So, I'm laying awake at 2 in the morning and I'm thinking about my chickens. What can I say, I have a boring life. And I'm wondering.....y,know how they say turkeys mimic dog barks and baby geese raised by turkeys will gobble? Do you think all birds have the gift of mimicry? I mean, you know about parrots and birds from that family actually talking and I once taught a finch to whistle a certain tune, do you think I can teach a chicken to "talk"?
Not likely. I talk to my girls and they tend to only squawk back. It's cute, but the only language a chicken would really be able to communicate in is talking chicken. I suppose if the chicken was raised by another animal they'd try to mimic the noise but talking just doesn't sound realistic. However, I do a good job of mimicing certain chickens' voices and some will have a pretty good conversation with me when given the chance. It's pretty wild. I'm interested to see others' replys.
Well, I didn't mean "talk" as in the King's English, I meant do you think they could learn to mimic a certain sound or set of sounds like the finch I taught to sing a certain song......golly, I think I need a life... LOL!
You can teach starlings to talk and they talk very well, so do crows, and most birds from the black bird family. We saved a baby blue breasted black bird chick 20 years ago and before we released the bird it mimicked the barking dog. I'm sure some bird watchers were real confused to see a barking black bird.
Not really. I've taught my rooster to crow on command before. Talk about your time consuming hobbies! But it worked. Most chickens don't have the intelligence or attention span to really partake in any person's teaching. Unless they have a favorite treat that you just keep handing over to them! You'd have to be really consitant if you'd like to give it a go. If you do, please keep us posted. My interest is peaked. I'm always trying to find a way to prove that my hens really are smart. I've taught my girls to come to me before, but that's pretty easy compared to what you're looking to get yourself into!
Quote:We have had our 3 parrots in our bedroom for about 10 years. Too late to undo what has already been done. Our Scarlet Billed Pionus Parrot has learned to imitate let's say noises not appropriate. When we leave this earth whoever gets him is in for a surprise.