any bird can be loud, how often and the volume of their noise depends both on you and the bird.
birds are by nature loud. in the morning and evening they call out to their flock, which is when they are at their loudest. and during the day they can chirp,
scream and sing to their heart's content. it's just a part of being a bird!
as pets, you as the owner can unknowingly cause your bird to be louder or scream more than they'd would normally.
to a bird, both positive and negative attention count as attention. so if, for example, you bird screamed and you went in to check on it, it learns that if it would scream it can get you to come over! a very nice outcome for the bird.
another scenario for the bird would be that it screamed, and, frustrated, it's owners scream back at it. to the bird that is very pleasant! they like loud noises and again they got attention from their owners.
some owners have trained their birds to
ring a bell instead of screaming for attention.
however, the screaming is not the source of the problem. what is, is the cause for the bird screaming. most birds scream because they are bored and want attention from their owners.
a bird is a highly intelligent animal and should have a large cage filled with all sort of toys to fill it's day with enrichment. there's all sorts of toys for birds. chewable toys, foot toys,
foraging toys, all meant to keep the bird busy during the day.
another way to enrich a parrot's life is by teaching it
tricks!
in the wild a cockatiels is busy finding food, being alert and escaping from predators and strengthening bonds in their flock. as a parrot owner it is our job to keep a bird's day as busy and enriched because captivity does not get the birds to be as busy.
egg laying is a common problem among female cockatiel. when breeding season starts, even without a male, a female cockatiel's body is triggered to start laying eggs. usually a clutch of 3-6 eggs.
there are all sort of ways to reduce those hormones, such as letting the bird sleep longer ( 12-16 hours a night), avoiding touching erogenous zones and keeping the bird away from any nooks or areas that look good for nesting, and thus avoid having the female laying eggs, which in some cases can lead to
egg binding which can risk the cockatiel's life.
regarding your question, males are more prone to singing than the female but both can and will scream form time to time.
seeing as the cockatiel you are talking about is 10 years old and is in a shelter he might have behavioral problems, will you be able to check if he does? and will you be willing to work to correct those problems?
adopting a parrot and giving it a loving home is honestly the best thing to do but it's not always easy. can you get information on his previous homes?
the amount of one on one time with a cockatiel is simply, the more the better! some days you will be able to give more, some less. but as long as it's consistent it should be fine.
however, it also depends on your bird. does he know how to play with toys and keep itself busy when you are not around? if not he will be miserable without you, and you should work and getting him to like toys. one way is hiding treats around the cage for him to find.
regarding picking a budgie or a cockatiel, that depends on you and what you would like from your future companion!
this forum has 2 very nice threads regarding the good, bad, and ugly of both parrots
here and
here
some more information about cockatiels
here here here
and on budgies
here here here
hope this helps! please keep us updated
