Apartment noisy at night

LinnieLover87

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Oct 22, 2017
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I have a lineolated parakeet as a pet. I'm also housing two budgies for a few months for a friend. I just moved into an apartment that's above a restaurant and bar. It's noisier than I thought it would be at night, until about 2 in the morning when it closes. It's about as loud as if a noisy car drove by your second-story apartment at night, except they never drive away. It's significantly less loud than a person talking or watching television in the same room. Mostly bass gets through the floors. Should I worry about my bird friends' ability to sleep through this? I haven't moved them yet, so I don't have any experience. If the birds do have a problem sleeping, any suggestions on how to make it easier on them? Both have sleeping cages, so I could try to work out some sound isolation solution. Not sure if that's a good idea or likely to be effective, though.
 

SailBoat

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I have a lineolated parakeet as a pet. I'm also housing two budgies for a few months for a friend. I just moved into an apartment that's above a restaurant and bar. It's noisier than I thought it would be at night, until about 2 in the morning when it closes. It's about as loud as if a noisy car drove by your second-story apartment at night, except they never drive away. It's significantly less loud than a person talking or watching television in the same room. Mostly bass gets through the floors. Should I worry about my bird friends' ability to sleep through this? I haven't moved them yet, so I don't have any experience. If the birds do have a problem sleeping, any suggestions on how to make it easier on them? Both have sleeping cages, so I could try to work out some sound isolation solution. Not sure if that's a good idea or likely to be effective, though.

Base tones are very difficult to isolate and dampen because of the length of the wave.

If you know someone that has those cotton Moving Mats that type of product has a dampening effect. Laying them on the floor will help. Cotton and wool blankets hung away from the walls will also reduce the effect of the sound as sound attempts to bounce off the flat hard surface of the wall.

You can also, go to a thicker or double towel as a cover for the cages. But it will have less effect than the above items. If the cages are on a table, place a double towel under them and that will also help the limit the vibration that the table picks-up for the floor!

There is a reason apartments over bars have lower rates!
 

wrench13

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Yeah those bass notes eat up power to generate and with todays music ( dance type) the mix is usually super bass heavy. Sound proofing foam works great, but its quite pricey. 'Boats suggestion of putting something under the cages is spot on, since the vibrations will travel into the perches and thru their feeties. If you can find a piece of this foam, put that under the cage and the furniture matts on the top and sides, you'll have cut down the ambient sound substantially.
 

LordTriggs

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another good sound dampening material is vinyl

you can pick some up from hardware stores quite cheaply. Then put the stuff under things like sofa, rug (if you have one) any of your furniture just to try eating up some of the vibrations. Definitely get some underneath the cage.

On the upside birds sleep out in the wild with no issue so they can put up with some noise. they can sleep with the TV on so as the noises are quieter than that then there's no major worry
 
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LinnieLover87

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Thanks for.the replies! I'll try something underneath the cages for now and see if anything more is needed later.
 

SailBoat

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another good sound dampening material is vinyl

you can pick some up from hardware stores quite cheaply. Then put the stuff under things like sofa, rug (if you have one) any of your furniture just to try eating up some of the vibrations. Definitely get some underneath the cage.

On the upside birds sleep out in the wild with no issue so they can put up with some noise. they can sleep with the TV on so as the noises are quieter than that then there's no major worry



I'm not totally in on that level of background noise being conducive to or not disturbing sleep. The ambient sound level, of the great outdoors, is very different than that of a Television and /or Music a few feet away. Noise levels fall rapidly in wooded areas and even on open plains ambient sound falls quickly, leaving only bass tones (that background roar).

The noise level that Parrots would experience in their natural regions would fluctuate between near silent too crashing of a tree falling, thunder storm, heavy wind, etc... Not the constant sound level of a television or in this case Bar Music, day after day, week after week...
 

LordTriggs

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very true saying that I'm sure everyone gets used to it after a while even birds.

I live near some train tracks and I forget most of the time. Only time I notice is when a steam train comes through which is always entertaining
 

clark_conure

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For one, Sailboat is right and this is something I bring up with contact calls, when you walk around your house, your bird can "feel" that your there through the perch. Something to dampen vibration will go a long way to help over the background noise.
 

Kiwibird

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Parrots tend to be better at adapting to nighttime background noise than us humans. Remember, just a few generations ago, their ancestors were living in the wild, which is NOT silent at night. We've been living indoors, in increasingly well insulated homes for thousands of generations. I think Kiwi could sleep through a parade and fireworks going on in the living room, whereas we would find that much more disruptive. I think putting down a heavy rug to dampen the noise a bit would be nice, but it'll probably help you sleep more than your birds. They will probably have a rough few nights not knowing what the unfamiliar noise is, then realize it isn't dangerous and be fine.

Years ago we rented an apartment close enough to the bars downtown that you could hear at least 5 different live bands going at the same time every Friday and Saturday night and even the occasional weeknight and all the drunks out being loud until all hours of the morning. Kiwi was...unaffected:p We found it much more of a nuisance than he did.
 
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