Cockatiel Training

Things to Teach Your Cockatiel

As any new pet owner can tell you, training your new animal friend can be a difficult task to accomplish. While it is never easy to teach a pet to do tricks or to potty train them, doing these things will make your life easier in the long run. The things you have to teach your new pet will all depend on what kind of animal it is. Cats will instinctively use a litter box, but will need to be taught what they can scratch at and what not to scratch. Cockatiel training is no different, as you can teach them commands based on things they do naturally anyways.

You can teach your cockatiel to do any number of things, even things like singing or repeating words, but the easiest tricks to do when cockatiel training are things they do naturally. When you see your bird doing something like bobbing its head up and down, say a command like “up down, up down” and repeat it several times while your bird is doing the motion. With time, they will remember the command and the action that goes with it. It is important to remember to always use the same exact command so that your cockatiel doesn’t get confused. Like training any other animal, repetition is the key.

If you see your cockatiel do something like spread its wings out, tell it “pretty wings!” or something similar. You can come up with a simple command for any number of things like them climbing their cage, playing with toys, swinging, tapping their food or water bowl, when it starts eating or drinking or anything other action it does on a consistent basis. Just remember the word combination you used the first time and don’t change. This will make cockatiel training much easier for you.

The one trick everyone wants to start with when cockatiel training is to teach their bird to sing or talk. While this is certainly possible, remember that not all cockatiels are able to talk or sing. With male cockatiels, they are more likely than females to learn to repeat words that they hear. Some females can learn to talk or sing too, but it is rarer for them to do so. Males are able to vocalize as it a sign of courtship and a more natural occurrence in males due to their hormones and testosterone. As males get older, the amount of testosterone they have will drop, meaning they will be less likely to use their voice.