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About Greys talking


Bronxboomer

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My grey is 4 months old and sometimes I can hear him trying to talk it sounds more like a mumble but he loves to whistle now I don't know where he picked up the whistle part because we don't whistle since we was told by the pet store if we teach him to whistle he wont talk. But I have notice while I'm in the room with him he wont say a word now the minute I leave the room its like a big party in there with whistles and mumble talking??? I spend Everyday 2 hours of talking and playing with him I even bought a few cds from Feathered Phonics so when I'm not home he can pick up some words.

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Guest briansmum

my grey is also 4 months, he has already learned to mimick one whistle (the zwist zwoo) one but it is like it only "slips" out sometimes.. it doesnt seem like he is doing it deliberately yet.

he is also mumbling and babbling like you describe yours doing. he enjoys doing it when i am in the room so that i can talk back to him, but like you said when i leave the room it sounds like there a 3 or 4 greys in there! i think this is normal, a lot of greys are "closet talkers" i think they like to practice noises on their own.. maybe it is a pride/embarresment thing :P

 

either way, your grey is only 4 months old, the most common age for greys to talk is 1 year old, so i wouldn't expect words yet, if they happen it is just a wonderful surprise. he sounds like he is on the right track though.

 

keep doing what you are doing, and even if you're not talking directly to him, talk out loud when you are around him.. eg "i'm going to go get a drink from the kitchen now", "this program is boring, let's turn it over" you might feel a bit silly but it is garanteed your grey is listening. i'm sure his first word will happen when you least expect it. :)

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First of all, the pet store was wrong, if you teach your grey to whistle, he will still learn to talk!! Once your grey is more used to you, he'll probably talk more in front of you...my grey was talking at 3 months of age...he talks more when it's just me or no one in the room with him. He also talks a lot when there's a lot of noise happening...like the vacuum or hair dryer. He will not talk if we have company over and he's in the same room as the company...and he won't talk at the vet's office or if we take him on an outing. Your grey is still young...he'll be talking in no time...just be patient...trust me, it will happen :)

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Guest briansmum

it seems we were all posting at the same time :laugh: i reckon we've all got the same idea though. great minds!

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I can speak from personal experience that just because a grey learns to whistle first they won't talk is just crap. Josey learned to wolf whistle first and now she is saying words and copying some of the things she hears. She says what all the time and I hear my laugh often too.

If yours is just 4 months old you have plenty of time, since mine is 1 year old and she is starting to form words. But it sounded more like jibberish before and kind of robotic, but give it time.:cheer:

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Guest briansmum

yes it's deffinately utter rubbish that teacher them to whistle will mean they wont talk. infact i thought it was the opposite, surely practising whistles is easier and more natural to them than human speech, thus teaching them the skills they need to eventually say words and other more complex noises.

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Hey Bronxboomer - I ditto what the others have said - Casper has supposedly been talking since he was 6 months old. He doesn't say lots yet, but I think he's just getting used to my voice instead of his old owners. He also whistles lots - he's happier to whistle in front of company than talk, but when he knows people are next door he'll chatter away like there's no tomorrow.

 

Julia

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Guest briansmum

brian has just started making "click click clock clock" noises that i have been making with my tongue, it's so wierd to here him make the same noise i just did. whats funny though is when i do it now, he shuts up and looks at me like i'm stupid :laugh: like only he's allowed to make the noise now. he seems to be trying to do a "mwah" kiss sound, but i'm not sure.

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Guest briansmum

brian has just started making "click click clock clock" noises that i have been making with my tongue, it's so wierd to here him make the same noise i just did. whats funny though is when i do it now, he shuts up and looks at me like i'm stupid :laugh: like only he's allowed to make the noise now. he seems to be trying to do a "mwah" kiss sound, but i'm not sure.

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It can take a Grey up to 1 to 2 years to start talking but it depends on the bird realy.

 

Also I would not worry about him picking up words.Your bird has 30 to 50 years to build a vocabulary, so don't worry about that. I would just enjoy him as a companion parrot and everything else will be automattic.

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Hi, Bronxboomer

 

My eighteen month-old son only rides his two-wheeler when I'm not watching him. :)

 

Just giving you an idea of what you sound like to me (and I don't have an 18 month old son). 4 months is pretty early to be talking, so if your bird is saying ANYTHING-alone or among company-that's a real bonus.

 

Richard is chatting up a storm now, and he just turned one year old in May. We got him in January and I feel we got a little "ripped off" because we missed so many precious baby months with him. But, he's definately made up for it by talking, laughing, whistling, barking, growling...

 

As for the CDs, my father did the same thing. He purchased some CDs that were made specifically for birds... and then he gave me one. I love him to death for thinking of me, but I don't want Richard saying phrases I don't normally say...and in a voice that isn't mine. One statement is "I'm a wiiillld and crazzzy gal!"

 

HOWEVER, it did give me the idea of making MY OWN CD recording of my voice and saying things I would say. I wrote down everything I wanted to record, first; and then I recorded it on my laptop using Goldwave, saved it in MP3 format and burned it to a disk. When we go out, I pop it in the DVD player.

 

I also made recordings of Richard talking and whistling, and continue to record him every few weeks to keep up with his progress.

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Richardsmommy wrote:

Hi, Bronxboomer

As for the CDs, my father did the same thing. He purchased some CDs that were made specifically for birds... and then he gave me one. I love him to death for thinking of me, but I don't want Richard saying phrases I don't normally say...and in a voice that isn't mine. One statement is "I'm a wiiillld and crazzzy gal!"

 

 

This has always been my feelings about CD's.. You don't want a mindless talking robot... Good point RM.. :P

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