Mirror for solo cockatiel?

I have no idea where or when I read these things but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask again. I do not think I read the items below on this forum.

I believe one person stated that if you get a solo cockatiel and put a mirror in the cage that it may decide to spend more time with the mirror than the owner. I guess that is narcissism at its finest.

Before one tells me that I need to spend a lot of time with the solo bird, I will state for the record that I work at home.

On the other hand, I read "somewhere" that putting a mirror behind the bathtub encourages more baths and that is a good thing to do. And don't worry, the bird could not possibly drown themselves in this particular bathtub.

Again, maybe the cleaner a cockatiel is, the more he/she is attracted to themselves?

Any help will be appreciated.

My gorgeous cockatiel Fang LOVES our bathroom mirror. ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT!!! I capitalised that sentence to emphasise how much he LOVES IT!!!!! He doesn’t have a mirror in his cage because I really do think he would fixate on it.

Happily he loves his daddy just that little bit more. If you work from home & have plenty of time to be with your bird I don’t think you need a mirror. Maybe a quick indulgence in the bathroom occasionally though....

BB has a mirror but doesnt play with it much he loves his shiney dice tho!


But if he is on my shoulder and see's us in the bathroom mirror he does his wolfie whistles




Jim

I have read that birds can start defending mirrors etc and that they can lead to excessive hormonal issues (given the right bird and situation). I wouldn't put one in the cage...I don't have cockatiels though---I will say that my cockatoo was quite interested in one originally (within the house)-- I covered it because, at the time, I couldn't handle any competition lol (hated me at first).. She doesn't care anymore about mirrors, but if bored it during the day, I could see a bird getting fixated over time....

Mirrors are ok as long as they are in a toy specifically made for birds and the bird doesn't develop an unhealthy obsession with it. Some become defensive, others bond to it. I find it doubtful birds who develop these kind of issues surrounding mirrors understand it's their own reflection. I think the birds, like mine, who couldn't give a crap less about the birdie in the mirror are the ones who have some understanding it's just a reflection of themselves.

I think sometimes, birds in captivity go a little crazy...despite their intelligence... Being caged in an unnatural environment (without a flock 24/7) really invites these issues. I think I might become obsessed with a mirror if I was alone with one for many hours each day (kind of like Wilson on Cast-away)----I am not implying that you would lock your bird up 24/7, I am just saying, even a few hours a day could be really hard if it can't entertain itself and defaults to the mirror instead of other toys. Obviously people do this and some birds are okay with it, I just think that with so many other options, it seems like a bit of a gamble.

No mirrors!!!

After my hen passed away, I put my male in his other cage that had a mirror. He started perking up, singing and whistling and developing an obsession with the mirror. He loved looking at himself dancing in it. But it got to the point that he was so fixated on it that when I tried to go in the cage he wouldn't come out and would try to protect the mirror from me, lunging and all.....yeah so it got taken out.

It just was not healthy for him. Mentally he just was too attached to it. I really think it gives birds a false sense of reality when they have access to one 24/7.

The "mirror controversy" is an odd one, and honestly I think it's just an individual bird thing, where some birds are fine with them, and apparently some aren't (though I personally haven't had this experience at all). I have had Budgies all my life, both pets and breeders, and they ALL have absolutely loved their toys with a mirror in them, and I've never once had an issue. All of my Budgies have one toy in their cages that has a mirror, usually I just put in one of the common round, plastic bird mirrors that have a bell hanging from the bottom of them. Every single one of my Budgies absolutely LOVE this toys, and they will spend hours playing with them, banging their beaks off of the mirror, talking to their reflections, and yes, occasionally they do regurgitate on the mirror...

All of that being said, all of my pet Budgies have been hand-raised and tame, and I've never had a situation where any of them chose the mirror over me, lol. They simply entertain themselves inside of their cages with the mirror, and then when they're out with me they are interested in me. So if other people have had issues with putting a mirror toy in with their pet birds, I've not experienced the same issue...

My female Cockatiel also has a couple of toys that have mirrors in them, though she's not as interested in them as the Budgies are. She occasionally talks to it, but not often. None of my other birds seem to be interested in mirrors at all...only the Budgies have ever really spent any time at all playing with them...And I also have a couple of the Budgie bath-tubs that have a mirror in the bottom of the, and again, some of the birds like it, some don't. But again, I've not ever had any issues with them at all.

AmyMyBlueFront said:

BB has a mirror but doesnt play with it much he loves his shiney dice tho!


But if he is on my shoulder and see's us in the bathroom mirror he does his wolfie whistles




Jim

Click to expand...

Is he whistling at you or himself ???

texsize said:

AmyMyBlueFront said:

BB has a mirror but doesnt play with it much he loves his shiney dice tho!


But if he is on my shoulder and see's us in the bathroom mirror he does his wolfie whistles




Jim

Click to expand...

Is he whistling at you or himself ???

Click to expand...

I think hes whistling at ME Wes



Jim

I'm in the "no mirror" party myself.... and I don't care if you have a single bird or an entire flock, no mirrors! They can cause more harm than good, especially mentally speaking... which could lead to physical issues as well.

https://feistyfeathers.com/2016/03/15/the-problem-with-giving-your-bird-a-mirror/