Reptile & Amphibian Forums

as a relatively small bird (cockatiel or smaller) that's cuddly and fairly quiet (enough for an apartment)? As far as I've researched it looks like a budgie is right for me, but I thought I'd ask around first... I would like a bird that doesn't mind just hanging out near me, and likes to play for a while every day, but since I live in an apartment it must be pretty quiet..

Am I right that a budgie would be best?

you actually have more option that just a bugie,

lovebirds - make wonderful pets, they are not loud, they only chirp, though they don't learn to talk, but their colors makes up for it. And if you just want one that will just hang with you just get one bird, but if you are not gonna spend anytime with the bird at all get two.

Parrolets - also another wonderful bird, small the size of a love bird and do learn how to talk, though color is limited to green ( i know that there is another color that is available but hard to find, and forgot what color it is ) the males normally have a blue rump. They are big parrots shrunk into your palms. though can cost up to 100$ per bird.

Senegals - are also fairly quite, and make wonderful pets. They also learn how to talk, though color is kind a limited and they are some what hard to find, unless you live in places like California.

This are probably your best bet, i have had birds and breed them for years. I have a couple cockatiels that are very quite, a white eye conure, you don't want them they are loud, Blue crown conure she only screams in the morning and afternoon, but other than that, you barely know she is around. Dusky conure and Peach front conure which are both loud birds for their size. A lovebird that is quiet. And a moluccan cockatoo that is really loud and you don't want them.

so you can see i do have a couple of the species and have had experience with many more, but the guys that i have listed seems to be the best including the parakeet.

Though you have the red rump parakeet that is pretty and quiet. but this are birds that are more the just look at me, but i know some that have been tamed and bonded to their owners.

well good luck, but the best advice that i can give you, whatever bird you decide to get, do your homework and learn more about he bird know the good, but especially know the bad. the good is easy to accept it's the bad that needs to be known for sometimes the bad is what will keep us from getting the bird.

And please no matter what size of bird you buy, buy the biggest cage you can afford.

Also before i go, have you looked into a canary or finches?
they are beautiful birds and are easier to keep in an apartment. And very colorful and fun to watch

stinky and me

Thank you for your reply, I have a couple of qestions..

I've heard that lovebirds can be very loud and therefore not apartment safe.. And I've also heard that they can be very nippy and get mean quickly... What has your experience been? Being companionable is the utmost important quality to me, followed by noise, size, and colour comes last..

I have looked into canaries and finches but they're more display birds than anything. I love the singing of a male canary but you can't play with them and cuddle with them, which wouldn't suit me as I want a companion, not a display..

I will be spending at least an hour a day with my bird, more likely closer to 3 or 4, but I have to work a lot and am in school every day from 8-3... I don't want to get two birds because they'll bond to each other and not to me, so if the general concensus is that I don't have enough time to spend with a bird I won't get one until I do.

Any more advice? I would really love to get a lovebird, I saw the most beautiful blue-gray one once, and some other very beautiful ones, but I'm afraid that they'll either be too loud or mean.. Getting a handfed baby would be the best choice I'm assuming, but how much attention do they need to stay tame?

first of all lovebirds are by no means quiet...my neighbor upstairs from me has one and thats all I hear is his bird all day especially in the morning...I don't mind because I like birds...I own a pacific parrotlet...I had some of the same need as you ...wanted a small,quiet,cuddly bird...a parrotlet is deffinetally all of that and more...like a little bird in an amozon parrot's body....he does chirp but it's not very loud at all..he hangs out and watches tv with me. loves to be near me or my fiance as much as he can...i had a parrakeet before him...he was much louder and independent...harder to cuddle but if cost is an issue they are very lovable as well..I'm so glad I have my parrotlet mr. bean ,he's my little buddy...I would suggest getting any bird from a breeder really young. here is a pic of mr. bean

It's funny that you should mention that, I have spent most of last night and this morning researching parrotlets..

I think that because some people are telling me lovebirds are loud, and some say that they aren't I'm opting to not take the chance that I'll wind up with a loud bird and be kicked out of my apartment.

