Help teaching Cockatiel to Talk?

Question

I'm tryin to get my cockatiel to talk. I tried repeating it and then i read it should be in the same tone so I recorded it and played it over and over. I even took the bird out of the cage and let him/her listen. I noticed him/her was mouthing the words. Is this a sign that it is coming or does this mean she can't talk but only mouth. I don't know if its a boy or girl. Please Help

I tried once again by repeating it. She came up to me, crest down body at almost a 180 degree angle. She started making this squeeky noise kinda like turning a lever that hasn't been touched for a year, Is this the first step to talking? (I could tell by the tone it sounded like she was trying to say it) Is this all right what im doing?

Answer 1

What you are doing is correct keep up the work and when you cockateil starts to make throaty noises it will not be long before these become words you will recognize.
A good idea also is give the cockateil access to a mirror it will see the reflection and try to imitate the sounds and words that you are teaching it

Answer 2

Teaching A Cockatiel To Talk

Answer 3

Cocktail's aren't the best talkers of the parrot family. However, you may be able to get the bird to say a few simple words or phrases, although they may sound more whistle like in nature. In order to help a bird learn to talk, I found it most helpful to remove any mirrors from their cage and do not put a mirror back in until the bird is proficient in saying the phrase you are teaching. Every day, for about 20 minutes, take the bird into the bathroom or a bedroom with a mirror. Take the bird out of their cage and sit them on your shoulder, while you are standing in front of the mirror as close as possible. Repeat the phrase or word you want the bird to learn. Repeat it over and over. The bird may put its head near your mouth while you are talking, just let it. It may preen you or kiss at the mirror, just let it. Do this every day, more than once if you have the time. Most birds will have picked up the phrase by the end of a month. Again, cocktails don't usually talk very plainly, but by the end of the month their whistle may have the intonation of the phrase you've been repeating. The main thing is to be patient with the bird.

Answer 4

If the cockatiel is young, then repeating the same things to it usually does the trick. An older bird is harder to teach. A very young bird is hard to tell the male from the female but as they get older the male will have a deeper orange on it's cheeks. Ours could repeat phrases we taught it, crow, and whistle little tunes we made up. Every time we passed by the cage we would repeat the same thing over and over and then move to new things when he caught on. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

I have never seen the she birds talk.. ONly the he Cockatiels talk.. Are you sure on the sex of your bird?? Get a book on tiels and you can tell the sexes their.. The males have more color then the females.. The males talk the females don't. Usually..

Answer 6

I remember my cocatiel always picked up words that I used alot of enthusiam with. ex; "Here we go", "ooops", "Ahhhh sh**!!!" "Where is my keys!!!" take her out of the cage and let be with you and she'll love it. A happy bird talks. Have Great Fun. It will happen, and I think there's a way to tell if it is a male/female from the color near its nostrils on the beak. Call a Petco near you they might help you.

Answer 7

Every time my cockatiel wolf whistles at me I yell, "Thank you Flip". Now a year later, he will wolf whistle and say "thank you Flip." repetition....

Search on line for the recordings of Ebo and the Mexican hat dance. Some woman taught her bird Ebo to talk and sing, it's cool to listen to.

Answer 8

I HAD A COCKATIEL THAT WAS GREY AND IT HAD A HUGE TAIL I PAID 129.00 FOR IT BUT ALL IT DID WAS TWWWEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!! ALL FREAKIN DAY ONE MORE THING DONT LET IT SEE BIGGER BIRDS LIKE HAWKS AND OWLS OR THEYLL GO NUTS

Answer 9

In this article we're going to discuss how to teach your parrot to speak. Getting him to shut up afterwards is another thing altogether.

Don't you find it amazing that something other than a human being can actually speak the English Language or any language for that matter? Parrots are certainly an interesting species of bird. For that matter they're just plain interesting, period.

Well, if you want to teach your parrot to talk the first thing you're going to have to do is carefully pick the breed of parrot. Some breeds talk better than others.

The smaller species of parrot sometimes have a difficult time learning how to speak and when they finally do, their speech can be very difficult to understand. Parakeets, ringnecks, alexandrine, plumheads, cockatiels, conures, lorikeets and lovebirds are not your best talkers. Oh sure, there is always the exception among these but the general rule is, don't expect too much. So if talking ability is important to you then stay away from this lot.

Your best bet to come away with a bird that you can teach to recite the Gettysberg address is a red tailed, African Gray parrot. In general, these birds have amazing talking abilities, but every now and then you're going to run into one who just refuses to say a word. The reason for this is a puzzle to us all.

If you're looking at New World Amazon parrots, your best bets for the talkers are the Yellow Napes, Blue Fronts and Double Yellowheads. However, these birds have to be exposed to speech at a very young age or the chances of them talking is slim to none. Any Amazon parrot with a yellow head is usually a good talker. Macaws are okay talkers but not great. When they learn to talk they have very loud scratchy voices and a very limited vocabulary. Cockatoos can also be taught to speak but, like macaws, they usually have a very limited vocabulary. However, unlike macaws, they have rather sweet soft voices.

