I received a cockatiel from a co-worker who could no longer care for him, and he is now nearly 9 years old. He's very sweet, but no matter how much I repeat words to him, he doesn't respond. I honestly don't think he got much attention with his former owner, as he had no toys or anything in his cage, only a food and water dish. He didn't really start saying much of anything till I gave him toys and a swing. Now he cries to get out of his cage,and is content to sit on my shoulder for hours. Is he too old to learn how to talk?
2006-07-08 16:45:23 · 16 answers · asked by paigematthews225 1 in Pets ➔ Birds
Give your bird a treat every time he makes an unusual sound to encourage him to try more sounds. It might be easier to teach him other types of tricks instead.
2006-07-22 14:30:38 · answer #1 · answered by iceni 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the problem with your bird is that the former owner never paid it any attention. that was the case with my cockatiel. When I first got her she didn't say anything and she had no toys. Now it has been a couple of months and she is already saying hello, yes, and ank. She also loves to whistle. The thing to know is that the more time you spend with your bird the better your bird gets at talking. Also the bird will only repeat words that attract it's attention. Try starting it out with small one sylable words. It will eventually come around. Be patient and if you have any other questions contact me!
2006-07-10 20:08:31 · answer #2 · answered by truelove 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Though cockatiels are indeed parrots, they are not the best talkers of the parrot family. They can learn to mimic sounds that approximate words, but they don't typically speak as clearly as the larger birds. They are good whistlers, though, and can learn short tunes of a few notes. Ours whistles the first few notes of the theme song to "The Odd Couple" for instance.
Cockatiels are wonderful birds, whether they talk or not, with unique personalities. It's great that you've given your bird a more varied habitat -- like all parrots, cockatiels are quite smart, and need various "jobs" (even if it's just shredding toilet paper tubes) to keep them busy. Hopefully your bird has a varied and nutritious diet, as well, including grains, fruits and vegetables -- an all-seed diet is easy, but not healthy.
2006-07-08 23:52:00 · answer #3 · answered by violet 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since he didn't get much attention, it will probably take awhile. Babies don't usually start talking for at least a year after hatching. As you can see, he's already responding to the new toys and attention. Be patient and keep repeating the same simple words and phrases. Also it helps when you say certain things he can relate to certain occasions, like whenever you give him food say "here's a treat" or "good night" when you cover him up at night. Good luck , he sounds like a little treasure.
2006-07-08 23:57:37 · answer #4 · answered by p.c. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have a cockatiel and i tought it to talk it says pretty bird and does the wolf whistle just keep saying something over and over again, or whistling.i takes a little longer then parrots but it will pay off when you hear it!though it may not be very clear at first keep working on it and it will become clearer.
jess
2006-07-19 11:37:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try recording something you want him to say on tape. Play it when you're not there and encourage the repetition. In time, he'll start to mumble something. One of mine didn't "speak" until he was about 6 or 7 and it took a lot of time. Think of them as the LD students of the parrot world. So far, it seems like you've done good things with him, kudos!
2006-07-09 01:10:24 · answer #6 · answered by cujoswings 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, Cockatiels can't talk, they only can make sounds like whistles, telephone rings, and other sounds. We have a Cockatiel bird too, he always repeats the telephone when it rings, it is so funny when he tweets!
2006-07-09 01:31:14 · answer #7 · answered by Yenyen San 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tiels may not repeat words very clearly, but BOY can they learn to whistle and mimic simple sounds!! Ours used to ring like the telephone, it could make a "smooching" sound, it whistled the UofM Fight Song, could meow like the cat and make sounds like laughter! You should try giving him a mirror; he'll think it's another bird and will spend hours whistling to his reflection! Our bird could say a few words like "baby" and what sounded like "love you". Just be patient; you will need to repeat yourself over and over and over and over.....you get the idea!! LOL
2006-07-09 00:59:14 · answer #8 · answered by Monica E 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
patience and repetition.for the bird to learn to talk you must have great patience,one word at a time, or a small sentence must be repeated many times over for the bird to respond and repeat it.i used a tape recorder and set it to loop
2006-07-21 10:10:11 · answer #9 · answered by retrac_enyaw03 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he's not too old but you need to keep up the repitition alot..most cockatiels will learn simple words within a few days if you hold them close to your mouth and say the word softly and clearly several times a day
2006-07-09 00:03:27 · answer #10 · answered by meesh1902 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