Who knows something about talking birds???

[Rey C.]

And for you Brits, no, I don't mean girls who speak their minds! :stir:

For an elderly person who lives alone, I have an idea to get her a bird of some type. And I want one that can be taught to talk or sing... or something that will provide them with some company or entertainment. But I know absolutely NOTHING about birds... other than turkeys, chickens and ducks - and all I know about them is that they taste good with gravy.

So if anyone here has some knowledge of birds like these, please help me out and give me some ideas, suggestions and (especially) some warnings. What types should I look at? What should I avoid? How much do they cost? How long do they live? How hard are they to train? How old do they have to be to be trainable?

I'll have to take care of it and train it (I guess). So just remember that if it doesn't work out... I always keep a spare jar of gravy in the cupboard! :eek:

Thanks in advance. :thumbsup:

 

[RASQ]

get her a Dik-dik, she'll love it

 

[larss]

http://www.petmd.com/bird/top_tens/evr_bd_top10talking_birds

 

[Harley Spencer]

Parrots are the most common type of bird that can be trained to talk, and cockatoos and parakeets are known to be able to learn as well, though the parakeets are a bit tough, harder to train to talk, and they can be very loud, where they tend to just chirp a lot rather than actually singing.

I've had many experiences with cockatoos, as my grandmother had some as I was growing up, and my aunt had a shit ton of them, like 8 or something, so every time I went to visit, I spent a lot of time handling them. She had trained one of the males to say "pretty boy", as that was his name, so he learned it rather quickly.

The way you teach them is to simply repeatedly say whatever it is you want him to be able to say. This could take weeks, months, perhaps years, depending on the individual bird, so you'll have to have some patience. If you'd rather not deal with teaching it to talk and are still interested in getting her a pet, I'd say go for a cockatiel. They're very similar to cockatoos, but a bit smaller and are far less expensive.

The best age to get them is when they're young, as with any pet. Just as it's easier to start training a dog when it's a puppy, the same applies to birds.

The few things you have to watch out for are biting, pooping, flying around the house, and how loud they can get. Parakeets are some of the worst at that, I've had them for pets and they squawk incessantly, where the best way to quiet them is to cover their cage with a blanket, which every bird owner I've ever known has done at night so they could sleep. As for biting, they won't do that very often, in fact I don't think I've ever been bitten, but if you don't handle them enough, they might grow to be a bit scared if they aren't accustomed to being handled. Cockatoos have larger beaks, so if they bite, it'll hurt more than with a cockatiel, and parrots have very large beaks, which some people can find intimidating. For flying, you just have to make sure you trim their wings from time to time so that when they try to fly around the house, they'll tire more quickly.

Hope that helps.

 

[Rey C.]

Many thanks for the advice, suggestions and links, folks. :thumbsup: Like I said, I know literally nothing about keeping birds as pets, so all the replies are really helpful. The more I read about them, they sound kind of fun. If the first one works out, maybe I'll get one for myself too! And who knew that a bird (Blue-Fronted Amazon) could live for 100 years?! That's a great list, Larss!

I guess now I just need to find a reputable pet shop, so I don't wind up buying a spray-painted chicken for $500.

 

[Harley Spencer]

Many thanks for the advice, suggestions and links, folks. :thumbsup: Like I said, I know literally nothing about keeping birds as pets, so all the replies are really helpful. The more I read about them, they sound kind of fun. If the first one works out, maybe I'll get one for myself too! And who knew that a bird (Blue-Fronted Amazon) could live for 100 years?! That's a great list, Larss!

I guess now I just need to find a reputable pet shop, so I don't wind up buying a spray-painted chicken for $500.

PetCo maybe? They usually have a decent collection of birds and reptiles.

 

[bobjustbob]

Here's a link to lifespans. Proper care and diet are important and will naturally keep them longer. Sometimes the bird will show signs of sickness and some will try to hide it.

http://www.cockatielcottage.net/lifespans.html

As Harley mentioned, even though some species talk better than others, you never know the smartness of the individual bird and how quickly they will pick up on it. Here's a link to some talking birds.

http://www.petmd.com/bird/top_tens/evr_bd_top10talking_birds

Prepare to spend several hundred to over $1000 for these better talking birds. Also remember that some of these may live 30-50-70 years and will possibly outlive their owners. Birds may bite too and some of those beaks can snap twigs. That's why I prefer the cockatiel. They don't talk but are very social birds and can be gotten for less than $100. My roommate had one in college and he was so much fun. Easy to handle and loved attention. Very smart too. He learned to open his cage so we would have to lock it when we weren't there. But we would unlock it when we came in. Sometimes he'd fly onto our heads or shoulders or just walk around the desks. Sometimes he's just hang out on the cage door like it was his front porch. We eventually trained him to fly back into his cage and close the door.

 

[Red XXX]

You don't get this kind of quality radio if you don't live in the UK! BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day!

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

The best talker among birds is the African Grey. They cost around $800-$1500 and they can live upwards of 50 years. They can accidentally learn to say things (as in, they'll pick up stuff you don't specifically train them to do, which can be bad depending on what they pick up).

