Smaller cockatoo

[mb2992]

Hi everyone,

I have never joined and or posted on these forums before, but I thought it would give it a try for some honest input.

A little background information about myself, I grew up with an umbrella cockatoo since I was 8. Out of everyone in my family she liked my dad and me best. She was so sweet and affectionate. She would cuddle up with me for hours and loved all attention. That being said, I do have cockatoo experience and am aware of their screaming abilities.

Currently I live in a townhouse, I do have an end unit but there are people on one side and behind me. The units themselves are extremely insulated. I have never heard the person behind me, and have only heard the people next to me when they were hammering a picture into the sharing wall.

I also have two birds currently. One is a cockatiel and the other is a CAG. They're both great birds who hardly make loud noises. Whenever they do though it doesn't last long.

Point being of all this, I would like to add a cockatoo to my flock but am unsure of what kind of cockatoo, or if I shouldn't until I'm in a house (due to their screaming). I'm allowed to have a bird any everything, I just don't need my neighbors hating me. Also, it isn't a big deal if the bird screams every now and then or at morning and night, but constantly probably wouldn't be good. I was thinking too that I have a bedroom that is in the middle of my second floor and has at least 2 walls on 3 sides from the other rooms surrounding. Would this be a good idea to make a bird room to help with noise? I know you can hear their noises from a distance but wasn't sure if it would just help a lot with noise and neighbors.

Also if you have any other bird suggestions feel free to suggest and add why. I'm looking for a medium or larger bird to add though. Thanks for the answers in advance!

 

[witchbaby]

If you're looking for a quieter small cockatoo, you might want to check out a galah/rose breasted. There are a few people on the forums who keep them in apartments, I believe. They usually vocalize in the mornings and evenings, but tend to be quieter overall than the larger white toos. The noise they make is more of a happy squeal and a lot easier on the ears, in my opinion.

 

[riddick07]

You have cockatoo experience and sound like you generally know what to expect from these guys so I say why not I would say a goffin, galah, bare eyed, or ducorps should work. Sure they can be loud but if you have well insulated walls and fairly tolerant neighbors you should be fine. My bare eyed boy is really quite and doesn't make any noise except human noises. My mothers bare eyed cockatoo Ivory can be loud and annoying but the neighbors say they never hear her! I've never heard our neighbors either so our walls are definitely well insulated here.

I love the smaller cockatoos so far Sure my bare eyed boy has a lot of issues but he is pretty sweet and can be really funny and a clown!

 

[mb2992]

Thanks for the answers! I was thinking if I were to get one, it would have to be a smaller species.

Another question, do you think it is true and/ or applies to cockatoos that the bird will be quieter in a quieter environment? Like I said before my birds now Aren't too loud but I would like input from others about this too.

 

[Betrisher]

I couldn't recommend a Galah highly enough. They're not too big to require special housing and can get good exercise flying around a room, they do make noise, but not often and it's quite a pleasant sound (at least, it is to me) and they're utterly adorable in terms of cuddliness, funniness and inventiveness.

A Corella is also a good choice, but in my experience they're a bit more needy than a Galah and also rather more vocal. (NB. Corellas are also known by the rather unromantic and unpleasant name of Bare-eyed Cockatoo - I like their native name a lot better! ) The Corella's flock call is more raucous and not as musical as the Galah's and the ones I know make it a lot more frequently. Having said that, though, Corellas really are the clowns of the Cockatoo world! I love watching the wild flocks that visit our area and the acrobatics they do on electrical wires and TV antennas have to be seen to be believed.

I'd say look at either of those two species and you'd be very happy. I have no experience of Umbrella Cockatoos (they're quite rare here in Oz, not being native and all) or Goffins (same) so can't give an opinion either way. What I would say is that the larger guys really need a lot of room to exercise properly so take that into consideration when making your decision.

Best of luck and please stick around so we can get to know you and your future cocky!

PS. My Dominic (Galah) only calls briefly in the mornings and again in the late afternoon when the wild flocks fly over and he's communicating with them. During the day, he might call out if startled or if he wants me or if one of our cats gets a bit too close for comfort. The call is not particularly loud and it's a two-note musical sound and quite inoffensive. Why don't you do a YouTube search on 'Galah calling' or 'Corella calling' to see what you think?

 

[strudel]

that the bird will be quieter in a quieter environment?

