I was wondering, is it possible to have more than one bird in an apartment without making the neighbors hate me? I know that it is largely dependant on the individual bird but I am not totally sure what I would like to get as a second bird...

I have considered a second Quaker, a Hahns Macaw, a Caique and an African Grey. My dream bird has always been a Grey but I am starting to somewhat second guess myself. I love Greys beauty and intellegance and I would love a larger bird but at the same time I would love a bird Griffin could have a playmate (assuming they get along) and a Grey would NOT fit that bill!!

A Hahns Macaw would be another choice I really quite like. I would have to ship on because they dont have any around here. I LOVE the macaw personality but not the Macaw noise. While I know they aren't nearly as loud as their full sized cousins I have heard they are still quite loud. They are about the right size to be around Griffin.

A Caique is another option with the same playful personality but the same noise problem as well. They too are however sized properly

Finally another quaker would be a good option because he could be a playmate for Griffin (separate cages but out when we are home) but they too can of course be noisey.

Anyone have ideas on the birds I have listed or opinions perhaps about one unlisted?

While I appreciate that you want to get a bird that hopefully Griffin will get along with, I think this is a mistake. I think first and foremost you should look at finding the bird you want. If it means waiting until you get into a place where you can have that bird, then wait for it. You wouldn't believe how much work adding another bird to your household creates, and I'd hate for you to realize that you have two birds, neither of which are your 'dream' bird, and then you can't get that dream bird because adding a third bird is going to be too much of a time commitment.

Now, if you have plans of having 3 or 4 birds in the future, then go ahead and add another bird, but again, realize that there is no guarantee that the new bird will get along with Griffin, and there is no guarantee your noise level won't double.

I know, not much help...sorry

Hi robertskitty dont forget the birdfair here in tulsa and there you can first hand talk to several knowledgable people... and you might be able to get your vision of wut bird you would be interested in... being in an apartment i would very seriously think twice about getting another bird... unless it is really quiet lol... the birdfair is september 6th on a saturday at the convention center ... come and have fun the bird people there are great just like on here

Have you thought about a senegal? They're supposedly not as loud, and they're a good size to be around Griffin IF they get along. I don't really know much about them personally since I haven't owned one.

As for caiques: if Timber (my Black-head) is anything like the rest of them, they will be way too loud for an apartment. He has a very high pitched whistle, and I can hear it outside our house and down the street a ways. Not to mention, there is a substantial size difference between him and my qp. I would never allow them to have direct contact...then again, they hate each other, so....

I wouldn't purchase a bird at a bird fair... they are exposed to every other bird in the room! They are breeding grounds for infectious disease, unfortunately. If you do though, be sure to quarantine very carefully. I have, however, met wonderful breeders at bird fairs who bring contact information and pictures of their birds. Excellent way to meet someone you may later purchase from... it also says a lot about their commitment to their birds that they put their health above the opportunity to sell them as quickly as possible.


That said, I live in a one bedroom apartment. 700 square feet.

Take a peek at my signature.... we all live together! I don't know HOW it happened, but it did. Seriously though, when I moved I had two birds and I was terrified about the noise level. But when I moved in I introduced myself to my neighbors and explained that if it ever got too noisy, they should just let me know and I would do everything I could to combat it.

No complaints yet!

They have said that they can hear the birds from the hall, but not in their apartments. Amazing huh! It has to help, though, that all my fiddos are tucked away for the evening by nine o'clock.


My advice is talk to your current neighbors. Do they notice the noise of Griffin already? If so, I would be very leery of adding a potentially loud bird and would consider a poicephalus or pinous. Talking to your neighbors will give you a lot of information about how well your current apartment muffles noise. Also, if they all seem pretty nice, you could try and develop enough of a relationship that they would come to YOU and not the landlord if there was a problem, giving you a chance to work on it. I'm also fortunate that none of my neighbors have young children and all work during the day (when the birds are noisiest) so there are a lot of things to consider.

Good luck!

Carrie~Anne: I'm sorry if I worded it in a way to make you think that I was only adding a second bird for Griffin. I have just been taking the size of the bird into consideration when looking at adding a second. All of the birds I mentioned are birds that I personally would love to have.

bird-man: I am very hopeful to make it to the Tulsa show. It is quite a long drive for me but I still love going and I might be able to meet up with Griffin's breeder to say Hi to her as well so I am going to try REALLY hard to make it and see you and Ernie!

gidyup: thank you for the info on Caique. Regarding Senegal I have never personally even seen one in person but it is definitely something to consider.

and finally Georgia: I personally would NEVER buy a bird at a bird show! I believe in getting to know the breeder pretty well BEFORE buying from them. I would only buy cages, toys, exc.

Thank you all for your info. Please continue to post if you have any other info!

I have 2 caiques and they can get going sometimes. Im sure because there are 2 of them are a lot louder than 1. That being said, I would still take the noise the 2 of them make over the noise that one wound up qp can make. Now maybe its the pitch or the decibals and everyones hearing picks up sounds differently. As for the Hahns..I would like to have one of those.

haha we had an "episode" of our qp all geard up today.. boy can he squawk.... didnt like his new play gym lol

That being said.. We've had to seriously consider an apartment and the lcation of one for our noisey lil single quaker i can't imagine the noise of two in an apartment.....

I think it does have to depend on the types of neighbors and definitely the existing relationships there alread

Dont rush it and your answer will come to you!

to quote Becky:


i had 2 parakeets before i got cricket. i had quite a few people comment about the chirping they hear when they walk by my apartment so i was a bit worried before i brought cricket home.

my neighbor across the hall was the one i was the most worried about because she works nights and sleeps during the day. when i brought cricket home i took him over to introduce him. i asked her to please come to me before the complaining to the landlord if things got too noisy.

she's also a vet tech student and said to me "oh don't worry about the animal noise... i love animals. it's people i hate."

My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment in a remodeled wool mill. In some units, the sound proofing is quite good. In mine (and my neighbor's), it's not. But we have a cat and three birds: a cockatiel, a QP, and a Grey. I'm certain that our neighbors can hear our birds, especially in the hall outside of our apartment. We try to be respectful of our neighbors by getting the birds up at 7:15am before we go to work (later on weekends), and putting them to bed by 10pm every night. We've also worked with the birds to curb flock calling as best as possible, and we have gotten into a daily routine that they've come to expect, which has also helped with flock calling and excessive noise.

So, to answer your question, it is possible to keep multiple birds in an apartment without having neighbors that hate you.

Thanks to everyone for all the info!! What beautiful birdies you have DMMoulton!

I would count a macaw of any size out if you live in an apartment.While mine are the large macaws and can actually be heard a few blocks away when they get to screaming.A friend has a severe and he can be quite loud as well.Perhaps not good in an apartment enviroment.
I think the caique would be a good choice as a second bird They are such sweet little clowns!