Speechless BFA?

[Dipitydane]

Benji is almost 16. The first 15 years of his life consisted of living in his 2x2 "cage", locked in another room, covered. Basically not much exposure to audio stimulation. Now he lives 95% of his time out of cage with us either in the living area or in the kitchen. He is exposed to every household sound imaginable yet still only says the few words he came with..."hello" and "luv you". Ben has been with us almost a year. I read somewhere that if a zon doesn't learn speech at a young age he never will. Any truth to that? I don't care if he ever says another word, I love him the same, but I was just curious. Our 'too seems to really enjoy herself when going thru her repetoire so I feel kinda sad for Ben with so little to say.

[debbielabella]

that poor bird! good thing you came along that has to be the worst kind of torture. how can people be so cruel? thank God for people like you to pick up the pieces.

[Kachina]

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but our 9 year old mealy's only word is "hi" and she's been here a year and a half. I guess some of them just aren't that chatty? She does make all sorts of other sounds though depending on the time of day. Whistles, trills, etc.

[Monica]

I'm kind of of the opinion that if they learn to talk, and to talk well, at a young age, chances are, they can continue picking up words throughout their lifetime. However, if they don't pick up much, or never learn, they probably wont pick up more than a few words, at best, as adults. Much like "wild" human children.

It's more or less about the learning environment they were in at a young age. It's no guarantee, but may give you some insight.

[Michelle & Fids]

I don't know for sure, but I would guess that it could be true. I have 3 Zons and not one of them has ever spoke a word since living here. Cj is a DYH and he was a wild caught import that was a breeder until he came here to retire. Except for the fact that he was wild caught I don't think he had a bad life, but he wasn't fully interacted with, he didn't even have a name. Calipso is a RL she came from a terrible home!!!! When I brought her home she had over 40 broken bones in her wee body. Though she has never spoken a word here she has turned into a very sweet and loving girl. Chica is an OW and I know very little about her past. The people I got her from had her a couple years and they were told she was a baby when they bought her from her previous owner. Well that isn't true because she has an import band.

I do believe trauma/stress can cause them to not talk. I rehomed a Scarlet macaw who came from a terrible terrible home. She has never uttered a word here and from tracking down one of her other former owners I do know she talked before she was sent to live in the slums of birdie *ell.

[JenJenna]

I was just coming here to ask the exact question. I have a 20 year old YNA that my aunt, whom I wasn't close with, gave me. Green was kept in a dim basement for years. She wouldn't put weight on one foot so I took her to the vet right away and had her toe amputated. She hates everybody but is absolutely, positively in love with me. The first time I held her, she stepped right up and almost collapsed into my chest for snuggles.

Green doesn't say too much. She whistles BEAUTIFULLY and says the customary "hello". Anyhow, I was going to ask the same thing, about her ability to learn more words and I'm glad I didn't have to wait for replies, lol!

[Dipitydane]

That's so sad, sounds a lot like my benny. I'm glad you have her now!

[YellowCrowned]

My fid (yellow crowned amazon) is actually a rescue from a horrible pet store (if anyone could call that wreck a store). I was told that he (I later came to the conclusion that "he" must be a girl judging from her behavior) was 3 years old which seemed to be a lie to me as I was seeing the bird in that store for almost 5 years. Her story is quite long and I'll share it with you in another post.
She didnt know one single word when she came to live with us, no whistling, no juman sound, just birdy talk. She lives with us for 2,5 years now and she is really trying to speak. She is sooo close to saying her name clear.

According to what I've read about amazons, its kind of true that their talking ability reduces when they pass the age of 2. If they havent spoken till then they may never will. If they have learned how to learn new words and sounds then they may carry on with the years but at a lower pace than that of an african grey whose vocabulary and talking ability gets bigger as he ages.

Keep up the training and always reward him when he talks or even tries to talk. He says those two words so it might not be that tought to teach him some more.

[Newticus]

I don't have too much experience with older rehomed amazons. But my DYH amazon Chester is almost 3 and his ability to pick up new words and sounds just keeps getting faster and better. My other amazon Mikey though was in a pet store for almost 2 years (he was in the store from before being fully weaned) Since I have taken him home and I have had him for a year he has only learned how to say "Hi Mikey". He does know other words and things but his capacity to learn is much lower then Chester.
I have cared for Chester since he was 2 months old so I am not sure if it's related to the DYH natural abilities to talk and mimic compared to a Green Cheeked Amazon, or if it really is related to how they were raised.

Melanie

[Greycloud]

I rehomed a red lored amazon. She was 18 yrsold. It took about 2 years and she finally started picking up new words from us. She came to us knowing her name and hello. She also whistled beautiful tunes.
I think there is always a possibility that your zon might learn to say more words, especially listening to your Too.