Can all IRN'S talk?

[Zeenat]

my irn is more than a year now but still he doesnt seem to talk..he makes little chattering sounds and all.He even whistles my name yet he just doesnt speak! i dnt understnd why.
He is always around company and my family and i are always talking arnd him.ive come across people who claim that when a parrot reaches the age of 1 and if he hasnt learned how to speak then he wont speak at all.
So my question is Can all IRN's talk ? or do some have exceptions...
and how do i teach him to talk if i still can?

A response is highly appreaciated=)

[Chicklet]

I am guessing (and I don't know for sure on this) that it would be better to talk to the fiddo while socializing than to just talk around him or her. I have also read that some IRNs don't talk until a year or older and others might not talk at all. Everything seems to point towards good and consistent socialization having the best results for talking.

[ellieelectrons]

My birds aren't crazy good talkers but they both talk a little. Personally, I didn't really care whether they talked so I haven't really tried too hard to get them to talk.

When I reflect on the types of phrases that my birds have learnt, they tend to be ones that are repeated over and over again and things that they have some pleasurable association with. For example, my Charlie learnt to say, "Give me a kiss", he then cranes his neck and makes a kip smacking sound and then, "another one?" because that's something I do with them regularly. I've watched lots of IRN youtube vids and I've noticed that saying this phrase seems quite common.

When my husband was trying to teach Janey to talk when she was little and an only bird, he was trying to teach her "What ya doin'" (which is also an IRN phrase I've heard a lot) but before he would say it, he'd say "Hey janey" to get her attention closely followed by "What ya doin"... Interestingly, "Hey Janey" is what we have to say to her now in order to get her to respond "What ya doin'". They have a very contextual memory.

I noticed one day Charlie was saying, "You're welcome" and I was trying to figure out how he learned that... and I noticed that when I would give them a treat whilst they were in their cage, they would sometimes omit a squawk as I walked away and I would automatically say, "You're welcome".

Janey also learnt to say her name. When she is out of the cage and can't find us she will sometimes wander the house yelling, "Janey! Janey!" She figures since we use that term to call her, she uses it to call us too... which shows she's pretty smart.

Not all birds will learn to talk but I think the chances increase if you repeat small phrases or one or two words to them regularly and if you associate a nice action with the words.

I'm actually surprised that my two haven't started saying "good girl" and "good boy" as that's what I say when I give them rewards during training.

Good luck and best wishes!

Ellie.

[dholari]

very cute .. i like the janey janey thing

[jmmercer]

I'm curious if there are certain words IRN's are unable to say. I've tried searching the net for information about this, but I've come up empty. I want to name my bird Emerson (after Ralph Waldo Emerson), but i don't know if that's a word he will be able to say..? Is there a resource/list out there that contains this sort of info? =)

[Chicklet]

I'm curious if there are certain words IRN's are unable to say. I've tried searching the net for information about this, but I've come up empty. I want to name my bird Emerson (after Ralph Waldo Emerson), but i don't know if that's a word he will be able to say..? Is there a resource/list out there that contains this sort of info? =)

There is a video on YouTube I saw of an IRN saying "baby cockatiels," so I don't see why they couldn't learn Emerson.

[ellieelectrons]

I think they will approximate most sounds but may not be able to make some sounds fully... For example, when my Charlie says, "gimme a kiss", the "s" sounds isn't very well pronounced... Either it's that he can't make the sound properly or that I don't pronounce it well when I say it! Generally, IRNs don't speak as clearly as other types of parrots (eg. African Greys) but they can still learn lots of words.

Ellie.

[jmmercer]

Thanks. I noticed the "s" sound. I've also heard of ways to get around speech issues like using softer sounds on certain letters.

[Zeenat]

i guess ill have to socialize more and say my phrases more often!Thankyou guys=)