Chatterbox 'Tiel (do your birds do this?)

[popcornbird]

AWWWW! Your birdie sounds SO cute.......and SMART! I have two cockatiels, Popcorn and Muffin. The male (Popcorn..lutino) had learned to whistle various tunes, and he imitates the cell phone melodies sooooooo well, but he really doesn't *talk* as in saying words. Everything he learned is in a whistle. I read that if you teach your birds to whistle at a young age, they gain interest in whistling and sometimes only want to learn to whistle than talk........so I think that's what happened to our Popcorn. My dad ALWAYS whistles to him........I mean, ALWAYS, so that's what Popcorn picked up! He also gives kisses when we tell him *gimme kiss* and makes a quiet kissing sound when he does that.

Muffin my pearl female is very very intelligent, but she doesn't talk at all, probably because she's a female and most girl cockatiels don't talk. She has, however, taught us *HER* language, and constantly tells us what to do.....and we understand. Like she tells us when her food bowls are empty by screaming and banging her beak on the bowls.........she tell us when she wants to sleep (be covered), when Popcorn's hogging the food bowl SHE wants (yes she's a good complainer), and so many other things! They are both very intelligent and we love them so so very much of course! As you can see in my signature, Muffin still has all her pearls. Being a female, she shouldn't lose them.

As for cockatiels talking a lot, some do, some don't. It just depends on their individual personality. My friends cockatiel can talk all day long, non-stop. He knows how to say SO many words, sentences.......its just amazing!

Thanks for telling us about your feathered friend! They sure know how to wrap us around their feathers now don't they?

Ps. I really wouldn't give your bird meat. They are herbivores, not made to eat meat...........and I really don't believe in feeding a parrot meat, no matter what they say. They just weren't built to eat meat........God didn't make them that way. My birds eat seeds, pellets, lots of veggies, cereal, popcorn, nuts, and all sorts of other stuff, so they have a very varied diet.........I have never fed them meat though and probably never will. You can feed hard boiled eggs though, which is especially good for females laying eggs and during molting season.