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Talking Cockatiels?

Want to teach your bird talk? Learn about and discuss methods for training birds to vocalize and mimic different sounds on cue.

Talking Cockatiels?

Postby JadeW » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:56 pm

I'm really hoping that I can get Cas to say at least a couple of words. I've read that they -can- talk, but it's rather rare. I'm wondering what I can do to maximize the potential of him speaking... Is there a word he's more likely to say, or a way I can focus on one word? Oh I am so confused... Maybe I should go buy that book on teaching parrots to talk?
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby bmsweb » Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:06 pm

Our Cockatiel will say "Good Boy", "Hello" and "Hello Baby".

Developing a strong bond does seem to make a big difference as far as Vocalization and whistling goes. If you whistle some tunes to your Cockatiel he will pick them up really quickly. They are amazing when it comes to whistling tunes. I don't bother teaching him to speak because they are so much better at whistling. When I get a change I might post some videos of Jazz whistling a few tunes.
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby 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?
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby lzver » Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:55 am

They definitely are capable of talking. My step-daughter's Cockatiel says her name and 'Hello'. She's had him for 6 months and he's around 9 months old now.
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby JadeW » Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:56 am

I've read that the cockatiels who have a better chance of talking are the ones who vocalize the most. While I love waking up to happy bird babble, I don't really hear him vocalizing too much outside crying for me when I leave the room. That said, I have kind of made the decision not to teach him to whistle... Mostly because I can't, and I would love to hear him speak! I was thinking of starting with "hi" or 'bye.'

How would I go about training a specific word? Just by spending time repeating the one word over and over again? I can imagine a little tiel getting a bit confused just by everyday speech. :)
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby Kim S » Fri Jul 09, 2010 9:06 am

When he has lived with you for some time he can understand what words are directed to him and wich ones arent. The usual day to day talk with other people or on the phone is not directed to him and he will know that. The way to make a difference between your everyday chatter to him and the words you want to teach him are in the way you say it. The normal everyday talk you will utter in a normal way, rattling on in a nondescript tone like you always do. The words that you pronounce heavily, or outside of a sentence they will pick up on faster.
And if they find out that a certain word means something (treat or cuddle) that makes teaching that word easier as well. There is a reason for them to learn that word. Meaning, if you say treat, the will get a treat. He will make the conection that if he says treat, you will give him one.
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby Marnie » Fri Jul 09, 2010 9:09 am

the tiel i had would say "pretty bird" and so does Marnie.
its a pretty easy one for them to pick up.
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby lzver » Fri Jul 09, 2010 9:23 am

JadeW wrote:I've read that the cockatiels who have a better chance of talking are the ones who vocalize the most.


My step-daughter's Cockatiel vocalizes ALL DAY LONG - from the time he wakes up until the time you cover him to go to sleep. I can deal with the whistling and calling and talking, but the one noise he makes the most sounds like a dog sqweak toy. Sometimes you feel like you want to take the toy away ... but we don't have a dog and it's not a toy making the noise ;)
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby JadeW » Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:58 am

Alright! With a little bit of patience and a bit more know-how, I can definitely teach Cas a word or two! I'm glad most people think it's more then possible to teach a word or two :D
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Re: Talking Cockatiels?

Postby entrancedbymyGCC » Sat Jul 10, 2010 12:07 pm

I'd say it is very much worth the attempt! However, there are also stories of :gray: that refuse to talk, so the individual bird may have its own ideas! That said, Scooter has a very strong inclination to talk and GCCs are thought to have a low aptitude in general. We didn't even particularly try very hard, we just talk to him and he's picked up quite a few phrases.
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