Can Budgies (Parakeet) Talk :13 Things You Must Know

Budgies which are popularly known as Parakeets are some of the most cheerful birds you can ever have at your house. Often new budgie owners wonder whether their budgies can learn talking or not.

Budgies are one of the most intelligent pet birds out there and they are known for their skillful technique of mimicking human speech and talking. They also have the potential capability of having a wide-ranged vocabulary and having small conversations.

Here are some of the facts that you need to know about budgies and their process of mimicking and talking like humans.

1.  Are Budgies Easy to Teach to Talk to?

Budgies and Parakeets are great at talking and can be skilled talkers. However, it can take some time to make them talk properly especially if they are not young. The key thing is to be patient while teaching your budgies how to talk and not get angry at the bird.

It is important to not get angry and shout at the budgie or punish the budgie in case it seems like, the bird is not making any progress. Showing strong negative emotions will end up confusing them more and as a result, they will get scared of you, which is the last thing you wanna do.

So even if it seems like the budgies are not making any progression, just keep at it as it can take them months to properly learn talking. Just make sure to reward them, on the slightest sign of achievements.

Takeaway: Budgies are very easy to teach talking and mimicking sounds when they are young and still developing.

 2. How Long does it take for a Budgie(Parakeet) to Talk?

Budgies learn to talk like humans within 2 to 3 months especially if they are brought in young. If the budgies are older than 3 months, they are at the age where you can start teaching them how to talk. Older budgies can find it hard to pick up talking and can take a much longer time.

But roughly if you start teaching them when they are 3 to 4 months old, they may start talking easily when they are 6 to 7 months old.

It is essential to note that it is quite natural for some budgies to not pick up talking at all. You should never bring a budgie at home hoping to make them talk. Male budgies have got a greater chance of picking up talking than female budgies but there have been many instances where even the male ones have never talked in their life.

You should be prepared to accept them however they are. If they talk, always remember that’s a bonus, don’t be disappointed if they don’t end up talking ever.

3. Can Budgies (Parakeets) talk like humans?

Budgies can indeed talk like humans by imitating human-made sounds of their owners. The young parakeets or budgies which are over 3 months old are the best for teaching. Young birds typically look to imitate the sounds made by their parents or dominant birds of the flock. 

Start with shorter words and it can take a few weeks before you notice even the slightest signs of progression. Just stick with it patiently and you will start seeing the rewards within a few months.

4.  What type of Budgies talk?

All kinds of budgies (parakeets) are known to talk enthusiastically and to mimic human sounds. This is because just like humans budgies are known to use their vocal organs to extensively interact with one another in the wild.

Hence all types of budgies, male or female, possess the ability to talk like humans.

5. How likely is it for a Budgie(Parakeet) to talk?

Budgies or Parakeets are well known in the pet bird world for their wide vocabulary skills. They have got huge potential to mimick distinct sounds they hear regularly. However at times while teaching them how to talk, it can seem like you are not making any progress whatsoever but the trick is to stick with the process.

However, younger budgies are much more capable of learning newer words than older ones. This is because as they start aging they lose the ability to give enough attention and to process newer information.

6. Will Budgies talk if you have two or more Budgies?

If you want your budgies to mimic human sounds then it is best to teach them individually. Otherwise, there is a chance that the birds may remain busy interacting between themselves and won’t take the lessons seriously.

However, having multiple budgies will ensure that they remain happy as budgies are social birds and prefer to be in flocks.

You may either buy a single budgie and when it learns properly to imitate your voice you may buy another one. The new one can even learn the same sounds from the earlier budgie.

But you have to remember that there always lies a chance that your birds may not ever end up imitating sounds. Also, it is always easier to tame a single budgie than multiple ones at the same time, especially if you are new to this.

Along with that as mentioned previously, birds love to remain in big flocks, so in case you have a single budgie, you should make the time daily to play with them.

If you have two or more budgies, they will at least have the closest taste of being in a flock and will play with each other.  If you bond with them daily then they will start seeing you as a part of that flock as well.

7. How do you teach a Budgie to talk?

The best way of teaching budgies to pick up on human voice is to start when they are young. Also, the secret is repetition. You should slowly pronounce the same words in a sweet voice daily.

Doing this at a certain time of the day, day after day is the only way of enhancing the vocabulary of your budgies.

The process of teaching your budgies to talk doesn’t need to be complicated.

• Stick to a daily routine of interacting with them.
• It may take some time to show the initial results but the key is to not give up and to patiently hold onto the process. It will start showing the results in 2 months.
• Talk with your budgies in a warm, loving but enthusiastic tone. This will make him or her much more excited to talk with you. If possible, bring them closer to your while talking so that they can view your face and hear your sound clearly.
• Starting with singular words like “Hello” whenever you meet them is a great start.
• Slowly venture into shorter phrases like “Good Morning” whenever you meet them the first time in the morning, saying “Cutie Bird” or “Good boy or girl” when the budgie eats food or sits on your shoulder is a great way to start the teaching process.

It is essential to connect the words you teach with certain actions, at least in the earlier days.

