# Cockatiel vs Green Cheek Conure?



## ItsAmandaYall

I've wanted a GCC for a long time. I'm living in a 30' travel trailer with the hubby so noise is a possible issue. I've played multiple videos of cockatiels and he said it's fine. Playing videos of screaming GCC and he can't take it for very long. With GCC it seems they're quite most of the time and then "scream/squawk" loudly vs a cockatiel is more chirping with whistles constantly. When I was younger I had a cockatiel who would scream whenever I left or went into the room I had him/her. I was so afraid of getting a noise complaint from either my grandma or her older neighbor across the hall. 

I've met/played with two GCC, and one has been comical and sweet. Wanting my attention and playing with me. The other would sit on me for a second and then fly away. Neither of them made a sound, and these were from two different stores. I can deal with the nipping, but really wanting a cuddle buddy. I've read from a few people cockatiels like being scratched, but not cuddled vs GCC will sometimes lie on their back or snuggle in your shirt and are velcro birds..

The hubby thinks if the bird becomes too loud the bird will get a "time out" outside or be put in the bathroom. The outside idea makes me wonder if the bird will become loud b/c he/she wants to be outside. With the bathroom idea, I don't know how I'd fit a cage in there. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks.


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## Vickitiel

My baby cockatiel loves to cuddle


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## Darkel777

ItsAmandaYall said:


> I've wanted a GCC for a long time. I'm living in a 30' travel trailer with the hubby so noise is a possible issue. I've played multiple videos of cockatiels and he said it's fine. Playing videos of screaming GCC and he can't take it for very long. With GCC it seems they're quite most of the time and then "scream/squawk" loudly vs a cockatiel is more chirping with whistles constantly. When I was younger I had a cockatiel who would scream whenever I left or went into the room I had him/her. I was so afraid of getting a noise complaint from either my grandma or her older neighbor across the hall.
> 
> I've met/played with two GCC, and one has been comical and sweet. Wanting my attention and playing with me. The other would sit on me for a second and then fly away. Neither of them made a sound, and these were from two different stores. I can deal with the nipping, but really wanting a cuddle buddy. I've read from a few people cockatiels like being scratched, but not cuddled vs GCC will sometimes lie on their back or snuggle in your shirt and are velcro birds..
> 
> The hubby thinks if the bird becomes too loud the bird will get a "time out" outside or be put in the bathroom. The outside idea makes me wonder if the bird will become loud b/c he/she wants to be outside. With the bathroom idea, I don't know how I'd fit a cage in there. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks.


GCCs are more needy than cockatiels; they require a more nutritious diet and are much louder. They also require more attention. Untame GCCs are also more dangerous and have a harder bite (speaking from experience).

It's important to point out that birds do not understand punishment and respond better to reward so you're timeout idea probably won't work and will only encourage unwanted behaviors.

If you're a first time bird owner I vote overwelmingly for cockatiel.


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## WhiteCarnation

Even though cockatiels may not be as cuddly as GCC in general, I'd still vote for the tiel based on level of experience and noise. 

Like others have said, they can be cuddly, but it's very dependent on the bird. Each has their own personality. They usually like to be scratched rather than cuddled, but will still sit on you and keep you company if you let them.

It's all a personal choice though.


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## Darkel777

WhiteCarnation said:


> Even though cockatiels may not be as cuddly as GCC in general, I'd still vote for the tiel based on level of experience and noise.
> 
> Like others have said, they can be cuddly, but it's very dependent on the bird. Each has their own personality. They usually like to be scratched rather than cuddled, but will still sit on you and keep you company if you let them.
> 
> It's all a personal choice though.


And some conures don't like to be cuddled either, mine will let me scratch his head anywhere else he caws and bobs his head with his beak open as a warning ignore that and he will bite. But he still wants your attention and having a pet like that can be problematic for some people.


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## moonchild

To be honest I never know what to say to somebody asking for advice on which bird to get. I personally think you should get the one you REALLY want, even if it means waiting a bit until you're totally ready for it. They are all individuals and if you go by species generalizations, you might end up surprised. You say noise is a potential concern, and you're looking for a cuddly bird. Well, though I don't have a GCC I do have seven tiels and they really run the gamut from noisy to quiet, cuddly to hands-off. Some are as different as night and day. I think your best bet is to adopt an adult bird whose personality is already set, rather than a baby. 

