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Quick and Easy Tips on Building Your Parrot's Speech

2016/5/4 10:37:14

Talking birds are an endless source of entertainment, and every parrot owner wants their bird to learn how to speak. Getting started is easy, and most parrots pick up their first words rather quickly. Here, though, owners often hit a roadblock. They find that once their bird picks up a few words and phrases, that he tends to repeat those he already knows, rather than picking up on new ones.

This is a common problem. You'll try to get your bird to say something new, and he'll stubbornly refuse, instead spouting off previously learned words. It is impossible to teach a parrot that is not willing to learn, so what you have to do is entice the parrot to try new sounds. Giving them motivation for learning is absolutely essential in the training process.

In the beginning stages of speech training, it's important to give rewards each time your parrot attempts a word or sound. This shows them that what they are doing is desirable, and encourages them to continue. It's still important to use positive reinforcement in the form of praise and treats in a general sense, but the problem is that later on in training, rewarding every good behavior creates bad habits. The bird wants to perform and please you so that it will be praised and given a treat, so it continues to use what has worked in the past.

Overcoming this obstacle is particularly difficult, but it can be achieved. It's still imperative that you give rewards for speech, but only when appropriate. For example, if your bird responds with "pretty bird" when you're repeating "good boy", no treat should be given. If you give a reward when your parrot says the wrong thing, you are only teaching them that any sort of speech gets them a reward. They will continue to say whatever they have already learned, instead of attempting new words.

However, treats should still be given when your bird speaks any word or phrase on his own. Continue giving rewards for all speech, but only outside of your daily training sessions. During the sessions, limit treats to those times when your parrot is obviously trying to make the new sounds. This will motivate them to try new sound combinations.

If you are consistent with this method, you can effectively build your bird's vocabulary up to fifty or words or more in a reasonably short amount of time. It takes dedication, repetition, and above all patience.

For all the most recent and practical information on teaching your parrot to talk and general parrot training visit http://www.easyparrottalk.com.