How to train a parakeet to talk...
cr...@earthlink.net
a vinyl record for all you youngsters (ask your parents) that you
played over and over for your bird. It had various words spoken in a
soft tone.
If I recall you could get a single bird to talk, but if you had 2 or
more it would not work as they had better things to do with the other
birds than to quietly listen to a record...
And for the record, my keet never voiced anything resembling a word.
How is it done these days? Anything changed?
Craig
Louis Boyd
Personally I wouldn't want to be around a bird that's learned a bunch of
"cute" phrases from a recording. Hearing them a few times might be
fun, but living with a bird that repeats those phrases for twenty to
fifty years could be hell. Birds pick up the sounds they hear
naturally. They have very good memories for sounds. That doesn't mean
all birds choose to repeat those sounds even if they can. There can be
a considerable time between when a bird hears and sound an when it
repeats it. Sometimes years.
About half of my birds say their name and short phrases like "good
morning" since I say those words to them occasionally. My CAG very
reliably says "Hello" about two seconds after my phone rings, but only
on the first ring and only if I'm in the room. He favorite perch is
next to my desk near the phone. She's heard me say hello many times and
the voice she uses matches mine closely enough that callers can't tell
it's the bird and not me when I pick up the phone. It's not something I
tried to teach her.
What's changed? The birds haven't. I've not seen a scientific study
on why birds "talk" or mimic sounds in their environment. It doesn't
seem to me to be an attempt on the bird's part at conversation, though
with a lot of training some birds can "communicate" to a limited extent.
I've concluded mimicking sounds is an instinctive defense mechanism.
Most predators won't attack their own kind. Making a sound a predator
makes when it approaches is likely to make a predator pause, at least
momentarily giving the bird a better chance for escape. From my
observation birds learn sounds best if they're associated with movement
of a predator such as a human walking up to them, or as in the case with
the telephone, my hand reaching for the phone. Humans are natural
predators of birds even though some birds will accept individual humans
as friends and vice-versa. It's not a very natural relationship. I
doubt a bird is consciously thinking about pleasing it's human companion
when it talks but I do think birds recognize the the attention they get
by repeating "human" sounds. It's different from the reaction they get
from whistling or screaming.
Maybe I'm all wrong. That's just what I've concluded from about 15
years of living with an assortment of parrots. I don't encourage my
birds to talk. In my opinion talking is not one of the more endearing
traits of a companion bird.
Gun Woman
Petsmart has a talking mirror for $19. It takes batteries and you record
a word or phrase in it, which you can change at any time, like after the
bird learns one word. It even has a little food tray in front of the
mirror. There's a motion detector in it, that senses when the bird is
there and triggers the sound.
--
GunWoman - Armed and Safer in the USA
Jangchub
I've heard parakeets talk. It sounds nothing like the big Macaws or
other large parrots. They have a very high pitched, squeek of a
mimic. It could get old fast.
My mothers birds all talk and when they get going it's a major problem
if watching television or listening to the radio is a passtime.
Dave Bugg
> I've heard parakeets talk. It sounds nothing like the big Macaws or
> other large parrots. They have a very high pitched, squeek of a
> mimic. It could get old fast.
I suppose it depends on the budgie (I'm just assuming the parakeet question
refers to budgies). Budgies are one of the most prolific talkers in the
parrot world. And although the budgie voice is not at the same level as a
large parrot, the words -- in general -- are quite clear. Bubba, the budgie,
had a vocabulary that exceeded 50 phrases.
My favorite was "Beam me up, Scottie", which I jokingly said whenever I
picked him up from his cage. It was quite a surprise to hear him start
saying it. It was even more of a surprise when it became clear that Bubba
had learned to associate the sound of the phrase, to wanting out of his
cage. It always cracked me up when I would come home from work, close the
door behind me, and hear this cute voice say, "Beam me up, Scottie".
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com
Starlight
posted:
My budgie's voice isin't high pitched. He also doesn't speak loudly
enough to be annoying. Although I'll admit once in awhile I have to
ignore his "whatcha doin'?" I love hearing him drifting off to
sleep, saying all the phrases he knows. And he never fails to give a
'cough' after I say good-night and walk out of the room. heheh
Jangchub
Awe...Well, Meek says words, but only I know what they are and some
she will ONLY say in the shower. Like, "Good Bird." If I say the
"good" part, she finishes with the "bird" part. Her most clear is "I
love you," and she definitely associates it with affection and kisses.
I say, I love you and she blows kisses. I never taught her that.
Mostly she says things like racka ra and uh uh (which is "step up).
I'm not overly concerned if she talks. If she wants to talk she
certainly can pick it up
V
Jangchub
wrote:
>Jangchub wrote:
I take it back! Go to this You Tube segment and this little budgie is
fabulous. There are several little video's of him.