Bee Bee Parrot - noise level?

[kyva]

Hubby and I went out today to take a look at a few birds locally. We ended up meeting a young Bee Bee behind the front desk and were able to hold, pt and snuggle him fo a long time.

He was super attentive and very sweet and won't be weened until mid-May.

However, before we make a decision, we came home to do some research. We saw on Bird Channel that their noise level is said to be moderate (same as a tiel and a GCC).

I did dig up a few old posts from here, but I never saw anyone mention the noise level after bringing a single bird home.

I also looked for a flock call on youtube, but had o such luck.

Can anyone give me an idea of just how noisy these guys can get when distressed/super excited?

Thanks so much.

 

[RavensGryf]

There is a member here "jugoya" who has a Canary Winged. If you PM a moderator to give her a message, maybe she can tell you?
Not too many BeeBee or related species around like there used to be in the 1990's. I would just imagine they're not earsplitting loud since they're small and in the (Brotogeris) parakeet family. Probably higher pitched? I wouldn't worry about loudness as in LOUD like a parrot, and like you read I'd also guess like a GCC in level.

 

[jugoya]

They are generally flock oriented birds.

Be prepared for a 'cling on' stuck to you like glue bird, but they stay generally very sweet and are very gentle little things.

The loudest on the noise scale would in my opinion be about a 6 or 7 but mostly just clucks and happy noises, also they are very very very independent so when they don't want attention they will let you know. In general the only get loud when left alone, or when alarmed by something, even the morning 'squawks' are not as bad as a conure by any means at least in my experience.

Not very 'bitey' or beaky like conures and they end up about a quarter size smaller than a green cheek.

All in all be prepared for a bundle of energy when it comes to a bee bee parakeet.

They have two loudish cries, one being the flock call and the other being an alert bark that sounds much like a car siren xP

But for apartment purposes they are perfect, none of my neighbors complain about him in the slightest.

 

[jugoya]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-q-ylZuBcU]Periquitos verdes no comedouro - Brotogeris Tirica (Plain Parakeet) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[kyva]

Jugoya, thank you so much. Right now we're debating between the very calm, hand friendly Bee Bee and a budgie.

I'd love to get the bee bee, though he's higher priced than I was prepared to spend (if we include the well visit vet bill and so on).

But I am thankful to know of the noise level. Any information about this gentle birds is appreciated as there isn't much writen on them.

I've read they need sunflower seed to keep up their fat content because they're active, but also heard not to give it to them at all. I've heard varying things about their diets such as needing seed, pellets, fruits and veggies along with nectar.

Needless to say, what I have found leave me a tad confused.

 

[jugoya]

Most fresh fruits, veggies, greens are the best diet for these little birds.

Sunflower seeds and safflower seeds are not the best idea when it comes to food simply because they are addictive, and you might end up with a bird that only eats seed.

I feed porter a daily fruit salad, and greens salad..

Because in the wild they are specialized fruit eaters.

They don't eat much in the way of nuts or seed being more tree top dwellers.

Bird pellets are good, though sticking to the parakeet size is better as their beaks are specialized for drinking fruit juices versus seed shelling.

Porter loves apples, grapes, berries, fruit juices.. spinach broccoli and a variety of other fresh foods.

Minimum cage size for these guys is an 18x 18x 30 long...

And I'd suggest something larger.

Poter is only in that size of a cage because he prefers smaller, and hates large cages xP.

One tablespoon of seed should be all that they get a day.. and most of that should be grains not sunflower.

Too much protein is a bad thing as well because they are not build to digest it.

 

[jugoya]

When I comes to budgies they are not as personable.

Unless you WORK at it...

But if you take the time they can be womderful little companion birds.

I'm currently working with a hand shy baby hand raised budgie.

 

[kyva]

Thank you so much for the information. This clears up a lot. I also agree about the training a budgie vs. these canary wings.

The little guy we saw yesterday is still in he process of being weaned, but is happy to be held by anyone. He gave me small exploratory nibbles and kept fluffing up while staring at my nose (I think).

He was just as open and friendly to my husband and seems like he'd be a very calm bird. He didn't make any vocalizations while we were thee, so I had to check youtube for some.

At the moment, he's very healthy, though his droppings are mostly watery since he's still on formula.

 

[MonicaMc]

There are different species of "beebee" parrots (sometimes written as BB parrots). They were common 20+ years ago in the pet trade as wild caught birds and were practically a dime a dozen! They were also known as "pocket parrots" being as small as they are.


I have heard that they have a shrill call like a conure, although I can't say I've ever really heard one in person! I have seen them within captivity (didn't make much noise!), and there is someone who wants me to adopt one and tame it, but I can't say I know too much about them!




The canary winged parakeets (aka "white winged") species tend to be the most popular now-a-days, and they are making a slow comeback within aviculture. Here's a bit of info about them, and this link also includes audio and video of these little guys!

White-winged Parakeet (Brotogeris versicolorus) | Parrot Encyclopedia

 

[RavensGryf]

There are different species of "beebee" parrots (sometimes written as BB parrots). They were common 20+ years ago in the pet trade as wild caught birds and were practically a dime a dozen!

When I first opened my eyes to birds during the 1990's the related Gray Cheek parakeets were SO common! They were literally everywhere. Then I heard that since they were so plentiful as wild caughts, breeders weren't the least bit interested in propagating them, now years since export/import stopped, they all but disappeared!

I used to also see tons of Moustsche Parakeets. They were really common too 20 years ago. Uncommon now but people still have them, unlike Gray Cheeks!

It's amazing to think how a once extremely common species only 20 years ago is now super rare.

 

[jugoya]

Grey cheeks are hard to breed in captivity. That's the problem.

White wings, or canary wings are easier to breed and have the same temperament.. despite being a little larger.