When most people hear the term “training lovebirds“, they probably think of getting rid of unwanted behavior. And while this is a great goal, as it will help improve the relationship and bond you have with your lovebird, lovebird training can consist of far more than the usual, stop parrot biting, stop chewing or learn how to NOT poop on you lessons. It can actually be surprising to most that not only can a lot of parrots learn to talk, but they can learn to respond to verbal commands to do just about anything, similar to training a dog.

How to Train a Lovebird To Flip or Spin

So how do you train a lovebird to do a trick? It is easier than you think, but will take a lot of love and persistent work. To begin, you will want to observe your bird and see if there is anything in particular that they already do. When you notice something that could be turned into a trick, you will want to reinforce that behavior using verbal commands and praising with love and treats when they comply. By doing this over and over again, your lovebird will make the connection and pretty soon do the things you ask of him.

To perform a flip or to lie flat on his back in your palm, start small. Begin tilting the bird slightly and immediately responding with praise when they go over a bit. Start increasing the angle each time and praise more and more. Pretty soon, they will feel comfortable with your touch and will be able to lie flat in your palm on their back. Praise goes a LONG way, with any animal. So freely give them love and praise when they do something you want and they will respond with that kind of behavior.

These kinds of techniques will also work when you are trying to eliminate a bad behavior, like lovebird biting. You have to slowly gain your bird’s trust and respond with kind and loving actions. Animals respond very well to positive praise, it is true across the board that you will get better results by being patient, loving and offering rewards than you will be responding with anger or frustration. So be patient and work a little each day on the skill you are trying to teach your bird, be it a trick or a behavior modification.

Training a Lovebird

It can be incredibly rewarding and fun to see your lovebird excel at a skill you are teaching them during the bird training sessions. When a breakthrough finally arrives you will definitely feel like celebrating, but pretty soon these tricks will seem like old hat and you will be left with a wonderfully behaved bird that is a lot of fun to be around. It can be great to get children involved in the process. Birds need to be engaged and loved everyday as they age; otherwise you could be left with a pretty obnoxious or ornery creature. To avoid this from happening, work with your lovebird on a regular basis and make sure they feel loved and cared for. The bond between a bird and its human is quite remarkable. If you want to learn more about how to train a bird, CLICK HERE.