Talking

[kendrafitz]

Rosie is not a huge talker, which is fine with me. She LOVES to mimic the tone in which I say things. The actual words are secondary to her. She does say a few words clearly, but the rest are garbled. I can usually tell what she is saying by context and tone. Which is important bc much like a toddler she will repeat what she is saying until I repeat the correct word back to her. :)

Today, she attempted a new word. She is molting and some tiny sheath pieces got in her nostril and caused her to itch and sneeze. After a few sneezes, I asked if she wanted help. She nodded yes, waddled over to me and I gave her a nostril blow to clear it out. (The bird store I got her from taught me to do that when she was a baby). After, I asked if it was better. She looked at me, nodded and with crazy pinning eyes, said Better?!?. She was super excited. I may never hear it again, but it was a fun part of our day.

Has anyone else's birds been saying or working on new words?

[Cedardave]

I like your storey....mine isnt so cute in the same way.One evening a few months back my 21 year old son was having a moment and dropping the "F" bomb all over the place.It was ignored by most of the flock...but my sweet african grey Lexi seemed to like the way it sounded.And so every so often she will swear up a blue streak.In a twisted way its entertaining to hear her tone....she sounds really mad.She will often yell out one of the dogs names followed closely by a long rant of angry swearing.If I could only wash her dirty mouth out with a bar of soap.She will often redeam herself with an "i love you daddy"

[kendrafitz]

That is so funny!! If you ever get a video, please post it. I am guessing either the dogs annoy Lexi or she feels superior? ;)

I have a tendency to swear like a crazed truck driver. A few weeks ago my daughter said it sounded like Rosie was dropping the f bomb. It's times like that I am glad her words aren't so clear

[Cedardave]

Hey...Im a truck driver:). Lexi was our first parrot and I think she feels superior to all the others.After all she was here first.We often have to speak loudly to the dog she yells at because hes getting pretty old and sort of going deaf.There is never a dull(or quiet) moment here.We find it so peaceful every now and then when there is a power outage and all the air purifiers and fans turn off for a while.Right now Im in the middle of several interbird conversations.Lexi is in the livingroom talking real loud to a group of greys at the other end of the house.Meanwhile Peanut our female pet Eclectus is returning calls to our breeding pair of Eclectus ...also at the front of the house.Its starting to get dark so now its time for the nightly screaming of the macaws

[spiritbird]

Rosie is so smart. Macaws all seem highly intelligent. How long have you had her?

[plax]

That's really cute, Kendra :D. Rosie is a sweetie.

[Mr Peepers]

I was talking to PeachyDoll about her Too Rosie Boo Boo Bird and her repeating words. We were both under the impression that Rosie would pick up new words that were said in a different excited loud manner of how she heard the word. So if there was loud laughter and a new word said around Rosie she would pick up on that word or phrase and repeat it.

I wonder if your Rosie the Macaw had a good memory trigger of you clearing her nostril as she was a chick when you asked if it was better?

Her actions by getting excited and eye pinning and repeating the word in response to a happy memory?

[kendrafitz]

Dianne - Rosie turned 3 in April. I have been with her since she was 2 months old. First at the store daily and after but a month I brought her home and continued her handfeeding.



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[kendrafitz]

Mr. P - I agree that excited voices and motions make impressions.

I remember reading somewhere that GW Macaws have the intelligence of an 8 year old child and the emotional range of a 3 year old. I have always gone by that.

So my feeling about Rosie may be the unpopular thought. I really and truly believe Rosie does not mimic at the correct time, as many others believe. Rosie understands what is going on, what she wants and what words mean. Just like a small child. She can't vocalize her thoughts to me all the time, but she still knows what I am saying. It's like a toddler before they talk, they understand EVERYTHING. Granted, not complex "adult" things, but things that are important to them and daily life.

So I treat Rosie the same way I treated my kids when they were small. I always treated them like mini adults. They have their own thoughts, opinions and needs. If you treat anyone with respect and they know that they are important, the rewards are boundless. I ask my kids and my pets what they want for the most part and let them decide. It's just the way we do things here and it works for us. (For instance, I always ask Rosie if she wants to shower before we head up. This is always met by an excited trill and a foot lifted. If I get distracted on ourway, she gets annoyed and will pinch me to get me back on track. Other questions are met with a head nod for yes (sometimes accompanied by a trill, foot lift or waddle to me), a shake for no or just a NO!)

Of course that might be why my diva is such a diva. ;)

With Rosie, a happy memory causes her to puff up all her feathers. Eye pinning means she is excited and really concentrating/paying attention. This is sometimes accompanied with a cheek blush. (The exception is a mohawk with eye pinning, then get away, she is MAD)So my feeling with yesterday is that she was really proud of herself that she was able to say a new word.

