How to Train a Parakeet to Talk

When parakeets talk, they are actually imitating the sounds they hear in their environment. Yet, don’t automatically assume that this process will come naturally for your parakeet. Why? Well, parakeets in captivity usually require some training before they are ready to begin talking. Fortunately, this training is not very difficult--you just need to set aside extra time to be able to do it. More information can be found through the steps below.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Parakeet(s)
• A Mirror (if you only have one parakeet)
• A separate cage
• Tape recorder
• A dark and quiet room
• Bird treats
• A towel

1. Prepare the training area. Before you can begin teaching your parakeet to talk, you need to establish a training area where you can interact with the animal one-on-one. The best training area will be a room that is quiet and dark. This allows both you and the parakeet to concentrate better. Anyway, after you have picked out your training room, you can begin preparing it by setting up a second cage. Just make sure that the cage remains empty of toys or other parakeets, since they will distract your bird during training. Only water is needed.

2. Develop a schedule for the parakeet’s talking sessions. Teaching parakeets to talk is something that requires diligence, patience and most importantly time. If you want to ensure your training sessions are having any impact, you will need to talk with your parakeet at least 15 minutes a day. Of course, if you can do 30 minutes or more, you increase your chances of success.

3. Place a towel over the parakeet’s cage. Before you begin your training session, you will want to drape a towel over the parakeet’s cage. This allows the parakeet to become less distracted from outside stimuli.

4. Start the training process. After everything is in place, begin teaching your parakeet how to talk by slowly repeating a phrase. Place emphasis on words that begin with b, t, w, k or p, since these are the easiest for parakeets to imitate. Also, make sure you only repeat one phrase for each session. Do not move onto a new phrase until your parakeet has learned the first one. This might seem really annoying for you, but this is the best method for teaching your parakeet how to talk.

5. Reward your parakeet. After your parakeet has successfully imitated a phrase, give them a bird treat. This will help bring about a positive association with both ‘talking’ and its training session.

6. Give the parakeet something to talk to when they’re in their main cage. You will want to try and encourage your parakeet to imitate talking sounds all the time, whether or not they are in their training session. That’s why you need to provide either another parakeet or a mirror for them to communicate with. Of these options, obviously the parakeet is better, but if this is not possible you can use a mirror to ‘imitate’ the existence of a second parakeet.

7. Use a tape recorder for days you cannot do training. If you can’t physically assist your parakeet in a talking session, use a tape recorder to play back phrases.

Tips & Warnings

• Once your parakeet learns how to talk, try experimenting with other sounds to see how far its imitation skills can go.
• Only train one parakeet at a time during your talking sessions.
• You will have better results if you do not use the parakeet's training cage as its living area.

Resources

• Parakeet sounds and vocalizations