IndianRingNeck.com

hi guys...
good news. I think Jaws has started imitating my dog's bark, it sounds something betwene a bark and a squeek and he does it like a machinegun, like when there is a stranger on the property and the dog's being teritorial.
(bark... bark, bark, bark!)
i'm not entirely sure this is him mimicing or just my imagination. but he's never made the sound before and it dusnt sound like a bird-sound.

I'v tried to teach him things like wolf whisling and swear words (swear words r the big thing wen yor 16). but this is the first non natural sound he's ever made and im realy exited.

i take the cover off his cage in the morning and usualy go back to bed to lye around lazily. i think he's more awake in the morning, and maybe a bit hiper, cos thats when he does all his chirping. and also the first time i ever herd him "bark" was wen he'd just woken up.
but the problem is he only ever does it when he thinks hes alone or i'm not listening. so i had to like turn my head away from him and pretend i wasn't sleeping. if my head is facing him he'll stop and look at me like: "who's barking? not me... birds don't bark, silly. nope they don't!"

how can i get him over this shyness... i'd like to be able to teach him sum kwl stuff and he'd never shown any inclination that he was much of a talker. now that i no he has no aversion to a bit of talking i ask humbly... what do i do?!?

No need to worry, most young birds are closet talkers until they master the whole speech thing then you won't be able to shut him up. I can carry on a whole conversation with my 3 year old IRN. I take him to work with me every day too and he talks to all my customers. The only bad words he says is he'll ask people if they pooped You otta see the look on some peoples faces.



Donna

I have had my IRN for about six months and she babbles away when I am out of sight (not quite words), but won't say a thing to me directly; think it just takes a long time (and I know six months is a long time when you are 16 -- but time will go fast!) Keep us posted.

Yep they like to practice alone, but soon enough, you are chatting away together and they don't shut up. Jordan is just coming on 2 years and was the same, shy and practiced alone, now he will even tell the other ringnecks what to do. When I am trying to get our youngster pickle to step up, Jordan will run over and stay, "Step up" "come on" "step up" .. "good boy". What a control freak.

Yep, they can act clueless when your around! They do like to practice alone. But when they get the confidence they love to have a chat to you. Just takes time.

i think he definitley likes to chatter in the morning, it's the weekend so i woke up at around midday. let him out of his cage and went bak to bed. he jumped out and sat on top of the cage next to the window. then he started yapping on to himself and every now and then he'd bark like the dog. what realy got me exited was he did this wolf wistle thing. he didn't do it rite but i cud tell it was a wolfwistle so i did it to him and he wistled bak at me, still got it rong...
so i spent most of the morning lying in bed whistling to him, and most of the time he wud stop chirping to wistle bak at me!
i'd call that an improvement if ever there was one...
do birds generaly focus on the one mimic and then move on to something else. or can they tackle all sorts of things at once?

How cute. He whistles back at you! He is learning new things!
I think they can learn different words/phrases at the same time.

I am so jealous! My tiels will whistle back at me but Gelly will only prattle away in her own little lingo when I am out of sight. You can pick out pretty girl, pretty bird, hello and I love you..... can't quite figure out what they other words are, but she sure does have a lot to say.

it's not realy like his wisling bak at me... just i'l wisle and he'll go "oh, that's it! let me have a go, i think i can do it now." but he never get sit rite he can do the first part of the wolfwisle butthe second bit gets all choked up.

PS jaws was being a bastard this morning. i supose it's cos i took so long waking up and he got pisssed off wit me. he jumped onto my hand wen i offered it to him and i was about to kiss his beak when he lashed out and bit me on the nose. i had such a fright i lept bak and he got freeked out. i ended up puting him bak in his cage for a bit of alone time...
he wudnt even let me pat him...
guess he's warning me not to wake up so late... but cmon! it was only mid day!? you'd think a bird cud sleep in!
he didn't do any wisling this morning lol...

they can be a bit moody, but try not to react when he bites you.

yeh it was just such a shok and it was so close to my eye. he ripped a bit of skin off...
normaly i dont respond.