Parrot Life Behaviour and Training

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Parrot Life Behaviour and Training

Parrot Life Behaviour and Training Want to train your birds or solve a problem behaviour? We can help! Parrot Life® Behaviour and Training began in Perth (Western Australia) in January 2014.

We primarily offer in-home consultations for parrots but Parrot Life® has been developing quickly, we now offer courses, seminars, workshop, online content and shop products. Parrot Life® now has consultants in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and New Zealand and we offer consulting online worldwide, we even regularly work with clients in regional Australia and overseas!

We are also very proud to have a

strong focus on conserving endangered wild parrot species! From 2014 - 2020 we worked with Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre and more recently at Cape Sanctuary in New Zealand on their Kaka and Kakariki projects! We are looking to expand our conservation work to further projects in Australasia on a consultancy basis. Visit our website for more information www.parrotlife.com.au

25/04/2025

⚡️🌫Is the Weather Secretly Controlling Your Parrot’s Mood🌫⚡️

❓️Have you ever wondered how the weather affects our companion parrots? Changes in temperature, humidity, and daylight can influence their energy levels and eating habits in surprising ways.

🌞Hot Weather: Birds may seek shade, rest more, eat less, and drink more to stay cool.

❄️Cold Weather: Increased food intake helps maintain body heat, while activity levels may decrease.

🌤Daylight Changes: Longer days can boost energy and foraging, while shorter days may lead to more rest.

🌨Humidity & Rain: Some birds become sluggish in high humidity, while others get a burst of energy and enjoy bathing in the rain, especially during storms.

Have you noticed any changes in your bird's behaviour during different weather conditions? Share your observations in the comments below!👇

22/04/2025

✨️Parrot Spotlight of the week ✨️

🦜Lorikeets- The Sugar-Fuelled Sledges.🦜

🌈Bright, bouncy, and buzzing with nectar-fuelled chaos, lorikeets are the rainbow clowns of the parrot world—with the attitude to match.

What's behind the chaos? These hyperactive acrobats run on a diet rich in natural sugars and seem to have endless energy to burn. Their sharp vocal protests, dramatic flips, and occasional nips often reflect overstimulation, frustration, or unmet needs in a fast-moving brain and body.They don’t just appreciate enrichment—they require it. Without consistent structure and plenty of outlets for movement and exploration, their energy can spill over into less desirable behaviours.❓️

✅️Pro tip: Prioritise plenty of opportunities for foraging, climbing, and active play. Encourage a diet that includes vegetables to help balance all that natural sugar. Keep training sessions short, positive, and consistent to help direct their endless enthusiasm into something a bit more focused than dive-bombing the fruit bowl.

Got a lorikeet? Share a photo of your sugar-fuelled gremlin in the comments and tell us something about their quirkiest habit! 📸

19/04/2025

Preparing your Parrot for Trips / Absences - Routine Changes.

Routine disruptions common when we take a trip can be tough on parrots—here's how to ease the transition.

If you're planning a holiday or time away, chances are your parrot's daily routine will change. Even small shifts—like different feeding times or reduced time out of the cage—can cause stress or confusion for your bird.

Here's how to help your parrot adjust smoothly:

• Gradually introduce the new routine a week or two in advance. Shift feeding times or reduce out-of-cage time slowly, so your bird has time to adapt.

• Keep interactions positive. Use favorite treats and praise when following the new routine to create positive associations.

• Communicate changes to your caregiver clearly. A consistent, predictable schedule (even if it's different from usual) helps reduce stress.

• Leave behind enrichment. Foraging toys, safe shreddables, and familiar sounds can help fill the gap of less interaction.

Routine change doesn’t have to mean distress—just a bit of preparation can go a long way toward keeping your parrot confident and secure.

Stay tuned for more tips on preparing your parrot for planned absences!

18/04/2025

🤤✋️Chocolate Might Melt in Your Mouth, But It is Toxic for Your Pets✋️🤤

🍩With Easter festivities just around the corner, we’d like to remind everyone that chocolate is toxic to parrots (and other pets like dogs and cats).

