Cockatiel furor

[puz]

Hi everyone, I really need some advise. I have 2 yellow sided conures and 1tiel. My problem is the tiel right now. He is about 3 and has never really been a friendly bird. I got him from a pet store which I believe was my first mistake. I got my conures from a breeder.

The problem? A mirror in his cage. I was told by a friend NOT to put a mirror in his cage. Long story short, he is now an attack bird. I brought him upstairs into my bathroom one night because he loves walking around and looking in the big mirror. Well when it was bedtime, he fullout attacked. If I put my arm up to protect my face, he would bite my arm. If I pulled my arm away, he would bite my face. He even took sneak attacks from behind. Honestly it was so scary. I live alone and had no one to help. It’s the darn mirror. I was taking him away from his “ friend”.

My question is. What do I do? Do I remove his mirror and not allow him near one or is that cruel.

My conures want to be friends, but he doesn’t. Please help me find a way to make Mookie happy. It makes me sad that I didn’t listen and I caused my bird problems.

Sorry for the novel, but any help would be much appreciated.

 

[enigma731]

Take out the mirror. Look at threads on here about reducing hormones (I'm sorry I'm on my phone right now and can't link).

 

[puz]

Take out the mirror. Look at threads on here about reducing hormones (I'm sorry I'm on my phone right now and can't link).

Thank you. I will look up those threads. Mirror will be gone in morning.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Yes, I would take out the mirror and cover others when he is out.

 

[Monica]

I see two issues....

1.) You are bothering him at bed time. It doesn't matter if you were interacting with him before bedtime, if he's decided it's bedtime at a specific time, he's going to be cranky! (many tiels are notorious for this!!!)

2.) The mirror.


Add those two things together and I can definitely see him being extra cranky!



Remove the mirror and keep an eye on his behavior in the coming days and weeks. Make sure he continues to eat and maintains weight.


It's no surprise he may not want to socialize with the conures.... I mean, they don't look like his mirror buddy or act like him! Probably for the best anyway, conures can be too rambunctious for cockatiels!

 

[winnieirn]

Remove the mirror and substitute it with a new toy!
Here’s a link about how to stop breeding behavior. Make sure he’s getting enough sleep.
good luck!

4 Easy Ways To Deter Breeding Behavior – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

Find out why you might want to rethink your pet bird's cage setup, how long you leave the lights on, the type of foods you feed, and even the way you pet and interact with your bird.

lafeber.com