Things You'll Need
- CD recorder and payer with auto replay Recordable CD
Instructions
Determine the person in your house who has the best relationship with your parrot. Many parrots will be a "one-person" bird--meaning it will respond to a specific person better than anyone else. This is the person who should start training the bird to speak. Once your parrot begins speaking, everything from the kids to the doorbell will be fair game for its mimicry.
Have close and regular conversation with the parrot. Let it see how your tongue and lips move. As a bird is trying to learn this new talent, it will start to play with its beak and tongue trying to copy you. It is important for it to see this as it helps it learn.
Record a simple phrase such as "Hello," on a CD. Say the same phrase to the parrot several times, then play the CD repeatedly. For your own sanity, it is best to hit "Auto Replay" when you are not home. Let the parrot hear the same word repeatedly. When you are with it, show it how to say the word as well. Keep it simple and don't give it too much to learn at first.
After it learns the first phrase, add a second track to the CD. Once again, keep it simple. Letting it learn things people are saying to it regularly allows the parrot to get constant reinforcement for its efforts. A great second word or phrase is its name; e.g., "I'm Polly."
Once the parrot masters a word, it will often incorporate it with something else it learned. So once it has mastered the first two words, you may hear it say, "Hello, I'm Polly." As its vocabulary increases, replace old recordings with new, more elaborate ones. Songs and poems are also great things to offer your parrot as it is able to repeat longer and more complex phrases. At this point, it will be picking up things you aren't teaching it, always attuned to its environment.