talking

Hey ok ive only had harry 8 days now hes 4 years old and in those 8 days hes came out of his shell still not 100% comfy but he flys to me and now lets me pick him up on my hand and follows me around my flat.

at 4 should he be able to say any words? i mean i know if hes not 100% comfy he wont yet and that could be in time"

but say he doesnt is it just kinda his old owners never spent time with him saying words and so on.

i didnt get him to speak btw hes amzing but just thinking at 4 he should be able to so

a) hes still not comfy with me and shy
b) they never spent time speaking to him
c) he just doesnt lol

sorry hes a red bellied

im still just going to talk away at him if he speaks back great if not as long as he looks at me ha

It really depends on his interest and the amount of repetition. Kito sometimes makes sounds that sound like she's trying to say 'pretty bird' or 'come here', but its so garbled it's hard to tell. She does imitate sounds she hears though. She's 9 years and still learning, so your poi could definitely still learn if it wants to.

Hi there : )

Birds that do not speak human words can still communicate very well through body language... My 2 conures don't say a word but they let me know what they want and how they are feeling every day. That can be rewarding too Just because a bird doesn't speak doesn't mean they don't understand what you are saying. When I say, "Do you want a bath?" my green cheek Lola leans forward as far as she can and rocks back and forth until I fill a pie pan with water and set it out for her- then she flies right to it and hops in the water. When I tell my birds "Go in the cage," they fly to their cage and climb inside. If you use the same phrases every time, your bird may not answer back with words, but he will really begin to understand you.

My senegal Buzzy is 6 months old and he is only talking a little bit, nothing impressive... So far Buzzy says:
nummy-num
look
hi
hey

He is not easy to understand- his voice sounds kind of garbled and robotic, but I have found that he does use his few phrases correctly. When I am eating something and he's on my shoulder, he'll try to nibble at my lip and he'll mumble "nummy num." I have found that when teaching a bird to talk it is important to use the same phrases consistently and talk *to* the bird (not at it).

For example, when I want my birds to go in the cage I say the same thing each time: Go in the cage.

At mealtime I say "Do you want some nummy num?"

At bedtime I say "Go night-night"

When letting the birds out of the cage I say "Do you wanna come out?"

To get my birds to step on my finger I always say "Come on." Many people say "step up" instead and that works great too but to me "come on" just sounds friendlier and has the same effect.

I wish you the best of luck with teaching your bird to talk : ) Even if he never does talk, your love for him and his love for you sounds as though it is already shining through loud and clear!

I believe every individual bird is different and some may choose to speak while others do not. They say Red Bellied Pois are often some of the best talkers, but really it depends on the individual. My Finn is a Brown head, a species not known for great talking ability, and he TALKS UP A STORM! He says, "Hi guys!" "Come here" "Step up" (in multiple voices) "Love you" "Good Boy" 'Nite Nite"...and some things I haven't quite figured out. He carries on whole conversations and can mimic every bird he's ever heard from robins to finches to amazons and cockatoos.

All that said, I think BeckyBird has the best advice for you Living with birds is about so much more than their speaking ability. Your Harry may speak in time, but if he doesn't, your bond will depend on much more than that. And, 8 days is a short amount of time. Finn came to me saying "Hi" "Step up" and "Come here." He learned the rest here, but he has only recently begun saying the things he knew when he arrived. He's more likely to say the things he learned from us since he's with us now, and it took him at least 2 months before he said anything at all. Give Harry time

Edited to add: Finn's voice is what I would call a doll voice, though some of his "Step up" vocalizations are in different voices. Since birds have perfect pitch, I think every one of these is a different phrase, from his perspective. And, he gives wolf whistles, barks, and meows. We don't have a dog, but 2 kitties also share our home

just found out hes a Maroon-bellied Conures the pet shop pretty much lied to me but does not change my view on harry

but all the finding out was done on a red bellied parrot lol is there much difference?

lol if his like nut, he might have some hidden swear words

nut likes to whistle sounds back at us like a wolf whistle, she says bye bye in such a sad little voice when she is put into her cage for the day, but for most part she is quiet, unless she is calling for us

Well, conure or Red Belly, you want to speak clearly and use the same phrases a lot. Some easy to learn words and phrases:

Hi
Hey (Hello is harder, but many birds learn it)
Whatchadoin?
What?
Bye or bye bye
Goodnight or nite nite
Pretty bird
Good girl or good boy or good bird

Anytime you hear a vocalization that sounds like a practice word, repeat the word you think it is. Repeating back to them their communication attempts seems to really motivate them. They are happy if you understand what they tried to say to you. So if you get wha instead of what, say what back. If you get ki instead of kiss, say kiss back, etc.

great thanks im going to try this

at the moment harry doesnt seem to make any sound lol he some times makes what i would call a clicking sound.

But this might be because hes still new coming onto two weeks am going to keep building his trust and keep talking to him.

ive been saying hello harry when i come in.

if its grinding thats good clicking is bad from the nut! means she is very aggitated about something your doing or something she has seen, she has not done this for awhile, as she is more settled and is more use to the things in our home

aw sorry yea its a grinding sorta sound normaly does this when hes sitting on my shoulder or relaxing on the kurtan rail.