Alternately the budgie/parakeet is a good talker. They tend to live about five years. You can probably find one for under $20, though depending on things like lineage and breeding quality can cost upwards of $100 (though if you're just looking for a pet, you don't need that).

If you want to get a bird to talk, get one bird. Birds are more likely to try to mimic someone if they bond to that person, and they aren't likely to do that if they have another bird to bond to (it can happen, but it's less likely). On the same note, don't put any shiny, mirrored surfaces in the cage, as they are dumb enough to mistake their reflection for another bird and bond with it.

Typically you want a male bird as a pet. Females by nature tend to be nastier and bite more, though obviously it depends a bit on the bird, but it usually holds true as it's an evolutionary thing; they have to protect the nest. With budgies you can often tell the sex by the cere (the "nose" if you will, the part with the nostrils above the beak). With males it will be blue, with females it will be pink, though this coloration occurs after maturity, so if the bird is under a year or two old you won't be able to tell that way. With most other birds... good luck here. It'll probably come down to DNA testing.

That's why I prefer the cockatiel. They don't talk but are very social birds and can be gotten for less than $100.

Had a few of those growing up. One of which used to masturbate on his perch every time I walked in the room...

 

[bobjustbob]

You don't get this kind of quality radio if you don't live in the UK! BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day!

Broadcasting genius, birds on the radio. After sampling the White-Fronted Goose and Slavonian Grebe, I can sell such a series here in USA. Tweet of the Day may be copyrighted already though.

 

[Will E Worm]

Ask Gilbert Gottfried.

 

[Rey C.]

Who knew how popular birds were?! Thanks again, folks! I also mentioned this idea at work and a guy mentioned the African Grey. He said his ex-wife had one and it would even dance to music. :nanner: Yeah, this does sound like fun. Once I get #1 settled and trained, I really can see getting one for myself too. And imagine there being something around 100 years from now that still says the retarded crap that I taught it in 2014! That's pretty cool.

There is a Petco in my area. I'll check there first.

I'm sure we'll find a way to get the birdie (might name him Tweety... or maybe Sylvester) to talk.

Gotta talk! Gotta talk! Braaack! Mean man's got the gravy out. Mean man's got the gravy out! Braaack! Call 911! Call 911! Braaack!

 

[Rey C.]

PetCo maybe? They usually have a decent collection of birds and reptiles.

Good idea. I just called my local Petco and the guy said they have three types of Conures. He said they live for around 15 years and have vocabularies of 100 words or so (which makes them more talkative than some members of my family). He claimed they were good for older people or anyone who wouldn't want a noisy bird. I'll head over tomorrow and see what they look/sound like.

I'll still need to learn more about talking birds before I make a purchase, but at least I'm on the right track now.

 

[Marshall Stack]

A guy walks into a pet shop looking to purchase a talking bird. He asks the store owner "what is a good breed that will sing and talk"? The owner says "all of them are great but may I suggest this African Gray?"


The man plops down 600 bucks for the bird and cage and goes on his way.

A week later the man comes back into the store and says the bird hasn't said a word yet. The store owner asks " Did you get him his little mirror?" The customer says "No I didn't know he needed a little mirror!" Store owner: " Well everybody knows that a bird won't talk without his little mirror!


Customer: " How much is the mirror?"

Owner: "50 dollars"

Customer: "Give me the little mirror I guess"

The next week the customer comes back into the store and the owner says" Hows that bird doing? Has he started talking yet?"

Customer: "Nope not a damn word!"

Owner: " Well did you get him his little ladder?"

Customer: " That is the first I have heard about needing a little ladder!"

Owner: WELL! EVERYBODY knows that a bird won't talk without his little ladder!"

Customer: "How much is the ladder?"

Owner: "60 dollars"

Customer: "Well I guess give me the little ladder!"

Another week goes by and the customer comes into the store again.

Owner: Hey! "How is that bird doing? Talking for ya yet?"

Customer: "Fuck no! What a waste of money hasn't said a damn thing!"

Owner: " Well, did you get him his little swing?"

Customer: "Hell no! You never said anything about a fucking swing"

Owner: "WELL EVERYBODY knows a bird won't talk without his little swing!"

Customer: " How Much Is The damn swing?"


Owner: "75 dollars!"

Customer: "Give me the damn swing!"


Again a week passes and the customer walks in and the owner says How is that bird doing? Talking for you yet?


Customer: "The bird is dead!"

Owner:" Dead?"

Customer :"Yes!"

Owner: "Well did he ever talk at all?"

Yes: "Right before he died."

Owner: "Really what did he say?"

Customer: Right before he keeled over he looked up at me and said.... "You fuckers ever heard of bird seed?

 

[Harley Spencer]

Good idea. I just called my local Petco and the guy said they have three types of Conures. He said they live for around 15 years and have vocabularies of 100 words or so (which makes them more talkative than some members of my family). He claimed they were good for older people or anyone who wouldn't want a noisy bird. I'll head over tomorrow and see what they look/sound like.

I'll still need to learn more about talking birds before I make a purchase, but at least I'm on the right track now.

Aww the conures are so pretty! They're very colorful. Now just looking at the photos it's making me want one.

 

[bobjustbob]

Go to a reputable pet shop and stay away from the Norwegian Blue.