What would be the best caged bird for my situation?

[bagendhens]

i think some finches or a male canary might be a good choice for a "quiet" bird, keets of all kinds are great but they are chatter boxes and relitive to size they are quite loud lol.
diamond doves are beuatiful, there are also some VERY fancy looking finches (look at gouldians, expensive, but STUNNING)

if your looking for a small bird you can realy interact with though (ie take out hold, play with teach to talk ect...)
american parakeet or an english budgie (they look similar, but the english is a larger heftier version and tend to be better talkers than americans) there chatty, and can be nippy, but tame down nicely and usually easy keepers
cockateils, bigger, come in some beuitful color patterns, can talk but tend to be better whistlers
parrotlet, a tiny little parrot with a BIG attitude, they actually need a huge cage for thier size as they are very active playfull birds (id do a minimum of 18 x 30 x 18) they can learn to talk but have tiny little robot voices. they are related to amazon parrots!!!
lineolated parakeet, still fairly rare in the us pet trade, minimum cage size of 18 x 18 x 18 (though 18 x 30 is better), they are quieter than american keets and budgies and excelent talkers, tend to be very sweet natured, small and very quiet, and prety!

 

[verity]

if you are looking for a bird who is friendly and happy but not one to 'handle' and have out of the cage, get a male canary -- I have not been without a canary for the last 20 years -- they are truly day-brighteners for me --

we have a geriatric cockatiel and a 16 year old African Grey -- super birds but not what one would call 'quiet' --

my canary sings and sings -- especially nice on a dreary winter day --

birds of all kinds are wonderful --

let us know what you get and ENJOY!

 

[awesomefowl]

I like finches, but canaries sound good too. They seem to be hard to find though.

 

[chseeads]

Try doing some research around your area to see if you can find any breeders that have them. You can generally get them from a breeder MUCH cheaper than you can a typical pet store.

They might be hard to find, but you might also be surprised if you get to hunting too.... When I started getting into my pet birds I didn't know of any breeders or anything around, but after I got into it I've come across a lot. Found out about local area bird fairs that bird clubs and stuff hold, all kinds of things....

Good luck!

 

[Robo]

I would say sun conures, but they are pricey. A pair of button quail, diamond doves, canaries, or cockatiels would all be good.

 

[beckyschicks]

We just got a parakeet for christmas. So far she is a great little bird. She sits on top of my desk and chats with me. She can however sound the alarm loudly if she doesn't like something. Like the water running or a chip bag. When she gets that way I just bring her into the area I'm in and then she quiets down. My DH really don't want a indoor bird because of the noise, but so far he hasnt said anything. As far a cost goes: Got the cage at good will for 15$ and it is 11W by 15L by 15H, so decent size. She was 15 at my local pet store, Food was 5$ for a 10lb bag, toys and other misc. was 20$, total 55$ start up cost. Not bad. Also doesn't make much of a mess either. I really like having her around and I'm sure whatever you pick will be nice.

 

[kla37]

I had a canary for a few years, a male. He was beautiful and sweet and sang so nicely! They are small and easy to care for, just need a spot with no drafts and light and bright during the day.

 

[chseeads]

Quote:
Sun conures are great birds...but definitely NOT quiet ones. lol They can scream with the best of them.


In the conure family, green cheeks are quieter...they don't have the volume that suns do... Though mine can do a decent immitation of my sun.

My green cheek is mean as the devil though, while my sun is GENERALLY, lol, a sweetie to everybody...he has his moments. I think a lot of that just depends on individual birds though. I just lucked out with a green cheek with a 'tude.

 

[bagendhens]

you beat me to it chseeads...
sunnies are possibly the loudest bird ive ever met...
ive known sun conures to out scream macaws!!!

they are beautiful and sweet, but they are NOT quiet, not even remotly so...

i dont think id suggest any of the conures for this situation.

 

[reveriereptile]

I got a cage a long time ago for a travel cage for some sugar gliders I had at the time. I'm not sure what kind of cage it was. It was large enough for a parakeet to have plenty of room but the feature I liked the most was it had the regular doors for the food/water tray plus the small door but most of the whole front would open up for easy access. That made it easy to get in and out of. I even used it to put 2 young peahens in when picking them up since the door opened up so big. I think it was only around a $50 cage. I added a link that has a picture of what the type of cage I'm talking about looks like.
http://www.petworldshop.com/pictures/square-bird-cage-large-hinged-front-door.jpg

My mother had a parakeet and they can be loud. One thing you also need to consider is if you want a bird mainly to watch or one that you can handle. My aunt had a finch and it was flighty and couldn't really be handled. Very pretty bird though and wasn't to loud. Maybe some of the members could post some pictures of their birds that might help you decide. Definitely look for a breeder. It would be nice for you to get a handfed baby. Be a lot easier to tame and for bonding.