Things You'll Need
- Treats
Instructions
Begin training at as young an age as possible. Wait until your cockatoo has learned to trust you and is happy to be handled before you attempt to teach it to talk.
Get the cockatoo out of its cage and take it to a quiet room in the house with less distractions.
Repeat a single, two syllable phrase to your cockatoo, such as "hello," "good day" or "hi there." Use a friendly tone of voice. Say the phrase repeatedly for 10 minutes, twice a day. Listen for signs that your cockatoo is trying to talk, such as making little noises or squawks in response. Praise the bird for doing this by saying "good bird" and giving it an occasional treat. Be patient as a cockatoo can take months to learn its first phrase.
Introduce other phrases once the cockatoo has learned the first one. The cockatoo should pick up speech at a faster rate once it has learned its first words.