important for the success. There are three principles for parrot training:

1. If your parrot does something well--> give him a reward
2. If he does something unwell--> ignore it
3. Never punish your parrot

In training parrots process your goal is simple- if your parrot behaves the proper way, give him a reward like a favorite food treat or a play session and ignore for bad things. Also even a simple praise or a treasured toy are good motivation for some birds. Do not forget to ignore the bird if the parrot is doing something undesirable. A negative reaction is also attention so if your parrot desires your attention he will accept it as a reward. He may think that negative attention is better than no attention. Ignoring is much better decision and the undesirable behavior will stop soon. This bellow is what your approach training has to be in order to keep the process positive:

• Train your bird only when you feel relaxed because the training takes patience!
• Choose a time when your bird is attentive and not distracted by preening, eating, or household activities.
• Short, frequent training sessions like a few minutes at a time divided into several times a day are more effective.
• Pick a particularly favorite reward
• When your bird does something well, don't give a treat every time otherwise your bird will do it if you have a treat handy.
• End every session on a positive way like giving a treat for a good try or a successful attempt, and move on to something else.
• Training sessions should be funny for your bird.

Very Basic Training Parrots: Step Up and Step Down

Choose one or two things to teach your parrot. They could be training your parrot to step up onto your wrist or finger or even a perch which you are holding in your hand on command, and then he has to step back off again. These are easy but important skills to teach. Stepping up on command is generally easy to train as it is a natural movement for a bird (stepping down is a bit more difficult to teach).

If you teach your bird to step up and step down on command it will make handling much easier and you will be able to set some boundaries for your bird. Then you can return the bird back to its play-gym or cage or remove him easily from areas of home that are not bird-proofed. Even if you have a baby bird to start early with the step up and step down commands is still a good idea. It allows you to give lots of positive reinforcement and it is a good foundation for training your parrots into more skills to in the future.