Keeping a bird as a pet can be interesting and rewarding, especially if your bird is from the parrot family that can live for many years. These birds can be easily tamed and trained to perform tricks or to talk and sing with amazing clarity. A tamed pet parrot can be your life-long companion and keep you company. Many pet parrot owners find joy training their birds to talk, and unlike your dog or cat, it can be very satisfying when your bird wishes you 'good morning'.
But before you try to train your bird to talk, it is necessary to win its confidence first. This would be having your bird to get used to your presence and the presence of the all the people living with you in the house. It would be easier to tame a bird if it is two to six months old. Anything older than that would require a lot of patience on your part. Full-grown parrots can bite hard and injure you if you are not careful. Try not to make sudden moves that surprises your bird or it will defend itself through natural instincts.
Pet your bird by gently scratching its head for it to get used to you. Offer food from the other hand, such as nuts, celery, corn, raisin, and grapes. You should also offer your bird milk or fruit juice from a small cup. Don't give your bird leftovers from your lunch or dinner, or junk food like burger meat, hotdog or high calorie cakes.
Use hunger as leverage when taming your bird. This method is widely used in bird parks around the world. When your bird has not been fed for a couple of hours, place the food on a dish near you and led the bird come to you for feeding. The bird would feel nervous at first, but once it gets used to this, it would be natural for the bird to come to you with confidence
If your bird is quite wild when you first purchased it, you could place the cage next to you when you go about doing your personal things such as reading, watching tv or writing. It would just be a matter of time before your bird get used to having your presence around. If your bird is big, you might want to rough around with it such as scratching its head and back. Protect yourself with gloves or a towel at first until it eventually recognises you as its master. Soon your bird will expect this kind of attention from people it is familiar with.
You would need to do a complete examination of your bird at least once a month and look out for abnormalities such as ingrown feather or toenails or a beak that needs trimming. Look out also for possible liver trouble in the form of swollen or dark abdomen. Wash the legs with warm water to get rid of encrusted droppings and apply Vaseline to soften the scales and kill scale lice.
With patience, you will have a great companion that keeps you company for years to come.
Azmi Adnan is a writer and a bird enthusiast. Visit his website at http://www.power-to-live.com/parrot.html and learn more about developing a life-long relationship with your birds.