The next thing you have to do is choose a bird with just the right temperament. You should never pick a bird that is afraid and shy. Your best talkers are usually birds that are mean biters. So if you don't mind having to keep a supply of Band-Aids around you'll do just fine. Birds that cower will never learn to talk. The more aggressive they are the better. Birds that laugh a lot and constrict their pupils are not showing fear but definite aggression. Just don't get too close.

If at all possible, try to choose a bird that is still being hand fed. Most likely you will have to get these birds from a breeder rather than from a pet store. Birds that are this young usually still have pinfeathers sticking out of their head and neck.

In our next article in this series we're going to go over how to prepare to teach your bird how to speak, how to feed it, when to start training and a number of other important things you should know.

In this article in our continuing series on teaching your bird to talk we're going to start with how to get ready and prepare your bird for his first words. This should help make it a lot easier when you teach your first child to speak.

The best place to keep your soon to be talking parrot is in the kitchen. The reason for this is that families spend a lot of time in the kitchen, especially during meals and your parrot will be exposed to a lot of talking, granted not all of it good or something you want your bird repeating in mixed company. The atmosphere in the kitchen is very relaxed which is good for your bird. A tense bird isn't going to say much. The smells in the kitchen from all the food is something that will also appeal to your bird and make him more prone to speak. Most people, while in the kitchen, because they are doing something they enjoy, eating, are relaxed. This in turn will make your bird relaxed. Once in this surrounding, give your bird at least a few weeks to get used to it before you even attempt to teach him to talk. If your bird is not shy, give it plenty of attention. If it is shy try to tame it before trying to get it to talk.

The key to getting a parrot to talk is to let it interact with people. Parrots are birds who are normally in large flocks. So depriving your parrot of company is going to make it unhappy. An unhappy parrot is not going to talk.

The way parrots learn to talk is through a one on one relationship with their owners. Never have more than one parrot in the room or even in a room nearby. Your parrot must be the center of your attention. It is almost impossible to teach two birds to talk at the same time. If you do have more than one bird then work with each one separately and make sure they are a good distance from each other so they are unaware of the other's presence.

If you want to have the best chance of getting your bird to talk you must feed it properly. Proper nutrition is not a luxury. It is a must. Birds that are fed a steady diet of sunflower or safflower seeds are always duller and not as aware of their surroundings as birds fed pelleted diets. This is because seed diets are poor nutritionally. If you want your parrot to live a long healthy and happy life gradually shift its diet from seeds to a name brand pelleted diet. The way you do this is by mixing pelleted diet food in with the seeds at the start and then gradually removing the seeds completely. You will be absolutely amazed at the change this makes in your bird's disposition and health.

In the next article of this series we're going to cover the actual training of your bird.

In this last of our series of teaching your bird to talk we're finally going to get into the training process itself.

The best time to teach your bird to talk, if at all possible, is when the bird is right out of its nest. It is best to start training your bird while it is still on formula. When birds are this young they bond much easier with people. Practice patience with your bird and it will respond well. Don't expect a young parrot to start talking right away. While it is still "clucking" for food it is not going to be interested in learning speech, but exposing them to words at this young an age will prepare them for when they are ready to talk. They will recognize words at this age even though they are too young to talk. Smaller parrots will begin to speak between 4 and 6 months while larger parrots will begin to speak between 6 and 12 months.

After a year most parrots will not learn any new words. Some may still learn a new word from time to time but for the most part their learning days are over. Therefore picking an older bird that is also afraid of people gives you almost no chance of coming away with a talker. As for the sex of the bird, males are much better talkers than females. The problem is many times it is not possible to tell the sex of a bird just by looking at it. A blood test is often required.

The best time of day to teach your bird to talk is either early in the morning or late at night. This corresponds with the times when birds gather to eat and congregate with other birds. During these times parrots are very noisy. Don't try to quiet them. Just get used to it.

In order to make learning easier, positive reinforcement is a great tool. When your bird begins to talk, reward it with food, but try to give him healthy snacks. As this reinforcement continues your parrot will more look forward to the training sessions.

When teaching your bird to talk, turn off all TV sets and radios. You want it absolutely quiet. Let in lots of sunlight. You need to be the center of the bird's attention. When you speak to it, the bird will take notice. Say the word you are teaching the bird in a loud clear voice and hesitate between each repetition of the word. Try to associate the word with some kind of action. Birds learn quicker this way.

When teaching a bird to name objects pick an object that is small and bright in color. If the bird gets the word reward it by giving the bird the object.

Some easy words for parrots to learn are grape, paper, box, corn, carrot, nail, water, treat, bean, and rock. So try starting with these words.

The first words your parrot learns will be the hardest. After that they will begin to come easier until the bird reaches the age where it can't learn any more.

Teaching your bird to talk can be a very fun and rewarding experience. Have patience and follow the above guidelines and you should find that your parrot develops quite a vocabulary. You may, however, have a lot of trouble getting him to be quiet.