If you are reading this article, you are either planning on adding one or multiple budgies to your family, or already have one and wonder what you can do about their noise levels. We’re here to clarify some things.
It is also important that, as a first time owner, you can handle a pet’s signature sounds before adopting them, ultimately to avoid any stress and in the worst case scenario: re-homing them at a later stage.
Here is what you can generally expect from owning one or more parakeets.
How loud are budgies exactly ?
Well, if we’re comparing them to other parrots, they are not loud at all. In fact, they are considered one of the quietest birds you can have as a pet!
However, as a pet in general, they can be considered as pretty noisy. One budgie will vocalize on a regular basis, and since it is not recommended to keep one alone, you can expect a lot more noise from the two budgies you will probably own.
Sound is important as it is the primary way for budgies to communicate and keep in touch with one another. They use it to keep track of their flock in the wild, those vocalizations are called loud flock calls. On the other hand, when wooing females, the male budgies will use a couple different songs. They are also vocal when they don’t agree with something, so expect a pretty sassy response and assertive screams. Budgies are intelligent creatures; they can remember vocalizations and learn new ones with ease!
To summarize, budgie noise levels can be acceptable for most people, and are more suitable for apartment living spaces, unless you have extremely noise – sensitive neighbors. With all that being said, don’t expect a truly quiet moment during the day when owning one of them.
Different types of budgie calls
Budgies have an intricate array of sounds that they can make with varying degrees of loudness. They also have the ability to learn new sounds and imitate them, they always keep you on your toes.
Here are some of the basic budgie sounds that you will most likely hear when owning one:
- Flock calls. These are usually short and loud chirps and cheeps that budgies will use to, rather attempt to, keep in touch with one another.
- Chatter or warbling. This isn’t loud at all, and some even consider it pretty pleasant to hear. However, if the budgie needs something, such as food, water etc. this may ultimately turn into louder full squawks.
- This is usually seen as a flirty move on the side of the males and might also be accompanied with a dance and head bobbing, and don’t worry, it’s not that loud.
- If your budgie becomes really excited or even annoyed with one of their flock mates and will burst into a sequence of noises. This is definitely on the louder side and can be accompanied with chirping calls.
- Alarm calls are full on screams that pretty much demand a reaction from you, since something may be wrong with your budgie.
- Beak grinding. This is a rather soft noise that comes from your budgie being content and using their beak.
If you have owned budgies for a while, you may even start to recognize and differentiate between their different sounds. They can even be combined and have their different versions.
Differences between male and female budgies
Similar to the cockatiels and other parrot species, there are some noticeable differences between male and female budgies when it comes to noise. In the animal world in general, it falls on the males to do most of the effort of wooing the females. Budgies do this through, songs, dances and head bobbing.
Because of this, it is the male budgies that are more musically inclined and tend to make a more constant stream of chatter. Male budgies also tend to be more talented than females when picking up sounds and learning how to talk, even though there do exist some exceptions.’
However, this does not mean that female budgies are inherently quiet. They will still use loud flock calls in hopes to connect with them and they produce other sounds. They just don’t warble, chatter, sing as much as the males. This also means that there is a good chance that you will experience less noise when owning a female budgie, but don’t expect them to be completely quiet.
Are budgies particularly loud at night ?
This is a surprisingly common question. Worry not, because budgies are not loud at night, quite the contrary, because that is one of the only times you will be left in complete silence. They go mute, aside from the occasional peep, when there is no natural or artificial light present.
However, it is completely within the realm of possibility to be woken up by your budgie a few times a year. Some loud noise outside or even inside the house, or even movement, can spook them pretty bad which can cause them to squawk, alarm call and thrash around their cage. If you happen to hear this, turn on the lights and head towards the location of the budgie immediately, since they can easily hurt themselves during night frights.
It helps to leave a night light on for your budgies if the situation detailed above happens often.
At what time are budgies loud ?
Like other bird species, budgies are the loudest during dawn and dusk hours. So, if you are someone that likes their beauty sleep, make sure you are not able to hear your birds too well from your bedroom or consider buying a pair of noise – cancelling earbuds. Budgies will definitely cause a bit of ruckus in the early hours of the morning. A remedy for this is to give them breakfast and watch them quiet down.
Other than the times mentioned above, budgies tend to make noises all throughout the day. This is especially true for males and the sound kind of multiplies proportionately to the size of the flock. If you think a pair of budgies’ chatter is bad, wait until you hear a flock of five or more
Additionally, expect your budgies to be extra chipper when you have some friends over as they really like the sound of you talking to your guests and enjoy joining in the conversation.
Parrots in general truly love noise, and your budgies may start calling out if:
- They can’t see any of their flock members, this includes you
- They are thirsty and/or hungry
- They simply are bored, or in pain, or startled.
What to do if your budgie is too loud ?
If you feel as if your budgie is excessively loud and vocalizing more than usual, you will have to consider the things listed above. Even though a flock can make a lot more noise than a singular bird, some specific sounds may indicate some kind of problem.
One of the most common issues is for a budgie to start flock calling every time that you leave the room they’re in. This is not surprising as they are naturally social animals that rely on their flock, in this case you, for safety. You might want to consider giving your budgie a friend if they flock call you excessively.
If this isn’t the case for the increased noise, then analyze their cage and environment.
Ask yourself:
- Is there anything scary going on, such as wild birds appearing on the other side of the window?
- The possibility of the neighbors owning a budgie as well, and your bird is just responding to their flock calls
- Whether there are enough budgie toys available, and are they keeping the budgie entertained enough?
Keep track of your budgies sleep schedule as well, as birds need anywhere from 12 up to 14 hours of sleep per day. They can get quite loud if they are sleep deprived and cranky.
Are budgies able to talk ?
The simple answer is yes! They are among the parrots with the biggest potential vocabularies. Even though budgies are small and their voices may seem strangely robotic, the males can be quite the talented talker.
Once you teach a budgie a phrase, be prepared to hear it a lot, and we mean A LOT.
In conclusion, a budgies loud scale solely depends on the matter of perception. When parrots come into consideration, parakeets are the quietest of the bunch, but compare it to another animal and it can be pretty loud. However, if you are still unsure about it, there are always plenty of videos on the internet that you can scour, you can even visit your local pet store for a hands on experience.
You might be interested :
8 Reasons Why Cockatiels Make Great Pets
8 Facts About Parrotlets
