"Noisy" bird, complaining roommate, soundproof foam panels?

[Mechanical8dragon]

So jardy, as all birds do, does her morning chatter. My BF and I just put our earbuds in (we work night shifts, being woken up at 7am is not fun) and its whatever. But our roommate is now complaining about her waking him up... even though in the past he never did complain. I offered to buy him earplugs and he said that he probably wouldnt wear them.

THEN DONT COMPLAIN!

But

He is my BFs bff, so i feel i should at least try SOMETHING. How well do you think putting these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00T...oam+panels&dpPl=1&dpID=51ozVnyFxRL&ref=plSrch

Would help? Jardys cage is against the wall to his bedroom, but i know already even if we did move her to our wall, hed still get woken up by it, as the walls in our apt. Are VERY thin.

(He works during the day but chooses to stay up till 4 in the bloody morning when he works at 7am. I really could give less ****s but again, im trying to work this put for my SO)

Id put a blanket over the foam to keep jardy from actually cheeing it to pieces and risk her ingesting it, at least if the blanket was there she wouldnt be able to get hold of the foam.

Would just on the wall work? Or would i have to build up 2 makeshift walls on either side of the cage as well?

I know this is a weird question. But im not sure who else to ask.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I have sympathy!

I think it's worth a shot to move Jardy to a different wall... to avoid the magnification/enhancement of the sound...

Beyond that, I don't have any experience with soundproofing. I once looked into some hanging blanket-style things that were to be hung on a wall. They were so expensive, and I was so unsure if they'd help that I gave up.

Good luck.

 

[Scott]

It might be worth a try, with the caveat that Jardy be prevented from trying to pick at or eat the blocks. My only other concern would outgassing from chemicals that may be harmful. Perhaps other members can offer advice.

The description mentions CA Technical Bulletin 117. Relates to flammability, chemicals may or may not be added. http://www.luxuryfabrics.com/CAL117TB2013.pdf

 

[EllenD]

I'm a lifelong musician, my main instruments are alto sax, guitar, and drums, and I've spent a lot of time over the years in many different recording studios, some professional and very expensive, some mobile and just built in a temporary way for a specific project only, and some very makeshift studios for either recording or rehearsals in someone's house. And in most of the studio's I've worked in, played in, or just visited to sit and listen, you'll see these same black foam soundproofing panels. They are very commonly used because they are relatively inexpensive compared to other types, and you can actually get very cheap bulk pallets of these if you know where to get them. They are typically used in 3 or 4 different ways: they are sometimes used to cover an entire wall or all walls inside a room to block out all sound coming from the room, they are sometimes hung on certain sections of walls that seem to produce odd sounds, echoes, or a particular part of a wall seems to bounce the sound off of it (areas with studs, possibly a wall made of plaster instead of drywall, a hole was patched with spackle, etc.), and often times these panels are used to cover temporary partitions or room dividers/screens that will be placed in back or around a single musician or small group of musicians that are recording.

So these panels are used to both block sound out and also to "deaden" sound to prevent echoes, sound bouncing, and other unwanted noises/sound effects.

I wouldn't think, from my experience, that just putting these panels in a small area on the wall behind your bird that is shared with your roommate will block out the sound. You'd have to cover the entire wall behind your bird, and even then the sound would still go through the other 3 walls in your room. Any soundproof rooms I've been in have these panels covering every part of all 4 walls, and the studio rooms that have only one wall covered with them, or more often they have one particular area of a wall covered with them, which is what you'd be doing, all this does is dampen the sound and absorb it in that particular spot where the panel/panels are.

You could certainly try it, I'm not trying to discourage you from buying them if you want to try it, but I'd hate to see you waste money. I really think that all you're going to do by putting some of these up on the wall you two share, behind your bird, is just dampen the intensity of the bird's sounds a bit and stop any echoing or rattling in the wall that his sounds cause. The panels will not block out the bird's sounds or "soundproof" that wall or your room at all.

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[GaleriaGila]

Well, I just got done asking my brother, who's also a professional musician, and he said the same thing.
Maybe do something extra nice for the roommate and see if he'll agree to drop the complaints for the SOMETHING? Take over one of his regular chores, or bring hme a six-pack of his fave beer every week, or take a small amount off his rent?

 

[Scott]

Earplugs may be the most localized and successful way to block noise. You mentioned he might not wear them, but many types exist. My favorites are the rubber types with a series of miniature "cones" that snugly fit in the ear. Maybe get him a "care package" of different types??

 

[Dinosrawr]

Ah, the lovely morning calls of parrots! I'm thankful my two remain silent until uncovered. Which may be a good suggestion - do you cover your parrot with a thick blanket to prevent light from reaching the cage? My two birds will not sleep if they aren't covered unless the room is completely black. To them, sleep time is equated with being "tucked in", if you will. Generally if birds see light, they naturally wake up with it. It's an instinct tied closely with survival.

Alternatively, you could always look into adding foraging opportunities strictly in the morning when the screaming is worst, and encouraging the behaviour by using high value treats.

And just to add - the issue with "sound proofing" is that nothing is sound proof unless the entire room is done. You can dampen noise slightly, but you will never be able to create a sound proof room without doing the floors, walls, and ceiling.

 

[EllenD]

Ah, the lovely morning calls of parrots! I'm thankful my two remain silent until uncovered. Which may be a good suggestion - do you cover your parrot with a thick blanket to prevent light from reaching the cage? My two birds will not sleep if they aren't covered unless the room is completely black. To them, sleep time is equated with being "tucked in", if you will. Generally if birds see light, they naturally wake up with it. It's an instinct tied closely with survival.

