How do you teach your GCC to talk?

[yuko]

I've read stories on here about peoples green cheeked conures speaking words... how do you teach your gcc to do this?

 

[Rozalka]

Always when I give food my GCC I tell 'good', when I go out - 'bye bye', when I come back - 'hello' etc. This way I taught him few words. Also I taught some words by accident e.g speaking 'can not' when he bites me

 

[YUMgrinder]

talk to them, repeat simple words. My black capped conure came to me already knowing "whats your name" not sure why someone would teach him that. but I always say "gimme kiss" to all my birds and he says "gimme kiss" in a scratchy voice now after a year of having him. My cockatiel says it too but its hard to understand. repetition. Now I've had my pineapple green cheek for a year and he doesn't talk, just mumbles to himself when the tv is on. they may never talk, they may start talking immediately, or it could take years.

 

[Flboy]

My JoJo says ‘I love you’! But without doubt, it really takes a lot of interpretation to understand what they are saying! The family usually has to interpret for me! They do love imitating sounds though! My guy does a good imitation of a coffee percolator, the box dragging across the floor, and of course the hideous laugh! He also does a perfect dog squeaky toy imitation that he learned from the rescue where he lived for almost a year and a half!

 

[yuko]

We speak the same words but he’s never talked... but thank you!! �� sometimes he makes a little noise that if you listen closely sounds like thank you haha

 

[IndySE]

They usually repeat back what they find interesting, and some are more inclined to speak than others. I think early socialization with humans is key, as it's when they're babies they're most inclined to pick up their flock's "call". I talk constantly to my bird, although there's a few simple phrases I use commonly, and those are the ones she repeats back to me. However, what she decides to ultimately repeat back is up to her.

Also remember GCC's aren't really good speakers. They can try their best, but ultimately it will always be mumbled/hard to hear. It may be possible yours has been attempting to speak but you just didn't hear it haha. They seem to be better mimics than speakers.

 

[bingbing]

As others have stated when they are young seems to be best all of what binbbing says he started early. He says hello, I love you, pretty baby and his name bingbing. He repeats pretty baby the most lol. It's not perfect but others pick out the words so I know it's just not me thinking he say's the stuff.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I agree with all the above. Some birds never talk; some never stop.
I have found that my bird tends to pick up on things that are said loudly and with animation and excitement. For example... peoples'/pets' names... exclamations (watch out for expletives!)... greetings and goodbyes (as mentioned above).
I leave television on for him all the time. I'm a tv-junkie myself. He picks up jingles and funny stuff.
Some birds like whistles, so you might try that.
Good luck!

 

[T00tsyd]

I thought Syd wasn't talking until one evening after I put him to bed I stayed and listened and found he was practising. In amongst all the bird chuntering were 'good boy, good night' a bit like a child before they go to sleep. Since then I chat to him and his vocabulary has taken off and as I cover him at night his last words to me at the moment are usually 'I'm sorry baby' as clear as a bell, in a really repentant way that makes me want to get him out again. He makes me feel a complete heel for putting him to bed, but in the morning he greets me with 'good morning baby' and I know all is forgiven!

 

[josiahdham]

My JoJo says ‘I love you’! But without doubt, it really takes a lot of interpretation to understand what they are saying! The family usually has to interpret for me! They do love imitating sounds though! My guy does a good imitation of a coffee percolator, the box dragging across the floor, and of course the hideous laugh! He also does a perfect dog squeaky toy imitation that he learned from the rescue where he lived for almost a year and a half!

My little Linda does the same thing with mimicking the squeaky toy! Of course it's because of the 2 dogs she lives with! She can also mimic kissy noises but so far no actual words! From my understanding GCC's are not that big of talkers.

 

[EllenD]

My Bowie, a Yellow-Sided Green Cheek, just turned 2 years old, and he's been talking since he was around 6 months old...he is a DNA tested male, which does make a difference, as males tend to be much more vocal than females do...Bowie says a ton of words and phrases, like "You're my Baby", "Cheeky Cheeky Rasta Bird", "Gimme Kisses", etc. And I didn't teach him a thing, lol...Well, not purposely, anyway. I never expected Bowie to talk, and certainly not as much as he does or as well as he does...So Bowie simply started talking one day and then just kept doing it, and he just mimics me, as I've never once done ANY training at all...His voice is really clear too, it's bizarre for a Green Cheek...He talks way more than my Quaker or my Senegal, not that Senegals are know for talking (Kane sounds like a little robot, while Bowie sounds like me)...

A lot of people will say that "Green Cheeks don't talk", which obviously is not at all true, I should make a video of Bowie, because he's incredibly vocal, clear, and sounds just like me talking, in my voice...But it's true that Green Cheeks are not known for being "good" talkers, not like other species of Conures are...So there's no guarantee that you Green Cheek will learn to talk at all, just like with ANY species of parrot, even African Greys...In fact, there's a post in the Grey forum right now of a 3-year old, male Congo Grey who has yet to speak a word, he only makes sounds, and the OP wanted to know if that will change...most-likely not at his age, but you never know...So the bottom-line is that your Green Cheek may start talking, he may not, and if he's actually a she, then the chances become slimmer, but still not impossible...you just never know...

As I said, I never once did a bit of training with Bowie, and he started young. I got him at 12 weeks old and he started talking in phrases at 6 months, and gets better and better with time...But he did it just by listening to me...The other weird thing for a Green Cheek is that Bowie mimics my female Quaker parrot talking...It's really strange...My female Quaker talks a lot, as they do, but not nearly as clearly as Bowie does...Anyway, my Quaker mocks me all the time, telling me "No Bites" and "That hurts, ouch!" in her muffled Quaker voice...Well now Bowie is saying "No Bites, OUCH!" and "That hurts!" all the time, BUT IN MY QUAKER'S MUFFLED VOICE instead of his much-clearer voice...I never expected this from a Green Cheek Conure at all...So it just goes to show that you just never know, and there is no "RULE" about which species talk or talk well and which don't...