Ooohhh.. if only I spoke Quaker, I am certain Hemingway would be relaying his philosophy of life!

He started out with the typical "step up," "good boy," and laughing. Well today he was hanging out on his tree in the den and the talking started.. just going on and on and on. Many of the words/phrases were unrecognizeable but he was talking nonetheless (you can recognize that little scratchy quaker voice). He threw in his recognizeable phrases too every now and then. He was so loud I had to put him in the other room to play on his cage for awhile while the baby took his nap.. and he continued in there. It is just the funniest thing--- but I'm afraid we have a closet talker because he would stop when I came in the room. They are just too funny! He has a running joke with my husband-- when I ask him what "the kitty says?" he will make a little tiny meow sound but EVERY time my husband asks him what "the kitty says," he responds with "Peekaboo!" and laughs.

lol..awww too cute! i'm waiting for brady to get some more words/phrases out. we are stuck on step up..and good boy..and I'm just getting him to say mama. he will imitate other noises however. but not more words. we are working on I love you. but not even close yet!

That little game is awsome! Oh yeah, the "closet talker" thing is probably kind of typical. Our little green monster often does the same thing. When we're in the room, he'll quack, kiss, maybe whistle and screech. As soon as we hit the front porch to smoke, he's talking his little butt off!! What amazes me about our quaker is that he didn't start with single words - the FIRST thing he ever said was "Whatcha doin?". Not too long after that it was "can I have a kiss? [kissing sound] Thank you!". Nowadays he will sometimes start rambling when we're in the room, but he waits until the TV is kind of loud and does it really quietly . I guess he's practicing and doesn't want us to hear him. When he starts, we turn the TV down slowly and he keeps right on rambling. Just wait until he starts really building his vocabulary - he will suprise you and crack you up nearly every day. They're great little companions.

Awww, congrats, it's sooo much fun when they start talking! ... you feel like such a proud parront! ... once they start, they won't stop! Casey said 'bye bye' when I put on my coat today, so I know how you feel!

-- I have heard that 'L' sounds are difficult for birds and 'I love you' is a hard one...

Good Luck!

Hemingway is a darling....and yes, he sounds like a closet talker like mine....



If you have a recorder, just turn it on and walk away, you may be surprised as to what all he may be saying.....That is what I did with Harley and I was amazed at all he was saying....That is a good way to find out exactly what he is saying....

Let us know what you do find out with that sweet baby....

that's amazing !
i can't wait to get my 2 talking.
can you tell me how old he was when he started talking?
i'm only new a this game , my birds are now 12 weeks old , they are not hand raised but are very tame and can be handle with no signs of aggression, is it best to talk to them with the covers on?.
best of luck with the little fella, regs, milo

Just talk to your new babies and tell them everything your doing, just like you would with a toddler and eventually they will pick it up. If I remember you have two, so give them each one on one time and talk to them and eventually you'll hear something! Just remember that some aren't talker, and some don't start talking until they are older, so be patient!

Casey started when she was around 14 weeks old, and she is learning lots of new things as she gets older, every bird is different though.

Someone else will be around shortly with more advice!

Good luck!

congratulations!!! If you repeat what he says back it reinforces the words. I know my fid started out with phrases I couldn't understand. When I finally figured out what he was trying to say, I repeated it back everytime and his speech became clearer and clearer.

Oh how exciting!! Once they start they just talk and talk and talk. Peanut started talking at 12 wks and talks pretty much nonstop now

Well that's the way it happened with my quaker, all of a sudden everything started coming out. And with the baby monitor I heard things I never heard before. Way to go. I would be very careful with the kitty. They just seem to wait and wait for their chance to pounce and get their thrill of the kill.

How old is your bird & how long have you had it?? I can hardly wait to get mine & was just wondering when it would talk. Guess I better get the bird before I worry about that.

Hemingway was about 5 months old when he said "step up." He has added "What's up?" over the last couple of days. It has been a gradual process but he likes to practice the words he knows quite a bit. He is now about 9 months old. He's surrounded by craziness in this house what with our little kids running around talking constantly so it's no telling what he might eventually pick up. It's just so funny when they say things in context. He peeked around the lamp today to see me and said, "What's up?" just like any person would.

Hemingway sounds like a cute! I tried to teach Kiwi to say "whats up", but the only thing that came out of that was, "What?" proceeded by saying it about 3 more times

LOL...that's so cute. We have a "closet talker" too. She mumbles alot when we're around but as soon as she thinks we're gone, she's talking her head off.

I'm planning on getting a recorder soon just so I can ear spy on Georgie.