talking question

[rick6477]

i have had nemo since he was 3 months old i live alone with him and talk to him constantly he is now 11 months old and still nothing but cherping and whistling is there anything else i should try or just figure he won't be a talker which is ok but i have always wanted a parrot that can talk so i got a male congo african grey figured it was my best bet he is a sweet and wonderful bird and nothing could seperate us now i just would love to hear him talk

[Barbara2]

I'm not an expert but I do know that birds vocalize for a reason. If you are always there, he may not have a need to call for you. If you are out of sight, he may find a reason to "call" for you. Someone else will come along with more experienced information if I'm incorrect.

[Luvparrots]

Rick, some parrots don't talk until they are over a year old, some longer and, of course, some never. My grey says the words she wants, some words she never tries to say, some she says immediately. It all depends on a parrot's interest in the words. Sometimes voice inflections are something a grey likes, sometimes because it is related to something they like or want. Or maybe it is a reaction the word brings out of you or someone else. So don't worry about it, Nemo's words will come in Nemo's time and you just have to wait. Don't give up and keep talking to Nemo.

[Buffy]

I live alone too. Echo was 14 months old before she said her first word. Now there are times where I wish she would stop talking for just 5 minutes. Even though I talk directly to her all the time, most of her words are comments I say to other animal members of the household. She has taught me that I talk to my dogs much more than I realized! You just never know how good of a talker a bird will be no matter what the species. I had many birds in my youth and none of them has talked nearly as well as a male cockatiel that I received as a rescue bird.

[danmcq]

Just hang in there and wait. The average age they say their first word is around 12 to 14 months old.

 

The key is, as others said to use words associated with items and actions consistently. Like Apple, Walnut, Almond, Grape, Water, Hello when you enter, see you later when you leave etc.

 

They will associate the consistency with each and use them if they think it is something import they wish to be able to communicate. Just hang in there.

 

Also, It's great to hear you would love him even if he never uttered a word.

[Ray P]

I think I posted this befor but our grey Corky never said a word untill she was 2 years old and than wow she has never stoped.

Some just take longer. Good luck and always have hope and love her nomater what.

[Elvenking]

I am in the exact same boat Issac is going on 11 months and he does the pleasent chirping and whoops and whistles. Super cute even at that level. I am doing as others here have suggested....associating actions and objects with words consistantly. I also live alone and have considered the fact that since I pay so much attention to him, maybe he doesn't make an effort to talk. So I play games with him. I will go into other rooms and just listen sometimes, and occasionally I can hear him trying to do something. The morning on the shower curtain rod is also a place where he seems to practice. The best advice I have heard so far is to do word associations. Every time you pick something up that involves him...tell him what it is. Get his attention and talk to him. They love it.

[rick6477]

thanks for all the imput i will keep trying and as far as leaving the room that might be the problem cause if i'm home he is with me no matter what i am doing i have always had dogs as pets but it was to hard losing them i wanted a pet that would be with me longer and i have really got attached to this little guy it is a bit of a switch going from 160 lb rottweilers to a 405gram parrot but i do have him trained well he is potty trained gets a shower fine and lets me clip his nails even comes to me when i call him if he is at the back or top of his play gyms

[Ray P]

It sounds like your doing fine. When he is ready he will talk than you can`t keep them quiet.

[Coral&Andrew]

he may need abit longer till you hear him talking, talking to him may get him to say some words.

He sounds very tamed though thats great!

[Luvparrots]

I also live alone and I wish there were more people around to interact with, but that's life. I do try to interact with my three parrots and Louie (my Hindu speaking Zon) has picked up a couple of phrases in English. I understand Zons are great singers so I sing a lot in the bird room. But now Ana Grey has a new phrase she loves to say frequently when I sing, "Stop that!!!" Do you think she is trying to tell me something!!!!! LOL!!

[Cheshire Cat]

I've had Tui four months now so she's around ten months of age and she can sometimes really go mad with whistling, clicking and making random noises. This is usually when I'm watching the TV or talking to someone else in the room; she's after my attention which she knows is not fixed on her. A few times I'm sure she's said 'Hello' and tried to experiment with vocalisation but it comes out as more of a gurgle. If you want your bird to talk, all you can do is keep talking to him (talking about random things or what things you're doing/need to do throughout the day) and hopefully he should pick up the words.

 

As a lot of people here have said, Greys will say what they want to say. If you keep saying the same word over and over again, I'm sure the bird will get bored of it and not say that word you want them to. LOL. It's just luck! Keep talking to him and I'm sure he'll begin chatting away to you soon....

 

The worst thing Tui ever does is make a high pitch shriek and she's done that when I've been holding her and she's been right by my ear. Seriously, the other day, my ear was ringing for a while afterwards with the sheer pitch of her shriek. Other times she'll do the typical wolf whistle or just do a one note whistle....she just seems to come out with whatever she feels like at that particular moment in time.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Cheshire Cat

[judygram]

Josey was over one year of age when she started talking so be patient, some are more cautious about talking when their owners are around and some just belt it out if they feel like it, I bet we hear soon that Nemo will be chatting away, wonder what his first word will be.

[Barbara2]

Neo is only 4 months old so he is not talking other than "baby talk". I did notice that he likes to talk into the bell. Our African Senegal does the same thing. He holds the bell up to his mouth like it's a telephone and he talks into the bell. Neo doesn't hold it but puts his head up inside it.

[judygram]

Barbara you have plenty of time yet for Neo to talk as yours is just a baby at 4 months but be sure to name foods when you give them to him and use other words appropriate to the moment, hello and goodbye etc and put a little emphasis on the words for that seems to interest them more.

No grey should be without a bell, thats just not natural!

[Barbara2]

He is just such a little love! He is already figuring out when he is going back in his cage. (I have been telling him, "You have to get in the cage now...") He doesn't so much bite as he puts his beak over my finger and applies pressure. I tell him "no" and he reluctanly steps down on the perch inside the cage. I love this bird!!!! LOL!