Apartment

[Angelwing]

How many of you keep a lovebird(s) in an apartment? Have you had any problems with noise levels? I hadn't planned on moving out but have been in an apartment for awhile now. My GCC and budgies don't make much noise at all, so I'm not worried about them. But my lovie is pretty loud and goes on throughout the day. I'm not sure if anyone can hear him or is bothered by him (there hasn't been any complaints) but I'm a little worried all the same. The apartment building isn't terribly old. Once in awhile I can hear my neighbours a little. My other lovies are at my parents' house, but they're moving out next year so I'm going to have to find homes for them. :( I don't want to, but I definitely can't have four lovebirds in an apartment. :( Anyways, just wanted to hear some other opinions.

[butterfly1061]

Lisa,
When I lived in a duplex before I bought my house, I put Molly & Daise's cages near the wall on the outside. It was the furtherest from the connecting wall. My neighbors said they never heard my lovies, which I was concerned about. Now in my house, I can hear those little featherbutts at my mailbox :omg:

[carrier]

Hi Lisa,

I live in a very small apartment. My lovie, Fenway, is not what I'd consider an obnoxiously loud bird, but he/she definitely has chatty times during the morning and afternoon.

I have never had any complaints from my neighbors at all... I figure that with Fenway, she/he doesn't start until 8 AM during the workweek and even later on the weekends...plus bedtime is anywhere between 8-10PM, so there is no issue with an annoying-nightime birdie.

I think it's very considerate of you to think of this even though you've gotten no complaints. My advice is to let things be and address it if something does come up with a neighbor. ;)

[Elle]

I live in an appartment with 5 birds, 2 budgies, 2 lovies and one grey. I also have 1 cat. In the 12 years I have live in an appartment, I never had a complaint once about the noise level. My birds can be noisy but it's nothing compared to a dog that barks all night while the owner is out. Birds don't make a lot of noise at night when they sleep. :) You may want to findout if your naighbours are night workers and try to sleep during the day.

[thebubbleking]

I live in a tiny studio and rent and sell them as well.
Some of the things that have helped are i also put them farthest from a connectiing wall or where it would echo.
I have rugs and such to suck up alot of the sound.
I have also found if you introduce them to your neighbours they fall in love with them and get less complaints and extra treats!
Also the same is true for me that in the morning and early evening they make the most noise but since they wake up at 7am and sleep at 10pm noise has not been an issue.

[Eliza]

A lot depends on the actual apartment building, your parrots' location within that apartment and the quality of neighbor :p

If at all possible, place your parrots' cages in a location that is least likely to upset your neighbors (i.e. away from a shared wall, which is very important if their bedroom butts up to your living room, for example).

More often than not, neighbors won't complain about your pets if you don't give them a reason you :) If you keep your human noise level down that will draw less attention to you as well.

[tdl11]

I agree with bubbleking. Try to introduce your bird to your neighbors. Or at least make sure you are friendly with your neighbors. We manage a huge complex and 90% of complaints could be avoided if neighbors were friendly with each other. Take over some cookies or something and say, "If my bird ever bothers you please let me know." That way you hear about it before the management. Also, keep in mind that what may be fine background noise on a normal day can drive a person to distraction when they are sick.

[Angelwing]

Thanks for all the good ideas. Laharl (the lovebird) is against the wall which connnects to my living room. The apartment has w/w carpeting, so that's a plus. I don't know the neighbours well right beside me. I do know that one of them used to have loud parties on the weekends, so noise level on my part wasn't much of a concern with them. I think they've moved out though, because that flat isn't as loud as it used to be. I'm just afraid that if I tell neighbours about the birds, some of them might not be ok with birds, even if they can't really hear them. There seems to be quite a few unfriendly people in this apartment.

[Kirby]

I would just keep that you have birds on the down-low.
Since your landlord was A.O.K with them, knowing birds can get loud, then maybe ask the manager if he/she can let you know if the birds are getting too loud when you're not home :)