trying to pic a sub species

I've been reading up on conures and was first interested in blue crowned conures. I have been considering nanday, green cheeked, and cherry headed.

I've heard that cherry headed are more tempermental and noisy. Do you folks think this is true? Is it true that nanday are much louder than other conures. I rent a room in a house and will be able to spend hours with my bird daily, but I don't expect other people around the house to spend time with it.

I guess what I'm looking for is a bird that wouldn't be too noisy when left alone if given enough attention through out the rest of the day. A bird that loves playing and cuddling. A bird that will be MY bird and have a strong bond. Would any of these sub species fit more into that bill and are there any that I should rule out?



-Loki

I'm not too sure about the cherry headed or blue crowned but I own a green cheek and have read up on nandays. From what I read nandays are loud, although there are more than likely people who have them and find them to be quiet.

Green cheeks are quiet but tend to be nippy, especially when young. I believe most conures can be cuddly if raised properly, but again every bird will have its own personality.

Sorry I couldn't be more help, Good luck with your decision

On a pedantic note: these are all species, not subspecies. I don't believe there are currently any parrot subspecies divisions - at least not in the pet trade.

Most conures can be quite loud - especially if they hear someone around but cant interact with them - this might be a concern in your situation. Are other people around the house much when your not there? If so the bird will hear them and make a lot of noise.

Of the ones you listed I think a GCC would be a good one to look into. Have you checked out cockateils at all? If socialized they can be very playful and interactive, and while they can be vocal they are just not capable of reaching the decibel levels the conures do.

Consider how your house mates will react to conure screams. It will be VERY hard for them to simply ignore it - there are many horror stories about how previously trusted roommates and housemates react to screaming parrots.

When I said GCC are "quiet" what I meant was "can be quieter than say a nanday" But even my Hiroshi can give screeches, especially when he calls to me lol.

If noise is the main concern I would go with Auggies Dad's siggestion and look into cockatiels Although they can make a fair share of noise as well

Oooh, no, trust me, if noise is a problem you don't want a cockatiel! We found a cockatiel in our backyard two months ago and were never able to locate the owner. We decided if no one came forward, we'd keep him. The first few days he was quiet, but since then, he is loud! He rivals my gc in noise when he really gets a good scream session going. He was upstairs for quarentine in my room, and from all the way downstairs in the living room, you could hear his screaming quite clearly! I honestly don't think you're going to find any parrot that's not going to scream. Especially that's not going to be a bother in a room in the same house. I could be wrong though. But remember, birds don't only scream for attention. They usually scream in the morning and at dusk as a normal "flock call".

I have a green cheek conure and hes pretty quiet although he isnt in his cage a whole lot. In the morning when hes excited were awake he screams at us a few times and to be honest it isnt any worse than when my cat comes and sits by my sleeping face and meows at me. I'm not sure if hes going to get louder when hes older or if this is as loud as he gets but hes definatley quieter than alot of the cockatiels I've seen and he doesn't make half the noise my budgies do. However if you have other people in the house and he starts screaming non stop it could definately be annoying for them.

I don't think there are any species of conures that can be considered 'quiet' birds and I would never recommend one for an apartment dweller or anybody who shares his home with other people because, in my personal opinion, it's the unattached, lonely ones the ones that scream all the time very loudly.

I don't have a hands on knowledge on all species but I'll tell you about mine:
- cherry heads: very temperamental, loud and, worst of all, a pain in the neck with the gobble-gobble noise they make
- quakers: foggedaboudit!
- nandays: out of three, two are OK, they hardly ever call loudly but I think that's because one has a mate he adores and the other is 23 years old, a wild-caught (they are always more independent and self-assured than human-bred ones) and has a steady companion, but the third, an unattached male who likes to hang out with a pair of quakers, is one of the banes of my existence, screaming out 'danger' calls that set all the birds to flying and screaming at least once a day FOR NO GOOD REASON.
- sun and jenday: I put them together because mine paired up and they are not bad at all but mine are what I call people-neutral (not aggressive but not friendly) and they are very happy with each other.

Sharing a home and this home being an apartment is going to severely restrict the kind of parrot you can get because all parrots are noisy - some people are driven up a wall by budgies chattering and that 'noise' is nothing when you compare it to other parrots vocalizations. Personally, if I were you, I would adopt a bonded pair of adult tiels because, in my personal experience, there are no birds quieter than them (the males hardly ever call out even during breeding season).

Are you convinced that you want a conure? I know that the members of the poicephalus family aren't always the most beautiful of parrots, but Alcatraz (my Meyer's) is great. He is cuddly and now says several words. He can be loud when stressed, but is overall quite quiet. And he even did a great job on an overnight sailing trip!

Cockatiels make fine pets. AGAIN, this all depends on your bird's personality. My cockatiel is one of the quitest birds! He sings for 10 minutes in the morn, 10 minutes in the evening, and little chirps throughout the day. Most of the time, he is quiet. As for conures, they're very loud but it depends on their personality. Good luck with whatever choice you make

genevieve said:

Are you convinced that you want a conure? I know that the members of the poicephalus family aren't always the most beautiful of parrots, but Alcatraz (my Meyer's) is great. He is cuddly and now says several words. He can be loud when stressed, but is overall quite quiet. And he even did a great job on an overnight sailing trip!

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Awh I think hes beautiful!!!!

Meyer's parrots are very beaUtiful. What I love about them is their tie-dye effect on the underbelly feathers.

Beilana said:

Awh I think hes beautiful!!!!

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Why thank you! I think he is a cute bird myself... even if he isn't as stunning as sun conure. Here is is on our sailing trip.

genevieve said:

Beilana said:

Awh I think hes beautiful!!!!

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Why thank you! I think he is a cute bird myself... even if he isn't as stunning as sun conure. Here is is on our sailing trip.

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How adorable is that! I bet he has lots of fun, sailing is awesome:sailboat2.
Hiroshi would have a field day with all that rope lol

Same here. My keet loves rope. When I go camping in Maine in August, and my keet comes, hopefully she can come boating with me

I was worried that the experience would be too stressful for Alcatraz, but he loved it. He was on deck in his carrier several times before I'd let him out, and then only for a few minutes under close supervision in the middle of the boat. I wanted to make sure that he was used to the noises and protected from birds of prey like the ospreys. But he had lots of time outside of his carrier while we were below deck in my cabin.

Overall, he stayed calm but cheerful throughout. I think he loved the fresh air, the wind, and the attention!