Archive for the ‘Teach Parrot To Talk’ Category
Talking Parrot
Thursday, December 31st, 2009What could be more impressive than having a talking parrot as a pet as it calls your name and greets your friends and visitors. A talking parrot in the house is entertaining and a great attraction. My talking parrot is the life of the party during family gatherings such as birthday parties and Thanksgiving.
A talking parrot learns to pick up words and sounds from the house by mimicking exactly what they hear. It is a fast learner and in no time at all it will start to utter those sounds, even if the sounds are not intended for the parrot, such as the microwave alarm or telephone. So be aware where you place your talking parrot because some sounds if picked up by your talking parrot can be quite disturbing. I find it especially irritating when my parrot repeatedly mimicked the sound of the doorbell. Because the tonality is so close, I sometimes can’t tell it from the real sound of the doorbell.
What I like about having a talking parrot as a pet is that while I am busy in the kitchen, my guests are entertained. I love entertaining and my talking parrot is a draw for friends and family to visit the house often, which is great for me. It’s a great delight to watch them teaching my parrot new words or a song or seeing my talking parrot utter words from its vocabulary. The children are especially happy and entertained. My parrot and I even received invitations to parties and community events and I really love that.
Besides just talking, a parrot can also perform wonderful tricks. I have taught my parrot to pick up a tiny soft ball and put it in a basket, just like playing basketball. Some parrot owners even teach their parrots to cycle and play dead. Parrots are intelligent birds and very entertaining. If you visit a bird park or a zoo, you will find that a talking parrot is almost certainly the centre of attraction of its bird show.
A talking parrot can be a great addition to your family. If you decide to own one, I can almost guarantee that you will have a wonderful time sharing your life with it.
Training Your Parrot to Talk – 6 Techniques to Get Your Pet Parrot to Talk
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
“Polly wants a cracker” has got to be one of the most famous lines ever spoken by a parrot. Here are 6 techniques for getting Polly or Peter parrot to talk.
Start Young-The earlier you start to associate words with objects the better. Your bird may not respond initially, but many will understand what you mean long before they are able to actually say words.
Be Consistent-Set aside a short time for training each day-10 minutes is enough when getting started. If your student seems to lose interest during training, stop the session, reward, and be upbeat about what you accomplished. You always want your bird to enjoy the interaction with you, be excited during the sessions, and be eager for more. You can train on your finger or on a perch, but be consistent so your bird knows what to expect and can relax and focus on what you want to teach each time.
Be Generous With Your Reward-The reward is so important and builds such trust, respect, and love between you and your bird. It can be a favorite treat, and don’t forget one of the best rewards is praise from its human. Your happy and animated voice while stroking your bird on the head, under the chin, or on its back can be an invaluable incentive.
Keep it Personal-There are many automated tapes that you can play for your bird, and whereas some of this has its place, the best teacher for your bird is you, up close and personal. Remember, only part of the process is about teaching your bird to speak. An equally important part of the process is having your pet feel a sense of accomplishment, and be able to please you. A bird that feels successful and is praised after each session is much more likely to talk. And even if it never speaks, you’ve developed a bond that will only deepen with time.
Repeat and Repeat-When trying to get your bird to make associations, use the object and repeat the word slowly several times. As it masters words, reinforce the word by giving it the object it requests such as ball, toy, cracker. Use words consistently when certain things happen. When people enter the room the cue might be welcome, welcome, welcome. When it’s time for dinner, the cue could be dinnertime. If you cover the cage at night it could be night, night or see you in the morning! If you’re lucky, you’ve got a living tape recorder that is eager to soak up the words and say them back to you at just the right time. Be creative with what you decide to teach. You may be hearing it for years.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy-Don’t take your bird’s talking too seriously. Each bird has its own personality and will learn at its own rate. Set goals, but should you and your bird not be able to reach them, don’t let it spoil the fun. And many times, even though it seems that your student is not absorbing the things you’re teaching, you may be pleasantly surprised at what your feathered friend has to say when company comes.
A healthy parrot is much more likely to talk, and an excellent HEPA air purifier to remove airborne pollutants from your bird’s air is offered by PurerAir.com– the Bird Dander Purifier See it now at http://purerair.com/bird_dander_air_purifier.html
Teach A Parrot To Talk
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
To have a talking parrot, it is preferable that you purchase a young, hand raised parrot between the ages of two and six months. Older parrots will not learn as fast and wild or untrained parrots will be more difficult to train as they have already got used to the sounds ingrained in their heads. If you can only purchase an adult parrot, you will need a lot of patience to train it to talk as it will take a much longer time, but it is not impossible.
The ability for your parrot to mimic the human spoken words depend largely on the species, the character of your bird, your technique and how tame your parrot is. You will need to work on taming your parrot first and build its confidence in you as its master before you can succeed at training it to talk, so you have to work on that part. You will know that the parrot is ready to be trained to talk if it is calm and looks at you confidently when you approach it.
The Congo African Grey and the Timneh African Grey parrot is a perfect talking bird to have because they are easier to train and very proficient. The tonal qualities and pronunciation may differ between these species but overall they are the more popular birds among parrot lovers.
These parrots can live for many years and bring much joy and companionship to you as you build their vocabulary and work on their tonal quality. Parrots may take in more words and be able to retain them as they have a stronger memory than the others.
Train your parrot to talk every morning before you take off the cage cover. Repeat a word or phrase over and over again and make it a ritual. Your parrot will be able to concentrate on the sounds in the dark and will try to respond to you with the same sound it hears. Do this also at different times of the day and especially during feeding time or when giving it its favorite tidbit. When the bird gets used to this, it will use the same sounds to get your attention while you are out sight when it is hungry or needs attention. When you hear this, reply back with the same words as affirmations, but do not approach the cage. When the parrot tries to make a different expression, add in other words and phrases. This indicates that your bird is ready to learn new words to add into its vocabulary.
You can also use a recording to train your parrot to talk or mimic sounds. Most bird parks use these method as a form of training as different bird trainer has different tonality or pronunciation. Make a recording on tape or CD and use words and phrases with clarity. If you do not have a good voice, ask someone you know to do it for you, or purchase a CD from a bird shop. Play the recording at different times of the day as this will surely have a great impact on your parrot.
If you are making your own recording, do not put too many words and phrases in it as the bird has a small brain capacity. Ever heard of the phrase “bird brain” that is used so often on people? Expose your parrot to a few words and phrases at a time and be patient about this. Your parrot can live beyond forty years, so what do you have to lose? If you intend to introduce new words and phrases, do this on another recording on tape or CD, and incorporate the older words in this new recording as well as a form of revision. This works very well in keeping the previous words permanently in your bird’s vocabulary.
