Noob question

[Tweepers74]

My husband and I are considering getting a bird maybe two I like the colors of a love bird and (have already ruled out sun conure) He likes the pineapple gcc's what two kinds of birds do well together? and can be housed in the same cage without problems? That will talk (or tweet) back to us but not the screams as we live in a apartment. We would like one that likes to be around us and we do have a 7 year old daughter in the apartment.

 

[MarciaLove]

all birds will need to be introduced slowly to eachother you can look at my youtube channel in my signature and I have two videos on how to do this. As for what birds to be housed together I wouldnt suggest Green Cheeks and Lovebirds in the same cage though they can get along the Green Cheeks could do some damage to Lovebirds and Lovebirds can be territorial. I would suggest if you want two get two of the same species and of the sex since you are new to birds you should make sure they are same sex so they wont breed as there is a lot of work in breeding birds and lots of research needed. Either Green Cheeks or Lovebirds would make amazing first birds and are both great for apartments.

 

[aliray]

I have a yellow sided gcc and the colors are gorgeous. I do agree if you want two in the same cage stick with the same species. I would get them at the same time from the same breeder be it lovebirds or gcc or cockateils. Good luck whichever you decide on. keep us posted

 

[Tweepers74]

I have been researching online and looking at videos on youtube and I notice the walls behind the cages look like they have been pecked very badly is this normal? Do all bird do this? Is there min distance from walls to keep them from destroying them? What do you do to protect your floors? I am renting and want to make sure I don't have to pay for damages

 

[Mayden]

I have been researching online and looking at videos on youtube and I notice the walls behind the cages look like they have been pecked very badly is this normal? Do all bird do this? Is there min distance from walls to keep them from destroying them? What do you do to protect your floors? I am renting and want to make sure I don't have to pay for damages

Hehe, be prepared for damage. - Merlin perches on the doors, chews that, perches on windowsills, chews that. Perches on the end of our bed, chews that. Perches on door frames, chews that.

Chances are, you're going to have to pay damages, unless you can repair it yourself. Birds are going to trash your house in some form or another. You turn your back for 2 minutes and they're causing mischief somewhere you don't want them to be.

Merlin has also gotten very good at refusing to poop in his cage, even to the point that he'll projectile poop out the side of the cage, onto the walls/floor.

Lay newspapers down on the floor by the cage and get a cage with seed catchers on. That should give you enough distance between the cage and the wall to stop them getting at it.

Conures are loud, GCC's are the least loud of the bunch, but they still contact call and they're still very noisy.

Sounds to me that you're interested in getting a quiet (apartment worthy), pretty bird that causes no damage and less mess. I'd say, look for a different animal!

Haha; but honestly I would head straight to looking at Budgies and Cockatiels. They're pretty, quiet in comparison, can learn to talk and are easy to clean up after and arn't likely to make your woodwork their own personal carving area.

I love my parrot, and I love my budgies, but from what you're looking into I'd definitely recommend the latter. Don't be fooled by their small size, they're big personalities stuffed into those tiny bodies.

 

[osnyder]

None of my birds have ever done any damage to wood or walls, and budgies can be freakishly loud But I live in a apartment and have had no problems so far with neighbors with my conures (but that may just be luck and the fact that I live in the city). But it's true, don't go into bringing birds into your life if you don't want a disruption, because if it's not one thing, it'll be another. Do A LOT of research before you do it and expect it to be chaotic for a while.

 

[MarciaLove]

my birds dont chew on my walls however they do get poop on it I just scrub it down when I notice its not hard dont leave them unattended outside the cage though they may chew on other things Lovebirds arent as destructive as Green Cheeks but neither of them are actually very destructive unless you let them out of the cage and they see a nice piece of wooden furniture XD

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I was thinking budgies would be wonderful too. I am partial to them anyhow, so i can't help 'suggesting' them. But a smaller conure like a GC would also be nice and like others have said, if you get them both at the same time, maybe clutchmates, they should be happy together.

 

[Mayden]

None of my birds have ever done any damage to wood or walls, and budgies can be freakishly loud But I live in a apartment and have had no problems so far with neighbors with my conures (but that may just be luck and the fact that I live in the city). But it's true, don't go into bringing birds into your life if you don't want a disruption, because if it's not one thing, it'll be another. Do A LOT of research before you do it and expect it to be chaotic for a while.

My point being is that you cannot expect a bird to NOT do all the damage I've said. If I had gotten Merlin expecting all my property to be left just fine and dandy, I'd be seriously disappointed. and I'd hate for a bird to be bought, under the impression it will do no harm to the house, only to be rehomed then because it's causing damage that the owners cannot afford/want to pay for.

My budgie's are also noisy swines, but they're quiet in comparison to most parrots and birds. I loved my Wonsy, she's fantastic. She'd chew things, but her beak can do so much less damage that it was not a worry. Bruce is also great, but he can have a right screaming fit with Lucie. It can be irritating, but it's nowhere near as loud and annoying as Merlin's 'stretches'

PLUS, Parrot poop compared to Budgie poop? Budgie every time please!

 

[Mirlito]

I would recommend a GCC or a CBC, they are far more quieter, (laid back), than most bigger parrots.

 

[osnyder]

My point being is that you cannot expect a bird to NOT do all the damage I've said. If I had gotten Merlin expecting all my property to be left just fine and dandy, I'd be seriously disappointed. and I'd hate for a bird to be bought, under the impression it will do no harm to the house, only to be rehomed then because it's causing damage that the owners cannot afford/want to pay for.

