Teaching Your Bird To Talk

Many birds kept as pets can learn to make human sounds and it isn't difficult to teach your pet bird to talk if you are dedicated to the task. However, not every bird will take. Some learn quickly, some learn more slowly and some never say a word at all. Canaries and finches are not pet birds that have the range of sounds to learn to talk but all the parrots can talk if trained.

It is a myth that you can't teach your pet bird to talk if it is female. There have been many cases of female cockatiels, said to never talk but only whistle, of learning words. The female tends to speak in a softer voice and because they have less vocal range may not learn as many words, but there is no reason not to try to teach your pet bird to talk. I have personally seen a female sun conure that talked and uses words in proper context and a female cockatiel that said quite a few phrases very clearly. So, don't believe anyone that says female pet birds can't talk!

When you first bring your pet home, allow a few days to settle in before starting to teach your pet bird to talk. Usually a week is plenty of time for a new bird to adjust to the change and begin to be interested in its surroundings. Even if the bird is not tamed, begin training right away. However, untamed birds are not good students, but the idea is to get the bird to become familiar with the words.

The reason a bird will learn to make human sounds is because the humans in the home are the bird's flock. In order to make the bird want to learn, it is important to become the center of the bird's life. A hand-fed baby bird is much more likely to have a strong bond and learn to talk than an older, untamed bird. However, even some untamed birds do talk.

To teach your pet bird to talk, if it is tame, take the bird away from its cage to another area of the home. If it is not yet tame, work with the bird inside its cage. By removing the tame bird from the cage, it will pay more attention to you and your voice.

Training sessions, to be most effective, should be consistently done twice per day for 10 minutes each session. The first session should be in the morning while the bird is alert; the second session can be late in the afternoon or just before bedtime.

To begin to teach your pet bird to talk, choose a single word or very short phrases like "pretty bird" to focus on. "Hello" is a popular first word as well. Say the word slowly, very, very slowly. In fact, stretch the word. "Pretty bird" should become "preeettttyyyy biiiirrrrrddd". Speak in a slightly softer than normal tone of voice. The reason to speak slowly is that many birds speed up the words and you want them to be intelligible when the bird talks. The reason for the soft tone is that some parrots raise the volume level and this way they will not learn to be as loud.

Say the word. Pause. Repeat the word again. Pause. Repeat this sequence for the enter session while you teach your pet bird to talk. Some parrots will speak within weeks; others take much, much longer to learn. The sun conure mentioned above took three years to say her first word. But she then learned other words quickly and easily.

Don't be surprised if, as you teach your pet bird to talk, he or she doesn't talk in front of you at first. The bird may practice behind your back to try to get the sound perfect before showing you the new skill.

So develop a broader sense of birding. Bring birds around more often and dance to the tune of their music while you get and keep them in your area longer with bird feeders.

Learn a lot more: The “Everything You Want to Know About Birdfeeders” Guide