Talking ekkie

[Taylor Zaugg]

I know there's no for sure that my Ekkie will choose to mimic speech. But if so, how old are they usually when it's a good time to try to teach them? Mines 4 months

 

[BlueAbyss]

Parrots learn to talk at any age really. They pick up stuff when they want too. I think best ways to teach is by having evening talks, reading books to them or reciting phrases you want to teach. Repetition is key.

 

[BirdGuy21]

Also if you want to teach a specific word or phrase make it sound exciting and incorporate it into conversation in different ways. If I was trying to teach "goodnight", I would say something like "goodnight Gillian, time to go goodnight Gill, ready for goodnight time, what do you think of goodnight time now?" Etc etc.

 

[Milo]

Rosco started talking very shortly after we brought him home (about 6 months old). He first picked up the phrase "Go go go!" which we would say to him when he ran around flapping. It sounded like he was saying "ow ow ow!" and we were confused at first but then as he practiced it became clearer. If you have specific things you hope he'll pick up say them often and very clearly to him. It's possible that he'll be a "closet talker" at first, practicing and talking when he thinks no one is around. For instance, I was just about to give up trying to teach Rosco the beginning of "twinkle, twinkle little star" and then one day I happened to hear him singing! Another example would be the bedtime song... I'd sing "birdy bedtime" to them, I had for years, and then one day Rosco decided that he would sing it too.

If he's a talker (and a lot of eclectus are) he will probably pick up phrases that you say to him often. Or things that he hears you say. I always say that having a talking parrot is an exercise in humility because Rosco has so many of my vocal mannerisms. He has my laugh, sneezes like me, coughs like me, uses my vocal fillers ("ummm"), scolds the dogs like I do, tells me "hey!" when he chomps me.... and the list goes on.

Don't go into it with any expectations, they definitely have their own ideas for what's fun to say and what's not. Eclectus are great birds, enjoy your companion and the rest will be minor details

 

[Nadia Bingo]

I had an Ekkie long long ago (still miss him like crazy) and he had limited phrases but wow could be use them in exactly the right situations. I still remember him asking for a shower or yelling 'GOODNIGHT' when he wanted to go to bed.

Being consistent and using the same words around them so they understand the association is important.

Some parrots are chatterboxes and others only whistle or say a single word.

Once a parrot says a word or phrase you like though make sure to repeat it excitedly. That is how I convinced my Grey, Bingo, to say 'Good Girl' more often . She figured out it was an automatic attention getter.

 

[Shinobi]

It depends on the bird, some birds will start to speak at 4 months while others take longer. Henry was talking to himself at around 4 months old and was speaking well by 6 months. He is 21 months old and is beginning to speak in context. He call us, the cats and dogs by our names and tells us to come. Tells us when it's dinnertime. (breakfast and dinner). Henry will go into his cage and say bedtime. If we don't cover his cage up immediately he will repeat it with NOW at the end.

He also laughs at the grandson when he gets into trouble. Calls tequila and also laughs when she comes. We are teaching him the names of different foods.