At what age can you teach a grey parrot to talk?

Answer 1

there is no specific age where you can/cannot teach a parrot to talk. but it's defiantly best to start as early as possible.

if your worried they are too old don't be! they just take a little longer to learn. as soon as they've picked up a first phrase or word they'll learn faster. finding it easier to pronounce the new words just like we do.

personally I've not had any birds other than budgies but i can tell you that they are all the same when it comes to teaching them to talk.

personally I've had two talking budgies. both could talk within 2 months of age and could say a large number of things by 4 months. (one is now 2 and a half the other flew away)

I've also had one budgie who could still pick things up at 10 years old.

in answer to the next question most people would probably ask "how do i teach my bird to talk?"

it's very simple pick a word or phrase (normally the animal's name or something to do with it) and repeat the word or phrase over and over.

osccasionally you might even overhear your bird "beek grinding" (grinding the upper and lower beak together) this is then practising and eventually you should find your bird whispering the phrase when it's on its own then when it is more confident screeming the phrase at you!

the next problem is the classic "baby talk trap" that we humans fall into. this trap is when we start talking to the bird in an unclear "baby talk" voice. eventually the bird will mimik this voice and become unclear. the best way to avoid this problem is talk to the bird as if it was your best friend.

the second last common problem people fall into is whistling to the bird. bird's communicate through whistles. and find it alot easier to whistle than talk so if you whistle of course they are going to as well and they'll also prefer to whistle than talk.

another problem I'm going to mention is mirrors! if you want a talker remove the mirror! bird's don't understand what a reflection is. they think that mirror bird is another bird and will whistle to them instead of you. you want your bird to be interested in you not another bird.

last but not least if you want a talking bird it is best to have only one. (for the same reason as no morrors) it is knows for some group birds to talk but that is more commonly because they live in separate rooms or one was bort at a later date so the first learn't to talk.

remember parrots are social birds! be their companion and they'll talk. also treats are a good thing. just make sure they know why they are getting them! (reward only after thay have spoken. if they throw in a whistle between when they've spoken and when your about to give them a treat don't give them the treat.)

i really hope this helps!

Answer 2

Its usually easier to try when they are young, but some birds are always interested in learning new words at any age.

Answer 3

Not all cockatiels will learn how to talk. It really depends on the individual bird, although males are more likely to talk than females. Both genders will whistle.