by merlin » Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:47 pm
Hi Donna,
Your Greys sound precious! Your 6 month old is basically too young to be talking a lot. Your older grey whispers because the former owner must have had, either a quiet voice... or she/he talked to the bird in whispers. This will change in time as the older grey becomes more comfortable with you and your home. Then she will adopt a different voice (a new flock voice), so don't worry about the whispers at this point. How old is the adopted grey?
Greys generally learn to talk and become babblers in the 12 to 18 month range... some earlier, some later. Some NEVER become big talkers at all. This does not mean they are not smart, but they have learned a different way to communicate with you. Some just are not interested in becoming talkers. Also, I have found generally that usually there is ONE bigger talker among a flock of pet birds... at least among greys. So, one of your greys will most probably become the bigger talker than the other. The other will find a different way to become endearing into your heart. Of my three greys, my Merlin is the bigger talker. She does not babble all of the time, but she is incredibly smart and comes up with amazingly intelligent phrases every now and then.
I found the best way to help Greys learn to talk is to focus on the power and action words. This gives the greys the opportunity to control their lives ... which they LOVE to do... control theirs and everyone else's! LOL. For example, the "want" nut..."want" perch... "want" cheese. The WANT phrase and other phrases like that that establish commands are very powerful.
I have NEVER heard that having freedom stops a bird from learning to talk. To the contrary, curiosity and learning are what excites greys. Also, reward helps. Reward can be in praise, praise, praise.... or a simple sunflower seed at a time. But reward them when they succeed or even when they are trying. I get overly excited which gets the bird excited.
I taught Merlin to talk by focusing on the power words. Every time I gave her something to eat, for example, I said "Want cheese(the object)." Then once Merle started babbling/practicing the word, I gave it to her. Got very tiring after a while... LOL... but it worked. Hang out with your guys and observe what makes them curious. Then pursue talking with them about what they are curious about in a simple, but not childlike, manner.
Please check out my article on teaching greys to talk: http://www.africangreys.com/articles/overview/alexteachtalk.html
Also, check out the Helpful Hints section of my website. There are some good ideas there, too:
http://www.africangreys.com/hints/talking.htm
Hoping this helps. Please let me know how you're doing.
Blessings,
Maggie-
www.AfricanGreys.com