Training Your Bird

The younger a bird, th easier it will be to train. In addition, a single bird in a cage can be trained more easily than a bird with companions.

Some trainers find that clipping the feathers of one wing makes the task of training a bird easier. This can be true, since a bird that cannot fly will usually pay more attention to its trainer. Other trainers, however, find that wing clipping makes a bird so insecure that training even more difficult.
Before making a decision, keep in mind that a bird's flight is its only means of protection. A bird hopping around on the floor can easily be stepped on or fall prey to a pet cat. Also, a bird with a clipped wing is not able to exercise as much as it should.

If you do decide upon clipping, clip only one wing. Clip the outer primaries on the front of the wing at the outer ends. Do not clip away the whole quill. Each quill is hollow at the ends; if you clip the primary at its base, the bird will bleed profusely and have a great deal of pain. Clipping the outer feathers, however, is painless. If while clipping your bird you are afraid that is may nip your hand, wrap a large towel around it, exposing only the wing to be clipped.

Once you have tamed your bird so that is its not afraid of perching on your finger inside the cage , you should have no difficulty training it to perch on your finger outside its cage.

When it is finger-trained, try teaching it to jump from the floor to your finger.Keep repeating the words "hop" and "sit" until it hops onto your finger and sits quietly. Each time your bird succeeds in following your command, praise it. You can also offer it a few seeds. Food is an excellent reward help in training.