My galah does her early morning gymnastics/yelling her head off performance when she is in her outdoor aviary, but when she's in her inside cage, she doesn't do it, so I'd say that it might be possible.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Ive had 4 Toos . Two of them were Rb2s [they were pretty quiet]

 

[BirdyMomma]

I have a Citron Crested Cockatoo. I have two Macaws and and Amazon. Knuckles( C2)is our quietest bird, by far. She says hello and hi, and I have heard her say good girl and how are you on occasion. She almost never makes noise. About once a month, she will have a mini episode, consisting of a severely raised crest, and her making noise, most closely akin to that of a car alarm. It lasts for about 10 minutes, and only the once every month or so. Other than that, she just says hello, and hi.
When we got a Cockatoo, I was envisioning, and looking forward to the insanity of a Triton, or a Sulpher Crested. Not what we got. I saw my girl, and fell in love with her. She is very shy, but friendly to other birds. Very cautious, but intelligent. She needs lots of encouragement. If you are looking for a quiet Too, please consider a Citron. They are lovely.

 

[BirdyMomma]

*also, she's not very big at all. Slightly larger than our Amazon.

 

[MangieSun]

My Bare eyed is super quiet (young still though at less than a year old). I'm lucky so far, as he is actually the quietest of my flock. The Sun wins in loudness and my little crimson bellied is quiet but chatters often. Jasper makes his contact calls when I leave for a short time but then he is silent.

 

[aether-drifter]

I would also recommend a galah...I live in a townhouse as well and have four tiels and a galah. Even when my galah screeches at full volume, it isn't unbearably loud. From what I have heard, most other toos outmatch them volume-wise, though of course every bird is an individual and some will vocalize more than others.

 

[strudel]

Even when my galah screeches at full volume, it isn't unbearably loud.

I also don't find it even remotely annoying, and I'm quite easily aggravated by noise. I think the pitch must be in an "acceptable" range or something, I never feel inclined to ask her to be quiet.

My dog has a very annoying bark, very high-pitched, it's like chalk on a blackboard. My cocky sounds lovely compared to her.

 

[Jayyj]

I live in an apartment and have no neighbour issues - in fact, recently Alice has been going on trips outside with me so some of the neighbours have seen her and the response has always been "I didn't know you had a parrot!", so they've not even heard her let alone been bothered by her.

I don't have a great deal of experience of corellas / bare eyed toos but my local pet shop had one for nearly a year which had some issues, and he could shatter glass at 100 paces. He may have been a special case though...

 

[Moonlight]

I have a SCC, probably a Triton and she can be terribly loud at different times during the day but we find that pretty funny LOl! We live in a rural place so the houses are not close from each other but we still joke about how the neibourghs are going to think that murders are being committed in our house...

 

[mb2992]

Thank you for all of your input guys! I'm still researching and want to see some of the birds in person but a galah seems like a good choice!

 

[craftEcowgirl]

Here is example of screaming, its loud. I am wondering how often this happens with other RB2s? https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/..._=1401429054_542927e0a889a7ddd27f692842389a79

 

[craftEcowgirl]

I am wanting a RB2, but dont want to annoy my hubby too much, who is not a bird person

 

[witchbaby]

Here is example of screaming, its loud.

Is that loud? It didn't sound that bad to me, honestly. Keep in mind that ALL birds make noise. The frequency really depends on the individual bird and how you respond to the behavior (as in whether or not you reinforce it). Along with the typical morning & evening vocalizations, rosies like to screech when they're happy and playing.

 

[Jayyj]

Here is example of screaming, its loud. I am wondering how often this happens with other RB2s? https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/..._=1401429054_542927e0a889a7ddd27f692842389a79

If you think that's loud you've obviously not met a Moluccan cockatoo!

It's a little difficult to tell because Alice is on my shoulder just now and every time I try to play the video she joins in... but even allowing for that, there's at least two birds contributing to the noise in the clip and the more constant screech is coming from the bird (s) off camera. The galah lets out the odd war cry, which seems to be standard for the species - it's a blowing off steam thing, and although it's loud it's a brief volley of noise once a day, and so joyous it's impossible not to smile when they do it. Alice rolls onto her back to do it for some reason - if I hold out my thumb she'll grab hold and I can dangle her in the air while she flaps and screeches. A lot of galahs hang upside down in the cage for the daily screech as well.

 

[labell]

The RB2 sound doesn't bother me at all from that video it's the smaller bird in the back ground going nuts that I find loud.