Does anyone know the age of a cockatiel when it will start to talk.?

Question

I have been told a year but i dont know for sure. I have a 6 month and one that is a year old, both males. I realize that you have to help them learn to talk, but just wondered how old they would be when they finally got the point.

Answer 1

They can learn to talk at any age. It just depends how much time you spend with them. Females do talk, but males seem to be alot better at it. Have patience, it will work. I have had birds talk as early as 4 months. Have fun.

Answer 2

It depends on the individual bird. Some birds learn their first words at a few months old, and others take years. While cockatiels are often advertised as talking birds, it takes work to make them talk and some of them never do. They're generally not the best talkers, but that's not to say they can't learn to talk. It just takes persistence, time, devotion, patience, and a whole lotta love! (As with any bird.)

With some work, they'll likely learn a few words.

TIPS:

- Make sure you repeat the things you want them to say whenever you're around

- Also try talking to them in funny, overexaggerated voices. Birds often pick up lines that are interesting -- funny sounding words, really emotional sounding stuff, etc; stuff that catches their attention and interest. (This is probably the reason why so many people can say "hello" to their birds for years and get nothing, but then they stub their toe one day, yell out something obscene, and suddenly the bird won't shut up!)

- Praise the bird if it says something! It'll learn that talking leads to attention, and we all know how much birds LOVE attention! :)

That being said, don't be too disappointed if they never talk...nobody should ever buy a bird just because they want a talking parrot. Some African Greys never even talk, and they're regarded as one of the best talking parrots. Don't let that get your hopes down though, because if you never try you'll never know! Just think of Alex the famous African Grey; he's still learning new words now, and he's about 30 years old!

Good luck, and have fun with your feathered friends!

Answer 3

I have some baby cockatiels who are about 5 months old now and 2 of them are male I raised out of my 14 yr old male I own. They both talk up a storm and whistle like crazy and have for about a month now. So to make sure they will talk you will want to keep saying the same words over and over again and then after a month or 2 simply listen to them talk. But keep in mind only the males 99% of the time will accually say words you can understand, for the most part females will only tweet alot, and hardly ever whistle.

And for the record COCKATIELS DO TALK. I have one who is 14 yrs old who cclearly says COMERE PEANUT COMERE, I love you momma and shes a pretty momma bird. So dont believe anyone who says cockatiels dont talk, because they have obviously only owned females if they have never heard a cockatiel say words you can understand just like a parrot.

Just listen to my 14 yr old male talk about my poodle peanut I recorded on home video myself.

http://www.geocities.com/tam1_2000/BUBUpeanut.wav

Answer 4

It really all depends on your birds personalily, and if they want to talk. Some cockatiels will never talk, while others will talk very early on. I had 2 cocatiels, and when they were about 4 to 6 months old, they could repeat whistling noises that i made perfectly, and within a month or two, they could say Hi.

it really depends on how much you work with your birds. if you just let them sit, and never hear you talk, they may never.

Another thing that may be helpful, several pet stores sell cd's that you put on and let the birds listen too. It is supposed to help teach them to talk. It teaches basic words and sentences.

Might be an idea for you to try.

Answer 5

It depends on the individual and it wanting to learn how to talk. A bird will mimic and/or talk when it hears something it likes. Usually males are the ones to talk and usually around 1 year of age, but like i said depends on the individual.

Answer 6

As long as you know that it didn't fly into something and get hurt then I wouldn't worry about it, as I have raised birds all kinds and have had different ones just quit flying one day. I have a Moluccan Cockatoo that would rather walk than fly and a lovebird 18 years old that decided not to come out of its cage no more and it use to fly all around the house.

Answer 7

LoL... 'some', never "get the point" ! But.... usually around 3 months of age, they will start "trying" to 'talk'. It will all take time.... lots of time...but givin a lot of 'practice', and with help from you, it'll pick it up. Usually, by a year old, they 'should' be saying at least..... at LEAST, 2 - 4 words. Talk to them, as much and as often as you can.............. even if you feel 'silly' for doing so... they'll 'get it'.

Answer 8

Sorry to disappoint you but cockatiels generally do not talk. The best way of training though if you have the occasional one that does, is to buy a cockatiel CD from a pet store or on line and play it repeatedly when you are out of the house. Cockatiels do learn several kinds of whistles easy though. The Andy Griffith theme song is the one I most often hear about. They often imitate the wild birds from outside, like the cardinal also. Best of luck to you.

Answer 9

I have a cockatiel and I wanted to teach her to talk. My vet told me that Males are easier to train to talk than female cocktiels and he also told me that the color of the bird matters alot to. If they are the grey cockatiels they will be harder to teach than the lighter colored birds.

Answer 10

usually birds start talking at different ages but there is no exact age where a bird talks, in fact if you don't teach it, probably it will never talk or it may only learn a very small word