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Parrot Speech Training
After a while the parrot gets used to its cage, you can start the “take a step” training. Parrots, which are accustomed to living in herds by nature, lead their lives under the leadership of a leader. There is constant competition among other members of the herd. Therefore, you must train your parrot that you are the leader. This is done with step-by-step horse training.
Training takes place outside the cage. If possible, train at the same time of day. The goal in training is to get the parrot to obey the command to step, thus helping her understand that you are the leader. Work regularly every day. Start with 5 minutes. Do not push too hard in the beginning. Limit the time to 15 minutes after you start taking steps.
During training, gently press the parrot’s belly with your right hand and make it climb into your hand. At the same time, repeat the step command in a soft but firm voice. At first she will try to bite. The aim here is to weigh the strength of the hand with its beak, as well as to defend it for fear. In the natural environment, birds try to understand the strength of the branches on which they will perch in this way. If she doesn’t want to perch, she will move towards your left hand and, in surprise, put her foot in your right hand. As time passes, step by step education becomes healthier. When you hear the command, continue training until you reach the position that raises your feet on your own.
Parrot Speech Training
Some parrot breeds are more prone to speech than others. While some do not speak at all or their speech is limited to a few words, other breeds surprise people with their excellent vocal imitation and large vocabulary.
The most beautiful imitators are budgies. These birds, which are trained individually when they are young, start to say their first words in a short time like 1-2 months. If enough attention is given over time, they can imitate many words using them correctly and appropriately. After a while, they combine words to form sentences. But the words are not very clear. However, if you listen carefully, it can be understood.
Sultan parrots are preferred by many bird lovers with their not being too noisy, their elegant and polite stance. Their speaking capacity can only expand to 10-12 words. They talk more like whistles. What they say is therefore not very clear. They can make short sentences. These parrots are exclusively fed with the male breed. They have a raspy voice. After much effort, they can imitate maybe 1-2 words unambiguously.
Big parrots ara parrot, eclectus parrot and cockatoosare notable for their imitation rather than speech. They are fed mostly because of their colors and external beauty. They have an expandable capacity of up to 15-20 words. Conure parrots are good talkers. Large parrots are more capable of speaking than small parrots. Birds called lorikeets, on the other hand, attract attention with their speaking skills and playful temperament. The high hills minah is likewise a good imitator and player.
The best talking birds in the world are amazonand gray parrots. In particular, the vocabulary of gray parrots can go up to 700-800 words over the years. They have been popular with people for the last 100 years. The champion of speech, gray parrots are called the “mercedes of parrots”. They not only have the ability to say words, but also to form many sentences, as well as to sing and dance.
The world’s most spoken parrot in the Guinness Book of Records is a gray parrot named Prudle. Trained in Uganda in 1958, this parrot had the ability to accurately and understandably imitate nearly 1000 words by 1977.
Parrot Talking Ways
Parrotskeep their memory alive by speaking with their voice for years after their owner dies. The intermediate parrot, with whom Winston Churchill lived before she died in 1965, is 104 years old today. It has been reported that this parrot still speaks in imitation of Churchill’s voice.
The gray parrot named N’kisi, whose owner is a painter living in the USA, knows 950 words. A documentary of this parrot, which can make up its own sentences and make jokes, was broadcast on a special TV in January 2004.
There is no rule that every gray parrot will talk. It has been observed that they started to speak 6 months after they were trained, as well as they did not say any words for years and spoke suddenly. Usually after the pronunciation of a single word comes the rest. If the purpose of buying a parrot is to make it speak, young ones should be preferred if possible.
Talking parrots cost more than untrained parrots. If a talking parrot is to be preferred, its speech should be evaluated before purchasing, and its price should be adjusted accordingly.
There is no difference in speech between the gray parrot species. The sound frequency of the Congotype is higher. Both species (Congo and Timneh) are equally capable of speech. While the Timnehtype is preferred abroad with its docile nature, the Congo type is more popular in Turkey due to its larger and more ostentatious nature. Therefore, the price of Congo gray parrots of two different species in Turkey is more expensive.
The common belief that the male speaks and the female does not or hardly speaks is wrong. As a rule, in natural life, male birds sing beautifully and more impressively than females. However, since there is an imitation rather than crowing, there was no significant difference between the sexes.
Parrot Talking Methods
Parrots do not have vocal cords. They speak through the windpipe called the “trachea”. The imitated sound is as if it were recorded on a tape recorder. Whoever imitates speech speaks just like her. This situation is often met with surprise among people. There is a direct correlation between the age at which parrots begin to speak and the completion of the psychological development of that parrot in the herd. Amazon parrots are under the care of their parents until they are 6 months old. At the end of this period, they begin to lead their lives alone and take an active role in the herd. Studies have shown that amazons begin to pronounce the first words from 6 months of age and form idioms and sentences by connecting them. The same is true for timneh gray parrots. From the age of 6 months and begin to form simple sentences. Congo species, on the other hand, begin to say their first words in the natural environment only after they turn 1 year old, as they get rid of the protection of the family and take an active role in the herd.
In addition to speaking, parrots also have the ability to successfully imitate sounds in everyday life. Cockatiel, gray parrot, amazon parrot, talker and cockatoo parrots are very successful in this regard. They successfully mimic high-frequency mechanical sounds in the home, such as doorbells, telephone bells, microwave oven sounds, door squeaks, shutters opening. She is so successful at this that you can’t help but get up and look at the phone or the door.
My Congo gray parrot (Mustafa) at home misled me many times because she imitated the phone sound very well. My phone is ringing twice. If I don’t look, she responds with my voice as “sir”.
