I Want to Adopt My First Lovebird but I Live in an Apartment

[aquariusrising]

I have always wanted a lovebird. I have had to move several times and was waiting to settle down before adopting one. Eight months ago we moved into the only place in the area that we know of that allows pets other then dogs or cats.

Our lease says we can have two dogs or cat or one of each. Then it has a list of pets that are allowed and a list of pets that aren't. It doesn't say anything about birds on the list of pets that aren't allowed, but on the list of pets that are it says small birds are allowed. I already have two very quiet small birds but I have heard lovebirds are much louder.

I have already picked out a baby who is being hand raised and hand fed and will be ready to go home in 2 weeks so I need to make sure I want to do this before then. She is a peach faced lovebird and I work from home so I have plenty of free time and when i'm working the bird can sit with me if she wants to.

I went to the apartment office a few months ago and asked if a lovebird would be okay, all they had to say is 'small birds are allowed'. I think it's insane that the birds allowed are based on size and not sound.. I can't figure out why that would be. So they say she's allowed but we live in town homes and everyone can hear each other all the time. There are people on either side of me, across from me, and right behind me (our back yards run into each other.) No one has complained about my birds so far but they aren't very loud and only scream when I leave the room and they don't want me to.

My guinea pigs and dog are louder then my birds and someone has complained about my dog once, but I don't know why because everyone on the strip has a dog and they're all barking all the time.

We all keep our windows open because we don't have air conditioning in WA and it was an oddly warm summer. Maybe that will pass during the winter, but even with my window closed I can here my family clearly from outside.

So yes the apartments say my small birds are allowed, but I don't think they know much about birds. What happened if I get my allowed lovebird and someone complains? I feel like even if the dogs in the apartments bark more, the management would be more likely to take the complaint about a bird more seriously sadly.

What do you guys think?

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community! We are happy to have you with us.

You said you currently have 2 small birds. What kind do you have so we can get an idea of what kind of noise yours make.

I have lived with lovebirds since the early 1990s and I can tell you that some are louder than others. Parrots normally need 12 hours of sleep/night and I have mine on a sunrise/sunset schedule (what they would do in the wild) and once they go to bed, they are normally silent until it's time to get up. Keep in mind that birds communicate by contact calls. If you are in the room, you can be seen. If you leave the room and are not visible, a bird will call and wait for you to respond so he/she knows you are OK and will be coming back.

Hope we can give you the information you need to make a good decision.

[aquariusrising]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community! We are happy to have you with us.

You said you currently have 2 small birds. What kind do you have so we can get an idea of what kind of noise yours make.

I have lived with lovebirds since the early 1990s and I can tell you that some are louder than others. Parrots normally need 12 hours of sleep/night and I have mine on a sunrise/sunset schedule (what they would do in the wild) and once they go to bed, they are normally silent until it's time to get up. Keep in mind that birds communicate by contact calls. If you are in the room, you can be seen. If you leave the room and are not visible, a bird will call and wait for you to respond so he/she knows you are OK and will be coming back.

Hope we can give you the information you need to make a good decision.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I have one budgie and one green cheek conure. The budgie has a louder more ear piercing noise then budgies I have had in the past and is a grouchy little man so he is actually louder then my green cheek but doesn't make noise unless he is very happy or very mad. My green cheek calls when I leave the room, I think it's what some people call a jungle call or hawk call. From outside she sounds like she could be a wild bird and I don't think it bothers anyone, but I am never out of the room for long because she lives in my bedroom and office where I work. The noise she makes is repetitive so I imagine when I leave for groceries she could get annoying to the neighbors but no one has said anything. Someone has complained about my dog though which is odd because he only barks when he is outside alone, and that is very rare. I usually go out with him or let him in as soon as he starts barking. He has an angry sounding bark though so i'm sure someone impulse reported him. No doubt someone who is grumpy and doesn't like chihuahuas! Lol.(I think people assume he's happy because he's small but it really is only when he is outside alone, he gets scared.)

My second choice is a parrotlet but I really have my hear set on this one lovie.. I just don't want to make a bad decision.

[linda040899]

I have had budgies in the past and I currently have a Green Cheek Conure. Noise level of my lovebird flock is about equal to my conure when he really gets wound up. When I'm in the same room with my lovebirds, the noise is considerably less. If you keep the lovebird near your conure, chances are they will interact with each other, as well as you.

I don't think this would be a mistake. I have a few parrotlets and I enjoy them but I still adore my lovebirds! Noise is an Amazon parrot or a Macaw! I live with both and, thankfully, my neighbors tune them out..........

[Elle]

The best thing is to ask your landlord what would happen if there is a noise complaint. I would also talk to them about the fact that birds can get noisy and the times of day it would happen (also stress out that once the lights are out, usually they don't make any noise unless there's a danger, unlike dogs that can bark all day and night or a baby that can cry for hours at any time of the day or night).

I've lived in an apartment with 2 budgies, 2 lovebirds and one African Grey. I now live in a town house with 2 lovebirds, 2 greys and one hahn's macaw and believe me, it can get noisy. I've never had a noise complaint in either locations.