Budgie vs GC Conure

[dramanea]

Hi,
I'm trying to decide whether I should get a Budgie or a Green Cheek Conure. Since I'm in the Budgie section of the forum I may not get many conflicting answers, lol, but if someone who has owned both could give me some advice that would be great.

 

[Oedipussrex]

I have only owned budgies (and others, but thats irrelevant to the question). and if i ever do get another parrot in the far future my first choice will be a conure.

budgies are great and i dont want to offend anyone here who has a really good relationship with their budgy. but i would vote conure. and i must admit that it is for the infamous reason that they are more animated (i refuse to use the adjective 'smart' here, that is not what i mean at all) than the budgies i have known.
Budgies are just more "bird-like" [i dont really know how else to describe it] than other companion parrots, and seem less interested in me for some reason XD i have a trusting relationship with my brothers budgy, but it is nowhere near as deep as the companionship with my ekkie.

on unrelated input - A budgie is likely to chatter all day but not be too loud, whereas conures can be quite piercingly loud but this is unlikely to be a constant occurrence.

 

[DannyA93]

I think I know what you mean Oedipussrex like budgie's act more like wild birds in their movements where as conures movements are alot more smooth and not so sharp or jerky?? did i get it right? lol

Budgie's are alot cheaper to keep then a conure so that might be something to keep in mind.

 

[sarafigal]

I have three budgies and one green cheeked conure (as well as one amazon parrot). My observations: the budgies are a constant source of delight. They sing, play, climb, and eat millet from my hand. Mine are NOT hand tame, though, so while I really enjoy sharing space with them, we do not have a personal relationship per se. My little gcc is far less energetic, totally quiet, less playful than youtube videos of conures would lead one to believe, and as sweet as can be. He is content living on my shoulder. He does not "play" really, but he sits with me.

 

[crimson]

I've have both, among other types of birds. it all depends on your budget, and experience. conures are more smooth in their movements, and not so fluttery..(?) they tend to be nippy, although it does depend on the bird of course and how you are with them.
I had a crimson bellied conure and he was hilarious!!but was a handful...I also owned the sweetest, funniest english budgie, but passed away a few months ago
you should ask yourself how much time you can dedicate consistently with the bird.
conures require more one on one time,(at least 1-2 hours per day) where as a budgie, requires time, but will amuse itself playing, rather than depending on your attention....pls. remember it really depends on the bird and it's personality.
my english budgie wanted out of the cage most of the time, to be with me, but so did my conure as well.
cost is another factor, budgies are inexpensive, conures are not.
if your really looking for a companion without the biting, try a cockatiel, they are truly wonderful birds.

 

[sarafigal]

the cockatiel is a great suggestion! and there are often many to be found in rescues.

 

[crimson]

thanks, I have three of them, all real hams, and they don't bite.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Cockatiels are fantastic! And budgies are super cute and a tame loving one is adorable.

I have to vote for green cheek conures

 

[Nakiska]

Well, I've had/have all birds mentioned here at one time or another...budgies (had 2), cockatiel (currently have 4) and a green cheek conure (currently have 1).

I love(d) them ALL and each individually for their specific personality.

My budgies...Bobo and Joker were so adorable together, they chirped and whistled and chattered, preened each other and I LOVED it...but I was new to birds and rather unsuccessful at hand taming them very well. I let them out all the time and sometimes they'd hang with me, but most of the time they preferred each others company.

This is not to say I didn't absolutely enjoy them! They were very active in their cage, loved their mirrors, bells and millet. And male budgies can learn to talk/mimic very very well. Budgies are very intelligent, but a bit more "flighty" when it comes to taming them down if you don't get one already tame.

Several years later and much more knowledgeable, I was given a male cockatiel. He became the light of my life! After I lost him, I had no desire to have another bird for over 5 years, and then all the sudden, the urge hit and I had to have another bird in the house, so I ran to the first pet store along the freeway and purchased a lutino cockatiel whom I was told was a male. Turned out he is a SHE and she LOVES my spouse. She is so sweet! She never bites, she's happy to hang out on our shoulder and just be there, occasionally preening our hair, but mostly just loves to hang out.

She's rather quiet as most female cockatiels are. Then we acquired a baby male cockatiel who has become quite the amazing talker for a cockatiel and then I rescued 2 more cockatiels (a brother and sister) that I couldn't seem to let myself part with and that's how we ended up with 4. They are wonderful parrots, a definite middle of the road between a budgie and a conure.

Another time, on our visit to the pet store, this adorable little conure saw us and started jumping up and down, regurgitating, rolling around on his back and doing summersaults, and BEGGING To come out of the cage...so because he so clearly picked us...and because we are suckers for the adorable...we brought him home too!

My experience with conures, compared to budgies and cockatiels is this:

They, at least ours is...much more hands on. He is amazing fun, but unlike our cockatiels who are happy to just quietly hang out on our shoulder while we read or watch tv...Franklin (our conure) see's us as a human jungle jym, he's hardly ever still, constantly on the go, climbing, burrowing under our hair, hoods, blankets, shirt necklines etc...a book is not meant to be read, its something fun to shred, a TV? Who needs that...watch ME! You're eating something...oh it MUST be my favorite...is that a bottle or can you just opened...well, let me belly up and have a sip too! And you KNOW I can't live without you sharing your tea...as he's diving in my mug.

He talks, he plays both with us and independently, he is flighted, but prefers to walk, hop and climb everywhere, only flying when terribly startled, which is very hard to do. He's learning new words every day, constantly entertaining us whether in his cage or out and I can't imagine our lives without him.

