My Alexandrine won't talk

[Ramenaz]

So I bought a 1 year old Alexandrine a month ago(my first ever parrot), and have been taking care of him ever since, but he still hasn't spoken or made any sound ever since. Does he just need more time or should I do anything?

 

[SailBoat]

So I bought a 1 year old Alexandrine a month ago(my first ever parrot), and have been taking care of him ever since, but he still hasn't spoken or made any sound ever since. Does he just need more time or should I do anything?

It would be unusual for a Parrot not to at least make 'any' sounds. Parrots as a group do not come with Human language in place. That is something that is taught over time. Please understand that some Parrots will never participate in Human speech and some will be active communicators. To that end, much depends of the time and effort put in place by the Human.

How much time per day are you spending with your Alex (one on one time)? How much time does your Alex spend out of the cage?
What interaction(s) are you two engaging in; Step-up, Step-down, Stay, Return, etc...

What convinces you that you have a 13 month old Alex?

 

[Ramenaz]

Hi, thanks for the reply,
I spend around an hour each day with him(I mean interaction, I'm in the same room with him for several hours) he spends like 15 mins on my shoulder, I talk to him for around frequently. His upper cage door is always open except when I'm at school (from 7am to 4pm) but he comes out on his outside perch from 6pm to sometime after midnight.
He steps up when I hold my finger close(sometimes he bites instead) and we also have a sort of command that when I lower my hand he flies to his cage.
His previous owner said that he was a one year old chick and he's smaller than a mature alexandrine so thats's why I'm convinced he's 13 months old.
He made screeching noises the first few weeks but he doesn't do that anymore, but he doesn't sing or make any sound at all.
I know that he can talk because he did so with his previous owner, whom I just called and he advised that I leave his cage closed for a week so that he'll talk. Should I listen to him?

 

[maverickbull]

Alexes can be very quiet birds. I have a rescue bird... he won't make any noise. He does a few whistles & words which I taught him but that too in a very low volume. You have to be absolutely next to him to hear him. The only sound he does is when he wants to be carried - this is a couple of times a day & then he is back to his toys... I kept his play area with the IRNs hoping he will get noisy because of their noises... zilch. He was just the same. he is still the same.

Don't worry about him not talking now. Spend more time... build the trust. He will do the talking. In my experience Alexes are good mimics of a lot of noises than talking. But individual birds differ

Start with whistles if you want... he should start imitating that. You can move ahead from there.

PS: your bird looks much older than 13 months.

 

[SailBoat]

I would recommend that you shift your Parrot to a sleep /wake schedule based on the Sun's schedule in your area. 12 at night is way to late for the Parrot to still be awake.

You should be spend more time with you parrot each day. Since your Parrot will sit on your should, concern completing your home work while your Parrot is on or next to you. Placing your Parrot back into the cage in the hope that it will trigger it speaking or making more noise - no! The greater the interaction, the more the communication. It's a two way street, so you need to be setting the example for your Parrot.

Enjoy!

 

[Billdore]

Very Beautiful bird you have there. I also just got my first parrot a few months ago now. In one of my books it says the only sure way to get a talking parrot is to buy one thats already talking. SOo many threads lately wanting a quiet bird though I wouldn't lock him up for a week personally. I would let his interactions come naturally rather than force him to say let me out of here. Might backfire in the long run for you. Listen to the expert advice from these guys , Sailboats has more experience than I will ever have in my life time. People pay money for this kind of expert advice. After a few months I was really able to start reading the body language of my parrot also. You'd be surprised by how much they can communicate without saying anything at all. I was totally ignorant to my Timnehs body language for a long time, luckily shes patient with me and has been working very hard to train me!!!!

 

[Jottlebot]

Hi,

In terms of age I would guess you're close, maybe he's a few months older than a year (18 months maybe), because to have a ring by 13 months is a bit early, although some do I think.

In terms of size, if he has his ring he's mature so I don't think he'll get bigger and I don't think you can rely on that to establish age. He might be a smaller sub-species than other Alex's you've seen. The ring doesn't look complete though so he hasn't quite finished.

He looks lovely, congratulations. How can you resist having him on your shoulder all the time!?

 

[wrench13]

The more time you spend interacting with your parrot, the better the chances he will interact with you. An excellent way is to teach your parrot some tricks , like shaking hands, stepping up nd other simple tricks to start with.

 

[seraboof]

He's probably still settling in, and your routine is not natural for a bird either. Most birds start to settle in for the night around sunset, whilst your boy is up way beyond that. It will take its toll on him as it goes against his inherent nature.

Take a look at this video. It is one of the best videos on parrots I've ever seen, and it will give you a greater understanding of their needs. This isn't a comment on how you are currently caring for your boy. I myself learned a *lot* from this documentary and it renewed my enthusiasm for ensuring my Tao got the best I could give him. I now spend a lot more time with him and he has a plethora of enrichment toys and games we play. Over the additional time I've spent with him, he has picked up numerous phrases. He calls for our dog, my son and my cat. He asks how you are, tells people they are grumpy, silly or a brat. He tells the dog to 'come here', 'get out' or 'f*** off' (that last one wasn't one I wanted him to learn! I didn't realise I said it so often!).
His most treasured sounds, however, are the squeaking of opening and closing doors, the fire alarm and the beeping of the microwave. His first noise was R2D2, after I set it as my SMS tone, and after that he learned the Twitter whistle and the LINE message tone. Expose him to consisten noises, praise, interaction and language, and hopefully once he is settled and bonded with you he will try to interact with you in the way you want. There are no guarantees however; but with the long lifespan and a lot of love and interaction, I think it can help them along.

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