You can find out how to teach your birds to wave, turn around, and shake hands at
http://www.parrottricktraining.com/article.htm and find out how to teach your bird play basketball, stack cups, and put rings on pegs at
http://www.parrottricktraining.com/article2.htm where there's lots of tricks. It is meant for [u]all sized birds[/u] and species. Kiki learnt these tricks fairly soon but don't feel discouraged if your birds don't as our cockatiel did not have much success however with much training, he learnt it. Remember when training your birds these tricks you need to train them in a NEUTRAL room. A neutral room is somewhere away from other family members, away from other pets, away from the cage, a playstand, any mirrors, or any place your birds ussually sits and calls his/her territory. This is the most important factor!!! Nextly, you need at least a T-Perch which consists of a dowel (perch) a pole (going down to the place where you set the perch) and a plank which is sturdy so that the T-Perch won't fall over with your bird. A good site to find homemade toy ideas for T-Perches is
http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/ideas.htm where there's not only toys, but swings, stands, perches, food recipes, and lots more. Be sure to be careful however because there is dangerous data on the net sometimes. I have not found any of that site's information dangerous yet allthough I haven't used much of the ideas. Your birds are sure to succeed at these simple tricks.
Kiki's newest trick is to lay down on her back for me and i've taken a few snapshots of her doing this with my digital camera so i'll be adding them up here fairly soon.
[u]How I taught Kiki to lay down on her back for me:[/u]
This is actually fairly simple. Your bird, however, needs to know you for about a month at the least. This is just to make sure he/she won't immediately form a disbond with you when you try this. He/she may be a bit cranky about the way you'll handle him/her to get them to do this trick but nontheless it will soon pay off. If your bird gets to know this trick he/she will definitely be much happier in this human flock. Physical contact is for us humans a natural thing, but for birds ussually the only time a female will be touched physically is when the male mates her, and the male will likely never be touched physically. I find that many IRN and other parrot owner say their bird do not like being touched. A bird that can't be touched isn't tame at all. Follow these steps to getting your bird [b]COMPLETELY TAME[/b]!!!!!! If your bird shows quicker progress than a week's time and looks ready to go onto the next step, you may try handling it this way but remember, go along the bird's pace and don't rush it, that'll ruin everything. Also, the most important thing is, you MUST do these steps and IGNORE THE BITES!!! Or else, your bird isn't going to get anywhere at all. Trust me!
[u]For the 1st week:[/u] You should start patting your bird on his/her back gently and when he/she tries lunging, don't shrug away even if your bird makes mad noises which is very likely to happen. If you persistently do this as the 1st step, you are well on your way to accomplishing your task. Keep doing this all through the week.
[u]For the 2nd week:[/u] You should start hugging your bird against your body no matter what behavior in return you recieve. Your bird may attempt biting you but remember this is an Indian Ringneck we are trying to hand tame, not a grey, amazon, macaw, cocky, etc. IRNs are small birds and therefore are not capable of inflicting a serious bite. Hug your bird constantly, trust me, it works. Keep doing this all through the week.
[u]For the 3rd week:[/u] You should start perching your bird onto your finger and turning him/her upside down, but don't lay him/her down on your hand just yet, allthough it might seem tempting as those little fluffy feathers always are! Just tip your bird upside down for about 5seconds and then put him/her back upright. Just that for now. Keep doing this all through the week.
[u]For the 4th week:[/u] You should do the same as in the 3rd week but now you should take it one step further. Tip your bird gently and slowly upside down but now, put your hand under his/her back so that the bird gently lays down in the palm of your hand. Then keep the bird there for a few seconds and take a few snapshots (photos) if you like. Keep doing this all through the week.
[u]For the 5th week:[/u] Your bird should be comfortable with all 4 steps. You must just keep repeating this all week long but remember urgently, if your bird bites or protests, don't bother anything even if he/she looks sad or scared. Your bird is trying to get away but if you persist your bird will find out that being handled isn't that bad at all.
Also, this is VERY important. The more you handle your bird, the tamer he/she will become allthough it takes time. Spend a day with your bird on your shoulder ALL THE TIME and you'll see the difference the next day, and the next in your parrot's tameness. Trust me!
