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Hints on Teaching Your Quaker to Talk
I am no expert - I have just learned a few things by trial and
error which have worked with my birds. My two birds are different and
have different ways of learning.
To teach Reba a word or phrase, I take her to a quiet place, just
the two of us, and repeat what I want her to say very plainly. She
never talks back to me but may mumble. I have learned that her
mumbling is actually learning the word.
She also learns words I yell at her from another room.
She bobs her head up and down and gets very excited when I sing
to her. When she later repeats that phrase, she says it in a monotone
- she can't, unfortunately, carry a tune.
Reba doesn't learn long phrases. She is better with words or
short phrases. "Come ere" is very plain but, of course, that
is important to her - she wants me to come.
Reba talks to get attention. She never talks when I am in the
room. She seems to use speech to get me to come visit her or pick her
up. She repeats things I say when in another room. So our
conversations take place with me in one room and Reba in another.
Hints on Teaching Your Conure to Talk
Quincy, my Blue Crowned Conure, loves
to sit on my hand and talk. To teach him a new phrase, I take him to a
quiet place and say the new phrase over and over which he tries to
repeat back. Sometimes he gets real excited and goes through his whole
repertoire.
Quincy also mumbles and sort of growls when he is trying to say a
new word or phrase.
Quincy can say long phrases but I try to teach him in short
phrases that he can put together. He first learned "I love you"
then he learned "Hug a Parrot" then we put the two together
for "Hug a Parrot - I love You". If I say 'Hug a Parrot"
he will usually say "I love you".
He picks up short phrases on his own such as "Good Morn'in"
and "Nite-T-Nite". He learned to cough, laugh, and bark on
his own. I was very surprised when he coughed - I thought he was sick.
He is very funny so I laugh at him a lot. Quincy loves to laugh.
Singing makes no difference to him but he can carry a tune. He
sings "I'm a Little Quaker short and stout" to the tune of "I'm
a Little Tea Pot". He learned this from Reba but picked up the "Short
and Stout" and tune from me. He thinks he is a Quaker.
Quincy will usually talk whenever I want him to. If I have
company and he is being quiet, I can get him to say a word for food,
or if I pick up Reba, he will go through his repertoire for us.
Jealousy does it. He loves to talk on the phone and listens to the
receiver. He also love to hear the computer talk.
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