First Time Tiel Owner Help

JungleJapes

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Feb 28, 2017
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Hi,

So I am thinking about getting a tiel as a pet but I want to know what sort of noise levels I am getting myself into. I see most videos show the tiels making noise but its very manageable, but then I see videos like the one below and it makes me question if the noise will be too high. I live with other people in the house and I don't want them to hate me and be annoyed because I get this bird.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZPlfhIb0aU"]Annoying Angry Bird Cockatiel Squawk Sound Sounds Calls - Birds Squawking Noise Pets Noises Jazevox - YouTube[/ame]

This video below seems much better in terms of noise level.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QqQcM8r6S4"]Cockatiel natural singing various sounds . Bed time - YouTube[/ame]

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

texsize

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My opinion.
First video is a cockatiel that wants something. feeding, to be let out, for his human to pay attention to him.
Second video is a male trying to get a female "in the mood".

Noise level of cockatiels can vary. they vary between male and female (female generally much quieter). And they vary just between one male to another.

2 of my males are well behaved and not loud 90% of the time. the other 2 can be loud but only for a reason.
# 1 reason for being loud is taking away the female cockatiel the male is bonded with. Male bird will call very loudly till his sweetheart is returned.

here is a video of my loudest cockatiel singing to his sweetheart.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mLuUAOy-Hw"]cheeky sining 2 - YouTube[/ame]
 

AmyMyBlueFront

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Apr 14, 2015
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Jonesy a Goffins 'Too who had to be rehomed :-(

And a Normal Grey Cockatiel named BB who came home with me on 5/20/2016.
My opinion.
First video is a cockatiel that wants something. feeding, to be let out, for his human to pay attention to him.
Second video is a male trying to get a female "in the mood".

Noise level of cockatiels can vary. they vary between male and female (female generally much quieter). And they vary just between one male to another.

2 of my males are well behaved and not loud 90% of the time. the other 2 can be loud but only for a reason.
# 1 reason for being loud is taking away the female cockatiel the male is bonded with. Male bird will call very loudly till his sweetheart is returned.

here is a video of my loudest cockatiel singing to his sweetheart.

cheeky sining 2 - YouTube

Wow...different people have different opinions on what is "loud and noisy" lol.
I think what your male 'tiel is saying is very sweet and melodic..THAT would be soothing to me,in comparison to what Jonesy was like!


Jim
 

Flboy

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Dec 28, 2014
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If everybody is not on board with the new bird, that will cause major issues! The cockatiel himself will feel this and resent it greatly! You have to understand, you're talking about bringing an individual into the house that has a pretty close intelligence level of everybody else there, how would you feel if you knew you weren't liked?
 

Tropical

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Two Cockatiels: Rascal (Geraldine) and his baby brother named Coconut!
The tiel in the first video you posted is not normal singing sounds that tiel is doing, if my my tiel did that outside I would get complaints from my condo neighbors. It might be a habit the tiel has developed or something... but it would drive me nuts to hear that all the time. None of my tiels do that... thank gawd!

When tiels sing it is very pleasant to listen to and not loud at all... but the "screaming" the tiel was doing in the first video is not something any of my tiels do... 'Nut SOMETIMES does these half "screams" in the morning when I put him outside... lately he has not done it all all thankfully! Early mornings when he hears other birds outside is when he does it... but he suddenly stopped doing it completely thank goodness because I'm moving into a condo soon and will have close neighbors. Both my tiels are quiet thank goodness. I am SUPER sensitive to noise... I cannot handle any type of screaming from birds or kids... would drive me nuts!!

The tiel in video "texsize" posted of his tiel Cheeky... is just making cute little tiel sounds. That's not annoying but cute! :D Singing and chattering is cute... screaming obnoxiously is not!
 
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texsize

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I am sorry if there is misunderstanding on the video I posted.
I don't find Cheeky's singing too loud or obnoxious. I think it's cute and his male offspring (Popeye) has learned his song.
But.. Cheeky has volume beyond any of my other Cockatiels. He really does scream when my Son takes Sunny (his mate) into his bedroom.
Sunny and Cheeky had to be separated to keep from having more babies.
It's a long story but Sunny needs one on one interaction.
I guess my overall point is that.

Cockatiels can scream and be loud but it is not the norm, it's for a reason or a learned bad habit.
Getting one young and taking proper care should give you a well behaved companion.

texsize
 

Tropical

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I think you should worry about noise with a sun conure... but tiels are no prob :D
 

EllenD

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I think the bottom line to all of these different opinions and answers is that no two cockatiels are the same, and there are many variables that influence how much "noise" they are going to make, and how loud they will be.

I have a female cockatiel that is 8 months old, and as she gets older she gets more vocal. Most of the time the females are quieter than the male's, but there are many exceptions to this "rule" and there's no guarantee that a female will be quiet or in general quieter. Also, if you aren't able to spend at least 3-4+ hours a day with your bird and to let him out of his cage, then chances are he will be much louder, screaming for you, screaming for attention, screaming to get out of his cage. And a very, very large factor that influences the amount of screaming a bird will make is where you are planning to keep his cage! If you are planning to keep his cage in your room away from the action of the house, while you are gone he will be in your room alone, locked in his cage, and he will hear the other people in your house talking, watching TV, etc. yet he will not be able to see them and will not be a part of what is going on. This is typically the reason birds scream during the day, because they want to be included in what is going on. For this reason it's highly recommended that you keep the bird's cage out in the living room of the house, or wherever the people in the house spend most of their time. They don't need to directly interact with the bird, but just having the bird in his cage in the same room as people sitting near him, reading, watching TV, talking, cooking, etc. will make him feel included, and he will not scream for attention or to come out of his cage, but he will rather feel content and entertain himself with his toys, napping, etc.

