soundproofing blanket both cheap and effective

[Firethorn]

I take out my cockatiels out one at a time for individual attention. This takes about 6.5 hours a day. Unfortunately when I take one from the other three they start there alert call. Makes it completely impossible to talk on the phone. So I bought a soundproofing blanket and hung it from the ceiling right by there cage. It reduced there loudness by almost 30 decibels. It cost about 100 dollars. The neighbors said they can't hear them any more. The coyotes nesting in there back yard make more noise than my birds ever did so they never minded my birds noise anyway. I'm going buy a quilt to hang in front of the blanket so It looks nice. Anyway, for 200 dollars you can reduce your birds noise by 50%. If you don't have the cash cheap egg crate foam works well too. I've been told by people experienced in parrot keeping NOT to react in any way to biting and screaming so as not to reinforce the behavior. I'm planning on getting a muloccan cockatoo and have been told they are one of the loudest creatures on the planet. I want to minimize the noise pollution to the neighbors but still want my birds to be able to look outside. I found that a double pained window filled with a lighter density gas will minimize the noise. In all I'm spending around a grand to minimize the noise. I don't mind the expense since it's a one time investment and I get to upgrade my windows. I've found the french country style to be very effective in sound management. Yea me!

 

[noabarna]

Hello! I had the same issue I ordered a sound blanket curtain, and it did wonders! I cannot recommend it enough, my landlord would've probably made me get rid of my parrots because of the noise, but this curtain thankfully saved my babies

 

[EllenD]

I'm glad you found a sound-proofing blanket that actually helped the noise with the Cockatiels...I've seen MANY people spend a fortune buying "soundproofing panels" from the professional music-studio retailers, and they don't realize that most of those types of panels aren't meant to block/reduce sound, but rather dampen/change the tone of the sound and make it bounce around the room in a different way and to create different acoustic-qualities. So it's good you found something that actually did produce a "sound-proofing" kind of effect...

As far as the Moluccan Cockatoo goes, I highly suggest that you think a million times before you go and buy one/adopt one, and if you do decide to bring one into your life, that you adopt one of the literally thousands of them in-need of loving homes...I am 39 years-old and was born into a parrot-breeding family/environment, and bred/hand-raised myself for about 20 years...I've also been the Medical-Liaison at a large, private Avian/Reptile Rescue for over 8 years now, and at any given time we have between 30-50 birds up for adoption...And in the 8 years that I've worked at the Rescue, we have had more Moluccan and Umbrella Cockatoos than any other species of parrot/bird times about 100...When I say that there are literally "thousands" of Moluccan and Umbrella Cockatoos in need of homes at any given time, I'm only talking about in the US, worldwide there are hundreds of thousands...And there is a definite reason...

Moluccan and Umbrella Cockatoos have the intelligence, the personality, the attitude, and most-importantly the Needs of a 4-5 year-old human toddler...They essentially ARE human-toddlers with feathers, and no one ever takes that statement seriously before they bring one home. They think that we're exaggerating when we tell people that if you bring a Moluccan or an Umbrella Cockatoo into your life, you are very literally bringing a 4 year-old human toddler into your life that will REMAIN A 4 YEAR-OLD HUMAN TODDLER FOR DECADES AND DECADES AND DECADES...They don't ever "grow-up", and the second you don't meet their every want and need they become extremely neurotic and they throw full-on temper-tantrums that can literally break your eardrums if you're close to them...So yes, their screaming is extremely loud and there is absolutely NO WAY you can own a Moluccan Cockatoo if you live in an apartment building, not only due to the sound but also due to the space they require...However,
the point of this problem that most owners don't ever understand is the REASON WHY pretty-much every pet Moluccan Cockatoo screams constantly and continually and throws constant tantrums, which is because they simply cannot be put inside a cage and expected to entertain themselves for very long at all, it would be like putting a 4 year-old human toddler inside of a cage with some toys and expecting them to be fine...It doesn't work.

So the point is that before you EVER even think about bringing a Moluccan Cockatoo into your life, you need to sit down and really think hard about whether or not you're going to be able to quite-literally give-up the rest of your life to caring for a 4 year-old child day and night...Because if you don't do it that way, if you don't dedicate your entire lives to them, literally, they end-up not only screaming until glass breaks, but this is the reason why most-all of them are plucked and also self-mutilate...There is no going out at night or on weekends and just leaving the bird in it's cage, you either don't go out, or you have a trusted baby-sitter that the bird already knows, trusts, and likes, which will take months to accomplish. There are no vacations where you simply board the Moluccan at a Vet's office or a bird store, because they will either end-up calling you and telling you that you have to come back or have someone pick the bird up right away because they are screaming non-stop, biting, etc., or when you do come back your bird will be plucked bald and a neurotic mess...And even working a regular job 9-5 monday through friday is almost impossible, because they cannot be locked inside a cage that long without developing serious and life-threatening Self-Mutilation and Feather-Destructive Behaviors, and they actually can die from the stress...So you have to have some type of daily sitter that the bird knows and trusts to stay with them while you're at work, or you have to be able to come home throughout the day and check on the bird, or you have to work from home. And again, just going out for dinner requires a babysitter that the bird knows and trusts. This is 100% truthful, it's not an exaggeration at all, and it's exactly the reason why there are thousands of them in Rescues, Shelters, and on Craigslist looking for homes where their owner is not only able to be with them all day long, every single day, but an owner that is willing to give-up their lives to be with the bird...