How to Teach Your Parakeet to Talk

With a little bit of effort, you can teach your budgerigar--or parakeet, as we like to call them--how to talk. You and your family will be amazed!

Things You'll Need

• A parakeet
• One or more willing participants

Instructions

1. Start the process when you're actually buying the bird. Like humans, birds learn more easily when they are younger. It's a good idea to spend a little more and get your parakeet from a pet store that specializes in birds.

2. Place the parakeet's cage in a place where there are people around for it to hear, like a kitchen or family room. Be kind to your bird, and make sure that children don't taunt it and stick their fingers in the cage. Once your parakeet is comfortable in its new home, it's time to start talking.

3. Begin with words that start with consonants rather than vowels. "Pretty bird" is a good phrase to begin with, because "p" and "b" sounds are easy for parakeets to imitate. Speak slowly and clearly. Have your kids help out, too--the higher voices of women and children are easier for parakeets to imitate.

4. Once your parakeet has some basic words mastered, try some advanced tricks, like teaching it how to speak in context. This simply requires saying certain phrases at appropriate times. For example, say "Good morning!" every morning when you uncover your bird's cage.

5. Reinforce your parakeet's vocabulary once it learns how to talk. It will forget words and phrases that it hasn't heard for a long time. Keep repeating words and phrases to your bird even after it learns them.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient! Some birds learn more slowly than others, but chances are good that your parakeet will reward you with some words at some point.