New Toy

[Nancy B]

I went out on a limb and I put a baby mirror in Freddy's cage and I attached it to the inside of the door and is he funny with it he's looking at himself tipping his head putting his Crest up and down he's not afraid of it but he's making all sorts of expressions and watching himself in the mirror is he cute!
I have shelves where I put new things for him and the mirror has been sitting there a few weeks finally not afraid of something! Seeing success in small ways!

 

[Nancy B]

 

[Nancy B]

The mirror is the yellow and blue thing

 

[cassiesdad]

I really don't use mirrors for my birds....they end up feeding the image over and over or getting overly attached to the mirror itself.

That being said...it's your choice to give Freddy...I'm assuming you're monitoring his interactions with it...and it is cute to see his reactions...

 

[Nancy B]

I'll watch for that, I have never seen that before . Right now he's leaning into it, moving his beak open and close and much like a little kid watching his mouth move this is funny. Right now entertaining himself. Haha now spreading his wings in front of it. I have said to him for the last couple of hours "that's Freddy bird." It looks like he knows it's his reflection, wierd the things he's doing in front of it.

 

[Nancy B]

Now running back and forth in front of it hiding his face and peeking into it. He looks like a little kid!

 

[Nancy B]

For once something he's not afraid of

 

[Jas]

sometimes if the birdies help with changing waters they interact with the bathroom mirror, or the reflection of a phone.

Pickles gets annoyed at the birds in mirrors so i have to watch him, he sees one and rushes over to check out that intruder.

peanut play peekaboo with herself ducking down and then popping back up and saying 'peekaboo'. Its cute, but she gets a little too excited sometimes.

 

[JLcribber]

This is one of those things that starts out innocently enough but very commonly turns into a problem. He’s not really recognizing himself in the mirror. He recognizes more as another bird and they do tend to get both obsessive and possessive.

Right now anything that brings Freddy out of his skin is great. If/when things turn ugly it’ll be when hormones rear their head.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Great that he is not afraid of it but agree with others regarding mirrors. We used to have those for our parakeets/budgies and it was OK but sometimes they just fall in love with their reflections and can become hormonal, start feeding the mirror, etc. None of the birds I have now have mirrors.

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

This is one of those things that starts out innocently enough but very commonly turns into a problem. He’s not really recognizing himself in the mirror. He recognizes more as another bird and they do tend to get both obsessive and possessive.

Right now anything that brings Freddy out of his skin is great. If/when things turn ugly it’ll be when hormones rear their head.

I don't know about that... I know that theres a famous mirror test to how self aware animals are. As far I know no parrot has ever pass the test but I don't think it been researched that much. I can't remember if crows have pass or not.

Irene pepperberg's Alex the African Grey wasn't able take the test as a student looking him accidentally let him see a mirror. So the test results wouldn't be seen as valid after that. Alex did ask something like "What colour Alex?" when he saw himself. Grey wasn't a colour he had been taught. It's pretty astonishing. Given how intelligent parrots are is wouldnt surprise me if some species will pass the mirror test when the research is done.

I have no doubt mirrors can be a problem with smaller parrots thou

 

[Sarahmoluccan]

I was curious so I did a quick search and found this about Africa Grey's and mirrors
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Apparently European magpie is the only bird to pass the test so far. But I really wouldn't be surprised some parrot species pass at some point. I'm still not 100% convince that an African Grey won't pass the test at some point too. I just skimmed thou the article as it's not all the cell phone friendly but from what I can gather that where only two greys tested.

 

[Nancy B]

Interesting I'll have to look it up my lovebirds have always loved mirrors and have never been a problem for them so I figured when it becomes a problem I'll just take it out that's all if that happens

 

[cassiesdad]

I was curious so I did a quick search and found this about Africa Grey's and mirrors
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Apparently European magpie is the only bird to pass the test so far. But I really wouldn't be surprised some parrot species pass at some point. I'm still not 100% convince that an African Grey won't pass the test at some point too. I just skimmed thou the article as it's not all the cell phone friendly but from what I can gather that where only two greys tested.