Alternatively, you could always look into adding foraging opportunities strictly in the morning when the screaming is worst, and encouraging the behaviour by using high value treats.

And just to add - the issue with "sound proofing" is that nothing is sound proof unless the entire room is done. You can dampen noise slightly, but you will never be able to create a sound proof room without doing the floors, walls, and ceiling.

Yeah, that's exactly what I said, paneling just one spot on the wall or even the entire wall will not block the sound through the wall. But I don't think she's trying to completely block ALL the sound to her roommate's room, at least I hope not because that's nearly impossible, and if that is what her roommate wants he needs a reality check. That wall works both ways and I'm sure she can often hear him in his room as well.

I agree that covering the bird at night might help a lot (if she's not already doing this or has not already tried it), I cover my budgie's flight cage every night. I have to cover them, there are 7 budgies in the massive cage, in my living room, all between 7-8 months old, and just before bed and again at sunrise you'd swear you were in a bird aviary in a national zoo if you didn't know that it was just a cage with 7 juvenile budgies. They do stay quiet when they're covered.

I'd actually start by just moving the bird's cage away from the roommate's wall and across to the other side of the room. This will definitely help, but it also might make all the difference in the world to your roommate. Move the cage across the room and see what he says. Then go from there and try covering his cage, etc.

But don't waste your money on those panels, they won't do you a bit of good.

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[wrench13]

Another vote for not wasting $$ unless your going to do all 4 walls and the ceiling ( your landlord may not be so hot on this). New roomate! New Appt! We cover Salty with a black light proof cover I sewed up. he goes to bed at 10pm and wakes up at 10AM when the cover is removed. The stuff is cheap at fabric stores, A bit of needle and thread is needed. A lot cheaper then soundproofing your room.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I remember using cardboard egg cartons for this. They are cheap, or free if you ask around, you can easily tape them to a big piece of cardboard and try putting that on the wall...it won't soundproof anything because noise is reflecting from everywhere but it might muffle the loudest most direct sound waves enough to make a difference. Maybe if the roommate perceives it as quieter he'll be able to tune it out.

 

[Mechanical8dragon]

Thank you for qll the replies guys i appreciate it. I did kind of have my doubts about the panels.

Jardy does get covered at night (she gets freaked out by shadows, etc at night amd throws herself around)

Sears did have those coned earplugs. Ill have to look into them more. So far the roommate isnjust opting to leave his tv on thru the night (facepalm) but if that doesnt help then the 2nd thing will be to move jardy to the other wall. In hesitent to do it right now cus that means moving 5 heavy reptile tanks that weigh between 50 and 100lbs lol and swapping those to the othr side @_@

 

[GaleriaGila]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww...
That face is worth it! That's the most purposefully innocent look I've seen in a while JARDY!

 

[Mechanical8dragon]

lawl so innocent looking right? LOL until she takes a chunk outta ur finger when you lease expect it.

She's actually gotten a lot better with me since I first met her at the pet store which is very nice, but as all birds, she has those moments of what we think of as completely random and unnecessary bites.

 

[MosaicMadness]

Maybe a thicker cover if the bird is getting loud before you uncover it. Feeding first thing in the morning with "new" food (chopped, cooked, etc) or filling foraging toys distracts as does singing to our birds, they might still make noise, but it tends to go from Parrot sounds to chirps, whistles and words.

 

[ZephyrFly]

I don't have the more experienced advice but something I had come up when I looked at sound dampening our living room (luckily the neighboring dogs are louder than Pazu so I haven't had to worry) and something that came up was hanging an old (clean) thick rug on the wall. It's obviously just localised but it's just something to throw in there if you have a good sized rug on hand to hang.

 

[RavensGryf]

I take it she's not covered at night, and/or the room lets a lot of morning light in. My birds are covered, and with the window shade pulled down, it stays pretty dark. Can you make the room darker? They will be quiet until they're uncovered and the shade goes up, or when they've had about 10-11 hrs of sleep. Even then they're not real noisy in the morning. I guess I'm fortunate for that. Although the budgies can be loud at times. Usually it's Griffin quietly talking first thing when he wakes up lol.

 

[Mechanical8dragon]

Jardy's covered at night and the only 'window' in the living room is the patio doors and the blinds are always drawn and shut on it. it's as dark as it will ever get in that living room during the day hahaha

in my opinion the noises she makes now are much quieter and softer than before which involved screams, now she just sounds like a little bird outside chirping, but I guess my roommate has different views @_@

 

[Freebird1969]

I'm a bit confused by this thread sorry, I originally thought Jardy was waking your lodger up early in the morning before he was due to go to work at 7am, then you mentioned during the day in your last post?

When does Jardy make noise that your lodger is complaining about?

Does Jardy make noise through the night, or in the mornings before being uncovered?

Sorry if I've missed something here

 

[Mechanical8dragon]

yes she makes her morning noise in the morning before being uncovered, walking our roommate up.

 

[faeryphoebe1]

I recently purchased a white noise machine to help drown out the noise from a barking dog and a screeching Sun conure, plus 2 Green Cheeks at the other end of my small house (for at home office).

I plan on getting some panels also, and a solid door for the office/bedroom to help block out the sound better.

The white noise machine has been fantastic, so far.

It's pretty incredible, if it can block out most of the noise from a happy Sun sounding off!

Of course, your room-mate would have to be willing to actually use it when he's sleeping.

It has many different settings for different types of white noise and the volume can be adjusted.

It runs about $50 from Best Buy.
Target used to sell them, but no longer seems to carry them.

I needed a reliable, brand new one, so chose not to buy it used.

Also, wanted the type that could be plugged into an outlet, rather than Bluetooth, to insure continous performance.

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