Chocolate contains stimulants like theobromine and caffeine. Unlike humans, parrots metabolise these substances very slowly, which can lead to toxic build-up in their system. Even a small nibble can affect their heart, kidneys, and nervous system.🍫

🍬So, as tempting as it might be to share your treats, keep the chocolate firmly in human beaks only.

Your parrot might argue they deserve an Easter egg, but trust us—they’re far better off with a festive foraging toy or a sprig of millet!🍪

15/04/2025

‼️Last chance to sign up‼️

📅We've extended the start date for our online Parrot Kinder course to 23rd April, so if you've been thinking about joining—now's the time!

Don't miss out on this fun, foundational course designed to help you and your feathered friend get off to the best start.🦜

👇Register via the link in the comments

10/04/2025

🦜✨️Nicole and Nala’s Six-Week Journey: Overcoming Challenges and Finding Success✨️🦜

📅Nicole and Nala reached the end of their six-week behaviour support package with Jasmine, our Melbourne consultant yesterday, which concluded with a vet visit—the ultimate challenge and the very reason Nicole reached out to Jasmine in the first place.

Over the past six weeks, Jasmine focused on helping Nicole and Nala build a strong relationship based on mutual respect and understanding. This foundation laid the groundwork for working on crucial behaviours that would support both future vet visits and Nala's everyday life.🥰

🩺Yesterday, Nala was scheduled for a microchipping procedure at the vet. Jasmine consulted with the amazing Dr. Melinda Mcowan from SASH - Small Animal Specialist Hospital, providing insight into Nala's previous experiences and the ongoing work. With this information, Dr. Melinda employed gentle handling and strategies to ensure Nala remained calm and comfortable throughout the procedure.

The result was a smooth and positive experience, demonstrating how far Nala and Nicole have come in their journey.✅️

06/04/2025

✨️New to life with a parrot? Or just want to start off on the right foot?✨️

🦜Whether you've recently welcomed a feathered friend into your home or you're looking to build a stronger foundation, our in-depth 5-week online course is here to help.

🔎We’ve taken the guesswork out and created a comprehensive program covering everything you need to know, including:

🫳Training fundamentals
🫐 Diet and nutrition
🌴Enrichment ideas
🏡Environmental setup
🧔‍♂️Socialisation
✍️Foundation behaviours
🩺Cooperative care techniques
🚫 Preventing common behaviour issues

Join us each week to learn something new and get all your questions answered in real time by one of our expert consultants.😍

👇Set yourself and your bird up for success—gain the tools to build a happy, confident companion. Sign up now, link in comments.

05/04/2025

❓️🤷‍♀️Luring: Helpful or Harmful? The Truth Revealed🤷‍♂️❓️

🥜Luring is a training technique where a visible item, usually a treat, is used to guide the bird into a specific position or behaviour. The bird follows the lure, and once the desired action is completed, the behaviour is reinforced.

Luring sometimes gets a bad reputation because, when used incorrectly, it can create problems. If a bird becomes overly reliant on the lure, they may struggle to transition to engaging in the behaviour without it. This can lead to a situation where the bird only responds when the lure is present, rather than learning the behaviour and following cues independently.👎

✅️However, when applied correctly, luring is an effective technique for teaching new behaviours. It provides a clear visual guide, helping the bird understand what is expected of them. By gradually fading the lure out, it reduces reliance on it and reinforces successful responses, and luring can smoothly transition into a cued behaviour. This makes it a valuable tool, particularly for shaping initial movement patterns or complex behaviours in a way that minimises frustration and maximises clarity.

That being said, there are situations where luring should be avoided. Using a treat to lead a bird into an environment or situation they are uncomfortable with—such as stepping onto an unfamiliar hand or entering a cage they are hesitant about—can create problems. If a bird follows the lure despite feeling unsafe, they may later associate the food or the training process with discomfort. This can lead to avoidance behaviours, reluctance to engage with training, or even a breakdown in trust.🚫

🦜Instead, in these situations, it's more effective to focus on desensitisation, counter conditioning , shaping, and offering the bird control over their interactions to build confidence at their own pace.

So, the answer is yes—luring can be an incredibly effective training technique....When applied correctly!

