Speech & Speech Training Questions

[Jacqi]

So Tiki is SUCH a chatterbox. She knows tons of words & phrases & seems to know most of their meanings & spits them out over & over & over again.....

when she's alone.

haha. I've read a tiny bit about birds "practicing" their mimicking, but will they open up after growing confident with their words? It's adorable to listen to Tiki talk away, but it's a little frustrating that the moment I open her door, I'll be greeted with squawks & then she'll immidiately fall silent or revert back to regular bird noises exclusively, especially when I know she understands much of what she's saying.

Note: She is only 4 months old.

So my question is, with talking birds, do they go through a period of time where they won't talk in front of people while they're practicing their words & if so, can I expect her to become more talkative with me soon? (She DOES have her moments when she will chat with people in the room, just never ever ever on cue.)
What are some methods I could use to help her practice her words, which may help her to come out of her shell a bit.

Random: she gets very talkative in the mid-afternoon when her music is blasting & she's all alone & the MOMENT I turn out the lights for her to go "night night"- she'll often say night night & make kissy noises & say other phrases.

 

[TikiBird]

Can you move her cage out in the livingroom for a little while?
Then she will have to talk in front of you! (thats where my Tiki is)
My Tiki doesn't care who's around when he's talking, but when I try to get him to talk into my phone he shuts up of course LOL

 

[WenM]

Some birds just are "closet talkers" forever. However, she is young and most of them practice before using them regularly and loudly. I would make such a HUGE deal out of whenever you hear him talk, even if you aren't in the room - loud enough for him to hear you. e.g.; "AWESOME TIKI, GREAT JOB!" Use his name often when speaking to him and give him the drama he will respond to. Soon he will crave that drama and start talking more when you are near. Drama is a reward!

 

[JLcribber]

Some birds just are "closet talkers" forever. However, she is young and most of them practice before using them regularly and loudly. I would make such a HUGE deal out of whenever you hear him talk, even if you aren't in the room - loud enough for him to hear you. e.g.; "AWESOME TIKI, GREAT JOB!" Use his name often when speaking to him and give him the drama he will respond to. Soon he will crave that drama and start talking more when you are near. Drama is a reward!

Great post. Drama is a definite winner.

 

[Tamara]

Speech Training Tapes & CDs

A personal testament from our FB fan page:
Gary
Like Chief Thunderlungs really needs any more chatting than he already does huh?
But i can say from experience that these tapes WILL help your bird learn repetitions and talking exercises, and it makes a world of difference.. It is worth the investment to train your bird! You wont be disappointed! Get one and work with your bird today!

 

[Jacqi]

Drama as a reward is something I'm already responding with. Last night was a really good night of talking...again, she gets into moods, especially late. We were pratically having a conversation & when I would say "good girl" for whatever, she would respond, "can I kiss you. ::muah!::" which is something I say all the time. She's too cute. So, yeah, I praise her heavily when she speaks.

As far as moving her, it's not an option. She already has her own room & is exposed to daily sun & music from there. Plus it's upstairs away from my dad & the dogs for her safety & their sanity. She gets placed on her playgym in my room, a more central-to-the-action area, when I'm home or when John (my bf) is around. She usually just preens on her stand though. She's almost never talkative when hanging out there even when John & I are acting like fools for her.