Everything I've read says that parrotlets are quiet and bond fairly quickly.. I also have a friend that calls parrotlets the hamsters of the bird world, which is not good but her parrotlet was also 3 years old when she got him and came from a less-than-friendly home..

It seems to me that a parrotlet would be perfect, my only problem now is whether or not to get one now or wait a couple more years. I'm off to a vocational art school this year and university the year after that. Right now I have a guinea pig, an aquarium, and a small snake, which will prevent me from living in residence at university..

As much as I want a bird, particularly for company while my boy is away at school, with university and a harder course load coming up I may not be able to spend much time with the baby after this year so I will probably just wait until I know I can handle it and the major transitional stages of my life are out of the way...

At least I know what I'm looking for though, and once I'm in university if my course load isn't as difficult as I thought maybe I'll change my mind.. In fact all this just crossed my mind last night, so I may still change my mind yet...

It definitely pays to not be prone to impulse buying, I'll tell you that....

Before i begin let me just say that i appreciate that you are actually looking at the time and every aspect of caring for whatever bird you choose. I wish there was more people like you.

What you have mentioned with love birds are all true except for the noise. They are not loud at all unless you have like 20 living with you :O)

As like anything else there is always a way, it's just that a lot of people just want to do it the easy way and not want to do anything that goes out of there way.

You are right that if you have two they will most likely bond to each other. But, here's the tricky part, you can have two just don't house them in the same cage. If you decide to get two love bird get two cage and don't put them in the same room maybe one in your bedroom and the other one in the living room, where they have no eye contact or voice contact.

And if you decide to get a love bird your right a hand fed one is the best option, due to the fact that you will not have the time to tame a wild raised or an adult bird. An hour a day is fine. Most lovebird like my little george will just hang around the desk and hop around while i'm working, and since they are little, he would normally perch on my shoulder and go to sleep. And sometimes i don't even realize that he is out and on my shoulder. But if i were you i would just get one. They will bond with you for life and i think you will enjoy it more. The females have a tendency to get nippy when they get older i think it's the hormone, but the males stay sweet. George is almost 5 and he has never bit me. He used to have a mate but she passed away due to an accident. And ever since then i never got george another mate. He is much happier by himself. And enjoys the one on one time he has out with me.

As far as loudness, a love bird and a bugie pretty much make the same noise level, the only difference is that a lovebird can not learn to talk, i've never heard one talk.

And yes you need to spend time with them when you are home, but even just letting them out of the cage is good enough, as the name implies (lovebird) if your lovebird gets bonded with you, he will always just hang around with you, they are funny and would chirp in your ear when they are perch on your shoulder. They don't require much, as long as they are on you or around you they are happy. so you can do your school work and have him out at the same time. just make sure he don't get your pencil due to the lead and your homework, or else you will have to explain to your teacher that your bird chewed your papers :O)

My little George did that one time to my paper work. I decided to come home one day and bring my work home thinking i'll get it done and get ahead since i was busy, well..... while i was working the little stinker was out and playing, unnoticed he spotted one of my paperwork and chewed it where the only part that was left was sign here ooopppp! it was due the next day and i did not know how to explain this to my boss. So I did the best thing i could do. Brought the culprit to work. I took little george in his little carrier (and yeah since they are little it's easy to take em with you, I take George everywhere) and went to work. So when my boss came in, I went into his office and put George in my shirt pocket. He ask me if the paper where done and i said yes except for one piece of paper work. And he ask my why? so i took that piece out and he ask me if i shredded it by mistake and i said no. I said george did it. and he ask me who is george and i (at that time george was taking a nap in my shirt pocket) called george out and he peep his tiny little head and i said this is george. He laughed and told me that was so funny. and said that as long as i get it in today it's fine. but i think george prevented him from getting mad. he hop out and ran around his desk and he was so amaze on how tame george was and even told me that he would like to get a love bird for his daughter if it could be tamed like george.

well i hope that you enjoyed the story of George, they are fun and i'm not saying that parakeet are not fun. But if you want something that is a little bit different (a lot of people have parakeets) and a little bit more exotic try the love bird. Just make sure you get one from a reputable pet store or breeder. :O)

But whatever decision you make, just give em a lot of love and you will have fun with them. I call them dogs with wings, and i have 12 birds that live with me. and don't hesitate to ask anymore questions, they are always welcome.

