Conure or Cockatiel?

I am looking into getting my first bird I think I have it narrowed down between a Conure (most likely green cheek) and a Cockatiel. That doesn't mean I wouldn't want to hear about any other species though . I am wanting a bird that isn't incredibly loud and that will bond closely to me. Any suggestions?

Both a green cheek and a cockatiel have the potential to bond very closely to you. The cockatiel, however, is likely the quieter of the two. At least, in my experience.

But that loudness is relative. If you're going to get a bird, you need to be prepared for some level of noise. And some individuals within a species are louder than others.

If you are going to get a bird, the possibility that the one you get might be louder than what you'd envisioned should be a factor in your decision-making process.

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Difficult choice! I had one of each and loved them both sooooooo...

Cockatiel not as active as the conure, easier to care for and whistled tunes like crazy! A bit of a perch potato that loved hanging around with me.

Conure was more active, had fun living life, and didn't really whistle, just murmured. He rarely called loudly. He also hung with me all the time.

Either is awesome!

When i say incredibly loud i mean not screaming chirping, whistling, talking etc im fine with. From what I have read its more the bigger parrots that scream.

Hi! I've just subscribed to the forum and I am quite interested to this topic too (it is going to be a long post! )

Me and my girlfriend are both working and live in a flat and are looking to get a nice little parrot to keep us company, but we want to make sure we are ready and do the right thing without rushing on such a delicate thing like a pet, a living thing!

Because of the flat, we started looking for a specie that is less loud than the others (the flat is sound proofed, but a highly noisy pet could still be a bit of a problem).
Also we would like it to be cuddly... so we narrowed down to cockatiel and green cheek conure .

We also have checked all we could about behaviour and pros/cons of both, which I could summarize as (correct if I am wrong):

Cockatiel has a more balanced behaviour than the gcc, he is a balanced parrot overall that plays with everyone. The gcc though has the potential of giving more satisfactions on the playing/learning bit, but could get nippy if not trained properly. He is also less scared of things, so can be handled more than the cockatiel (if trained again).
Cockatiel male is more vocal than gcc, he likes to sing too. Gcc has more the behaviour of a large parrot in the body of a small one.
Cockatiel do have a sort of white dust they produce, for someone with allergies it might be a thing to consider. A water spray can be used to "wash" them once or twice a week.
Someone says the gcc can be louder than cockatiel, but some others don't (that confuses me).
Life span is about 15/20 years for cockatiel and 25/30 years for gcc.

Now, the questions...

First, the noise. Is it true that gcc is noisier than the cockatiel? I tried looking at youtube videos but it seems just a different noise, it doesn't seem to be much louder...

I know that cockatiels require AT LEAST 10/20 minutes twice a day to spend together, which would be absolutely fine, in the evening we can do more than that. How about the gcc? Is it usually more demanding? Would it be manageable with the time we have got?

When going on holiday... what do you guys usually do? I am not planning to go away more than 2 maximum 3 full weeks a year. I have looked into services to help on that, just to check how it works, and it seems some can do water/food change twice a day at your house, some other can board small pets... But still is there any better option for when you go on holiday, are these good already?

And last thing... your impressions on both

I agree with all that has been said! A GCC can be incredibly challenging! But my baby! From what I have seen, a cocktail is a bit mellower! Just remember, you get out of the relationship what you put in!

Thanks Filboy! I suspected that, which could be a positive thing, I'll have to decide.

How about the 3 points, any idea on that?

- how loud and difference
- time need to spend together as a minimum
- what do you do when going on holiday to keep your parrot happy

Anything anyone? ��

Well the more you put into your bird, the more you get out. 10-20 mins twice a day might be ok on a very busy day but they need more time. To be part of what's going on, or they will be incorrigible. I have friends bird sit that are used to my birds.

LeaKP said:

Well the more you put into your bird, the more you get out. 10-20 mins twice a day might be ok on a very busy day but they need more time...

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So true! I've always said a variant of this. You get out of your birds what you put into them. Yeah, I think your birds will need more than 10-20 minutes as their regular time out of the cage. There are busy days, of course, but it shouldn't be the norm.

Minimum regular time would be closer to two - three hours, IMO. Average.

As for going away on vacation, best case scenario, I think, is leaving them with someone you can trust. Boarding is always my last resort (one that I haven't yet been forced to do) because of the risk of disease transmission.

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Agree with the time... When we are at home we will be definitaly dedicating more time, there will be some days that we have to go out for dinner with friends etc where we will be able to spend only the 10/20 mins morning and evening together, but the rest of the time we can play with him or keeping hom there with us while we watch a movie etc.

Good point about the boarding... I also found people that can come twice a day at your home and provide fresh water and food and clean the cage, they wouldn't keep much company though... And we don't have friends over here that would take care of him I think, I'll ask... Do you think that a week without us and just getting food and water he will go crazy? Would we lose his attitude?

We've just come back from a weeks holiday and Archie went to parrot boarding - he liked it but missed us, it's just about finding someone you trust [emoji4]


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