Parrots are amazing birds and make wonderful pets. They are also great entertainers with their singing and talking. Almost all parrot owners at some point will want to teach their parrot to talk. That is a given. Well, it’s not that hard anyway. Anyone can teach a parrot to talk using these simple methods.
Ideally the parrot should be a young bird between the age of 2 and 6 months. Older parrots do not learn as quickly. It is not impossible to train older parrots to talk, you just need more patience.
The ability for a parrot to mimic spoken words depend largely on the species, their character, your technique and how tame the parrot is. The parrot has to be confident and comfortable with your presence before you can start teaching it to talk.
The African Grey is a perfect talking parrot to have because they are easier to train and very proficient. The tonal qualities and pronunciation may differ between parrot species but overall African Greys are more popular.
Parrots can live for many years and bring much enjoyment and companionship. Imagine having a pet bird that is able to speak human birds. They are the life of the party.
The Method
Before you take off the cover of the cage every morning, expose your parrot to some words. Speak and repeat the words over and over again and make it a ritual. When enclosed in the dark cage, the spoken words will be imprinted in the bird’s memory. It may respond to you with the same sound it hears.
Do this at different times of the day and especially during feeding time or when giving it its favorite food. When the bird gets used to this, it will use the same sounds to get your attention while you are out of sight when it is hungry or needs attention.
When you hear the parrot making the sound, reply back with the same words as affirmations. When the bird tries to make a different expression, add in other words and phrases. This indicates that your parrot is ready to learn new words to add into its vocabulary.
You can also use a recording to train your parrot to talk or mimic sounds. Make a recording on a tape recorder and use words and phrases with clarity. If you do not have a good voice, ask someone you know to do it for you, or purchase a CD from a bird shop.
Play the recording at different times of the day as this will surely have a great impact on your bird. If you are making your own recording, do not put too many words and phrases. Expose your bird to a few words and phrases at a time and be patient about this.
If you intend to introduce new words and phrases, do this on another recording, and incorporate the older words in this new recording as well as a form of revision. This works very well in keeping the previous words permanently in your bird’s vocabulary.
Submitted by: Sam Sexton
About Today's Contributor:
Sam Sexton is a parrot enthusiast. Visit his blog at teachparrottotalk.com for free tips and information on parrot training.