By the way finding out the sexes on lovebird is hard both male and female can look alike and since there are several color mutation colors don't dictate the sex of the bird.

And as far as the nippy part, as long as you don't tease the bird they will not learn to nip, what i mean in tease the bird is don't poke anything through his cage, most people will do this not realizing they are actually teaching the birds to bite.
but if you spend a lot of time with them they will make a wonderful pet. enjoy on your decision and take your time looking for the right love bird. If they say that it is a handfed lovebird, the bird should not be afraid of people, i have breed this little guys for years and all that i have handfed and socialized while in the feeding stage would not be afraid of anyone. They are small birds with big attitude. George likes to mess around with my moluccan, which i don't tolerate but he will try to mess with him if given the chance, he don't know that he is just one bite and his gone. :O)

ok, i think i have said enough for now, good luck and have fun

stinky and me

Thank you for all of your help and information, it's been very useful.. However with many people telling me that they're quiet, but just as many people telling me that they're loud I'd rather not take the chance and have a loud bird get me kicked out of my apartment..

I think I've almost decided that I'm not going to get a bird until I'm finished university. I'm at art school this year but university the year after and I don't want to take the chance that I won't have the time to care for the bird properly..

I've also decided that when I do get a bird, if I'm still in an apartment, it will be a parrotlet. Everything I've read about them says that they would be perfect for my lifestyle - quiet, small, and affectionate.. Do you have any experience with them? Is there anything you could tell me about that experience?

Thank you so much

i've had my parrotlet for a month now...if you have any questions about them you can ask me...I'm still learning about them also...and believe me...I live in an apartment with a neighbor with just one lovebird and it can be very very loud...no where near as loud as a budgie..I had one, I know.

I meant to say a budgie is no where near as loud as a lovebird....oops

Hehehe..

I read the first post and thought "Wow, if budgies are louder than a lovebird, maybe I could deal with a lovebird..."

We had a house full of budgies all my childhood, they weren't very loud at all

I think I've decided that a parrotlet is best, and I'm hoping I can find a blue one but the green ones are still pretty... The cost of the bird itself doesn't matter at all, it's the cost of everything else, food, toys, vet, etc... I'll see what happens with school and everything, I'll probably be back with more questions soon after I've thought about it some more... My snake is going to keep me out of residence at school anyway so I may just go for it if I find that I have enough time..

here's my experience, i have breed love birds for years, and with my experience it's normally the female that gets nippy. i think it's the hormone LOL

But you would be smart if you just not get one for now, unless you get a bird that is more for show. I admire you for putting a lot of thought and consideration on buying a bird.

If i were you i would just wait till i get done with school and college then get a bird. That is what i did :O) and it worked out better, i was able to get a bird that i really want, and since college life can be very busy, i did all my carefree days during this time. No animals at all. But once i was done with college and got a job and got settled on becoming a real adult LOL

Then i went crazy, got me two dogs, two cats, 12 birds, from a love bird to a moluccan cockatoo. But since now that i'm stable and more mature and have the time to tend to them. I'm really satisfy with it all. At least i know that the animals that i did get, are gonna spend the rest of their life with me and would not be moved from one place to another.

Focus on you studies, and if you really want a bird, get a finch or canary, they do get tame once you have had them for a long time. I have two java finches that are tame, i did not tame them but have had them for almost 12 years that they are just so use to me. and when i would feed in the morning, they would both fly down and give my finger a gentle peck and would chirp to their hearts content.

this is what my advice to you, study hard. You will have all the time in the world once you are done in school. And like what i said, if you just really have to have one, just get a finch, watching them fly around in their cage and play with each other is very relaxing, give em a very big cage (that's what i did) and you can watch them have fun.

goodluck with your study
and i admire you a lot, you have more sense than some adults that i know LOL