You're thinking about buying a cockatoo. What would you need to know to train your cockatoo?
You're thinking about buying a cockatoo. Such birds are more colorful than other parrots. With their desire to perform, their outspread wings, head bobbing, dancing, and loud calls they can be a sight to see. They can also be trained to talk.
It would not hurt to know more about training a bird before buying one, however, as well as to know about a cockatoo's personality. To know the facts will help you decide whether or not you want to decide to buy a cockatoo and be prepared for your bird's personality when training it. It is true that with repeated training, a cockatoo can be trained to repeat certain words or sounds. That is not a cockatoo's strength, however.
There are many websites with helpful information about the cockatoo.
Before a cockatoo is tamed and trained, its wings should be clipped by an experienced bird handler or veterinarian familiar with the procedure. Not all veterinarians are familiar with clipping a cockatoo's wings, and an inexperienced person may do more harm than good. For example, if the wings are clipped too much, the bird may actually fall and be injured when moving. It may be possible to train a cockatoo without clipping its wings first, but experts agree it will be easier to obtain the desired results if the bird's wings are clipped first.
The first step in training a cockatoo, before teaching it to talk or do tricks, is to stick train it. Some birds learn the lesson easily and will learn to jump on the stick almost the first time. Others may require hours of teaching before you obtain the desired result. Two keys to training a cockatoo are to teach for hours, if necessary each day, but only a few minutes at a time, and to never get angry and hit the bird""even if it bites you. The bird will not consider you his friend if you do.
Start the training by putting the stick in front of the bird's breast. Try to coax your cockatoo onto the stick. Use a padded floor for training. If the bird refuses to jump on or pushes the stick away, touch the stick gently. Don't be impatient.
Keep the stick low to the floor. A bird may jump from the stick to your arm. To discourage this, keep the stick perpendicular to the floor, with your elbow bent.
After a couple of lessons, then it is okay to let the bird climb unto your shoulder. If you are patient and work seriously and deliberately with your bird, it may not bite you. The birds are not aggressive creatures by nature, but they do get anxious, and that might be what might cause them to bite you. Don't excite or frighten your bird.
Some cockatoos may be difficult. They may refuse the stick. Some birds may run to a corner of your training area. Indeed it may take hours, but if you are patient, you will get the desired result from your cockatoo. Daily lessons are the key. Maybe you will be lucky and have a cockatoo that learns his lesson the first time. That does happen.
For your second lesson, train your cockatoo to sit on his bird stand. Set your stick and work more with that than your arm. If the bird tries to bite you, yell, "No!" Don't hit the bird. You may have to teach the bird many times a day, for a short time each.
When the bird is used to the stick stand, move your arm slowly. If your bird jumps to the floor, go back to the training area. It might help to soothe your bird by stroking the crest of its feathers and touching its wing feathers. Cockatoos love that treatment.
If you have a cockatoo that has been someone else's pet first or likes to scream, you may have a harder job in training it. All cockatoos like to make noise at the start of each day. Training might be even harder if your cockatoo was owned by someone of the opposite sex. Be patient with your pet. Again, don't hit it if it bites, or punish it in other ways. Teaching it to eat from your hands may take hours. The bird will come around. Feed it at the same time each day. Use the same words when you are stick training it, or teaching it anything else.
Some cockatoos have tempers and scream for attention. They may be jealous of other family members. The may bite them or tear up your furniture. To train them to not have such behavior, don't give a misbehaving bird a toy or reward it for its bad behavior. Ignore your misbehaving bird. Cover its cage for three minutes. If it is quiet, now pay attention to it. Covering the cage might not work, however. The bird may pull the covering off.
If your bird is jealous of other family members, don't let it be around your children without your supervision. You can train it to be a little more social by having other family members feed the bird and give it water""without your presence.
To train your bird to not eat the furniture, give it chewing material.
The bird should also receive cage training. It may take awhile before you are able to approach the bird's cage without it jumping off its perch to an opposite corner. Use slow, gentle movements when approaching. Talk with soothing words. Eventually the bird will not be afraid of you.
You can hand train your bird so it will feel comfortable with your hand and let you carry it around. Offer your pet treats, until it feels comfortable with your hands.
Don't reach into the bird's cage until the bird has become comfortable with your offering it treats from your hands. Slowly you will be able to put your hand in the cage, and it will jump on the hand or let you pet it.
If the bird is a baby, it is often used to human attention. You may be able to handle it right away.
If you have done all this, you may now be ready for advanced training for your bird. If you live in the city, you must never allow the bird to fly freely. If, however, you live in a wide open area, where the bird could fly without ever leaving your property, such training might be possible.
The bird should know your boundaries. Place it every day outside on its stand. Place water beside your bird. The bird may not know you are there, but you must supervise it.
Each day at the same time take your cockatoo back into the house and feed it. Never place food outside on its stand.
As your bird's feathers grow back, they may have to be clipped again. Your bird may fly to a tall tree and refuse to come down. It may not come down at all""until it is hungry or thirsty.
It may take the bird a year to learn. Take the bird back inside in the afternoon, no matter how nice the weather.
You want to teach your bird to talk? Give your pet lessons daily. Again, it might be best to give many lessons each day, each totaling a few minutes only, but with the total time maybe taking hours. Go to a quiet room. Never teach the bird from a tape recorder, because it might then not speak in front of people. Repeat one and two syllable words over and over. Be patient! It may take time, but it will be worth it.
If you want to teach your pet tricks, the easiest way might be to use its own personality. Cockatoos love to display their wings and bob their heads. A cockatoo loves to perform! The bird may play learn to play tug-of-war, climb, or shake. A cockatoo may use toys and other objects to perform in various ways, including roller skating. If not given toys, a cockatoo may use its food dish or perch to "perform."
Watch your bird and observe it at play. Use its own antics to train your pet. Reward your pets when it does what you want and teach it to hear the appropriate command for the behavior. If you want to train a cockatoo, you must gain its trust. Gaining trust takes awhile. You must be consistent in your training methods.
There are some other things you should know about cockatoos. They are better kept in pairs, as they are social birds. They may or may not develop a friendly relationship with other pets, such as dogs or cats. Never leave a baby alone with a cockatoo, as the bird may get jealous and attack your child with its beak or claws, but the bird may or may not get along well with older children. The food and water dishes of cockatoos need to be cleaned daily.
A cockatoo could be a wonderful pet, if you should decide to buy one. There are issues concerning training and other matters that are best known before the purchase, however.
