Can female parakeets talk? Can they be trained to talk?
Can they mimic human speech and make a variety of sounds?
Can you train them to do so, or are they just not capable of it?
These questions are often asked by people who have a love for animal training. Although the answer is not always clear, and there are many factors that will affect whether or not a parakeet can learn to speak.
- Can Female Parakeets Talk (A More In-depth Answer)
- Training Your Female Parakeet To Talk
- How Long Does It Take A Parakeet To Talk?
- Do Female Parakeets Talk In The Wild?
- Female Parakeets In Captivity
- Using A Mirror To Teach Speech
- She Will Learn It: Be Consistent
- How Do You Teach Female Parakeets To Sing?
- Male Parakeet vs. Female Parakeet
- Conclusion
Female parakeets can definitely be taught how to speak, but their talking skills depend on the individual bird, as well as on your own personal teaching methods.
In this blog post, we will discuss the talking capabilities of female parakeets and everything you need to know about training them to talk. We will speak about other things female parakeets can do, too, including singing!
Can Female Parakeets Talk (A More In-depth Answer)
Female parakeets can talk but not as well as males. Females are often quieter and more gentle than their male counterparts, so they may not be able to learn vocalizations with the same ease.
Not learning it with the same ease does not, however, mean not learning it at all.
Some females can mimic sounds that they hear from humans or other animals, such as a dog's bark or a cat's meow.
In the same thought, I am yet to hear one speak as clearly as this male parakeet's talking skill appears to be in this video:
But again, it depends on the individual parakeet and its relationship with its owner.
If you want your female pet parrot to talk, it will take patience and time. If not trained correctly, they may never learn how to vocalize words or phrases they've learned through mimicry.
Training Your Female Parakeet To Talk
Female parakeets are intelligent and highly trainable creatures that can learn to mimic human speech patterns with plenty of patience from the owner. They have an innate desire to please their owners by adapting as best they can quickly when a new situation arises.
Female parakeets also learn new words as they are on the edge of their cage and listening to conversations in a human voice that interests them.
This is not at all difficult because these creatures do have an innate desire to please. However, there is much more work involved than simply putting your female pet parakeet next to you every time you speak.
There are a few traits that the pet owner should have in order to make training of female parakeets easier and more successful.
They include:
- Patience
- Consistency
- Repetition for some time each day, as well as recognizing which words your creature is interested in learning.
- It also helps to have your parakeet's favorite treat on hand. Some millet spray will do the trick!
Of course, it's important not to overwhelm your bird with too many new words and phrases at once.
It is also important to note that some birds will not learn how to talk no matter what you do, while others will pick up the sound of certain words with relative ease.
How Long Does It Take A Parakeet To Talk?
It depends on a few factors.
The talkativeness trait is polygenic, which means the breeding of most parakeets requires you to not only take into account physical traits like beak type and feathering but genetics as well. Parakeet genes are passed down through both parents, which can have differing degrees of the gene for talkativeness.
What does this mean?
It could mean it takes twice as long for one parakeet parent to talk as another; it could also mean that some breeds are very predisposed to talking whereas others are not. This becomes important when deciding how much time an owner wants their pet bird to spend learning language.
Do Female Parakeets Talk In The Wild?
In the wild, females will often imitate the sounds of other birds in their environment.
This includes sounds of alarms, chirps for food and calls to warn other birds of danger.
When given enough time, females can learn how to make these noises themselves with practice.
As well as warning cries, they also begin to learn songs and a range of different calls.
They do this naturally as they are very sociable with their flockmates, so they mimic sounds that they pick up also to communicate.
Female Parakeets In Captivity
Female parakeets in captivity can learn how to talk just as well, if not better, than wild birds. The main difference is that they don't have to mimic the sounds of their environment because human beings make all the noise for them!
There are many different methods with which to teach a female parakeet to talk.
One of the most popular methods is known as ‘step-wise training.' This involves giving the female some food every time she makes an approximation towards the desired sound.
As soon as they make their first attempt, give them something tasty like fruit or millet spray and praise them for it! You will gradually increase your expectations of them as they learn more words.
Another popular training technique is known as ‘copy and repeat.'
When you say a word to the female, she will mimic it back to you – then once again when you've repeated it twice. This may sound confusing, but after a while, she should recognize what the word means and start saying it on her own.
Using A Mirror To Teach Speech
Many parakeet owners report that using a mirror to teach speech has helped their pets.
It may sound like a complicated process, but it's actually very easy and works well for some birds. All you need to do is hold up the mirror so that they can see themselves, then say something while pointing at them or touching your chest (where they should look).
You can do this with a word, phrase, or sentence. Typically they will copy what you say as soon as they see themselves in the mirror – then once again when you've repeated it twice.
You will soon notice that your parakeet starts to talk to the mirror on her own and that she can do this for hours, entertaining herself!
She Will Learn It: Be Consistent
When you encounter a word or phrase that your parakeet struggles to learn, say the phrase in a different way or substitute it with another word. The more repetition there is, the better!
If you teach them to talk once per day for 30 days, some birds can learn up to 20 words and phrases in no time.
How Do You Teach Female Parakeets To Sing?
If you want to teach your parakeet to sing, as will all parakeet training, you should start young. This is because older parakeets can be difficult to train and may have lost their ability to learn new things (and songs!)
- Start by teaching your parakeet to say its name. Your goal is to teach the bird to sing a short phrase, so start with one-syllable words that have an “eye” sound in them, like “free.”
- Then you'll want to practice having your bird repeat three or four syllables of the word or sound it just learned.
- Start with “tee hee hee,” adding more similar sounds as you go. Then work up to combining sounds like “chirp chirp cheep.” “chirp, chirp cheep cheep,” etc.
- You can also do this by adding a new sound to an older one. So “chirp chirp” can be followed up with “cheep cheep.”
When it comes to singing, it is very important to get them exposed to a variety of sounds and not just the monotone sound of conversation.
Male Parakeet vs. Female Parakeet
Some parakeet owners have said that their female parakeets are much more vocal than their males, and they can learn to talk at a younger age, too – as early as six months of age! In some cases, the male parakeet will often chatter but not make noise like their female counterparts.
Again, this goes to show that it is down to the individual parakeet and training rather than simply their gender.
Conclusion
I hope that this article has given you some helpful ideas on how to get your female parakeet talking and singing. It is important to remember not to force them or punish them if they don't talk, but instead reward their good behavior with treats!
If you have any other questions about training a female parakeet, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help out as much as possible!