• Also avoid teaching your budgie, how to whistle, especially if you want them to learn talking. This is because whistling comes much more naturally for them and is much easier to pick up than talking. So they may end up disinterested in learning how to talk.
• Treat them whenever they start showing progress. This will make them understand that what they just did is a rewarding activity and they should do it again.
• Speak with the budgie whenever you are doing any activity related to them. It can be during feeding them, changing their water, cleaning the cage, etc.
• Spend at least a little bit of time with them without a miss as that will help in developing a suitable habit. This will help you in bonding with them in a better way. Readout short stories to them, play with them with your fingers or toys, sing out to them. Doing all this stuff will lead to better bonding. Before teaching them how to talk, having a better bond will help a lot.
• Fully tamed budgies are much easier to train how to talk rather than an untamed budgie which is still not comfortable with your presence.

8. Do Budgies mimic sounds?

Budgies are pretty well known in the pet bird world for their potential of picking up on an extensive vocabulary. They can mimic human voices very well and are found to talk in a better way than many other parrot species.

They are known to be talkative birds which along with mimicking human sounds and can whistle a lot.

9. How do you tell if a Budgie will talk?

Budgies often make soft sudden sounds on their own or when you are talking with them. If the budgie is staring at you intensely, particularly at your mouth, and making sounds, then this is a sign that your budgie is trying to talk.

Often you may hear your budgie making loud high pitched sounds that can closely resemble the words you are teaching him or her. You may not even notice the words clearly if you are not attentive enough as budgies are known for speaking fast.

The main thing is to speak the same words in front of them daily again and again which will make them get familiar with those words to the point where they will start mimicking them.

10. Can Girl Budgies Talk?

Female budgies can talk extensively if they get properly trained.

Girl budgies have got the same vocal organs in place which are present in male budgies and hence are very much capable of imitating human sounds. But, sometimes female budgies are often found to be less eager to talk and you may find girl or female budgies to whistle more instead of talking.

Male budgies are better at picking up talking lessons as out in the wild they indulge in mimicking the sounds of female budgies as a courtship ritual. So they by natural virtue have the habit of mimicking and picking up on specific sounds they hear in their environment, so training them can be slightly easier.

Having said that, it must be stated that at times female budgies have also been found to indulge in courtship rituals where they mimic the sounds of male budgies, but it’s something that is less commonly found to happen. So the fact that only male budgies can talk, is just a myth.

Both male and female budgies are known to be happy, chirpy birds who prosper at mimicking and whistling. So chances are high that you will succeed in training both male and female budgies how to speak.

However, your probability of succeeding may remain a little high with male budgies than with female budgies.

11. What age can budgies talk?

It is best to train budgies how to talk like humans when they are young and still in their developing months. So a budgie that is about 3 months old is sufficiently old enough to start catching onto specific sounds. It can roughly take for the young bird about 2 to 3 months of training before it can start talking properly.

Budgies are very intelligent birds that have got a natural knack for picking up on the sounds they hear around them.

Just train them patiently on a daily basis without and you will start seeing the results in a month or so and within 2 to 3 months you will see proper results.

12. Do Male or Female Budgies Talk More?

As both male and female budgies have the same vocalizing machinery in place they are both capable of talking. But,

It has been found that male budgies sometimes end up talking more than female budgies.

This is because, in the wild, male budgies are known to be indulged in mimicking sounds of the female budgies they are interested in, whereas, female budgies are known for whistling rather than mimicking sounds.

Hence there always remains a chance that they may exhibit the same behavior indoors. However, with suitable training, you can end up making both male and female budgies talk on their own.

This can be quite easily done especially if the budgies are still pretty much young. They will pick onto the sounds much more reluctantly in their developing months.

13. Do Female Budgies chirp?

Budgies are known to be noisy and cheerful birds, who loves using their vocal palace. So it’s a natural occurrence to find female budgies chirping as chirping is a common form of bird vocalization.

In most cases, it just shows that they are cheerful. Female budgies are at times known for making squeaking noises for getting the attention of male budgies.

Final thoughts

Budgies are smart birds that can end up talking with suitable training. The secret is to be patient and consistent with the whole process of teaching.

There may be times where you feel that the birds are not making any progress but instead of giving up you should trust the process and continue with it.

• Male budgies are much easier to teach talking to as they by default mimic the sound of female budgies out in the wild.
• Budgies must not be taught whistling before they are taught how to talk as that can diminish their eagerness of learning harder sounds.
• Make sure you spend at least some time bonding with the budgies daily so that they feel that you are part of their flock. The better bonded the budgies are to you, the harder will be the effort they will pour in to talk alongside you.
• It can take a few months to see any signs of the teaching process so don’t give up and stick to the process without a miss. It is important to make them hear the same sounds regularly.
• If you have two or more budgies, there is a chance that they may not be attentive to your voice and may remain busy playing with each other. So it’s best to teach them on a 1:1 basis at least in the starting phases.

That’s is all! I hope you liked this post! Let me to in the comments if you have any further queries…