Talking Budgie

[Jolene Rice]

I had a few questions about talking budgies, I have male budgie that’s about 6 months old. How old are they normally when they start to talk? I live on maui so we always have the windows open, and so he’s constantly listening to birds chirping, or chirping with them so can he still talk if he’s hearing other birds like that? Also whenever I come up and start talking to him, he stops and poofs up a tiny bit, and close’s his eyes, and looks like he’s concentrating really hard, could that be him trying to talk? FYI I know not every budgie can talk
Thanks for the help

Ziggy Eve Briar Zoey

 

[Parakeet88]

My keet started talking probably around 5-7 months. I didn't do anything special to get him to talk, I would just talk to him often. If you look up talking budgies on YouTube (watch disco and kiwi) you'll notice a lot of them like to say baby bird so that's what I started calling him. I figured if he'd learn to talk baby bird would be an easy phrase for him and that's the first thing he learned. I could hear him practicing and it was probably about a week or two before he could say it really well. They tend to like b and p words, so pretty bird, baby bird, stuff like that is easier for them. I think he can still learn to talk even though he hears the birds outside. Watch some videos and try talking to your keet in a similar way to how the birds in the videos talk. They like when you use a crazy/ high pitched voice. I try to imitate disco when I talk to my keet.

The fact that he stops to listen when you talk is a really good sign. My keet will be babbling away but as soon as I go near the cage to try to get a video he stops and waits for me to talk instead. My keet and I have a "talking spot" lol unfortunately he doesn't come out of his cage yet but whenever I get off the couch he will run to the corner of the cage and wait for me there. He knows that when I start putting my sneakers on for work I'm coming to talk to him soon so as soon as I start getting my sneakers on he goes to our spot and babbles until I go over to talk to him. I put my face up against his cage and he loves to be right near my mouth. Sometimes I can actually get him a couple inches out of his cage just because he wants to be so close to my face. He will rest his beak on my nose and start falling asleep as I talk to him try talking to him before he's about to go to sleep. If you see him getting ready for nap don't disturb him but try to quietly talk to him as he falls asleep. Have a talking session with him before you put him to bed, they seem to really process things while they sleep. Sometimes my keet will go from practice jibberish to clear words just over night.

I hope he'll talk for you, it's literally one of the greatest things ever, I could sit and listen to my keet talk all day. Good luck!

 

[MommyBird]

I agree with the above.
I can always tell my budgie is in learning mode when he cuddles quietly and tightly under my nose while I talk to him.
Some words and phrases I specifically taught him but most of it is just things he hears me say. He also imitates all my other birds' whistles and calls, and this did not seem to impair learning human speech.

 

[Jolene Rice]

Thanks for all the help I’ll keep you posted on how the talking is going

 

[Jolene Rice]

I also forgot to mention that he’s not fully tame yet, will that effect anything? He comes out of his cage and perch’s on my finger, and he’s not scared of me anymore, he came from a pet store, I have only had him for about two months.

 

[Parakeet88]

I also forgot to mention that he’s not fully tame yet, will that effect anything? He comes out of his cage and perch’s on my finger, and he’s not scared of me anymore, he came from a pet store, I have only had him for about two months.

My keet isn't tame either but he was hand raised so I'm not sure if your bird being from a store will have an impact. It does help if your bird likes you, he will have a reason to want to communicate with you if he sees you as a flock member. I had my keet for about two months before he started talking.

 

[PoukieBear]

Budgies can start to talk at any age. My Candy started to talk at 2.5 years old, and I saw the same behaviour as above. She'll concentrate really hard when someone is talking to her and you can hear her start to make funny noises and mumbling, trying to figure it out. She's really funny, she says "Pretty birdie birdie birdie birdie birdie" in a higher pitched voice (mine) and "Pretty Bird" in a lower pitched voice because that's how my husband says it.

She'll also say "Bad bird!" because when we first got her she used to bite HARD! She will also wolf whistle and cat call any one who walks past her cage.

I'm also pretty sure that her house mate was either a cockatiel because she does NOT sound like a budgie at all when she whistles. Also, her owners probably had an obsession with Star Wars, because she makes the BEST R2D2 sounds as well.

Your little bird will likely pick up on all the bird sounds from outside, and will start to mimic those as well. I think this is really cool, see if you can identify which birds he starts to mimic.

 

[RosieR]

My Budgie began talking at about seven months old, on his own. He says all sorts of things now, but never anything we actually try to teach him. LOL

 

[Jolene Rice]

Thanks for the help


Ziggy (follow him on instagram @ziggyofhawaiii) Eve Briar Zoey