Training your talking parrot can be as much fun for you as it will be for him. Working with a parrot to teach it to speak is a far different scenario than training a dog or cat.
Parrots and owners have a very unique relationship in that the parrot can communicate verbally with words.
Choosing a Talking Parrot
There are many parrots to choose from, so make sure you choose the correct one. For first time owners, it is crucial to understands the ins and outs of owning a parrot.
Parrots require lots of care and is often overlooked by first time owners.
You cannot just train any type of parrot to talk. Some parrots no matter what you do to encourage them to talk, will talk very little or maybe never talk.
For this reason you should do some research about which species of parrots are generally known to be good talkers.
The red tailed African gray is usually quite a good talker. And some of the Amazon parrots such as the double yellow heads, blue fronts and yellow napes make some of the best talkers.
Any young Amazon parrots that carries the yellow head may be a good choice to work with.
Keep in mind that you need to work with a youthful bird and males tend to talk more than the females.
The Parrot’s ability to speak is one of the main reasons why it is one of the best birds anyone can have.
Talking Parrot Training
Training you’re parrot to speak should primarily be handled by one person in the house, at least to start with so they can develop a bonding relationship with that individual.
As with any kind of training of a pet there has to be a trust situation established before you can achieve success. Parrots that are not healthy and happy will certainly be difficult to train to speak.
Before you actually begin training you’re parrot to speak, you should place him in a location where there is a lot of speaking activity taking place.
Sometimes the kitchen can be an ideal location while people chat and food is being prepared. Parrots like activity and enticing smells around them.
So now that you have given him time to adjust to his surroundings, pick a time of day where you will repeatedly train him and be consistent with this time schedule on a daily basis.
Parrots speak the most in the morning when they are ready to feed and again in the evening when they roost.
Create a Comfortable Environment
Because you want the training to be a one on one session with you alone, make sure all other pets and family members move off to another room. Have you’re treats all laid out for you’re parrot.
For large birds a great treat can be peanuts or almonds. Smaller birds may enjoy sunflower seeds as well. Training you’re parrot to speak will be much easier if you provide treats with his favorite foods.
The best training technique is to use food as a positive reinforcement whenever you’re parrot repeats the word you have just said. Watch you’re parrot carefully for signs of interest when you say a new word.
Make sure to read up on your parrot’s diet before feeding.
Talking to Your Parrot
How you actually say the word affects the parrot more than the word itself.
Words that are said by you should be spoken in a loud, clear voice and filled with emotion. This will help to capture the birds attention.
If a bird is attentive to you, it’s body language will reflect this with an alert stance showing signs of interest.
An excellent way for training you’re parrot to speak is by associating a word with an action. For example, say good morning when you remove the cover off of his cage every morning.
Reward Your Parrot
When the parrots says a word such as ‘ball’ correctly, give him a ball to play with. You could also do this with any of the parrot’s toys, even homemade toys!
Four to five letter words in particular are the easiest for parrots to learn quickly.
You’re training periods should be kept short to a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes. Always start training your parrot to speak with short very simple words such as good morning or hello or goodbye.
When a parrot first begins to try to speak it will sound more like a soft mumble of some sort. So be sure and reward him for his efforts.
It can take quite some time and effort to begin training you’re parrot to speak. Remain be persistent and offer him lots of treat rewards for his efforts.
Training you’re parrot to speak will pay off handsomely giving you both a wonderful friendship for many years to come.