When Milton sits with me on the computer, the only time he reacts to pictures of other birds online is when he sees another U2. When he sees a picture of one, he says, "PRETTY PRETTY BIRD".
I'm going to try the test on Milty...just to see what happens...

 

[iamwhoiam]

I've shown my birds videos or photos of themselves and they never try to feed those. They generally just stare or sometimes start laughing. I think they know that they are looking at themselves but maybe I am wrong about that.

 

[Lady Jane]

Many members here do not like birds and mirrors together. I am not one of them. The birds I have now and in the past loved mirrors. There were no issues on the negative side. He is adorable.

 

[Nancy B]

Many members here do not like birds and mirrors together. I am not one of them. The birds I have now and in the past loved mirrors. There were no issues on the negative side. He is adorable.

I get that, they are all different. Different species and different personalities for sure. I didn't want a female parrot because the only female bird I have ever had was a nasty thing. You couldn't touch her at all. She was hand raised and fed too but I figured out it had something to do with control. She was very headstrong I think if I were a bird would probably be like her lol. She would cooperate as long as she was in control. My son wanted to get rid of her. I wouldn't only because I knew her and knew how to handle her. And she mothered the babies we have! I told my son I don't give up on a pet. I figure it out!
Anyway back to the mirror lol. I will just get rid of it if it becomes a problem. Right now he's enjoying it like a kid would. I haven't had him long and don't know what he likes. He hasn't been exposed to much so he doesn't know what he likes. Last night he was a pain to get back into the cage. He kept scooting over to me but wouldn't take a treat. He got frustrated and grabbed my finger and threw the treat on the floor! So I started petting him. I petted my Freddy bird for a half hour and then he climbed back into his cage. He just wanted to be with me! It made sense because I worked last night! He does not usually let us pet him like that. lol happy tears

 

[Nancy B]

When Milton sits with me on the computer, the only time he reacts to pictures of other birds online is when he sees another U2. When he sees a picture of one, he says, "PRETTY PRETTY BIRD".
I'm going to try the test on Milty...just to see what happens...

That's interesting. He must realize what HE looks like to only react to pictures of other u2's. And from what I have heard about Milton, that wouldn't surprise me. My son says they are smarter than we realize. I think that's true.

 

[TikiMyn]

I get that, they are all different. Different species and different personalities for sure. I didn't want a female parrot because the only female bird I have ever had was a nasty thing. You couldn't touch her at all. She was hand raised and fed too but I figured out it had something to do with control. She was very headstrong I think if I were a bird would probably be like her lol. She would cooperate as long as she was in control. My son wanted to get rid of her. I wouldn't only because I knew her and knew how to handle her. And she mothered the babies we have! I told my son I don't give up on a pet. I figure it out!
Anyway back to the mirror lol. I will just get rid of it if it becomes a problem. Right now he's enjoying it like a kid would. I haven't had him long and don't know what he likes. He hasn't been exposed to much so he doesn't know what he likes. Last night he was a pain to get back into the cage. He kept scooting over to me but wouldn't take a treat. He got frustrated and grabbed my finger and threw the treat on the floor! So I started petting him. I petted my Freddy bird for a half hour and then he climbed back into his cage. He just wanted to be with me! It made sense because I worked last night! He does not usually let us pet him like that. lol happy tears

Ahw I am so happy for you! That is great progress!

That's interesting. He must realize what HE looks like to only react to pictures of other u2's. And from what I have heard about Milton, that wouldn't surprise me. My son says they are smarter than we realize. I think that's true.

Wouldn’t suprise me neither, smart birdies!

 

[Nancy B]

Ahw I am so happy for you! That is great progress!

Wouldn’t suprise me neither, smart birdies!

I am so surprised every time he grabs me. He doesn't bite. He very deliberately will grab my finger taking whatever it is that he doesn't want, and throwing the item, it startles me. I usually say why did you do that. That night I said show me Freddy. I am going to start saying show me, hoping he'll get the message. And if I watch him closely I can figure out what he wants. He is a cutie. He has a really nice personality and has lots of patience himself! There have been lots of times he could have bitten me and be done with it, but he doesn't do that. Instead he grabs me as if to say "my god lady, pay attention!"