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[PeachyDoll]

I thought when we adopted Rosie at 29 that her vocabulary was pretty much set. I'm not quite sure how I came to that conclusion. I was very wrong. Rosie imitates several new words/sounds in various voices. She will do my hubby's very clear and concise wolf whistle and she imitates my horrible version of the same whistle. She came to us saying a soft "I love you" and she will scream it if it is not reciprocated quickly enough. For months not thinking much about it when I covered her at night I always ended her lullaby with "I luv da bird". Last night she said back: I luv da bird. I'm hoping she thinks I'm her bird. Aside from words she has picked up various other sounds we've never heard her do: imitates my hubby's hacksaw, hubby's drilling holes into concrete (the same day she heard it) or the neighbor chopping wood. You really have to watch what you do in front of these birds! A while ago we had a snake on our patio, I shrieked my husband's name at the top of my lungs so he'd come running to help. Now every once in a while, out of the blue she'll imitate me and scream his name :highly_amused:

Probably the most amusing things she has said in the past few months was when I was taping her. I was whistling back and forth with her, then I said you're soooo prettty and she responded, I know! I couldn't believe it, I was gobsmacked. I mean, of course she knows I tell her 100 times a day.

That's amazing that you can clear her nostrils like that. My hubby does that too with Rosie, she had a small piece of wood stuck in her nare quite a while ago and he just put his lips on the opposite nare and blew to clear it. She loved it.

I know how thrilling it is hearing your birdie say a new word or make a new noise for the first time. So exciting!

[Mr Peepers]

I don't know about the rest of the members here but I really enjoy hearing about a new action or words that excite their fid. I really like the idea of you asking your pets what they want Kendra, nice to know you give them the chance to decide and create good situations for you both.

Seeing the lovely Rosie Boo Boo Too bird in action in a few videos as well as Salsa and Zaf in action in videos really opens my eyes to how intelligent these birds are despite being different species.

Please share more. :th_smile:

[PeachyDoll]

Oooohh I forgot to mention I've been trying to get Rosie to say "AFLAC" but she's is on to me.... she will not be made a fool of

[kendrafitz]

Ha!!! That would be so funny!! I hope she decides it's ok to be silly like that kooky duck.

Jef wanted me to teach Rosie to say, "Help, they turned me into a bird!" But I think that is a bit past her range. Lol

[Mr Peepers]

Oooohh I forgot to mention I've been trying to get Rosie to say "AFLAC" but she's is on to me.... she will not be made a fool of



Knock Knock jokes. It will be epic!

[PeachyDoll]

Rosie for the first time just said "Hi Little girl" it was very clear. Wow! She never ceases to amaze me.

[spiritbird]

K. Your Rosie is not even a teenager yet. She really loves you.

[kendrafitz]

PeachyDoll - that is awesome!! You must have been very excited!!

[Mr Peepers]

Rosie for the first time just said "Hi Little girl" it was very clear. Wow! She never ceases to amaze me.


Do you say "hi little girl" to Rosie? Or someone else in you home?

[Mare]

Sassy is a talker. Her most surprising moments, for me, is when I close the bird room down at night. Everyone is in their own cage, happy and fed, I come in talking while closing the curtains and telling everyone how much I love them and Sassy takes off with the words! Amigo is pretty quiet at this time, will do a bit of beak grinding while climbing up to his nighttime perch, to settle in for the night. Little Chip, by this time, has already perched and is very quiet.

Sassy will talk to me the whole time I'm in there and right up to the time I close their door for the night. It's..hi Sassy, night-night Sassy, night Boobers, and finally..love you, which totally steals my heart.

[wingman]

A[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] tell Rosie wingman and Rio love her!!!!

[Mr Peepers]

Sassy is a talker. Her most surprising moments, for me, is when I close the bird room down at night. Everyone is in their own cage, happy and fed, I come in talking while closing the curtains and telling everyone how much I love them and Sassy takes off with the words! Amigo is pretty quiet at this time, will do a bit of beak grinding while climbing up to his nighttime perch, to settle in for the night. Little Chip, by this time, has already perched and is very quiet.

Sassy will talk to me the whole time I'm in there and right up to the time I close their door for the night. It's..hi Sassy, night-night Sassy, night Boobers, and finally..love you, which totally steals my heart.


What a sweet routine all the way through shutting them in cages and closing up the bird room for the night, my heart would melt too if I heard an "I love you" from my bird when I covered the cage and said good night. :th_smile:

[Robyn]

Riley's started trying to talk.

[Mr Peepers]

Riley's started trying to talk.

What is Riley mumbling? anything specific you can tell?

[Rachaelslp]

Isaac (my CAG) is still enjoying yelling at the kids! Now I know which one is in trouble the most.
Whenever we go to pet him, he says softly, "hi woo". Don't know what that means!

[PeachyDoll]

Do you say "hi little girl" to Rosie? Or someone else in you home?


I didn't see this until today. I say it to Rosie. There are times when I look at her and she looks small and there are other times she looks like a big bird. Sometimes her feathers are sleek and other times she's all fluffed out, I guess that's why.