How exciting! Congratulations on his first word. I hope you will tell us if he says anything else. It's amazing to me how smart these birds are. Maybe this is just the beginning and he'll be chatting up a storm soon!
.

Thank you Kitty!

I was starting to think he may never talk, but I'm feeling a bit more positive now that's said his first one.
.


We talk to him all the time and repeat the same things over and over.

The most frequent things we say to him at the moment (apart from YUM at meal times), are "good morning" and "what ya doing?"

Waiting, waiting, waiting now to see if he learns to say anything else. I assure you it wouldn't be for the lack of trying.
.

This is a fun thread! Yes, Koala please keep us up to date
with the words. Looks like food is an incentive for him for sure.

Does he have a special treat, you could just give that each time he says a word? Betcha he would increase his vocabulary quickly!

I had parakeets when I was young...they were fun too.
.

Thank you mrsD.

His two most favourite foods are BokChoy and grated apple. Cauliflower is a very close third, and then comes SumChoy. (Can you tell we cook a lot of Asian dishes?)

He's not much interested in those honey type treats you buy at the pet shop although the first time he tried one he loved it. Not any more though..... he doesn't seem to have a sweet tooth.

But..... that's a good idea about the special treat mrsD. We'll have to think of one.

I really think food is the royal way to get animals to do things.

It has been for our cats. Food rules their lives!

It might be that some birds don't realize you WANT them to talk.

By using the incentive and reward thing...they learn very quickly that you WANT them to talk. I think once you break that barrier, your cute bird will perhaps talk your arm off! LOL

I love cauliflower too! (hubby hates it). I'd certain "talk" or work for cauliflower treats!

My second parakeet Willie... used to go bonkers for ice cream or milk. If he saw me having some, he would run back and forth on the bottom of his cage bursting with energy--which was fun to watch and hard to ignore---to be let out. I guess it was the calcium in those foods? He didn't eat alot of it but just have to have a few little pecks. I can still hear his little feet making the pattering sound on his cage floor paper! I never had to train him with treats tho... he was an avid mimic. He could do my dad's cough and a squeaky door as well as words and phrases.

He'd follow me around the house when out of his cage. I'd just say " come on Willie, let's go" and he'd fly onto my shoulder and I'd go to my room for homework. He'd come with me to the bathroom and loved when I took a bath. I had a little shallow bowl for him on the sink and he'd splash around too all the while watching himself in the vanity mirror. He was a great bird, and a great friend at that time in my life!

So please keep us up to date with your Reg's antics, Anne. I love reading about them! Ditto for the other bird lovers here!

Never give up, I say. Breeders have told me *Old birds don't learn to talk.* And lovebirds don't talk. Female birds don't talk. Or Birds that whistle. And so on and so on.

Well, I have a cockatiel, a Jenday conure and a lovebird we got when it was older.

The cockatiel says a ton of things, and giggles like a little girl. He even tells a joke - (taps on cage) knock knock, banana who? hahahaha!

The conure doesn't say much - he'll tell me night night, love you, yum yum and scream an expletive. He does a lot of tricks - not that we taught him, but that he figured out. Hanginging upside down and putting a bell on his head, eating with a spoon, laying on his back and juggling hot peppers - that one is funny.

The lovebird yells ME! ME! if someone else gets a treat, and she wants one too. And also says "Who's that pretty bird? Why MINNIE bird! hahahaha!" She stole that from the cockatiel. And she is starting to whistle the theme song from Pinky Dinky Do.

MrsD is right about the treats. Jake would do anything for papaya, and Jesse would for an oreo cookie - all of em are bonkers for popcorn.

With birds, I find first they want a vocal response. They LOVE a reaction above all. That's why you never scream if they bite you lol - it only eggs them on.

If I even think I hear one of them say a new word I smile big and say loudly SAY WHAT??? Then all of them go nuts. They see that as a good thing - it does help, I think, having a few of them.

Thank you Brain for your very encouraging post. Your birds sound like lots of fun. I cracked up about the knock-knock joke, and I loved the bit where you said one bird learnt words off another. How funny.

Reg doesn't do any tricks yet, but maybe that's something to come later when he's increased his vocabulary. One can hope.
.


BTW. Does anyone know why our bird licks the side of his cage? He can't get the color off as it's baked on, but he spends ages licking it sometimes.

Georgie is learning more words now. In the evening, My mum or I put him in his cage and say... "Up you get", 'On your perch, quick!" and he does as he's told and climbs onto his perch. Now he repeats those words over and over! He is forever saying 'Watcha doing', and we have been teaching him to say 'Mind your business', but he hasn't quite got that right yet. But he is always chattering away to himself all the time, and some days he just won't be quiet! lol

.

~Jaime~

.
Your post made me really smile!
.


We ask Reg 'Watcha doing?" so hopefully he'll add that to his vocabulary too one day! As I said before.... one can only hope!
.

No idea. But then I have no idea why Jesse taps his cage bars, either. They just do what they do, it's their hobby, I guess.

When Minnie bangs the bars, it's because she wants what the others are getting. Maybe if you keep watching, you'll see there is something that goes on and be able to see there is some reason he's doing it other than he enjoys it - maybe it's his way of telling you something, like you're eating a snack and he wants it or he wants attention?

Jake puffs his head up if he wants to be petted, fluffs up his whole body if he wants a bath. They have a body language, each of their own, trying to get what they want/need. It can take years to learn what they're *saying*.

I've often thought that's a big reason they do try to talk, because it's hard otherwise to get us to understand.


Wow, all this is really making me miss my pets! I've been gone a month.