tips on helping my parrot talk?

Question

We have a red masked conure he is a year old we have had him for about 3months after his owners moved to spain...we often talk to him repeating words to him.....will he eventually talk???

He does make noises but no words....he makes more noise when we put him outisde on a nice day.....

Answer 1

The first thing to realize is that birds mimic sounds. The best way to have this happen is to repeat phrases in a clear and calm manner. Trying to “train” the bird to speak is a frustrating task. It is less nerve wracking to make a tape or a sound file on your computer and loop it to play for 5 minutes several times each day. The repeat those phrases when you interact with the bird. Be careful, birds pick up bad words just like kids, except you cannot convince a bird that those bad words are bad. The more you react to words, the more likely the bird is to repeat them. We have an African Grey and a Senegal. The two of them love to mimic the dogs barking and then holler for them to SHUT UP!!! They add a few more descriptive words from time-to-time that they hear us use to get the attention of the dogs. They also pick up on everyday words that they hear us use. When I go into their room to change their food and water I usually say something along the lines of, “Hello bird brains!” They now repeat this over and over. I also whistle tunes such as Dixie or the Alabama Fight Song and they both whistle these songs at different times. Sometimes the two of them get together and whistle different tunes in a sort of bird-ized melody. They know some other tunes and pick up tunes from watching children’s TV that we leave on in their room. Sometimes one of them will spout out a whole litany of words that we cannot understand. They also love to laugh and have mimicked everyone’s laugh in the family. They have a warped sense of humor as they will make the sound of a dog yelping in pain and when we run into the room to see who is hurt they laugh their heads off because they made fools of us. Give your birds time to learn: most birds develop their vocabulary at their own pace. Some birds never learn to speak clearly, so you have to interpret what they try to say based on the pattern of the attempted words. Once you figure out what they really mean, you can help them clear up the speech by repeating it clearly until they get it.

Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL
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Answer 2

I have a quaker parrot, the best way is to make a cassette tape of repetitive phrases mixed in with some whistling.(Hello Baby, How are you, Peek a boo, You are so pretty, Old MacDonald had a farm quack quack here, spider, bye bye gimme a kiss, is just a few my bird picked up along with whistling. Remember don't bombard your bird with a whole bunch, just a few and then add more once your bird begins talking. Make sure you play the tape every day.

Good Luck
Di

Answer 3

Just talk to him like you would a child, tell him what you are doing, where you are going, what things are. Also give it lots of emphasis, be excited when you are talking to him. You say he is making noises, listen for graveling which is what parrots will do when they are trying or practicing talking. Try to figure out what he's saying if he's graveling and repeat it back to him. You will see that he's paying close attention to what you are saying so that he can learn it himself. He may never talk but this is a good form of training and encouragement. If he does pick up a word praise him and tell him how wonderful he is and be excited about it. Good luck!

Answer 4

Some parrots never learn to talk. But you can encourage your guy to talk by carrying him from room to room and pointing out the different things in them. Name foods when offering them and ask 'want some? when offering them. Show him the weather and describe it. Most birds do pick up a word or two. if that doesn't work, you might want to try whistling to him. Some birds are better whistler than talkers and will surprise you with a huge repertoire of songs and cat calls, LOL!

Answer 5

Sapphyre is right, conures are not big talkers. They LOVE TO PLAY though. Get him some fun toys, like a swing...or those toys that look like rubber footballs with holes all over them. Fill it with a treat and hang from the center of the cage, he will hang up there and swing and yelp!

Budgies will talk, greys, some tiels will talk a little. Check out youtube.com and search for Charlie the Budgie...ohmygosh, funniest video. You will want a budgie though! Watch out!

Answer 6

conure birds are babies until they are at least 9 yrs our time ..if you are putting out side please make sure he is in a covered cage there are hawks out there who would consider him a nice healthy snack. when you are not home leave the TV on a cartoons also there are tapes you can buy from a pet store that you can play for that will teach him remember you have only had him three months he is still adjusting... conures are more squawkers than they are speakers.. repetition is the key

Answer 7

Does he attempt to mock your sounds or words you say? When I got my parrot after his owner passed, he was devasted didn't talk for over a year, the more you try to make them feel comfortable, and talk to them, the more open they will be to the change. It all will take time.

Answer 8

I wouldnt hold my breath on waiting for him to learn how to talk. Conures are not known good talkers, they are mostly known for the clown behavior and their screaming. You could try getting a Quaker Parakeet, they are in the top 10 of talking birds and they do not cost a lot of money.
Your bird is not dumb, he just may not be able to talk.

Sapphyre
Certified Avian Specialist
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Answer 9

research really shows that animals- not too unlike children will more readily repeat/ learn things that are accompanied w/ some type of fear- its more of a way of dealing w/ it rather than being mean or something...words that are like cried out in pain- or , yes, curse words.....they dont actully have to be bad words- just act like they are.....cant hurt to try it.

Answer 10

o.k. to have a bird talk you need to have it in a quiet place and by itself no other bird around, then you talk to the bird and continue to repeating the words.