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Training my macaw to stop saying the N word?

macawww

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I got my b&g macaw for free because he learned the N word and began saying it all the time, making him impossible to sell. Since then he's learned lots of different words, and only says the N word occasionally... Well or so I thought. Recently he's been saying it more while I'm in Teams meetings for work. I think he's annoyed I'm not giving him my full attention and he initially learned the word in the context of a swear in annoyance/anger. So for I've been muted when he's said it but it's been VERY close and I'm feeling anxious it'll cause problems at work... is there any way to train a substitute word?
 

Kiwi's Dad

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Have you tried not paying attention to him when he says it?
 

Emma&pico

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I am not sure but what I would do is say a word that sounds very similar to it when he says it but not an offensive word once he starts saying word you say give me a treat
Must be so hard especially when you know it’s not from you
 

macawww

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I always ignore it but reward all other words he says, excessively. That's how I taught him to say goodnight, bath time, step up and good bird. Usually when he wants attention he says good bird good bird. However that then transitions to frustrated cursing if I don't immediately give him attention which I can't do on a call...
 

Kiwi's Dad

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I know you didn't teach him that word but can you try saying a different word when you're mad
 

Xoetix

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Oh my gosh :wideyed:

I honestly have no idea how to un-teach a word. From what I’ve heard, there’s really no way to un teach them some thing, because they always remember words like this, and then save them at the absolute most inconvenient time, and parrots have a LONG memory.

I just wanted to say, I wish you all the luck in the word. I have no idea what I would do in this situation. I’d probably die of embarrassment. I hope someone can help! @JLcribber @Macawnutz @macawpower58 @BrianB
 

MnGuy

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I don't have a macaw, but I have a CAG with an extensive vocabulary.

I'd try to sub in a similar-sounding word and see if he adopts that. Every time he says the word, I'd say the alternate word excitedly and see if he switches them over time, giving him a treat every time he does. Possible alternatives: bigger, trigger, digger.

Of course, there's always the possibility that he combines both words into one phrase.
 

zERo/

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When I got Tony my Quaker he'd say 'stupid' when he was doing something he knew was bad, like his previous owner had called him stupid so over time I've slowly worked with him to transition it to 'stop that' because it sounds really sad to me when he called himself stupid!
That's probably the only way I would think would work?
 

macawpower58

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Extinguishing words that get reactions is very hard. I'm guessing you do react, but propably don't realize your bird notices the signs of tension in you.
My suggestion is find another emphatic sounding word, and use that when he says the other word, trying to get excited about the new word.
Chaos (my macaw) learned 'shut up' and I hate him saying it. I've started being very excited and emphatic with 'quiet bird'. Saying it all kinds of ways, making it a fun loud splashy statement.
He will use my substitution these days mostly, but he also will fall back on that hated 'shut up'.

Any chance of soundproofing a room for when you're working?
 

BrianB

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This is one thing that angers me about bird owners who teach or encourage their birds to use this kind of language. It makes life so much harder for them in the long run.

You can try to overwrite the word in their vocabulary by saying a similar word when they say the bad one. When they say heck* you say TRUCK loudly and with excitement. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. As someone else mentioned sometimes birds will string the two words together. A woman who used to work at the store had a macaw that came to her through sad circumstances. The bird would scream the N-word when it was excited. The bird would say N and she would say "bigger". She said every time she did it the bird would pause for a second and then continue on with whatever it was chattering about. One day instead of saying N, the bird said bigger N. When that happened she realized the bird was too smart for its own good and she started ignoring the word. When he no longer got a reaction or reply he stopped saying it. I think the best thing to do is ignore it and not give the bird any reaction at all. The reaction is the reward so when there is no reward there is no reason for the performance.
 

macawww

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Thanks for the advice....thinking about it, I probably do involuntarily tense a little when he says it, but that's super difficult not to do...
 

Emma&pico

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Thanks for the advice....thinking about it, I probably do involuntarily tense a little when he says it, but that's super difficult not to do...
Don’t blame yourself for reacting it’s not a nice word at all I don’t know why anyone would ever learn any animal or child etc to say it
 

MnGuy

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Thanks for the advice....thinking about it, I probably do involuntarily tense a little when he says it, but that's super difficult not to do...
Birds also just have a mind of their own. My grey says all kinds of innocent things I don't react to, yet she keeps saying them. They develop their own preferences and language for situations in their lives.
 

Toy

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My previous B&G Macaw (JaJaBinks/Avatar) said 3 things when I got her at age 2 years. Watz up, hello & shut up. I ignored her when she'd say shut up. It didn't take long ignoring & showing no sign of reaction & she never said shut up again. I'd suggest you start with trying to ignore & show no reaction. If that doesn't work then try a different word like bigger. It can take a few days to a few months.
 

BrianB

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Sometimes you can't help but chuckle when they do it. THe trick is not to let them see you. Christopher will sometimes drop the F bomb and I have to turn my back so she doesn't see my reaction. She's really bad at flying and she has no idea how to land gently. She always crashes into whatever is in front of her and yells heck* when she does. I turn around so she can't see my face or I clamp my mouth shut so I don't laugh. Then I go and pick her up so I can put her back on her stand. She will sometimes scream SHUT UP when the other birds start screaming. I stick my head out and tell her that she can't scream that when she's being loud herself. Sometimes she will scream and tell herself to shut up. When she does that I just ignore her.
 

Shannan

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One of the things you might try is running some white noise between your bird and your video call (like put the air purifier between the bird and the microphone) That makes the words less noticeable on your call. Also there are some microphones that are designed to ignore background noise. Maybe a little tech upgrade may decrease the chance that your co workers can hear exactly what the bird is saying.
 

aooratrix

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Are there any toys or forms of enrichment that your bird adores? You could withhold them except when you're on a Zoom call to distract your macaw. Otherwise, you've had good suggestions on rewriting words in a parrot.
 

Sparkles99

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Bigger is a great suggestion. I'd try to also substitute it with something sounds like the first two letters of that word. Nickel might work. Same Ni pronunciation & 2 syllables, soft second syllable too.

You might want to expand your lessons on bigger & nickel to when your bird isn't saying that word. Maybe it'd come to regard those two words as very high value.
 

Tazlima

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Bigger is a great suggestion. I'd try to also substitute it with something sounds like the first two letters of that word. Nickel might work. Same Ni pronunciation & 2 syllables, soft second syllable too.

You might want to expand your lessons on bigger & nickel to when your bird isn't saying that word. Maybe it'd come to regard those two words as very high value.
If he's better at vowels than consonants, "nugget" is also a good choice, especially if you can get them to pair it with "chicken" so it makes sense from a "why would someone teach a bird to say this?" perspective.
 
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