Teach Your Budgie to Talk

Budgies (budgerigars) are wonderful birds to keep as pets. They are very smart and intelligent, and make excellent companions.[1] Budgies can become very skilled talkers.[2] Although teaching your budgie to talk will take some time, teaching him this skill will allow you to develop a deep and enjoyable relationship with him.[2]

Steps

Interacting With Your Budgie

  1. Place your budgie’s cage near human activity. Budgies learn to talk by mimicking the intonations of the words they hear.[2] Choose an area of your home, such as your living room or family room, where your budgie would be able to hear human voices.
    • Your kitchen is likely another hub of human conversation, but the fumes from nonstick appliances are extremely toxic to birds. Do not place your budgie’s cage in the kitchen.
    • Similar to wild budgies learning the language of their flock, your budgie will want to learn the language of his human flock.[2] Exposing him to human voices will help him learn human language.
  2. Bond with your budgie. Developing a bond with your budgie is essential to teaching him how to talk. The more bonded your budgie is to you, the more effort he will put into learning how to talk and communicate with you.[3]
    • Spending quiet time in the same room (e.g., reading, watching television) as your budgie is a good way to start the bonding process. This will help him feel more comfortable around you, if he is not comfortable already.[4]
    • Hand taming your budgie and teaching him to step up are other good ways to bond with your budgie. In addition, a tamed budgie is more likely than an untamed budgie to learn how to talk.[2]
    • Spend time bonding with your budgie every day.[3]
  3. Separate your budgies. If you have multiple budgies in a cage, they will likely prefer to interact with each other, rather than with you.[3] If you want to teach any or all of them talk, you will need to work with them individually, away from their cage mates.
    • Keep in mind, though, that the more they interact with each other and make budgie sounds, the harder it will be for you to teach them to talk.
    • It is ideal to have only one budgie in the house if you want to teach a budgie to talk.

Teaching Your Budgie to Talk

  1. Learn how to talk to your budgie. When teaching your budgie to talk, it is not just about what you say, but how you say it.[5] Importantly, you should speak to your budgie enthusiastically—the more excited you are when you speak to him, the more excited and motivated he will be to talk back to you.[5]
    • If possible, hold your face close to your budgie when you talk to him. Your budgie will likely stare intently at your mouth when you speak. He may even put his face up to your mouth.[6]
    • You will know he is in ‘learning mode’ when his pupils dilate as he focuses on your mouth. [6]
  2. Say individual words to your budgie. Call out the name of different items in your home (e.g., chair, table, couch) when you talk to your budgie.[2] You can also name other people in your home, as well as other pets.[2]
    • Greet your budgie with ‘hi,’ and say ‘goodbye’ to him when you leave the room.[2] Repeating these words each time you greet or leave him will help him learn these words and with what they are associated.
  3. Say short phrases to your budgie. In addition to singular words, you can also teach your budgie to talk by repeating short phrases and sentences to him. For example, you can say ‘good bird’ when he steps up onto your finger.[3] You can also ask him a question like ‘Is that fun?’ or ‘Are you having fun?’ when he is playing with his toys.[3]
    • Talking to him when you change out his food and water is also helpful. You could try saying ‘Here is your food’ or ‘Would you like some food?’ when you are feeding him.
    • The better your budgie can associate certain words (or sets of words) with specific actions, the better he will learn how to talk.[5]
  4. Respond to your budgie when he tries to talk. When your budgie tries to say words at first, you may not be able to understand him—his may mumble his words.[2] Regardless of whether his words are intelligible, give him verbal praise and try to repeat back whatever he ‘says’ to you.[2]
    • You should also respond to him if he uses his behavior to ask for something. For example, if he is making motions as if he has to go to the bathroom, say something like ‘You need to go to the bathroom,’ and then take him to his bathroom spot.[2]
    • Responding to him with words and actions that correspond to his body language will also help him learn to talk.

Tips

  • Budgies tend to be most vocal in the mornings and early evenings. Teach your budgie to during those times of day, allotting 10 to 15 minutes per training session.[5]
  • Turn off any other sources of sound (television, radio) when you are talking with your budgie.[5]
  • Do not become discouraged if your budgie does not learn to talk. This is not a reflection of his intelligence. Rather, his preference may be not to talk.[6]
  • Young budgies, especially those who have spent time around humans, can learn to talk more easily than older budgies.[3]
  • Although your budgie is capable of learning a lot of words and phrases,[2] it will take time for him to build up his vocabulary.
  • Male budgies tend to be better at talking than female budgies, potentially because males need to vocalize to gain the attention of female budgies during mating season.[3]

Warning

  • Teaching your budgie to talk by repeating words to him in a dark room, with his cage covered, is an outdated teaching method.[3]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.budgerigar.com/
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-behavior-and-training/bird-small-bird-behavior/teach-budgie-to-talk.aspx
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 http://parrotfeather.com/budgie/talking/
  4. ↑ http://www.birdchannel.com/train-your-parakeet.aspx
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 http://www.2ndchance.info/parrottalk.htm
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 http://budgieplace.com/taming.html

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