Cockatiel vs. Conure: Which Bird is Right for You?

Back to my channel. In today's video I'm going to be showing you guys whether you should get a cockatiel or a green-cheeked conure. Both of these parrot species are very popular as pets and what I've noticed recently is that green-cheeked conures are gaining a lot of popularity. Now personally I have a green-cheeked conure but there are also so many other conure species which this video can also apply to because most of the conures are generally pretty similar in behavior. Now I love both green-cheeked conures and cockatiels but they're very different birds. Both of them make excellent pets but I'm going to go over some of the key differences. If you're familiar with parrots one of the first things you'll think of when you hear the word conure is that they're very loud and that is true but different species vary with their loudness. Green-cheeked conures in particular are known as being a very quiet conure species but conures are generally louder than cockatiels no matter the species. Some people do get lucky with their green cheeks in that their green cheeks don't make very much noise very often but when they do decide to scream it is much louder and more high-pitched than a cockatiel's voice. Now as demonstrated the conure screech can be pretty loud. Conures tend to make that screech when they're not happy with something. For example Kermit is not happy that he's in his cage right now. Cockatiels on the other hand tend to have a much more pleasant voice. Even though the males can be vocal they tend to spend most of their time whistling and singing and people really like that about cockatiels. Female cockatiels like Ducky don't tend to make very much noise unless they're doing their contact call which they do when you leave the room and they want to be let out of their cage. If you're really sensitive to noise then maybe a cockatiel would be a better choice for you. Now every bird has their own unique personality but as a general rule conures are more active and energetic than cockatiels. They're usually always on the go. Many conures like to hang upside down from their cages and some will even roll on their backs. Kermit does not like to do this but again every bird is different. So if you want a bird that's very playful and high energy a conure is a very good bird for you. On the other hand cockatiels are very chill. They love to relax. They're very calm and docile birds. Lots of cockatiels just love to sit on your shoulder while you do chores, while you do your homework. They're just great companions and they just love to preen their feathers as you can see Ducky is doing. They love to be pretty. So if you want a bird that'll just chill with you when you have free time then a cockatiel is a great choice. Adding on to that conures are usually bold and mischievous. They like to break the rules. For example Kermit loves to fly on top of the doorframe for some reason and every time I try to shoo him away from there he just goes right back up there. They also love to chew on things that they're not supposed to like your homework or a book. So if that will tire you out then maybe a conure is not the right choice for you because conures like to test boundaries. That doesn't mean at all that your cockatiel does not have the potential to get into trouble. They're still parrots. They still will get into trouble. It just means that they're more likely to stay in one place than a conure. Conures have the potential to be very cuddly but that also means they're clingy and demanding. If you leave the room most likely your conure will flock call for you because they want to be on you 24 7. Cockatiels are also very sweet and cuddly. Many cockatiels will bump their head against your hand in order to demand scritches. So they do share that trait of being demanding and clingy birds. However I would say that conures are a little bit more extreme. Now this next one is big if you already have a conure or a cockatiel and you're thinking of getting the other and that is conures can bully other birds. They can be aggressive towards them. Kermit for example would never hurt any of my birds but he is jealous of them so if another bird is on me he will fly onto me and chase the other bird away just to get my attention. They're very demanding and they like to hog all the attention for themselves. Now if you're talking about keeping conures and cockatiels together conures have a much stronger beak. Cockatiels rarely try to defend themselves from other birds and they are easy targets. If your conure is aggressive towards other birds now this depends on their personality but if they are the cockatiel can be bullied by the conure quite easily. Now moving on to this next point conures have a stronger bite than cockatiels. If you're someone who's worried about getting bitten conures just have more beak power so it will hurt more if a conure bites you than if a cockatiel does. Now of course you do have to train your bird properly not to bite you but cockatiels will just not bite you very hard. I've been bitten by cockatiels. They don't bite very hard. Conures do. No matter how friendly they are most birds will still bite at some point. They could get hormonal. You can misread their body language. Birds bite for many different reasons. Another thing about cockatiels is that they have powder down on their feathers. They're very dusty and it gets everywhere so if you have allergies or asthma then cockatiels are not a good choice for you. Now another really important thing to take into consideration is that cockatiels tend to be more geared towards being a family pet. Most cockatiels are happy to interact with everyone and don't choose a favorite person. Now every bird is an individual. My cockatiel personally only gets along with me and my family but if you get a cockatiel at a young age and socialize it with lots of people then you have the potential to have a bird that interacts with everyone. Now from what I've heard conures can be one-person birds but it really does depend so heavily on the bird's personality. Kermit is actually very friendly with everyone. When he's out on his harness he'll step up for complete strangers without any problems. So if you socialize your conure they can be friendly towards everyone but they can also be one-person birds and choose a favorite. So guys thank you so much for watching. I hope you guys learned something if you're trying to decide which bird to get and don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more awesome fun and educational bird content. This is conures guys. This is conures.