There is no practical way to make a parrot talk. It is possible for her to start speaking, increase her vocabulary and build sentences only if you take the time to talk to her. The more effort you put in, the more you get in return.
Parrots imitate female and child voices better than male voices. Therefore, training with a lady or child should be started after you buy the parrot and let it get used to you for a while. Talking to her in a soft tone from the first day will be part of the training you will give her to get used to you.
Begin training by repeating a single word. Work in 2 periods of 15 minutes and, if possible, at the same times of the day. Have your parrot pay attention to you during training. The environment should not be too quiet or too noisy. Increase the number of words you say to her over time. Although your parrot may not start speaking during this time, it will continue to record training words in its memory.
Parrot Talking Techniques
In response to the sounds that the parrot makes in the first period, respond with various words. As she sings, you speak. In time, she will understand that she needs to communicate with you by talking and will make an effort for this.
Avoid distracting behavior during training. Education given at a time of restlessness will not help. If your parrot is not suitable, it will not be able to move in the cage and give itself to you. At the appropriate time, she watches you carefully, her pupils are narrowed, she does not move much, as if she understands what you are saying.
Birds of the parrot breed differ in the age at which they begin to speak. For budgies, this time is 1. While after the month, it can take up to 6-12 months in parrots such as gray parrots and amazon parrots.
You can use CDs and cassettes to continue your education when you are not at home. You can make these tapes yourself at home. The important thing here is that the cassette playing time should not exceed 15 minutes. Because usually at the end of this period, the attention of the parrot gets distracted. You can also watch children’s programs on television for a short time when you are not at home.
Parrots can start speaking at a later age. At first, incomprehensible murmurs are heard. This should be accepted as an indication that the parrot has at least the ability to speak. After a while, she will begin to pronounce the words very clearly. Some parrots may prefer one word over others. An air-conditioner, especially one that is said with enthusiasm, attracts their attention more quickly. For example, while you are surprised to see that your parrot starts to say an insult that you have uttered once, you can expect a period of 4-5 months before you hear it from the mouth of the parrot, despite repeating the name of your beloved son many times.
Sometimes the parrot may have trouble saying a short sentence. In such a case, you can add a word to the sentence and make it pronounced that way. For example, my other gray parrot, Abidin, did not say “I love you”, but easily said “I love you”.
As an old rule of thumb, never teach your parrot to whistle before it learns to speak. Because whistling is easier than talking, your parrot chooses this way. In this case, learning to speak becomes difficult. After learning a few words, you can teach various melodies by whistling.
Since parrots memorize words in the first period, they use them inappropriately. The purpose of speech is to sing using the ability to imitate. As time passes, they begin to speak on the spot and meaningfully with a good education. Think of the words in the first period as a complete tape recording. Whatever sound you sing to the tape, at what frequency, you will listen to it. Greys, amazons, and other large parrots, in particular, speak by imitating the voice of the speaker. In other words, it is possible to hear various words from the voices of all members of the house. If you say a word from afar, the parrot will say that word at a lower frequency, as the recording will be made remotely. Therefore, you must pronounce the words clearly, as you will hear what you say. For example, ask the parrot “how are you” instead of “how are you?” If you do, the room will call you the same. Do not make unnecessary extensions and abbreviations. Emphasize word endings without rounding. Speak in a harmonious, not monotonous manner.
Top Talking Parrot Breeds
Some words may seem boring to the parrot. She doesn’t want to say this. It should be changed to another word without dwelling too much on it, or by adding a few words next to it to make it appealing. For example, if she doesn’t insist on saying the word “hello”, you can practice the sentence “hello beautiful bird”. Of course, these studies should be done after the parrot starts talking.
They are extremely reluctant to speak in front of strangers. This is mostly due to their introverted nature. They do not like to be the center of attention for long periods of time. After a while, they start talking to themselves without coercion. The hours that parrots like to talk the most are between 08:00 – 09:00 and 17:00-18:00.
What more can you learn from a talking parrot? Considering the length of their lifespan, you should teach what you want to hear for many years. If you don’t like opera, there’s no point in teaching your parrot. You may not like to listen to a song that is popular today from your parrot for many years.
The more times a word is repeated, the more it will stick in your memory. For this reason, if your parrot learns a swear word unintentionally, you can prevent her from saying this word again in front of her and make her forget it. If she continues to swear, cover the cage for about 10 minutes. She will understand that you are not happy with this situation. In order to fully understand the connection, set the time of covering and opening the cage well.
Teaching a parrot to speak is easier than working with two parrots. Because the parrots who run away from the job do not communicate with you by talking among themselves. Because the parrots who run away from the job do not communicate with you by talking among themselves. For this reason, speech training becomes very difficult. However, if they are left alone during the daytime, they may get bored and show behavior disorder, and even make these behaviors a habit. For this reason, various toys should be placed in the cage to keep single parrots entertained, and these toys should be changed every day. According to some bird species, mirror straw in the cage is of great benefit in keeping the parrot distracted, while another group says that the mirror will have a negative effect. My suggestion is that if she is alone during the day, you should put a different kind of parrot (like a cockatiel next to a gray parrot) next to her. Thus, while she is not bored during the day, her speech training is not adversely affected by the second parrot.
Understanding Spoken and Responding Meaningfully
With a good training you will give, it is possible for our parrot not only to talk, but also to connect with you and to use words in a timely and appropriate manner. It is a very pleasant feeling to have a lot of communication on this subject in recent years.
In the 1950s, some European researchers determined that gray parrots could communicate and communicate easily with some meaningful natural sounds and some tasks given to them in addition to speaking. Parrots taken at a young age have been trained for many years and great progress has been made.