Here is how to teach your Parrot to turn around.

We hope you’re enjoying our journey into trick training and having lots of fun.

This time our trick is Turn Around. It’s another fun trick to teach your Parrot and you can impress your friends with your birdie’s dancing twirls. There are two ways to teach this. If your Parrot knows how to target a stick, you can use that. Otherwise you can get them to follow a treat.

Breaking down the trick:

Objective: Teach your Parrot to turn 360 degrees.
You will need: Target stick (Option 1), Treats.

Option 1 (Target):

1) Hold the target by their side and say “Turn”
2) When they turn to touch it, say good or click
3) Reward

Repeat

Start increasing how far they have to go until they’ll follow the start stick all the way round.
Keep getting them to turn the 360 degrees until they’re confident doing this.
Reduce how much you move the stick for them to follow.

Eventually you can just wave your hand to the left or right and they will turn.

Option 2 (Lure):

1) Hold a treat to their side and say “Turn”
2) When they turn towards the treat, say good or click
3) Give them the treat

Repeat and slowly increase the amount they have to turn to reach the treat. Eventually increase it until they get to turning 360 degrees.

4) Once they’re use to following the treat, see if they will follow your hand (pretending you have the treat).

Once they’re good at turning you can start reducing how much you move your stick/hand until you make a smaller gesture

Stretch challenge

Can you get your Parrot to turn around with you standing a metre away? Can they do it three times in a row?

Trouble shooting:
My bird won’t follow the treat:
Switch the treat for something they really want.

Train together

Together we’re working towards learning 6 tricks. Remember to use the hashtag #northernparrotstrickacademy and tag @northernparrots to showcase how you’re getting on.