Abstract
Who wants to tame and train old parrots? I do, for several reasons. Parrots make good pets; they make great pets when they are tame and will interact with their master. "Old" breeders can have a whole new start in life. And, because I breed parrots (basically cockatiels) in my basement, I do not have much room for flight cages; therefore, when I split the sexes, I keep the cocks in my only large (by basement standards) flight and I keep the hens in smaller cages. I do this because I hand train the hens and, as such, I can let them get some controlled exercise outside of their small cages at least once each day. This, of course, not only keeps my hens in good physical shape, it lets me enjoy my birds fully. (By the way, the hens have no trouble switching roles between breeder and pet.) Anyway, to make a long enough story a bit shorter, there are many reasons why one may wish to teach old birds new tricks. I define "old" as: sexually mature (or just about) with at least a few good years left according to lifespan estimates; thus, again using a cockatiel example, my "old" bird experiences have ranged from individuals more than five years of age to those who only were a few months old.
"Hello." Snowy said this word a grand total of eight times and only once "talked" to a stranger, my nephew Garan, who approached the cockatiel' s cage with a "hi" and received the "hello" reply. Snowy first said her word on January 19, 1979, about a month after her training began. Her last "hello" was on February 11, 1979. To my knowledge, she has stayed with whistling and body language ever since. Thus, this great masterpiece is not about talking cockatiels. (Even though I once had a very talkative budgerigar, old mud mouth here certainly would not try to tell anyone about teaching anything, or anyone, how to talk or mimick.) As a sidelight, you may wonder how I remember dates (above) so well. I don't, but I keep good records on all my birds, pets and breeders, in order to develop timeframes for various behaviors (talking, molting, whatever), identify differences among the birdies (one hen always has a five egg clutch, another always lays four eggs, and so forth), and learn from my numerous mistakes or lucky achievements. With small numbers, these individual records are not a problem; if I had hundreds of birds (currently I have thirty), my non-breeding record keeping may have to slip to averages. However, I cannot over emphasize the importance of record keeping.
And, this article (and writer!) cannot address advanced training such as teaching your parrot to do the tricks that you enjoy on T.V. Instead, I refer you to: How to Train Your Pet Like a Television Star, by Ray Berwick (1977, Armstrong Publishing Company). It is an excellent and inexpensive book that includes topics on other animals such as dogs as well as birds. For some advanced training, the system outlined in the book has worked for me and should work for anyone interested in teaching their pets a variety of tricks.
Also, because the taming of young birds which hatch in your aviary is relatively simple (start them young with some handling, feeding, and head scratching), I will ignore the baby bird area. I will limit this manuscript to acquiring and taming a new, untamed parrot and to training an "old" friend, perhaps a retired breeder. To keep things simple, this article is written as if you just acquired your first parrot.
When you arrive home with your new critter and have provided the essential food, water, quiet cage location, grit, and whatever supplements please you, you and your avian wiz are ready to start the adjustment process in this one method (there are many others) of taming and training. Your new addition should have his cage away from direct sunlight and household noise - the phone, the cat, the kids. Training - or taming - should not begin until your parrot is eating regularly, usually in two or three days. If possible, attempt to clean his cage and provide clean food and water around the same time each day - most parrots are most active in the morning and during the late afternoon hours, but this can vary significantly by individual species and bird. The regular schedule of feeding, awakening and good night times may help the bird (and you!) to adjust rapidly and tame rather easily.
If possible, the taming room should be his regular room or area. Be sure that all windows and doors are closed before each training session begins.