by Kim S » Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:04 am
They say if you want a parrot to speak you should hold off on the whisteling. Once they learn to communicate with you through whisteling its harder for them to learn how to talk. Personally I have not experienced that.
But tiels can talk, pretty good even. It just takes a lot of time and like bmsweb said, the better your bond the better they talk. Make sure you pick one word you want to start with and keep repeating it. training him to say too many words at once will confuse him. Start with his name, since thats a word he will hear a lot anyway.
I heard they have more difficulty with the K-souds, but my budgie could say his name just fine (Koosje).
I hear association is a good teacher too. Every time you give him a treat, say : "wanna treat?" or something else you like to use. Always use those exact same words and they will pick up on it soon enough.
That said, not every tiel will talk. Maybe 1 in 20?
Kika: Senegal Parrot.
Guus: Cockatiel, Yellowcheek, cinnamon, pearl, pied.