New adopted African Grey question

[cwgirl197]

Okay, I think I posted this in the wrong place awhile ago....lol.....so here goes!!

I adopted an African Grey on Saturday who will be 4 next month. He is not talking. Is there any way that he will start talking or will it just be the sounds that he makes such as the low battery smoke detector sound.....lol.....and those kinds of things or will he possibly start talking? Any helpful advice out there?

Thanks!

[Lisa B]

he needs time to settle in. he is frightened, and wont talk to he feels comfortable. Know all greys dont talk tho, its kinda like the icing on the cake if they do. My Miss Emma doesnt talk. she has nothing to say

[Congobongo]

Best thing to do is take good care of him, give him plenty of interaction and talk to him yourself. Since he is so young I would talk to him all the time and every chance I got. In the morning I say 'Good Morning' to mine and they say it back to me. Repeating the same thing over and over is pretty much the trick. Say the easiest things first like 'I love you' and 'good birdie'. It is true, not all will talk but I think most do. And once they start it is so easy to teach them other things to say or whistle etc.

Good Luck.

[Congobongo]

Don't know if this is typical but both mine are 'dunkers'. They take their food, dunk it in their water and then eat it. Thing is the water gets pretty yucky pretty quick as they also drop some.

I change their water every day but I hope someday someone doesn't come over and think I've left them yucky water for days on end!

[Pacosmomma]

I would talk to him about whatever it is you are doing, explaining what is happening, asking questions, using different words to discuss what is going on around him. Daddy is fixing your breakfast now. Do you like oatmeal? This oatmeal is nice and warm. Eat it before it gets cold. Nice warm oatmeal for you. Yum, warm oatmeal is good. You like oatmeal, yes? Yum. I'm taking out your empty bowl. Daddy will wash it, make it clean. Clean bowls are nice for you. See? All clean now. Nice for you. Let's go to the living room. do you want to sit with Daddy? Yes? We'll sit here and watch some football, ok? Just keep talking to him about things that are going on, so the language is in context. There is a great group call parrot speech on yahoogroups.com you might want to look into where we are learning how parrots learn to speak English and use it in context, not just mimic sounds. Each of our birds has learned in different ways and has used English creatively (in one case, Spanish) to say what the bird wanted to say, making new words or new sentences that hadn't been heard before. The moderator is Michael Dalton, who wrote the book Another Kind of Mind, about his macaw Arielle, who has 4,000 English words under her belt and is incredibly fluent! I orered the book on Amazon and can't wait for it to get here!.
Good luck, keep talking, and your bird will keep surprising you! Look for evidence that the bird understands what you are saying, too, not just for evidence that the bird is reporducing the sounds. Those are two different activities. Aloha.

[Vilas]

Hiccup came from a home of 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 parents. Shelley told me that the bird came with a 'truck driver's vocabulary..well I haven't heard it YET... He didn't talk much when he arrived at my house that has no kids, no dogs... just other birds. Over time (about 2 mos now) he's talking some, whistles alot and mimics everything. He's learning the Andy Griffith song, learned the whistle I use to use for my dog from 20 yrs ago, the phones in the complex, the fire sirens, my laugh, my sighing, etc. Plus he learned the wolf whistle from my male cockatiel who is learning to talk from the african grey. Every day that I'm home in the morning and laying in bed, I love to listen to his little songs and sounds. He mimics me really well and I just have to laugh. He came into my life just at the right time, even though I could have used the money for something else (only 200 bucks). I sit with them at night after work and we read the mail together. I share dinner with them, if they want it. I'm glad I made the commitment and working on some of his little issues (like biting and constant microwave beeping that annoys the neighbors) is all worth it. Just be patient.... My male cockatiel came from the pound....still isn't finger trained, BUT he will come when called and usually lands on my head! It's been a year of gaining his trust...

[shelbyann]

I think in time he may talk, once he gets comfy in his new home. It may take months, or he may never talk, some just don't. I would try to talk to him as much as possible about whatever comes to mind. I know my grey talks mostly when we are out of the room. My husband bugs me every morning before he goes to work, and I always laugh and tell him to just go to work. The other morning we were in the kitchen and Gomer said "ust go to work". They pick things up very quickly once they start. If yours doesn't end up being a talker, just love him as he is as they are wonderful birds.

[Tobysmom]

i adopted potter 2 weeks ago who will be 4 also......like lisab said not all greys talk...i also have a 2 year old timneh and he only says hello toby....other then that he just makes noises...potter on the other hand i have a full fledge conversation with you would think im talking to myself or a man in my room...it takes time...potter might talk but im having ptoblems of him leaving his cage so i just have to be patient