I’ve been a bird lover my whole life.
Had pet birds since my parents first allowed me to when I was young.
However, ironically, I’m also a lover of peace and quiet.
So, over the years, I’ve generally leaned towards quieter parrots.
I was having a conversation with a friend about his cockatiels the other day, and I told him I’d never had them because I’d been told how loud they are.
He said that, in fact, they’re really not that loud comparatively speaking.
So, I decided to look into it.
Are cockatiels loud?
Not particularly, no. All parrots are noisy to some extent, and cockatiels do make a deal of noise. But compared with other, larger species of parrots like macaws, they really aren’t that noisy at all. If you want a completely silent pet, they aren’t for you—if you’re happy with some noise, they’ll be great!
So, the simple fact is that pretty much all parrots and pet birds are noisy.
Birds just do tend to communicate with sounds.
So, if you wanted a completely silent pet, cockatiels aren’t for you—but compared with most other parrots, they’re pretty quiet.
Read on to find out more.
Are cockatiels loud during the day?
During the day is when they will be active, so this is when they are likely to be noisiest.
Birds in general, and parrots and cockatiels in particular, do tend to be chatting away most of the time—in the wild, this would keep them in constant contact with neighboring cockatiels.
So, if you have more than one, you can expect them to be considerably noisier.
That said, even if you only have one, it will still be chirping—just to you, rather than another bird.
But cockatiels, in particular, are quite small and not very loud.
They will make noise, sure, and it will be quite regular, but they are not very noisy and will only make a bit of noise.
Indeed, in most cases, if you have more than one, you can simply give them a room to themselves to be noisy in during the day when you aren’t with them.
So, cockatiels will make noise during the day, and by most parrot standards, it is not very loud.
However, they will make some amount of noise, so you should be prepared for that.
Are cockatiels loud at night?
In general, no.
The simple answer is that they should be asleep at night, and if they are being overactive at night, it probably indicates a problem with overstimulation that is causing them to have trouble sleeping.
In these cases, they will likely be more vocal because of the stress.
So, if your cockatiel is being loud at night, this typically isn’t normal.
There are a few things you can do to quiet your cockatiel down at night, which I will get into shortly.
The point is, though, that cockatiels should not be making a lot of noise at night.
They should be asleep, with only a bit of chirping and chattering in the immediate hour or so leading up to bedtime.
As long as you know how to care for it, your cockatiel should not be loud at night.
Are cockatiels too loud for an apartment?
I would say no, they aren’t too loud for an apartment.
They’re very unlikely to be loud enough to bother any of your neighbors.
If you have a lot of cockatiels, it could become an issue—but one or two won’t be loud enough to disturb any of the other apartments.
That said, cockatiels that are in distress or in some way uncomfortable are probably going to be very vocal about it, and at this point they could become a lot noisier.
So, in these cases, knowing how to identify the problem and then help fix it is really important.
How can I keep my cockatiel quiet?
Most often, a cockatiel being excessively loud is caused by overstimulation.
This essentially means that they are seeing too many daylight hours, and are having trouble sleeping at night as a result.
This discomfort can cause them to become overactive and, unsurprisingly, overly loud.
One of the first things to try is draping a blanket over its cage at night.
This will mimic the day night cycle in a more uniform way, that will help your cockatiel get used to a constant routine.
This darkness is essential to keeping it from becoming overstimulated.
During the day, also, try not to have too much other noise going on in the house.
Birds, cockatiels especially, are very sensitive to most sound around them, and so if you have a lot of sound in the house—from a TV, stereos, etc.—they will become overstimulated.
Use headphones more frequently.
If you keep these things in mind, your cockatiel should keep its noise levels to a minimum, and at night it should be silently sleeping most of the time.
So, as long as you treat them right and provide them with everything they need, cockatiels will not be excessively noisy.
Indeed, if what you’re after is a quieter, but not completely quiet, pet, then a cockatiel makes a great choice.
They will chirp and chatter quite often when the mood takes them, but they won’t scream and yell like a macaw might.
Ultimately, cockatiels really are not very loud!
You can also read:
- Can Cockatiels Eat Dandelions?
- Can Parrots Eat Bok Choy?
- Why Do Macaws Blush?
- How Long Do Eclectus Parrots Live?
- Best Travel Cage for Parrots – Buyers Guide