What would be the best caged bird for my situation?

I like my finches (Zebras), they are small and active and make pleasant 'beeping' sounds. They are fairly chatty all day, but they have quiet voices - compared to my parrots, they are almost silent. lol
They do need a fairly large cage as do all birds, as you will not be able to let them fly free outside the cage for exercise.
I wouldn't keep any bird in the kitchen, though. Too many temperature flucuations and just a warning - those non-stick pans are deadly to all birds. (I have also read that they may be carcinogenic so I am happily back to scraping food out of my iron skillets.) All teflon pans have been thrown away at my house.

 

I've got a cocketiel that I've had for 17 years....I've also had parakeets in the past. Ozzie has gotten quieter as he's gotten older but still can be rather loud at times. They need a larger cage (=more expensive) than a parakeet. Birds benefit from spending time with them just like any other pet.

I agree about needing to get them out of the kitchen.....not a good place for birds.

 

As far as the reproducing goes, go to Hobby Lobby and get fake eggs. Just replace their eggs with the fake ones.
It works for me.
Parakeets are really nice, they can become incredibly tame and sweet with proper handling. They are also awesome talkers, if you can listen very closely to them. They speak well but fast and somewhat squeakily (is that a word? lol)
I like them, too, but they are noisier than finches.

 

Parakeets are not that quiet. They are small enough they can't really scream like parrots but they do carry on sometimes. Between 2-3pm has been dubbed squawky time when it's best not to try to watch tv or play video games that need sound. Finches would be best for quiet and easy maintenance. Diamond doves are a good choice if you don't go on vacation much. They don't handle new people or changes in environment well so they can't be given to a friend to watch them very easily. Otherwise they can make very tame, fairly quiet, and very cute birds. They do coo rather than sing though if that's what you are really after.

 

Personally, I love the sounds happy parakeets make. They are one of my favorite birds. If you have a couple and they get in a fight, then they screech at each other. That's not a pleasant sound. I never heard that when I had only one and only occasionally when I had pairs. I think it's like parrots, where it may depend on the individual birds and their environments. I always allowed extra space and lots of toys.

Canaries sing, too. At least the males do. They're also pretty.

 

Finches all the way! I remember my grandmother (Who lived on meager means), and she had a little finch that she just loved to death. Not very noisy either. Share pics when you get a bird.

 

Any kind that has been mentioned - finch, canary, dove, parakeet would all be nice (I have all the above).... Just depends on what you like.

I also like the happy parakeet sounds. lol