Speaking is one of the greatest pleasures in life, which is why we all love listening to music or talking to people!
But for some individuals, their lives can become totally dominated by speaking- they spend hours every day prepping for a talk show, spending hours chatting with friends online, or even chasing after a career in radio.
For these individuals, silence can be just as frustrating as having nothing to say.
Fortunately, you do not need to teach your pet dog how to speak to enjoy quiet time together. But teaching a parrot to talk? That’s another matter!
These little birds are very intelligent, so it is possible to train them to learn new phrases. However, depending on the bird’s personality, this may or may not work.
Some birds seem more inclined to learning than others, so what works for one will probably go over someone’s head. To help you get started, here are everything you need to know about teaching a parrot to chat.
Teaching Aparrots to Chat
General tips before starting lessons
Make sure your parrot is comfortable being around other animals. This means no dogs that might bark, or cats who could attack.
Give your bird enough food and water, and make sure there are adequate shelter and perches where she can relax. If necessary, cover the enclosure with towels to keep her warm during winter days.
Second, you need to find a way to get the parakeet to talk
The third step is figuring out how to get your new talking pet to say something! This can be tricky at first, as most birds are not very chatty.
Birds of any species will try to make some sounds for themselves when they wake up in the morning or before bedtime.
They develop their own noises that help them feel secure while sleeping. For example, owls have a hissing sound they use to protect themselves by making it known to other animals around them that they mean business.
This article has tips to help teach your bird what words are so he/she can express himself/herself more.
Third, you need to get the parakeet to say the right things
Now that you have given it some commands, you will need to test if it has learned them! The first way to do this is by having it repeat what you said back to you. For example, let’s say your parrot says ‘tweet tweet’ after being asked to say something like ‘say happy birthday�’ or ‘sing Happy Birthday�’. It would make sense then if it repeated its own phrase, so try asking it to say ‘twitter tweet’ or even just use the word ‘twitter�’ instead of ‘twitter tweet��’.
If it does indeed know how to use Twitter, then great! But if it keeps saying ‘tweet tweet’, it may not be able to tell the difference between tweeting and talking about other things. So now, how can we teach our bird to talk?
We must begin with creating conversations for it to respond to. This can be done through using toys, food, or anything else it seems interested in.
Fourth, you need to keep the parakeet close to you
This can be tricky at first as most birds develop strong bonds with their owners after they are born.
Birds that learn new tricks are very dependent on their trainers for food, water, and attention. Since these things are needed to survive, it is important to ensure that the bird has what it needs to live.
You may have to start off feeding your bird only dried cat or dog kibble, but as it learns how to talk, it will eventually ask for more nutritious foods like chicken or fish eggs and puréed fruits and vegetables.
Making sure its drinker is never empty is also crucial as the bird would not be able to hydrate properly.
Since many parrots cannot swim, making sure they do not drown is an essential part of their care.
Fifth, the parakeet will try to mimic you
The next thing that would kill most people is when your new friend tries to speak! They will babble away with all sorts of sounds and noises.
It may even repeat words it hears from you or put its own word in there! This can be very annoying as well as confusing for whoever listens.
So how do you stop this? First, make sure your voice is stable and audible. If so, then take some time to find the right pitch, rhythm, and tone.
Second, use headphones while teaching them a language. That way they will not hear any external noise, like voices or other music.
Third, only teach them a few phrases at a time, otherwise it could confuse them more. Take breaks often to let them relax and process what you just said.
Sixth, the parakeet will learn your language
There are many ways to teach your bird how to speak, but none of them work if they are not practiced regularly.
Just like with children, consistency is key when teaching any animal how to talk. The more you interact with it, the better it gets!
You can never force an animal to be friends with you, but by interacting with it every day, it learns that there’s nothing it can do without talking to you.
This works for dogs, cats, birds – anyone. It’s just natural learning theory.
If you want your pet to be friendly, must yourself in the same way as friendliness. Make sure to give it lots of attention each time you see it, and make it part of your daily routine.
It may take some time before the two of you become close, but don’t give up! Keep trying, and eventually things will get easier.
Seventh, the parakeet will get bored
As your pet grows older, it will need more engaging activities to keep it stimulated. Luckily, most birds are intelligent creatures that learn quickly. They can be very socialized which helps them retain this skill as they grow up.
Birds usually start speaking at around one year old when they begin making sounds to attract other birds or for food.
At two years old, they start using actual words, but not consistently until the third year. By the fourth year, they’re talking pretty well!
However, even though some say you can teach any animal or bird anything, it is difficult to determine if this is true or false. Some experts believe that while it is possible to teach certain behaviors to specific animals, nothing is guaranteed to work.
So, whether or not you actually succeed in teaching your bird how to talk depends mostly on the individual dog or cat, not only of yourself, but also of their state of mind.
Eighth, the parakeet will die
Even if you manage to teach your bird some basic sounds and phrases, he or she will eventually run out of food! Most birds need at least 10-15% meat in their diet to survive, so unless you are feeding them raw hamburger, cooked chicken, fish, or other similar foods, they will quickly pass away due to lack of nutrition.
Most species of parrots cannot be rehomed as pets because they require special care and housing conditions, making it very difficult to give them the needed rescue or new home.
Some may even breed when given the chance, which can result in more hungry chicks that end up getting put down too. Because most people don’t take good care of pet birds, many individuals who want a companion get disappointed when theirs flies off never to return.
These experiences can have a negative effect on others who intend to adopt a bird, reducing the pool of healthy candidates. Many organizations offer free consultations to potential adoptive parents to help determine if the pair would fit into each other’s lives for the long term, just like with any other animal.
If you’re thinking about giving up your bird, do yourself a favor and look into all available options first.
Ninth, the parakeet was bad at talking
Even though they are very playful animals that love to interact with other birds and mammals, most people will not get along with them because their vocalizations can be annoying or disturbing.
Most parrots only use about 10-15 words in their vocabulary, which is usually just their name. This is why some say that even though they speak “the language of birds”, you would have a hard time teaching your bird how to talk beyond his or her own name.
However, this isn’t always the case! Some species of parrot actually learn several hundred different phrases, which make it seem like they know what things mean but really they are just repeating what they heard someone else say before.