Also, you need to make sure everyone in your house in on board with making the changes necessary to have a bird, like changing all of the pots and pans in the house from Teflon coated, black, non-stick to either cast iron, stainless, or the white, ceramic non-stick pots and pans. The black, Teflon coated pots and pans create fumes that are fatal to birds in a matter of minutes. Also, no scented candles, plug in scented stuff, no febreeze or other scented sprays, no cleaners that are scented, no carpet powder, etc. Nothing scented can be used inside the house at all. These are discussions you need to have with everyone that lives in the house prior to getting a bird.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 

texsize

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What EllinD says it true.
Having a bird (or more than 1) is a way of life and can be a lifestyle change.
Not just a decoration.
 

AmyMyBlueFront

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Apr 14, 2015
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Jonesy a Goffins 'Too who had to be rehomed :-(

And a Normal Grey Cockatiel named BB who came home with me on 5/20/2016.
Seeing how I am new,to the cockatiel family,i'm no expert.

The first video,to me,looks/sounds like the little guy is calling for his flock/mate. See/hear him whistle,then stop and look around,then start whistle again? To me,it looks as though he stops and looks around as saying "ok...where are you baby/guys?", then he continues coz no one is answering him.

Obviously Wes (Texsize) knows way more about 'tiels than I do,just look at his signature.And as far as Cheeky goes,even the tiel in the first video,the whistling/chirping/warbling is NOT loud :eek:
My little fluff ball sings and whistles and chirps and talks like those,especially when I come in from work. He goes on and on for twenty or thirty minutes,he's happy to see me! And he is a happy little boy!

At times I go to bed fairly quickly when I get home,and he is doing his stuff,and it actually HELPS me fall asleep lol...I find it soothing and relaxing..but HEY!...that's ME! Everyone is different and has their own opinion,just like every birdie is different,even if they are from the same clutch.

Not being sarcastic or a butt orifice here...but you want noisy/loud/obnoxious? Go listen to a p.o. 'too or grey or 'zon or mac...then tell me about a cockatiel lol..

Just sayin'...MHO here.


Jim
 

Tropical

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Seeing how I am new,to the cockatiel family,i'm no expert.

The first video,to me,looks/sounds like the little guy is calling for his flock/mate. See/hear him whistle,then stop and look around,then start whistle again? To me,it looks as though he stops and looks around as saying "ok...where are you baby/guys?", then he continues coz no one is answering him.

Obviously Wes (Texsize) knows way more about 'tiels than I do,just look at his signature.And as far as Cheeky goes,even the tiel in the first video,the whistling/chirping/warbling is NOT loud :eek:
My little fluff ball sings and whistles and chirps and talks like those,especially when I come in from work. He goes on and on for twenty or thirty minutes,he's happy to see me! And he is a happy little boy!

At times I go to bed fairly quickly when I get home,and he is doing his stuff,and it actually HELPS me fall asleep lol...I find it soothing and relaxing..but HEY!...that's ME! Everyone is different and has their own opinion,just like every birdie is different,even if they are from the same clutch.

Not being sarcastic or a butt orifice here...but you want noisy/loud/obnoxious? Go listen to a p.o. 'too or grey or 'zon or mac...then tell me about a cockatiel lol..

Just sayin'...MHO here.


Jim


Ya exactly! Right on! A tiel is NOTHING compared to other birdie breeds haha. I would love to have a sun conure but would go crazy so I know it's NOT the bird for me... I would not be able to handle such a bird. I would end up in the nut house kind of crazy if I got one LOL ;)

It's funny I was kind of worried about the noise if I got a second tiel... thankfully it has not been an issue at all. Very happy I got lil' Nut and could not imagine life without him :) Rascal is a MUTE and 'Nut sings here and there... so it is really like only having just ONE bird... super laid back Rascal does not count LOL
 
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YUMgrinder

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-Chessie, Pearl Cockatiel /

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My female tiel (Jazz) is probably around 6 months old and she is so sweet. She does short loud calls when she wants to know where I am but stays quiet most of the time. She talks to herself in her cage and I find it quite pleasing to watch and listen to her. I took her out to a poker game yesterday and just sat on my shoulders for a couple hours. She got restless and was climbing all over me and chatting but it didn't bother anyone.

in contrast, my sun conure (Peanut) is new to the house and has quite the voice. His calls are easily 2 or 3 times the volume of my tiel. besides squaking in my ear from time to time I am not bothered by the loudness, and so far he doesn't scream while I am trying to sleep (night shift) but lets me know he wants attention when he hears me getting up before my shift or when I get home in the morning.

So from my experience, if you are looking for a quiet bird, tiels are great. All birds have their moments though so you can bet no matter what you end up getting, there will be times you'll have a "shut. up. gaawwwd" moment.
 

Horada

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Mar 30, 2017
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x2 Male Cockatiels (Born Aug 2016)
Sunny - younger, placid & dominant
Sky - Older, trouble, jealous & chewer

Previously had a male Budgie that lived for 12 years.
My 2 tiels are 8 months old now. If you separate them, they are so loud and keep calling to each other until they are together. Before I got my second tiel, my first tiel got really bad separation anxiety and would just squawk until I came back while it paced back and forth (But getting my second tiel has helped with his separation anxiety).

However a happy tiel is fine with noise, it's quiet to moderate. The morning they can be a bit louder since they just woke up and a lot of energy! Before they settle down for napping on and off during the day.

Both of my hand raised tiels love head scratches.
 

wrench13

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Those are sweet whisperings compared to Salty when he is on a tear. He dont do it often but man when he gets cranking it will make your ears pound.
 

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