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Teaching a new bird to talk when...

Polly101

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I have two American Budgies that I never tried to teach to talk. Now that they have each other I doubt they will stray from their birdy language.

I would like to have the potential to own a bird that can talk. I am planning on getting an English Budgie from a breeder who hand feeds her birds. When I get this bird it will be kept upstairs in my bedroom for quarantine and to bond with it, and the other two will be down in the family room. They will be able to flock call to each other, but won’t be in the same room.

My question is: if a bird can hear other budgies doing their budgie talk, will it have any reason to even attempt to learn to mimic human speech?

Will it be less likely that the bird will talk?

I guess I will have to try and find out, but I’m curious if anyone has any experience with this.

Of course, the whole point of having the bird is not for it to talk, but I just want the potential. Once the English Budgie is trained to sit on my finger, etc. I will consider getting him a friend to bond with.
 

JLcribber

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Once quarantine is over that budgie will be just like the others. You need to spend a tremendous amount of one on one time with a budgie to get it to talk. And there's no guarantee it ever will.

What is more of a concern is that you are going to introduce a single bird to an established pair. Now there is going to be an odd number of birds. More than likely constant competition/stress/bickering because one bird will always be an outsider.
 

Polly101

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Thanks for your input! I guess I’ll just give it a go and see what happens.

Actually, I was not planning on introducing the new bird to the others. I have read that if you bring in a third bird that it can disrupt the bond with the first two. I will be getting a fourth bird to be the friend for the English budgie.

Each pair might always stay in separate cages, but they will all be in the family room together.

The store where I got my second bird let the two birds have a “play date” where they put them together in a cage and observed them for a few hours. That defeats the purpose of quarantine, but it worked out well because we knew they could get along and they never needed an introduction period. Both have been happy and healthy since.

This is an independent store, not a chain.
 

iamwhoiam

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If the budgie is interested in human speech then he/she may start talking. It really depends on the individual bird. The best thing to do is just talk to your budgies. Tell them what you are doing and what they are doing, name objects and activities, etc. I don't believe in just repeating the same thing over and over again to try to get birds to talk.
 

geff

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Teaching a bird to talk. It's down to the individual bird as to whether they mimic our words. Potentially you have a good chance of encouraging a bird to talk, talking to them.
You there is no guarantee.
Birds either mimic or don't, just enjoy them, if they talk and that's a bonus for you. Time will tell.
 

Polly101

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I guess my main question is whether or not the other two downstairs are going to spoil any chances of the new bird talking by constantly flock calling to the new bird, which they will.

They flock call to outside birds and even random loud noises, so...
 

geff

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I really don't think that the birds downstairs will negatively impact the bird from talking, it will either be a talker or it won't.
Good luck.
 

iamwhoiam

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Probably won't affect whether or not the new bird will talk. My birds chatter, scream and make bird sounds but all of them, except for the 'tiels, talk. I don't have budgies, though, but if a bird has an interest and the inclination to talk then he/she will generally talk.
 

Leanna

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Try a song first! A little tune they can whistle is much easier for them than human speech, but it can be just as satisfying. I had pretty much given up on my caiques ever talking, when one day my friend whistled the 'Hunger Games' whistle at them. Imagine my shock when Zoey whistled it back after only hearing it once.

I made such a fuss that she hasn't stopped whistling tunes since.
 
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