Apartment living with bird

[Haydenb]

Hi; I'm an 18-year-old with a 1-year-old GCC & I'm considering moving out & taking my bird with me & I am wondering what I should look for when getting an apartment in regards to living with my bird. It's always hard for me to find out the policies for birds since they only usually specify dogs and cats. Also are their certain kinds of ovens or appliances (I know Teflon, ptfe/o, cooking certain stuff & any sort of smoke is a big nono in regards to cooking appliances) that I should look out for? Also, my girlfriend has a rabbit who is free roam & potty trained if that factors into anything.

 

[Sparkles99]

I have birds & rabbits, so can confirm that’s not an issue for me. I don’t know if a GCC would go after a bun or not. If yes, it’d be bad news for the bun, possibly both.

With a GCC, issues could be noise or no wild animal clauses. I know my budgies are wild too, but budgies get a pass. Much will depend on the building construction, as it directly impacts noise dampening.

 

[Miss Annamarie]

When I lived in an apartment this year they basically said any caged animal is fine that isn't a rodent (which bunnies are not rodents). Ask about their caged animal policy. They were more than fine with my birds as they assumed they were in the cage all the time.

 

[Chomskypom]

We got Jazzy when we were living in a “townhome” style apartment, so we had no neighbors above or below us and only adjoined to one other unit. We just kept the boys in an area well away from that shared wall, and never had any noise issues. We also invested in some noise-dampening decor like rugs, thick curtains, and wall tapestries. Those helped a surprising amount with how much noise from outside we were able to hear, so I assume it was working to contain OUR noise as well.

 

[MnGuy]

I had my Meyer’s in an apartment for a few years and never had issues. I lived in a corner unit with no neighbors on one side.

I’d try to minimize the potential for sound issues by picking a corner and/or top floor unit with no neighbors above you. I think a bird’s call is more likely to bother an upstairs neighbor than one downstairs.

 

[Sparkles99]

+1 for the location. Sound travels up. I live in just such a unit as MnGuy described. Top floor, corner unit. I share the floor with my downstairs neighbor & a wall with my next door neighbor (but there are many closets, pantries & washrooms between us). The other side, but for a metre, is the stairwell (so really thick, brick walls). It helps to see the floor plans.

 

[Birdie Mama]

I live on the second floor corner unit with no one below me, but a neighbour above, he has never mentioned hearing Bailey so far. I know if I am outside I can hear him but the windows are also opened. Have lived in apts for the last 35 years as I am the property manager and must live on site, and have had birds the whole time. Have never heard of anyone complaining. Though mind you, none of our birds were screamers so that may be why. Each bird is different. Talk to your neighbours around you and ask them to let you know if they can hear them. Shows you are taking their feelings into consideration, and as Zara always mentions, a plate full of cookies always help to smooth things over.

 

[SarahSpork]

My cockatiel, Alex lived with me in off campus student housing for 4 years as an ESA. I found the key to limiting complaints was to write a note to my roommates introducing myself and Alex. And taking him outside on his harness with a handful of millet, so people could interact with him, including the landlord. A lot of it is just creating feelings of goodwill in case he decided to get all screamy while I was out.