Food Rewards for Training your Performing Parrot

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Rachel_F.]Rachel F.

If you have given it a lot of thought and you're not sure what treat your pet bird likes, then you need to create a desire in your parrot to have a certain treat. Start by offering a small amount of the treat food with the parrots regular food each day. When you see the bird beginning to eat the treat before he goes to his regular food you have done it! Now you can stop offering the treat with the bird's regular meals, and only use it as a reward during training sessions. The following is not a complete list of foods that you can use for rewards, but it is a great place to start.

Walnuts (halves or pieces) unsweetened cereal toast cubes pepper flakes pumpkin seeds sunflower seeds popcorn (without butter & salt) pasta (cooked or raw) papaya oatmeal millet hard boiled egg peanut halves grapes (or half grapes) granola crackers cornflakes chopped apple cantaloupe cabbage coleslaw carrot (grated or chopped) celery broccoli banana

While all of the foods listed above are generally health snacks, always remember that sometimes too much of a good thing really isn't good at all. This especially applies to things like sunflower seeds and peanuts which can be very fattening if they constitute the bulk of your birds diet. I try to make sure all of my birds always have free access to a good brand of pellets all day long and I also offer a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with whole grain breads, sprouted or cooked beans, whole grain pasta (without sauce) etc. And I try to limit their intake of seeds as they tend to pick out just one or two of their favorite types and refuse to eat the rest. Which can lead to malnutrition. Good luck and have fun picking out new foods to use as rewards for your favorie feathered friend.

Rachel is a professional bird breeder and parrot behaviour consultant with over 20 years experience working with these amazingly complex animals. She shares her home with 12 different species of parrots (whose numbers vary with the breeding seasons) several salt and freshwater aquariums, snakes, dogs, and cats. And a very understanding and supportive family! You can find more articles by Rachel and meet a few of her birds here: http://talkingboutbirds.blogspot.com/