Parakeet or cockatiel?

[Jerica]

I am going back and forth trying to decide wether I want a parakeet or cockatiel. Part of my decision is on if a cockatiel can fit into a 24in. high x 18 x 18 cage or a 22in high x 16in diameter circular cage. I can buy a new cage but need to know if these will work. Also which is more likely to talk? If the bird never learns i will love it just the same but I would like to know. I've heard cockatiels are sweeter and done a lot of research on both parakeets and cockatiels but i find so many different opinions. Could someone help me? I haven't had much luck in people answering my cockatiel cage question so that would be helpful. Thanks.

[Circe]

My eleven year old sister has two parakeets and a cocktiel.

Nix (the cockatiel) is my favorite of her birds. He and her last cockatiel have both been super sweet. They whistle and say simple things like "pretty bird" and "whoo whoo" (and several different veriations of "whooooooo whoo whoooo" lol) They are pretty smart.

Her parakeets are pretty, neat to watch, but they can be VERY loud, early in the morning. (even when covered) They dont talk, or do much. They eat and poop. There not very personable birds either and seem like they could care less about the people around them, unline the cocatiel who seems to adore the family.

I'm not sure about the cage size. You should check with the store or breeder you will be getting them from.

Best of luck, and congrats for the new family member!

[Shockadine]

I think the 18x18x24 cage would be fine for a cockatiel.

I own two cockatiels and have raised 3 clutches of cockatiels. I think cockatiels are great birds. If you buy it young and tame, a cockatiel can be a very loving bird. Just make sure it's tame when you buy it. It shouldn't run away from you when you try to pick it up. Don't let them tell you it will get used to you in time. There is no reason a baby bird should be anti-social if it was properly raised and socialized and it's very important if you want the bird to be loving and sweet.

I've owned parakeets in the past and they are very different birds from cockatiels. They are more active and don't seem to like cuddling and petting near as much. Probably because they are so active. They don't seem to like to be still for petting. They definatly can be tame and like you, but they are more of a bird that wants to hang out on your shoulder than a bird that wants to cuddle up on your chest like cockatiel would.

As far as talking I don't really know about parakeets. I had 2 and neither of them talked. I've heard of parakeets that can say all kinds of things. Cockatiels, from my experience, seem to have very limited vocabularies. Females usually don't talk at all. My male says pretty bird and does the wolf whistle, but we can't seem to teach him anything else. Another male cockatiel we had a while back said about 10 different things. I've heard people say that females can talk, but none of mine ever did and all my males did.

My personal pick would be a cockatiel. Good luck and let us know when you get your new bird.

[krazy4birds]

My pick would be cockatiel also Jerica. I also have a pair who have had 2 clutches. My male will talk your head off..lol..he says alot of words and he also talks in phrases. He says good morning when you uncover him. When I am gathering dishes and such for cleaning and refill he runs around by me and says "what are ya doing" it is so cute. He says all the usuals too like ..pretty bird...hello...step up...etc....My female will talk but only a few words and she is so soft spoken you can hardly hear her. There are lots of friendly parakeets out there but my family has had bad luck with them. They were sweet and very pretty birds but they were so hard to work with. Good luck on your decision.

[Kaye]

Well I've never had personal experience with owning a budgie or a cockatiel, but budgies are more likely to talk than you think. They talk more than lovebirds (of course, lovebirds aren't big talkers anyway..) and if you get a nice tame one they can be wonderful pets. They do make noise, as it's been said, but when it's just a single one I doubt they'd be too loud. The noises they make are pretty anyway, not like a squawk or something, just chirping.

[Jerica]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I think I will be getting a cockatiel and if I am able to get the breeder to bring him to me, then I will be getting a young male. I am waiting for a reply from the breeder to see if she can bring him to me, what color the males that I would be choosing from are, and hopefully I can get one. I'll update later! Thanks again!

[krazy4birds]

Any news yet Jerica? Just wondering if you got your bird.....