That being said, I think you need to decide on what you are looking for in a relationship with your bird...if you are looking for, smart, entertaining, mostly quiet and not very demanding with the potential to learn tricks and mimicing/talking, then go with the budige or two...if you want to relax with your bird, and want something more mellow, then my vote is a cockatiel (male if you want whistling/talking) and if you want "ADHD" with a splash of "Bipolar" (and I don't mean any disprespect to anyone!!)...DEFINITELY get a green cheek!

Good Luck with what ever breed you choose. Clearly, I love them all!

Toni

 

[Niner10Tango]

That being said, I think you need to decide on what you are looking for in a relationship with your bird...if you are looking for, smart, entertaining, mostly quiet and not very demanding with the potential to learn tricks and mimicing/talking, then go with the budige or two...if you want to relax with your bird, and want something more mellow, then my vote is a cockatiel (male if you want whistling/talking) and if you want "ADHD" with a splash of "Bipolar" (and I don't mean any disprespect to anyone!!)...DEFINITELY get a green cheek!

Great summary. Couldn't of said it better myself.

 

[MarciaLove]

budgies aren't near as loving as Green Cheeks budgies would rather be left alone to play on their own and green cheeks would rather be with you all the time they are much better to bond with so if your looking for a really loving bird go with green cheek if your just looking for a bird who might sometimes sit with you but mainly do its own thing get a budgie ive had both kinds as pets but the budgies never were as loving as my green cheeks.

 

[MarciaLove]

and i would never buy one from a pet store they wont be as nice as one from a breeder and you can check craigslist or ebayclassifieds and find some really great ones there

 

[dramanea]

I saw Budgies and GCC right beside each other in a pet store, and I'm definitely for the Green Cheek now. Whenever I bobbed my head, it would bob it's head back at me! Cuteness.
I was wondering, though, how much attention does one need? If I didn't have dogs I'd let it around the house all the time, but my dogs see birds as food and charge whenever they see one outside. My plan now is to keep it in my bedroom and hang out with it whenever I'm studying, reading, listening to music, etc., and let it fly around the house for a half of an hour twice a day when my dogs are outside. Does that seem like a good plan? Would that work for a Cockatiel, too, if I look into that breed?
Also, another question: Which is louder, a Green Cheek or a Cockatiel?

 

[MarciaLove]

thats what i do with my birds i end up spending a good bit of time with them and have bird thing all over my ceiling and they are about the same loudness level but Cockatiels will go on all day wheres the GCC doesn't make much noise at all! Also i would say get one off ebayclassifieds or from a breeder birds from pet stores usually aren't as nice and they have a much higher chance of carrying diseases i know as i used to get some birds from pet stores and never would again it happens to many people and they are usually much higher priced as well.

 

[Alisana]

[...]if you want "ADHD" with a splash of "Bipolar" (and I don't mean any disprespect to anyone!!)...DEFINITELY get a green cheek!

Good Luck with what ever breed you choose. Clearly, I love them all!

Toni

hahaha! Oh, "splash of bipolar" is so, so true! One moment they're fine, next they're doing the "conure worm" and all fluffed up, then they're nipping, then they want to snuggle.

XD

 

[lene1949]

hahaha! Oh, "splash of bipolar" is so, so true! One moment they're fine, next they're doing the "conure worm" and all fluffed up, then they're nipping, then they want to snuggle.

XD

Which is why they're so adorable...

 

[ct92404]

I've only ever had parakeets/budgies, so that's the only kind of bird I can comment on. I've had 2 parakeets now. I just wanted to say that my experience has been that they are VERY easy to tame. So if you're looking for a bird that doesn't mind be held and petted a lot, then it's something to think about. Budgies may seem like hyper, flighty little birds, but they're easy to tame and can be very friendly and affectionate. Although I've only ever had single birds. I've heard that if you have 2 or more birds they're harder to tame because they bond with each other and aren't really that interested in you. I was able to tame my parakeet very easily. I was able to pet him by the first day, and within 3 or 4 days, I was able to take him out of his cage and hold him. That happened in the case with both of my birds. (I didn't have them at the same time. I got Chipper after my first bird, Buddy passed away.)

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

My two cents as a GCC owner, A bugie will likely be a far better talker and you will enjoy their tweeting. As for my Molly and Cody, both male GCC's, Molly (a year and a half old) will jump to the ground and knock around a ball and do playful summersaults and roll over from side to side. I have a little sisal rope ball that they both love but Molly being dominant will always take the ball from Cody. Once Molly has the ball its back to the playful summersaults and even lying on her back while holding and playing with the ball in the air. Molly is a head bopper, head swinger, full of energy, flighted, loves to crawl into my shirt, into the sleeves of my fleece and play with many different types of toys.

Cody (just under a year old), who is clipped, is quieter but is so endearing and loving while at the same time can be a nippy little pain in the butt. Cody is beginning to play a bit more and has begun to also attempt summersualts. Cody also will be the first to crawl backwards down my chest from my shoulder letting me know its time to hold him in the palm of my hand. Cody loves so much to be held and snuggled under the nape of my neck both after breakfast and dinner times.

As for speech, the both say "peek-a-boo", "step up step up", "stop", "no", "I love you".

 

[Sunny_the_tiel]

I don't own a conure, but from the experience I have had with them they are a bit nippy. I have 2 parakeets and 1 cockatiel. I've had the parakeets for several months and haven't been ale to hand tame them yet. They would rather stay in their cage and play with their toys and each other.

The cockatiel Ive only had a few days, and he is perfectly content sitting on my shoulder while I get ready or if I'm just walking around the house. And he loves to "sing" and is already learning the "wolf whistle". From my experience so far, I would choose a tiel. And it would be best I'd you got it from someone who hand fed theirs as babies (much easier to tame). I love my cockatiel so much that I might be getting a 2nd one Saturday from the lady I got sunny from.