31/03/2025

🏡Preparing your Parrot for Holidays / Trips - Socialise to Absences🏡

If you’re planning a holiday or time away, one of the best ways to prepare your parrot is by practicing short absences in advance. Leaving for just 1–2 nights helps them learn that you might go away—but you will come back!

This gives you and your bird the opportunity to get comfortable with the change in caregiver and routine. Additionally, if your bird will need to go into a boarding facility or someone else's home this allows them to become familiar with the new environment. It also allows their temporary caregiver to get to know them better, without the pressure of a long stay.

Start by arranging a short overnight trip, then you may opt for slightly longer trips ( 2 - 3 nights). This is a great excuse for a cheeky weekend by the beach or in the country!

Building this confidence before an extended trip can make a big difference in their comfort and well-being!

Even if you never plan on going on holidays without your bird, unexpected / emergency trips may become necessary and having a plan and some prior socialisation in place can really help to reduce your bird's anxiety (and yours!)

31/03/2025

✨️Parrot Kinder is just around the corner, and you won’t want to miss out!✨️

🏡Join us for five weeks of fun and learning—all from the comfort of your home.

Discover everything you need to know about diet, enrichment, environmental setup, socialisation, training concepts, foundation behaviours, cooperative care, and even some fun tricks!👈

⤵️Secure your spot today and give your parrot the best start possible, Link in comments!

30/03/2025

‼️The Myth of the "Wild Diet" for Companion Parrots‼️

🫐Companion parrots shouldn’t be directly compared to their wild counterparts, especially when it comes to diet. Statements like “Eclectus parrots only eat fruit in the wild,” “Macaws primarily consume Brazil nuts,” or “Pellets don’t exist in nature” are often repeated, but have we considered the differences between wild and captive parrots?

Wild parrots expend significantly more energy flying long distances, foraging for all their food, and adapting to weather fluctuations. In contrast, captive parrots have a more controlled environment and typically use far less energy in their daily lives.🌴

😬Attempting to replicate a wild diet without adjusting for these differences can often lead to imbalances, contributing to problem behaviours due to selective feeding and excess energy intake.

Are you looking to learn more about the ideal diet for captive parrots? Check out our diet and feeding webinar to gain valuable insights and improve your bird’s nutrition! 💻

👇Link in Comments👇

27/03/2025

‼️Fun Fact Friday‼️

Did you know vacuuming can trigger our birds into displaying bathing behaviours❓️

👂The sound and vibrations of a vacuum cleaner mimic environmental cues associated with rain, like distant thunder or heavy rainfall, which instinctively prompts birds to bathe.

Additionally, the slight change in air pressure and humidity during vacuuming can resemble conditions that birds associate with the onset of a rain shower. 🌨

🧠Some birds may also form a learned association if they've bathed while a vacuum was running before, reinforcing this natural response.

Does your bird like taking a bath when they hear the vacuum❓️

25/03/2025

✈️Prepping your Parrot for Holidays✈️

Heading off on holidays when you have pet parrots can be stressful!

😟We have to make decisions about where to leave our birds and who to leave them with which can be challenging.

In addition to this we often worry about how our birds will cope. This is especially true if your bird is not comfortable with new people or need to stay in an environment away from home.

🌍Brisbane Consultant and Ops Manager, Lee, is off on an overseas trip in April and is currently preparing her birds for her absence. Lee will be sharing some tips around activities, setups and routines she implements to help her birds feel the least anxious about her absence as possible and ensure her pet sitters have all the tools needed to keep them happy, healthy and safe!

Keep an 👀 out for these tips over the next few weeks!

23/03/2025

❓️🩺We take our dogs and cats to the vet for regular checks up - so why not our birds?🩺❓️

🤷‍♀️Some owners believe that as long as their bird is eating and vocalising, they must be healthy. Unlike dogs and cats, which require routine vaccinations and parasite prevention, there are no universally mandated preventative care measures for parrots.

This leads many to assume that regular vet visits aren’t necessary. However, parrots are experts at hiding illness—a survival instinct that makes it difficult to detect health issues early. By the time a bird shows obvious signs of being unwell, they are often critically ill and in urgent need of veterinary care🏥

💉Regular check-ups with an avian vet are essential for early disease detection, nutritional assessments, and overall health monitoring. Vets perform physical exams, weigh the bird to track any changes, and may conduct blood tests or other diagnostics to check for underlying issues to help prevent common health problems before they arise.

