My African Grey wont talk

[lozano415]

I have a 9 year old african grey that I have had since she was months old. She whistles like crazy, but only says a handful of words. I notice that when she is all by herself, she will try to put some word together. I hand fed her and she only allows me to handle her. Is there anything I could do to encourage her to talk more? I have tried the CD's that repeat phrases over and over but that did not work. Please help!

[MandyG]

I don't think there's much more you can do. Talk to her all the time, repeat key phrases, such as every day you come in the house say 'hello' or 'step up' or 'wanna come out?' when you see she wants out. I haven't tried the CD's myself so I'm not sure how they work. Saying things when your bird is excited will help too. That's one of the reasons birds pick up on 'hello' so quickly usually, they're excited that you're home or excited you're coming in the room and then you say hello to them.

You may want to look at her surroundings too. Birds won't talk if they feel vulnerable or insecure. Maybe her cage is near a window where she can see wild birds and she doesn't feel safe or there's another animal or piece of furniture or something in her immediate environment that makes her feel uneasy.

You may want to try putting the words she does know on cue, you can take a look at Michael's article here on him teaching Kili to overcome her shyness and to say hello on cue. Also check out the other posts under Training Parrot Vocalizations. They might be able to give you a few more ideas.

Or maybe she's just one of those birds that will never talk. Not all grey's will talk, that's why it's so important to never buy a parrot solely because you want a talking bird.

[lozano415]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. We all love Chula, she has been with us for over 9 years. I'll try what you mentioned. Thanks again.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I've also heard that the CDs aren't very effective, it's making it part of a social interaction that people say works best. Anyway, I wish you and Chula an even longer and happy relationship, even if it isn't verbal! Our GCC we didn't expect to talk at all, and he's making a valiant attempt. Don't know if it will ever go much past "Pretty Bird". Guess one never really knows.

[Erithacus]

My Grey doesn't like talking too. She just speaks a few words and she won't repeat them when she has learnt new ones.

[RudysMom]

my tag will be a year old May 2nd and she hasn't started talking yet but she does a fantastic quaker parrot sound lol, she hangs out with one of my quakers and she sounds just like him and she does the whistles and the micro wav and she also now does a senegal sound

[lzver]

I don't have a grey, but I do know that my Senegal practices when he thinks no one is listening. That's when we hear the new words he's picked up. He also chatters to himself when he's sleeping - its so cute.

I talk to my birds all the time! They have picked up a few things that my husband says, but pretty much everything they say is mimicing me. My husband says sometimes its like having 3 of me living in the house ... especially when all three of us are laughing