My "perfect" bird is Solaire, a male tiel that I adopted at ~2 years old. He's cuddly as can be, can whistle but never really gets loud. My female tiels can all out-shriek him. Freya, female tiel was quiet as a mouse when she was a baby, and would let me scratch her head, but as she's grown up she's gotten shriek-ier and more hands-off. She still loves to be on me and all up in my business but she generally will only let her admirer Moon preen her these days.

Maybe you and your hubby can go meet some tiels and GCCs together, and see if there's one you fall in love with. If he is sensitive to noise then I definitely recommend an adult whose habits are already more developed. Tiels can be very loud and shrill, just as GCCs can, but it really does very from bird to bird. I have heard of quiet GCCs just as I've heard of unbearably loud tiels. Good luck finding the bird who is right for you.


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## moonchild

Also -- not saying this to be mean but I think your hubby would definitely benefit from reading a couple of books on parrots before he decides what an effective way to deal with undesired behavior is. I recommend "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Heidenreich and "Parrots For Dummies."


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## vampiric_conure

I've had both green cheek conures and cockatiels and I can say with experience that the GCC, although they screech less often than the cockatiels, are much louder. The noise also generally happens in the eve and in the morning and can be quite obnoxious, especially when something scares them. Cockatiels, especially males, tend to be more consistently noisy then the GCCs but don't have that high pitched fire alarm screech that might drive your hubby nuts  Neither bird is loud enough to get complaints from neighbors though overall noise level will depend on individual birds as others have already stated. Overall it depends on you and your husband  I love my guys to pieces and would definitely get another GCC in a heartbeat!


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## Renae

It is going to come down to depending on what the Green Cheek Conure its self is like – you will find some are more on the quiet side (when I say this, I mean don’t scream as often), and others aren’t, some are more cuddly/sweet/playful, and others aren’t. They are said to be one of the “quiet” Conure species, but that is only because there are much louder Conure species than them (for example, a Sun Conure), they are_ still _capable of being loud when they want to be, which is something to keep in mind. 

I have 4 Green Cheek Conures at the moment… 

Leila was my first Green Cheek Conure, she is my velcro bird, super cuddly, and sweet, she loves snuggling up to my neck, laying on her back in my hand, dancing, she is very funny and clowny. She is quiet most of the time, unless one of the others are going off, then she will join in too, but when Leila was my only Green Cheek Conure, she rarely ever screamed or made any noise really. 

Taji was my second Green Cheek Conure, she was hands-on at first, but as she got older, she started taking a real liking to males and started getting hands-off and now she prefers male people over female people. She doesn’t make much noise at all, she is the quietest out of the 4. 

Then there is my last two, Lola and Ozzy, they are a (male and female) bonded pair, and are more on the skittish side, only because they hadn’t been handled in awhile, they were hand-raised as babies, but were kept in a cage and had no interaction what-so-ever, I have been clicker training them and they are getting much better, the female will allow scritches as well as sit on my arm/hand/shoulder, and the male is hands-off, just prefers to sit on you. These two are INCREDIBLY loud, it is not constant, but when they do get started, they can scream for 10 mins, no joke! 

As you can see, they are all a bit different from each other, noise wise, hands off and hands on wise, personality wise and etc etc. 

If your hubby can’t deal with the possible noise capability, then a Green Cheek Conure may not be the best species to go with. I agree with having him go and meet a few to see if he will be able to cope with the noise and how loud one may be able to get. 

Also, a Geen Cheek Conures diet is exactly the same as any other birds, well mine get the same as the other birds anyway.


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## AMSD

My tiels can scream up a storm to the point that even my patience is absolutely worn (and I am super patient!) But that being said, I just met one of our neighbours the other day and she said that they didn't even know that we had birds! I was quite surprised (and relieved!) I agree with everyone else though in that they are all individuals even within the same species so you need to be prepared for anything. I do hope that you find the right one for you


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## Oni

My GCC Sakora was very cuddly until I took in another as a rehome 

My tiels are a friendly but noisy lot...but then again I do have 8!

I'd dare say two GCC create same noise level as 8 teils though..and the sounds is more grating!

They can both bite but GCCs are a lot more prone to being nippy.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Jeannepp

My tiel does a dance till I take h/him out of the cage. Sorry 10 weeks old don't know the sex. She loves sitting on me and preening me and loves to have her he scratched. If I put her down she flys to me and cuddles back up to my neck. Tiels are much easier to handle than a GCC. My sister-in-laws screeches and is not friendly to anyone but her. My p'let who is fiesty is sweeter to company than then her GCC. They can be cute and comical but they definitely screech and seem to be a one person bird.


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