minhta wrote:1. I have been told that when get a new bird, you should leave it alone for a few weeks, apart from feeding it so it can get use to its new home environment. Is this true or should I start training my parrot right away?
No. You should start treating the bird the way you intend to right from the start. This doesn't mean to push things too far or expect much from the bird. However, you should get it used to the routine it can expect right from the start.
minhta wrote:2. Toys. Not part of this article but I thought I ask all questions here anyway. Should I put toys in the cage right away or will that be too distracting to a new bird? If I should not give it toys right away, when is a good time to put the toys in?
Same thing again. When the bird comes to your home, everything will be unfamiliar so you might as well lay everything out as it will be and then let the parrot get used to it. Whether or not you put the toys in, the cage, people, surroundings will be all unfamiliar. So the added unfamiliarity of the toys won't overwhelm the total unfamiliarity. However, over time it will get more confident and accept the toys as familiar as they were present from day 1 with you. Similarly, I believe you should be involved with the bird from day 1 so that you could be one of the most familiar things that it can associate with safety. I am not saying to start doing advanced formal training sessions from day 1. However, I am saying to start being a part of the parrot's life right away. Also don't give it more attention than you expect to be able to sustain long term with it. You don't want to get the parrot used to too much attention when it's an exciting novelty for you and then later let it feel neglected when things settle down.