Just like with dogs and cats, preventative care is key to ensuring a long, healthy life for your bird💊

20/03/2025

🌿Foraging Friday 🌿

🐱We're always looking for creative and engaging ways to enrich our parrots' lives. Here’s a fun foraging activity using a cardboard cat scratcher and large chunky beads!

Simply press the beads into the cardboard, (Jasmine used a mallet), fill the inside of each bead with your bird’s favourite treat or a bit of nut butter, then thread a zip tie through the cardboard to secure it to their cage.😋

🦜Tip: If you have a smaller bird, try using pony beads instead of the larger beads.

19/03/2025

‼️Here’s an important reminder from our friends at Melbourne Bird Vet about the dangers of cotton and synthetic material toys and perches.

We always encourage clients to replace these with safer alternatives like sisal or seagrass. If your bird tends to chew on clothing, hair, or furniture, redirect their behaviour to appropriate items to ensure their safety.🌿

👀Crop impaction can develop gradually and become life-threatening if not treated promptly. Be sure to monitor your bird and watch for signs of illness, such as vomiting, weightloss and lethargy.

16/03/2025

👇Three Weeks In: Nala’s Behaviour Support Package Update👇

✅️Nicole and Nala are three weeks into their six-week behaviour support package. During this time, Jasmine, our Melbourne consultant, has focused heavily on foundation behaviours, which have been instrumental in addressing key challenges.

Nala, who previously refused to step up and would resort to biting, has made significant progress. She now steps up more reliably, cooperatively returns to her aviary, and is becoming more comfortable with crate training—an impressive change from her initial fear of the crate.🦜

🪜Our behaviour support packages are designed to guide you through every challenge from start to finish, providing personalised strategies tailored to your bird’s needs. With unlimited support throughout the entire process, we’re here to help you build lasting trust, improve behaviours, and strengthen your bond with your bird every step of the way.

15/03/2025

Parrot Keeper Life Hack: The Foraging Box!

Want to make your parrot’s enrichment routine easier and more convenient? Create a Foraging Box — a one-stop kit for all your bird’s favorite foraging materials!

✨ What to include:

Shredded paper, crinkle cut fillers, compressed paper pellets

Small cardboard boxes & paper bags

Natural wood beads or vine balls

Untreated coffee filters or cupcake liners

Bottle caps, craft sticks, and safe recyclables

Dried flowers, herbs, or palm leaves for added fun

Bits of old toys, timber offcuts, java wood

Banksia pods, gum nuts, and other naturals

Bamboo finger traps, straws

Having everything in one place makes it simple to whip up engaging foraging activities anytime! Plus, the box is portable — bring it to the living room and make foraging toys while you unwind in the evenings.

Keeping your parrot mentally stimulated has never been this easy (or this tidy)!

Do you have a foraging box or similar for your flock? How do you make keeping your parrot enriched as simple as possible?

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Our Story

Parrot Life® Behaviour and Training is a unique business to Australia and New Zealand, beginning in the Perth (Western Australia) in January 2014. We primarily offer in-home consultations for parrots locally, but due to the high demand from parrot owners outside of Perth, Parrot Life® began offering online video consultations worldwide soon after opening. Parrot Life® has been developing quickly, with courses, seminars and workshop products now being offered. In 2016 we began an internship programme, which gave us our second staff member in 2017, this has quickly grown to 4 locations (Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and New Zealand), 5 Consultants and 3 Interns in 2019! In 2020 we are looking forward to opening our new Melbourne branch! We also have our our Parrot Life® Shop where clients and parrot owners all over Australia can find great products! We are also very proud to have a strong focus on conserving endangered wild parrot species, and spend a lot of time working with Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre in Perth. In January 2020 we also started work with Cape Sanctuary in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand working with the wild Kaka and Kakariki! We are looking to expand our conservation work to further projects in Australasia on a consultancy basis in 2020. Visit our website for more information www.parrotlife.com.au :)