# One Cockatiel or Two? Which is quieter?



## Zilla

So we have this problem. Our cockatiel screeches when we leave the room sometimes and sometimes when people come in the door. Our landlord had heard him and said something to us. Its not like he does it constantly or other tenants have complained but we have to figure out how to put a stop to the screeching. The sound is fine when he is just singing and talking to himself. Are two cockatiels better than one? Most things Ive read say they are a lot less screechy with two. If so what is better? Two males or a male and a female? I believe the one we have is a male. Whats the minimum cage size for two also?

Thanks in advance!
Emily

P.S. We recently just lost our parakeet so we think he might be lonely because of that


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## TexTiel

I'm interested in the replies myself.


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## ollieandme

sounds like he might be flock calling.
here's a thread which is currently active where i suggested some flock calling strategies:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=42362

two cockatiels keep each other busy and stimulated, so the volume is often signifcantly decreased. however, you could end up with a pair who likes to shriek at each other  there's always a slight risk. 

when a cockatiel flock calls, it wants company. so having two should solve the issue.

it doesn't matter whether you have two males or a male and a female really. since you can't tell what a cockatiel is when it's a baby anyway, it actually works quite well. just buy a tiel you like and it should be fine.

there's always the possibility they won't get on together, but most of the time they do.

a cage like this is great for two or more cockatiels: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Large-St...609913?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item51a1a9c979
i don't know where you live but they're quite common in the US and Australia. and they're cheapest on eBay and Amazon.

since you lost your parakeet, it's quite likely your cockatiel would welcome a new friend  if you do go ahead, remember to quarantine


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## Vickitiel

In my experience it's a lot quieter with two - or three


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## RATTIE

My girl got a whole lot quieter when I Hodgins and I sort of miss all of her loud noises.


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## EvilLeia

Birdie normally doesn't make too much noice, but then again he's never left alone. Maybe a partner would be good for your bird.
As a pet owner, aspecially to birds, I think noice is unevidable.


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## eduardo

CharVicki said:


> In my experience it's a lot quieter with two - or three


That is my experience too. Flock calling is reduced when you have a few or more. Tiels are flock creatures


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## Simbah

MUCH reduced for me! Benito, one of my males used to sing his heart out at 6:00am every.single.day. -.-
Now, with three other cage mates he knows better then to sing at the top of his lungs when everyone is sleeping. He did once, and the flock leader of the four (Ziggy) set him straight. 
Dont get me wrong, Benito still sings daily, just at appropriate times in the DAY instead of whenever his heart ever so desired (Which would even be in the middle of the night.)
Silly boy I have.


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## Korvia

I have 5 (4 boys and 1 girls) It's normally pretty quiet during the day few odd chirps or whistles. My only problem is in the morning about 9-10am they all cry wanting out.


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## Haimovfids

You should try to get two


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## Renae

I had just 2 females at one stage (and we had neighbors below, above, and next to us), they were really quiet unless they heard a wild bird outside, they would call out, but it wasn’t very often, they were very quiet for the most part. I am not much help, but I know what you mean, I have a young male at the moment who is testing his volume level all the time, lol. Cage size for two, I would suggest something around 63'' (H) x 32'' (L), by 21'' (D), make sure the bar spacing is also at least 1/2''.


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## Zilla

Wow thanks for all the replies! Im thinking we need two.... But maybe it should just be another parakeet again?? Our landlord thinks we just have a small parakeet instead of the screeching cockatiel we "used to have".... :lol: she's got something against cockatiels because her significant other used to have one I guess and it would scream all the time.... :| just in case she ever wants to come in we have an actual parakeet :lol: ugh I don't know this situation is so frustrating because its not like other tenants have complained... He only makes that screeching noise when someone leaves or comes in.... 


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## moonchild

Two cockatiels are much more likely to get along than a tiel and a keet, though. Wouldn't it be nice if they could become friends? 
I recommend a female tiel. They can shriek just as loudly as males when they want something, but you're highly unlikely to get one that constantly whistles, chirps or sings. My girls are all pretty quiet except during the morning crazy time (around thirty minutes) or if they get separated from the flock.


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## eduardo

Zilla said:


> Wow thanks for all the replies! Im thinking we need two.... But maybe it should just be another parakeet again?? Our landlord thinks we just have a small parakeet instead of the screeching cockatiel we "used to have".... :lol: she's got something against cockatiels because her significant other used to have one I guess and it would scream all the time.... :| just in case she ever wants to come in we have an actual parakeet :lol: ugh I don't know this situation is so frustrating because its not like other tenants have complained... He only makes that screeching noise when someone leaves or comes in....
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Actually I find budgies to be noisier than tiels. they chirp and ack ack constantly! I would go with another tiel. I used to have four boy budgies and my two cockatiels. Although I loved my budgie boys, the noise was at times excruciating, lol And then they would egg on the tiels too. When I rehomed the budgies, my life became sooo quiet.


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## Ghosth

To me there is a huge difference between 

A flock calling
B a Male tiel running through his routine
C a tiel Screeching at the top of its lungs because its bored.

All 3 of them happen with just a single tiel, they can happen with 2. If your bird is bored I'd first start by totally redoing its cage, and then trying to give it a bigger out of cage play area, with more to do. Yes you might stop it for a time by adding another bird, but you also camouflage the real issue. Better to find it out and how to deal with it first in my opinion.

FYI If I'm in the other room and hear flock call I answer back, once or twice, just to let them know I'm near, all is well. 

If I hear him singing his favorites I know all is well in his world and he's just singing for the love of singing. 

If I hear screeching he gets put in the cage, and covered for timeout and I start thinking hard about what I can do to give him more to do. 

There is a definite difference between the 3 and screeching is noise for the sake of noise, and is not long tolerated at my house.


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## Cece4

My second tiel is twice as loud as our first.So we added noise. They are both males but Biskit is just a noise maker, he mimics all sounds like the cell phone and he rarely shuts up.LOL, rivals our sun conure in the noise department. So a second is no guarentee.
Ive always heard females are very quiet.Our new female so far is very quiet but she is still new so a bit scared.


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