My budgie's are also noisy swines, but they're quiet in comparison to most parrots and birds. I loved my Wonsy, she's fantastic. She'd chew things, but her beak can do so much less damage that it was not a worry. Bruce is also great, but he can have a right screaming fit with Lucie. It can be irritating, but it's nowhere near as loud and annoying as Merlin's 'stretches'

PLUS, Parrot poop compared to Budgie poop? Budgie every time please!

Totally agree! Was sort of my point too-- you just never, ever know how it's going to go, and parrots have the potential to be noisy, messy interlopers!

 

[aboyce76]

My YCM's can be quite messy so I got a few old king sized top sheets, folded one up and put it on the floor under their cage so it stuck out maybe a foot past the seed catcher all the way around. It did really well catching the mess that the girls made from throwing their food to their poop when they are playing outside the cage. Then all you have to do is shake it out and throw it in the wash. Since I had a few that I use for them I just put another one down while the other was in the wash. Keeps my floors nice and clean.

There are some products out there that are safe for birds that clean off their messes from carpet, their cages and really anywhere else they can make a mess. My aviary sells 2 different types- 1 is called Poop Off (I think if you use that one on the cage you would want to wash the cage down really well before putting them back in it) but it cleans the mess off of EVERTHING. The other is called Enviroclens. I use that one their cage and it gets the mess off super easy. However, I don't know how that one works on the carpets. My breeder uses the Enviroclense to clean EVERYTHING including their house.

Here is a little information on the products:
http://www.busybeaks.com/62001-5_poop_off.htm
http://www.allbirdproducts.com/newproductpages/EnviroClens.html

I don't have problems with my girls chewing up the door frames, furniture, or anything else in the house. But I do make sure that they have LOTS of chew toys both in their cage and outside of the cage to keep them entertained.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I used to keep inexpensive (TJ Maxx or something) area rugs in front of georgie's cage.....she invariably pooped right outside her cage when given a chance......so i would scoop that up, wash it and replace frequently because it was inexpensive and small. So far, so good with little Gilbert. I only let him have outside play time with me, not alone on his cage (because he tries to follow me, can't really fly and runs on the floor with the 3 dogs and i don't want any accidents where he is injured or pawed).

 

[Mayden]

I don't have problems with my girls chewing up the door frames, furniture, or anything else in the house. But I do make sure that they have LOTS of chew toys both in their cage and outside of the cage to keep them entertained.

Merlin is 'not allowed' to chew things like the door frames. But sometimes he'll just settle atop of the door and when he wakes, he'll start chomping. Before we realise what he's up to, he's worked away at it quite a bit. We don't mind, but we try not to encourage it.

He also has many many toys, but hey, something I'm not allowed to have is FAR more interesting Mummy.

We also use a cleaning product around the house, we don't bother with sheets of newspapers or anything like that. We keep some loo roll/disinfectant wipes around and a disinfectant spray. He poops, we clean it up, disinfect and bin. I imagine it'd be a lot harder with more birds, but we've only got Merlin to keep an eye out for really.

 

[Birdlover11]

PLUS, Parrot poop compared to Budgie poop? Budgie every time please!

Well I wouldn't say that. Budgies are parrots too and can make as much mess with poop. Trust me, they splatter it all over the walls, spot shoot. Sadly, I learned the hard way.

 

[MAA65]

I think you cannot expect any species of bird not to chew, this is their natural tendency and it's not like a bad habit you can break. Both my CAGs will chew anything, woodwork, boxes, floors, if I give them the opportunity. My B&G macaw only goes after fine furniture so she needs to be monitored closely. I provide cardboard boxes, lots of chew toys with soft wood and other materials and they do provide for that instinct to chew. But like others have said, all birds are messy, be prepared to clean all the time. All birds make noise so consider neighbors, roommates, etc. Birds are not easy animals, they require a great deal of time and attention to be healthy and happy and purchasing even a small bird should be precedented by a lot of research into that species.

 

[Mayden]

PLUS, Parrot poop compared to Budgie poop? Budgie every time please!

Well I wouldn't say that. Budgies are parrots too and can make as much mess with poop. Trust me, they splatter it all over the walls, spot shoot. Sadly, I learned the hard way.

Having dealt with both daily I'm going to have to disagree with your disagreement! Budgie's can be messy, sure... but have you ever had a parrot do it's morning mess on you? I'm sure a lot of members with both can vouch that the budgie's are a lot nicer to clean up after!

They are messy buggers though, small and frequent...

 

[MarciaLove]

all are pretty messy but no one can really complain about mess until they have owned a Lorikeet like my Green Naped Lorikeet! he just explodes!!! and its totally liquid about once every miniute no joke!! But I love him so I deal with it but definitely the worst mess wise.

 

[Birdlover11]

Well I wouldn't say that. Budgies are parrots too and can make as much mess with poop. Trust me, they splatter it all over the walls, spot shoot. Sadly, I learned the hard way.

Having dealt with both daily I'm going to have to disagree with your disagreement! Budgie's can be messy, sure... but have you ever had a parrot do it's morning mess on you? I'm sure a lot of members with both can vouch that the budgie's are a lot nicer to clean up after!

They are messy buggers though, small and frequent...

They are nicer to clean up after, but can still make a giant mess. Just want to tell the new member that even though budgies make less of a mess then a conure it still will make a messy mess.